"Three times now Kitten Little" "Really?" This past Saturday afternoon? Kitten Little went outside, when he did I do not know. I wouldn't ever let the runt kitty out in a severe storm but he was outside. About 3ish in the morning I woke up and was positive I heard him cry; I looked around but Kitten Little was no where to be found. I was up early Sunday morning, rain pouring down and I went looking for Simon. (Kitten Little is his nick name because he's a runt)
It didn't take long but I located Simon in a 60 - 70 foot tree and he was close to the top. He was barely able to cling to the tree limbs. This isn't a wide tree by any means. OK, I extended our ladder as far as it will extend safely. I tied the ladder off for my safety and investigated the situation. The tree was straight up, wet and slippery which is why he was clinging to the few little limbs he had found.
I tried my trick from the last cat rescue and anchored the kitty carrier to the top of the ladder with carpet and food. I spent the rest of the day trying to coax him down but zero luck. I knew he was going to end up spending the night in the rain so I took an 18 foot extendable pole an quickly built a 6 x 12 rest which I attached using a pipe fitting. I knew this was unsafe as the two threads were different but I needed to put as safe a cat perch in the tree as I could. I climbed the tree with my kitty perch, extended the pole to it's longest reach and anchored the perch 18 feet above the ladder. Seeing the perch and with a lot of coaxing the upset kitten shimmied down the tree and to the perch. This was a good sign to me because this is the natural way a cat climbs down a tree. Well, all I needed to do was coax the kitten down another 18 feet to the waiting cat carrier but this will have to happen tomorrow.
I got up about 3:00 a.m. Monday morning and went to check on Simon. He was cold, wet and upset. I decided to build another perch which I hoped he would climb down too getting him much closer to the cat carrier. I tried from 3:00 to 5:30 a.m. to coax the kitten down but the perch he was on was solid, it was raining and he wasn't budge. I had to get to work and the rescue would have to wait until 8:00 p.m. When I arrived home I checked in with my wife and went out to check on the cat. He was real upset but he was dry as it had been a nice day. It took a while but I was able to coax him down to the second perch but it was so flimsy he immediately climbed back up to the first perch. The rescue would have to wait until Tuesday morning; I went to bed.
Tuesday morning, 4:30 a.m. I worked with kitten trying to coax him down but no luck. The cat had now been in the tree since Saturday so I was beginning to worry about his health; he had no food or water now Since Saturday afternoon. I went to another 12 hour shift and had even designed in my head a platform I would build when I got home. To my horror, when I got home the first perch had broken and had fallen to the ground. I looked to the tree but no Kitten Little. I called out for him and heard a very faint cry. I began to look to the ground for what would be a very hurt cat but no luck. I called again and heard the faint cry again. I decided to climb the ladder and hoped to have a better vantage point for locating the cat. As I got closer to the cat carrier I began to hear a much louder cry and then I knew, Kitten Little had gotten into the carrier. The carrier, by the way, is at about a 75 degree angle as it was the only way I could wedge it and secure it to the tree. When I reached the cat carrier I was over-joyed to find Kitten Little safe but scared. I closed the door and lowered the scared kitten to my wife who took him inside. He's fine and hasn't left my side since Tuesday night.
I know it seems silly to most to attempt a dangerous rescue, certainly on a pet but I love my cats and I care for their safety and well being. Would Kitten Little had ever come down on is own? I don't know but I'm afraid there is a time we're going to find out. But, for now I'm glad he's safe and happy.
