Three Rescues

Executive Summary

I have been busy with work, and the cat rescue biz has been slow (GREAT!), and I have not posted recently. This post is about three rescues from mid-June to late July, of which only one ended with a happy kitty in the owner's lap.  

The first rescue was for an unknown, young black kitty stuck for four days near Sheffield AL.   The kitty had a collar, so the plan was to release the  kitty after scanning for a microchip. The kitty was only about 15 ft up on a large horizontal limb in a huge oak tree, directly above a tin-roofed garage.  When I reached the limb, the kitty was extremely interested in my cat food, but skittish - the kitty would make take a bite, back off, take a bite, etc.  I finally tried for a grab and ended up with a flailing, hissing bundle of anger.  The kitty twisted out my grasp, dropped down to the garage roof five feet below, and then jumped down to the ground 10 feet where the kitty took off for points unknown - hopefully back home! Not ideal, but at least the kitty was back on the ground.  Kristin, many thanks for your generous donation to  Lovable Feline Rescue of North Alabama.

The next "rescue" was for a kitty in mid July that had escaped its owner at a Vet clinic near Ardmore, AL.  When I arrived at about 1:00 pm on a Saturday, the kitty ("Socks") was hanging out at about 25 feet, and the Vet clinic was deserted (it closed at noon and was out in the country side).  RheAnna told me that kitty was an ex-feral that had shown up about 1 year ago at the age of two - what he had been doing during first part of his life was unknown. Socks was completely silent during the rope setup, which is not a good sign - it indicates suspicion. I warned ReAnna that  Socks was likely to jump out the tree, and there was no good place to set a trap.  I started climbing, and as I neared Socks he decided to scram - he ran down the trunk, jumped to ground, and took off. At last sight he was heading across a field to some woods. RheAnna's house was only 1/2 mile away, and they know everyone in the area,  so they are hopeful that Socks might find his way home. After two weeks, he has been sighted in the area but has not come home. RheAnna, many thanks for your generous donation to  Lovable Feline Rescue of North Alabama.

The last rescue for a kitty named 'Amy' - an inside only kitty who escaped outside and became stuck up a tree for the last two days. I got the call on a Sunday afternoon and arrived soon after, as it was only 15 minutes from my house in Huntsville. The kitty was in a tree that was just outside the back fence. The owners had put up  a 20 foot extension ladder, and had constructed a platform in the tree at the top of the ladder, hoping to entice the kitty down.  When I put my rope in the tree, Amy became spooked and retreated up and out on the limb she was on. Because the kitty was inside-only I did not want to risk a pole grab fail, so I put a trap on the limb and hoped for the best.  The next morning the trap was empty as Amy could not navigate a short vertical section down to the trap.  I went back up and after many contortions,  was able to get to her limb where Amy was still five feet out of reach.  I pulled out some wet cat food, after which Amy started creeping closer, then going back, creeping closer, etc. I was hot and tired and out of patience, and I tried a quick grab which failed miserably. My hand grab attempt freaked Amy out, who retreated  back out to  the edge of her limb and started frantically looking for a way to escape. I pulled out my catch pole but before I could even try, Amy nearly fell and was hanging on by only two paws. I grabbed my net and put  it under her, but then Amy was able to pull herself back on top of the limb, at which point she jumped. After this I lost sight of her, but an Angel named 'Cindy' (a neighbor) began reporting things like "I see her", "She is on top of the fence", "she is running to the tree", "she is on the platform", and finally "I HAVE HER".  I later learned that Amy had climbed back up the tree to the platform that her owners had constructed, and Cindy climbed  the 20 foot ladder and grabbed her - Cindy reported that Amy was totally spent by the time she reached the platform and Cindy scruffed her with no problem. Cindy then brought Amy inside - I was only the ASSISTANT to the True Rescuer, Cindy the Super Cat Lady!  (Cindy later told me that she has been active in cat rescue for many years and has had over 1000 foster cats filter through her home).  YAY CINDY!!!

The pictures below are of Amy in the tree and her owner after the rescue.