Cat in A Tree Question

[mikki]

I know this does not pertain to cycling, but since there is no "Cat in a Tree" forum, I am hoping someone has had some experience in getting a very frightened cat out of a tree. Not our cat,(don't know whose cat she is) but she's been up there for approximately 40 hours now. The tree is huge; at least 60 feet high. At first she meowed VERY loudly, but her cries have been getting somewhat weaker tonight. Tried coaxing her down with cat food, nope. Tried calling her down and though she would respond to each time I spoke, it didn't budge her. Finally got the fire department to come out tonight and they couldn't get a good placement on their ladder because there were too many branches and the branches were flimsy. The cat has since climbed to near the very top of the tree now and is still crying. Any help would be appreciated. Not only is it heartbreaking to hear her but our bedroom is near the tree and we're losing sleep ourselves.

[Sandy]

1.Call your local animal control and/or shelter. Explain the situation to them. Push them for action if they do not respond quickly. The cat is obviously scared, but also probably very tired and hungry. How about setting a trap that has food in it, lower in the tree. Nice smelling tasty food that will attract the cat to the treat and simultaneously getting caught in the cage/trap. Leave the trap and the cat alone during evening, night hours to see if the cat goes to the food. Let the animal control/fire department work together in setting the trap. Work on the sensitivity of those in the fire dept. to help he cat. Did the fire dept bring one of the hook and latter trucks? They can go very high into a tree. 60 feet doesn't seem that high to me.

2.Call a local tv station for a special interest story and ask if they can help you. They could make a story out of it.

Oops. I should have mentioned first- I have little experience with cats. Actually a little afraid of the critters. Beautiful as they are. Just think that a cat in a tree for 40 hours is a hungry cat, and a hungry cat will go to food if he or she is left alone if it is scared.


Sandy

[Dekonick]

LOL

I have to laugh (not at the cat...) bacause every now and again we get called for this very thing. Now, I can tell you that cats have sharp claws, and when scared use 'em - so - let animal control get the poor critter down.

Usually, the feline will self rescue if you put food out and leave them alone. The running joke here is "have you ever seen a cat skeleton in a tree?" I suppose they probably would get weak and fall before then, but last I checked no skeletons here.

The FD has ladders, but no tree climbing equipment. A tree trimming service is your best bet - if animal control cant be persuaded.

[Richard]

Ditto on the tree service, telephone company pole worker, also. Find someone who has those tree climbing dealybobbers that clamp on the lower leg and have spikes that allow for climbing. A friend had some and he rescued my cat, once. Whoever does it should suit up in some claw proof clothes.

[avalonracing]

"have you ever seen a cat skeleton in a tree?"


Now THAT is pretty funny visual.

[Big Daddy]

Mikki--

this is a classic Mutual of Omaha p. Wild Kingdom moment.

You can be Marlon Perkins, and Michael can be Jim Folwer.

You stand in front of the tree so the cat can see you, and you will talk to it in a nice calming voice. Michael takes position behind the big cat in the bushes with an air soft rifle (plastic BBs DO NOT HURT) and as you are talking, he fires away.

The big cat gets annoyed and begins to gain nerve to get down.

Tag it and bag it.

Have fun. Send pics

[NateM]

Mikki,
we have a cat that does not know how to climb down out of a tree. She spent 2 days and nights crying in front of our house, about 25ft up in a maple tree. I figured she would get hungry and come down....nope. I eventually hauled out the ladder and climbed up to get her only to be swarmed by angry carpenter ants as I reached out to grab her.She climbed higher probably due to my cursing the ants. Later I went back wrapped with clothing like a beekeeper, a towel to roll the cat up with, and managed to get her down. I would suggest sweet talking a tree service to come and help. Remember to tell them to use gloves and a towel to avoid getting scratched. Good luck.

[chuckred]

Same thing happened in Denver recently - fire department couldn't (wouldn't?) do it. Finally a tree service company with a "cherry picker" came out and rescued the cat for free...

[mikki]

Thank you for your input. The food is at the bottom of the tree and she's still up there this morning. Someone PM'd with a professional directory of people who do cat rescuing around the country but unfortunately no one in Orange County, CA area.

I think the tree trimming company is our best bet. People don't usually do things for free though. Maybe they would trade for a massage? Will call a few during their business hours.

Thanks for your input. By the way, the joke that you "don't find skeletons in a tree" was indeed used by the firemen last night. They were like stand up comedians cracking funny one-liners.

[dvs cycles]

Thank you for your input. The food is at the bottom of the tree and she's still up there this morning. Someone PM'd with a professional directory of people who do cat rescuing around the country but unfortunately no one in Orange County, CA area.

I think the tree trimming company is our best bet. People don't usually do things for free though. Maybe they would trade for a massage? Will call a few during their business hours.

Thanks for your input. By the way, the joke that you "don't find skeletons in a tree" was indeed used by the firemen last night. They were like stand up comedians cracking funny one-liners.
Some guy in Orange earlier this year decided to be a hero and rescue a cat and fell to his death when a limb broke.
My friend that is a retired fire-chief never allowed his guys to go on cat calls and used the skeleton line too.
Just a cat that WILL come down and not worth human sacrifice for. :beer:

[bigbill]

This will sound terrible but it worked. Many years ago I lived in a rent house with large trees. A cat climbed the tree in the front and wouldn't come down. This went on for a day and a half. The FD wouldn't do anything and animal control couldn't do anything. The cat was scared and wouldn't move.

We started throwing rocks at the cat, more specifically around the cat to make a lot of noise. Eventually the fear being hit by a rock overcame the fear of climbing down the tree. The cat rocketed down the tree and took off into the woods. We saw it a few days later sitting on the front steps of a house a block away.

[csm]

maybe spraying it with water would get it down. don't think cats like water much.

[rwsaunders]

Sorry Mikki, I couldn't resist.

[mikki]

OK so happy ending. Into the wee hours of the night I met several animal lovers who were walking about with their flashlight and in their p.j's trying to coax her down to no avail. Really nice folks that I'd never met before. Then this morning a guy walking his little dog near the crying kitty rounded up one of the landscape laborers and asked him by making a climbing motion if he could scale the tree.(Hispanic) The guy was like a monkey...zip and he was up there, grabbed her and got her down (wailing and trying to grab onto every branch). The New Zealand cutie and I both hugged the laborer, each other and comforted the poor traumatized kitty before taking her back to the person that we'd discovered was her owner.

FYI: the owner never came out to try to try to rescue her at all!! We wonder about how much he cares about her and about his neighbors...

So no one got hurt in the rescue, kitty is safe and I met some awesome animal lovers in the process.

Thanks for your input; it calmed me and gave me focus.

Sleep; blessed sleep tonight!!

[OtayBW]

The take-home message I'm getting from all this advice is that you should:

tempt the cat with tasty food,
hire a tree service, and
insist they dress up as beekeepers.

Hey - glad it worked out.

[mike p]

Why would anyone even spend a moment of worry on such a thing? And to spend $$ to get it down...be real I wouldn't spend more than one 22.cal shell cost.

Mike

[Richard]

"Why would anyone even spend a moment of worry on such a thing? And to spend $$ to get it down...be real I wouldn't spend more than one 22.cal shell cost."...Now there's an action where we can only hope for an explosive gun malfunction.

[mike p]

Cat life=human life?

Mike

[OtayBW]

Do we have an 'Ignore' button on this Forum?

[Sandy]

Why would anyone even spend a moment of worry on such a thing? And to spend $$ to get it down...be real I wouldn't spend more than one 22.cal shell cost.

Mike

Because the cat is a living and feeling animal just like humans. In addition, the cat may belong to someone who really cares about the cat.

"cat life = human life"- Notice the word life in both.


Meow Meow

[Sandy]

"Why would anyone even spend a moment of worry on such a thing? And to spend $$ to get it down...be real I wouldn't spend more than one 22.cal shell cost."...Now there's an action where we can only hope for an explosive gun malfunction.

Would never wish that on anyone (I think) but that is actually funny and meaningful simultaneously.



Sandy

[Sandy]

So what should we do if you are up in a tree and can't come down because a lion is waiting to feed you to its young?? Don't ask the lion.


Sandy

[mike p]

"cat life = human life"- Notice the word life in both.
Fly life=cat life=human life Sandy I think it's the word that precedes life that carries weight.

So what should we do if you are up in a tree and can't come down because a lion is waiting to feed you to its young?? Don't ask the lion.

Don't fret, I'm armed and able.


Would never wish that on anyone (I think) but that is actually funny and meaningful simultaneously.

True feelings coming through. Gosh Sandy, really got ya going, lighten up bro.

Mike

[Samster]

this thread should become demokrat vs. republikan just about anytime now.

close it atmo.

[csm]

we're on the train heading to lockville.
not locked and loaded mind you.
what if, though, the fire dept comes out to rescue that cat? and a young fireman falls to his death, leaving behind a little daughter? she'll certainly miss her father far more than anyone who owns a cat will miss their pet.
I mean, it's not like the cat is gonna put someone through college. or walk her down the aisle.
IT'S A CAT. not even Garfield. It will come down when hungry. If not, there are PLENTY more at the animal shelter. go get one. in fact take 2.

[Sandy]

Excellent points made. In order to really decide what to do, shouldn't we know the cat's religious and political beliefs?? ;) :D



Sandy

[Sandy]

we're on the train heading to lockville.
not locked and loaded mind you.
what if, though, the fire dept comes out to rescue that cat? and a young fireman falls to his death, leaving behind a little daughter? she'll certainly miss her father far more than anyone who owns a cat will miss their pet.
I mean, it's not like the cat is gonna put someone through college. or walk her down the aisle.
IT'S A CAT. not even Garfield. It will come down when hungry. If not, there are PLENTY more at the animal shelter. go get one. in fact take 2.

Quite difficult to argue with your logic here. Problem with animal shelters is that the supply of cats (and dogs) far exceeds the demand. It will remain that way until time that there is serious focus on the supply side. You could get a cat a day and there would be more cats left for you.


Sandy

[Louis]

Why would anyone even spend a moment of worry on such a thing? And to spend $$ to get it down...be real I wouldn't spend more than one 22.cal shell cost.

Let's hope that at some point in your life when you need help, the people around you are more considerate toward you than you appear to be toward others.

Louis

[Louis]

what if, though, the fire dept comes out to rescue that cat? and a young fireman falls to his death, leaving behind a little daughter? she'll certainly miss her father far more than anyone who owns a cat will miss their pet.

I agree. Maybe you should just stay home, not drive your car or ride your bike. Both of those activities involve risk, and goodness knows, we would not want to take risks, especially to help others. Never in the world does anyone ever take risks to help others. That's bad. I'll only do something if it benefits me, gets me more money or power at zero cost. That's just my approach to life.

Louis

[csm]

there is a BIG difference between daily life; riding bikes, going to work, etc and needlessly risking one's life for a cat.

[mikki]

In my humble opinion, the unfolding of this thread is as diverse as we are as people. Some are animal lovers and helpers, some are not either helpers or animal lovers, some are okay with some risk, some believe in no risk, etc. etc. Each to their own personality;I doubt anyone will change anyone else's opinion anyway, so let's just celebrate the Fourth!! I don't know about you, but I am happy I was born in America and that life is good.

[Samster]

In my humble opinion, the unfolding of this thread is as diverse as we are as people. Some are animal lovers and helpers, some are not either helpers or animal lovers, some are okay with some risk, some believe in no risk, etc. etc. Each to their own personality;I doubt anyone will change anyone else's opinion anyway, so let's just celebrate the Fourth!! I don't know about you, but I am happy I was born in America and that life is good.

i toast this post (i'm a poet and i didn't even know it) with a glass of wine as i type.

[Ginger]

http://www.comics.com/comics/monty/archive/images/monty2008070149716.jpg

[csm]

besides, don't cats always land on their feet?

[Sandy]

besides, don't cats always land on their feet?

The first 9 times.


Sandy

[csm]

ouch. the first 9 times.

[pjm]

mikki, the world needs more people like you, and less like mike p.

[Kevan]

of the cat?

[Sandy]

of the cat?

Excellent Question.


Sandy

[Sandy]

mikki, the world needs more people like you, and less like mike p.

I think that what mikki said nailed it. It is a matter of degree. Some care more about animals than others and some will take a risk for animals more so than others, for lots of reasons. The differentiation between human animals and non-human animals varies dramatically too. It is a continuum for each person as to where they fall on the care for/take a risk for/ human importance realtive to non-human animal importance. Peter P appears to simply be towards one end of the continuum on each. That is just how it is. His perception. Really does not make him a villain at all. His right and his judgement. I think that his first post on the issue was rather startling to some, but that does not make him a bad guy. I don't fit on the continuums above as he does. Doesn't make me right nor does it make me the good guy either. Just means he and I are far apart relative to animals. No one is correct, I think.

I would never have left my dog alone during Katrina and the flooding in the New Orleans area. I just could not/would not do it, no matter what the legal authorities said. I would have stayed with my dog. I would have taken the risk of being there, and I am not a risk taker at all. That would make me a fool according to some. So be it. Each has to make their own judgements in life.


Sandy

[Kevan]

I got lucky.