Wanted: More Cat-Stuck-In-Tree Rescuers

As of October 2018, I am the only person listed as a cat-stuck-tree rescue service for Mississippi on the Dan Krauss cat-in-a-tree emergency rescue site. This does not mean that I am the only person in Mississippi that does this; there are a few tree services in the Jackson area that also perform cat-stuck-tree rescue. However, by no means are cat-stuck-tree rescuers common in Mississippi -- there is a need for more!

If you are interested in performing this service, then I am willing to train/help you to become a cat-stuck-tree rescuer. However, there are some caveats:

• For initial training, you do not have to purchase anything as I have extra gear. This way, you can determine after a session or two if this activity is right for you. However, you would eventually need to purchase your own equipment as I will not loan my equipment off-site. I have put together a price list for a deluxe cat rescue gear package, total cost is about $2500. This may seem like a lot, but most of this equipment will last longer than you are willing to use it probably. Also, this is relatively cheap when compared to other typical hobbies like golfing, hunting, fishing, etc. You can start with a subset of this equipment and add to your gear as you feel the need.

• You must be in decent physical shape to perform this activity. Every overweight pound is another pound that you have to haul into the tree. However, you do not have to be a super athlete, or even an athlete. I am 58+ years old and another cat rescuer buddy is 61+, and neither of us are out there running marathons.

• You must be an animal-lover, and comfortable handling cats.

• You will not make money doing this activity. Fully half of the rescues I have done have been for people who would not be able to afford a fee if they were charged one. Also, if you charge a fee, then all sorts of insurance problems come into play as any accident would be work-related. Accepting donations for rescues is fine as many people do want to give some money to help offset travel costs and as gratitude for your efforts.

• You would need to travel to Starkville for training and sign a waiver resolving me of any accidents during training. You can learn the basics in only 2 or 3 half day sessions, but you must be willing to practice on your own in order to hone your skills. My schedule is lax and training can be done on any day of the week.

A couple of more notes:

• Probably two-thirds of my rescues are easy rescues. An easy rescue is where you place the rope above the kitty, climb the rope, kitty is happy to see you, nab kitty, go down the rope. A difficult rescue is when you have to move around the tree from your initial tie-point and/or the kitty runs from you in the tree. After training, if you go on a cat rescue and do not feel comfortable with the rescue, you could always seek help from me to complete a rescue.

• Once training is completed, any rescues that you or I learn about in your 'area' (however you define that) would be your rescue if you would want to do it. If you could not do a rescue for some reason, then I would be happy to do the rescue.