"Tommy" up a Dead Tree

Executive Summary

I knew a kitty was in trouble when I woke up to four missed calls between 2 am and 4 am in the morning. Lizzie (Huntsville) was referred to me by the fire department -- her kitty "Tommy" had been stuck up a tree since the previous day and it was snowing and 28 degrees. Fortunately, the roads were clear since the temps had been in the 60s in the previous day, so I arrived at the house after a short drive and dodging fallen limbs on the roads. Lizzie and her young daughter met me, and showed me Tommy who was 40 feet up a large hardwood. A stray neighborhood dog had chased him up the tree. It would have been a trivial rescue, except the tree was long dead - a large limb had broken off two years previous and took out their back porch. Tommy was in a crotch at 40 feet, so I put my rope at the next crotch up at 50 feet, and keep a safety lanyard on the trunk as I climbed. The rope pressure was compression down the trunk, so I figured my little extra weight would not break anything if the tree had survived the high winds of two days previously. Tommy was a sweetheart when I reached him, shivering and kneading his paws. He went into the bag with only a few complaints. Back on the ground, Lizzie took Tommy inside for food, water, and warmth. Lizzie, many thanks for your generous contribution to a local cat rescue in HSV (LFRNA).