A Big Kitty Stuck in a Cedar Tree

Executive Summary

Allen called me at night after being given my number by fire dispatch - their kitty ("Elegance") had been chased up a tree by a neighborhood dog and they needed help. I agreed to come out the next day and arrived at noon; the location was near Madison AL.  The kitty was in a large cedar tree in the front yard, looking very comfortable, but meowing for help. There were two main trunks in the tree - because of the thick clustering of limbs I could not put a rope on the same trunk as the kitty, so I put a rope about even with Elegance on the neighboring trunk.  As I climbed, Elegance meowed for help but did not seem too concerned. When I make a cat-grab, I like to either be above or at least even height with the kitty.  However, Elegance was on a neighboring trunk and it was not possible to get above her or even height with her without making a lot of ruckus, which I feared would chase her further up the tree.  So I carefully approached from below, and offered a food bribe, which mildly interested her.  I finally reached a point where I could touch her, but as I stroked her she seemed to be getting nervous, and started looking for a way to retreat. I decided to make a quick grab before she got out of reach. She was nestled down in small hollow behind a limb and my plan was to gain scruff-lock and drag her out. However, I did not realize that she weighed at least 15 lbs, and pulling her out of resting place turned into quite a tussle requiring both hands. Fortunately, she did not fight me and I eventually got enough of her fur with both hands to pull her over the limb and into my lap. Whew!  She went into the bag with only a few complaints and was soon safely back inside her house.  All ended well!