Cat Rescue Guy (2025)

02/07/2025

Another cat stuck in a tree, and another successful rescue. While it may seem routine for you, the reader, this is far from a routine event for the cat and its owner. For most cats, this is a once-in-a-lifetime event, and it is enormously stressful for both the cat and his owner. To them, it feels like a matter of life or death, and in many cases, it is. In this particular case, it was Binx, a three-year-old cat with a beautiful, thick black coat, who was stuck about 35 feet high in a small oak tree on the other side of his backyard fence in Bogalusa, Louisiana. Binx is an inside cat, but he has recently discovered the thrill of darting outside when someone opens the door, and that is how he escaped this time and found himself stuck in the tree. This is the first, and hopefully last, time Binx has ever been in a tree, and he was very unhappy about it. So was his family. To Brittany and her two boys, Binx is an essential and beloved member of the family, and they could not bear to see him stuck and suffering so high where they could not help him. By the time I arrived to rescue him, Binx had spent two nights in that tree, and while that may be common and routine among all the cats I have rescued, this was definitely not routine for Binx and his family.

While the tree made my climbing and positioning a bit awkward and uncomfortable, Binx was very easy and cooperative. Even though he was clearly tired, uncomfortable, and panting in the summer heat, he appeared very relaxed and undisturbed by my presence and shaking of the tree as I moved into position close to him. I made a lap for him, spread the bottom of the cat bag over it, and then invited him to step on my lap. As you can see in the video (link in first comment), he calmly stepped on my lap and curled into position there as I pulled the bag up around him and secured him inside.

I took him back down and handed him to his family, and they walked him back home to release him. He drank some water, ate some food, and went under the bed to take a long nap before socializing with the family and curling up in a cardboard box. This may have been a routine rescue to the rest of us, but to Binx and his family, this was the end of anxious suffering and the restoration of the family, and there is nothing routine about that.

Link to rescue video in first comment.

25/06/2025

She was fearless, not in the sense of confidently confronting a threat, but in the sense of innocently never perceiving a threat. She was delighted to see me approaching her in the tree, and there was never any thought in her mind that my intentions could be anything less than friendly. She felt no need to be even slightly cautious with me, because she saw nothing but the good in everyone and everything. In her optimistic view, I was there to help her, and I felt delighted and awe-struck by the beauty of such pure innocence and trust.

She was a pretty, juvenile calico -- I am guessing her age to be about nine months -- who had been stuck for at least three nights in a large, broad oak tree in Lafayette, Louisiana. It was Maddie who heard her and discovered her in the tree overhanging her backyard, but she did not recognize the cat. Maddie is a conscientious cat-lover and could not ignore the cat's cries for help, so she investigated the situation, tried to find the cat's owner, got the property owner's permission, and contacted me for help.

The tree was dense with foliage, and I created quite a disturbance as I pushed limbs out of my way to reach the cat, but she was not bothered by that as most would be. She patiently waited for me to come closer to her, then she stood up, walked down the limb a short distance, and returned to her original spot where I was now waiting. She introduced herself to me and took great pleasure feeling my hand petting her head and back. I spread the bottom of the cat bag over my lap and placed my lap level with the limb. She readily stepped on my lap and forcefully pushed her head into my hand to soak as much comfort and love as she could absorb from my touch. Once she was settled on my lap, I pulled the sides of the bag up around her, secured her inside, and reassured her through the bag that she was safe.

I took her back down to the ground, but because we had not yet found the owner, I wasn't sure what to do with her. I scanned her for a microchip and found one, so I transferred her to a carrier and gave her a can of food to eat while I worked to gather more information about her. She was quite content to be in the carrier and very happy to have some food to eat. During a call to the microchip company, I learned that her chip was not registered but the chip was implanted by the Lafayette Animal Shelter. I called the animal shelter to see if they had any owner information and was told that this cat was one of several who were trapped, neutered, and returned to that neighborhood one month prior. Since she was already in her own territory, it was safe to release her, and she would likely return to her caretaker.

I opened the carrier, and she stepped out and strolled around with comfort and confidence. She certainly didn't act like a cat in a strange territory. She visited with me and with Maddie and enjoyed the freedom and joy of being on the ground again. This happy kitty saw good everywhere she looked. She even followed Maddie home and ran into her house where she was not happily received by Maddie's own two cats. I'm sure she will be fine and will return to her sweet caretaker who taught her to be so trusting, and I'm sure she will find something good wherever she goes. Because of her cheerful, optimistic nature, I will call her Pollyanna in reference to the classic children's story and subsequent sequels by that name.

24/06/2025

It's not common for me to rescue a senior cat in a tree. It is the one-year-olds by far who make up most of my rescues, and ninety percent of all my rescues are for cats who are four years old and younger. I don't know if that is because the older cats are less likely to get stuck in a tree or less likely to climb it in the first place. It could also be simply because there are fewer older cats than younger ones. Whatever the reason, Mini is one of the exceptions. This twelve-year-old, orange tabby girl in Picayune, Mississippi climbed a large oak tree in her yard and was stuck there in the main union for two nights. She has lived her whole life there with Amanda and Jared, and they were very worried about her.

Mini had a comfortable and safe nest there in that large union. She was well hidden and had plenty of room to rest there with no worry about falling. She was cute with the way she poked her head around the branch to watch me as I climbed up to her. She would normally be friendly, but this was not a normal time, and she was cautious with me. She moved to the other side of one of the large branches where it was safer, and she hid there while occasionally poking her head around the branch to check on me. She could have gone much farther away from me in this large tree if she needed, but she stayed there and waited to gather more information about me. After all, I could be friendly and maybe even take her down.

I wasn't having much luck with sweet-talk and charming her, but when I opened a can of food, she decided she liked me just fine. She came to me, took a few bites, and let me pet her. I spread the bottom of the cat bag over my lap and then used the food to lure her onto my lap. Space was pretty tight, but we made it work, and I pulled the bag up around her, secured her inside, and took her down. Amanda and Jared were greatly relieved to have Mini safe inside again, and they sent a picture of her to me afterward to show that Mini is pretty happy about it too.

23/06/2025

Ron is a cool dude. He is much too cool to be like one of those younger, weak-minded cats who get stuck in a tree and then whine about it. No, Ron is a cool orange tabby who just happens to be hanging out high in a Pine tree next to his house for two nights while relaxing in the shade, enjoying the views, and monitoring all the activity in the neighborhood. So when I showed up in the tree with him, he made it appear that he was slightly annoyed with my intrusion while politely acknowledging me with the minimal amount of enthusiasm that would be proper to show any uninvited guest. He had no use for me there and certainly did not need my help, but he politely allowed me to pet him while we exchanged formal pleasantries. Since he is known to be a lap-sitter at home, I spread the cat bag over my lap and gave him an invitation to step there, but that was unthinkable to him since that would make it appear that he was weak, needy, and eager to be rescued. He ignored my lap completely, but he didn't mind at all when I gently held him in place while I dropped the bag around him and forced him into the bag. After all, that was clearly being done without his consent. It wasn't until he was back on the ground with his family that he relaxed his cool-dude image and showed his joy and relief at being safe at home again by purring and rubbing his body against everyone's legs. Of course, it does no harm to show your soft side to your own family, but out in the public, Ron is always one cool dude.

10/06/2025

Two super-sweet, photogenic kitties rescued from a tree on consecutive days. First was Garlic, an eight-month-old orange and white boy who was stuck in a tree next to his house in Ponchatoula, Louisiana for two nights. He was eager for me to climb up to him and happy to see me. He stepped on my lap where I had already prepared the cat bag, and I pulled the bag up around him and took him home. His family, including a few canine siblings, was very happy to have him safe at home again.

Next was three-and-a-half-year-old Princess who was stuck in a Tallow tree in her yard in Watson, Louisiana. She had been stuck there only 16 hours, but that was still far too long for her. She was very relieved to step into the comfort of the carrier I held in front of her, and she was even more relieved to be back in the comfort and safety of home.

06/06/2025

It breaks my heart to see a cat, especially a kitten, cowering in fear when I approach it in the tree. I feel so sorry for the little creature to be in the position of being unable to escape and forced to face, in his mind, the terror of a deadly attack by a predator. That is what I saw when I approached this small kitten hiding and trembling in the main union of a very large Oak tree. The tiny gray tabby had settled in an excellent hiding place there where two very large branches of the oak tree diverged and formed a comfortable, safe bowl between them about 25 feet high. She was safe there and well-hidden from view with plenty room to stretch out and sleep without any fear of falling. But then I poked my ugly head into the opening where I could see her, and she cowered, backed up a few inches, and held her head down so she could not see me, and then her body began to shake.

I did my best to reassure her, but she was slow to be convinced. Her trembling didn't stop until she discovered the taste of a squeeze-tube treat when I squeezed a few drops in front of her. Her nose quickly lead her to it, and her tongue took over after that. Still, she was afraid of my hand, and she backed away every time it came near her. It took some time, but she eventually licked some of the treat off my finger and let me touch her head. She was clearly very uncomfortable and nervous about being touched, but, after some more time, I was able to pet her head and body.

At that point, I put the cat bag on my arm and tried to pet her again, but she seemed to sense the bag on that hand and retreated from me. I had to work with her several more minutes and empty another squeeze tube before she finally came close enough for me to reach her. When I touched her, she began to back away, so I had to grab her by the scruff quickly so I could get her inside the bag. She didn't fight or cry, but once she was settled inside the bag, she cried while I held her and tried to reassure her that she was safe.

Neighbors Nicole and Bryan discovered the kitten late in the previous evening when they heard her crying loudly. She was poking her cute face out of the same spot in the tree and crying loudly in all directions for her mama. How and when she got there is a mystery. They tried to find out if she belonged to anyone nearby, but no owner was ever found. Instead of being at home playing with her siblings and enjoying the love and security of her mama, she was stuck here all alone in a tree in a strange, scary territory where her mama could not hear her cry.

We don't know where her home is, so we can't return her there, but she has found comfort and security in a new home with Bryan and his family at least temporarily. They are discussing keeping her and have already taken her to the veterinarian where she was found to be healthy although a little under-weight and dehydrated. Her age was estimated to be three weeks. Until she is given a name, I will just call her Clover, and I hope she never has to experience that trembling fear again.

04/06/2025

This is Pumpkin. She was a foster kitten who had the good fortune of getting sick just before she was scheduled to be transported to another rescue organization. Because of her illness, she could not be transported, and, as a result, her fosters decided to keep her. She is ten months old now and living a happy life in Baton Rouge, until she went outside and explored behind a neighbor's fence where she discovered an unneighborly dog who chased her up a tree. Gary noticed her absence right away and began searching for her, but it was not until the next morning that he found her by following her cries.

When I climbed up to Pumpkin, I found her very calm and a bit sluggish, probably due to being a black cat in the June heat. She was panting and suffering in the heat, and I wished I had thought to bring some water up in the tree with me. She showed no fear or distrust with me, and she let me pet her, but she wasn't making any effort to step on my lap. When I moved to a better position in front of her, she was more interested, and, after a little encouragement, she stepped on my lap. I had already spread the bottom of the cat bag over my lap, so all I had to do was pull the sides of the bag up around her to secure her inside.

Pumpkin was soon back inside her cool home where she could drink, eat, and rest on her favorite, soft sofa cushion. One day is usually not a long time for a cat to be stuck in a tree, but during our hot summer season, it gets to be more serious, especially for a black cat exposed to direct sunlight. Pumpkin has fully recovered, and she was lucky that Gary found her so soon, but I'm sure she doesn't want to do that again.

31/05/2025

I can't explain it. I don't know why I haven't had to rescue a cat stuck in a tree for over three weeks. Such is the random nature of the "business" plus the fact that fewer cats get stuck in a tree during the hot season here. It has been so quiet lately that I began to wonder if my phone was broken, but this May vacation has been interrupted now thanks to a sweet, but cautious, orange tabby girl named Snooki.

Snooki is about four months old, and she was stuck in an old, tall Oak tree which was covered with vines and closely bordered on two sides by some dangerous electrical power lines. These lines did not touch the tree at any point, but the tall tree hung over them, and they were still close enough to be very concerning. To prevent shooting my line over the power lines, I always shoot away from them, but with the lines bordering two sides of the tree, I was very limited in places where I could shoot to install my rope. The only good place available was the same, large limb on which Snooki was standing, and that risks scaring her even more than usual. Fortunately, she handled it very well and was even curious enough to investigate the rope more closely as I worked to install it.

I climbed through the vines and around an annoying small Palm tree which was growing closely under the Oak tree and climbed up to Snooki's limb. She is normally a friendly girl, but she was a little cautious with me. She stayed in her perch a few feet away from me while cautiously watching and evaluating me to see if I was a threat. I worked with her a few minutes, and by the time I used another rope to pull myself a little higher so my lap was level with her limb, she decided I was trustworthy. She came down to me and sniffed my hand a few times, and she was soon enjoying the petting I was giving her. She showed an interest in stepping on my lap, so I prepared the cat bag over my lap and encouraged her to step on it. Space on my lap was very limited, however, by the ropes I was using to hold myself in position. I wasn't sure it would work to bag her that way, but once she stepped fully on my lap, we gave it a try and quickly learned that it just wasn't going to work. At one point, I thought I had her in the bag, but she backed out of it onto the limb again. Even though that failed, I was gentle and calm enough that I did not lose her trust. I prepared the cat bag over my arm instead and resorted to bagging her in the conventional manner by holding her by the scruff and enveloping her inside the bag.

Once she was back home, she ate some food, took a nap on a comfortable lap, and resumed her rule over her canine siblings.

10/05/2025

I have seen frightened cats at the end of a long limb who came toward me, not because they wanted to make friends, but because they wanted to sneak past me so they could get away from me by going back toward the trunk where they could go higher, lower, or out on another limb. I have seen friendly cats come to me, walk away, and return to me just because they were excited and needed to keep moving, but this is the first time I have seen a friendly, trusting cat come to me and keep going past me without returning even though she was clearly comfortable with me. Then, to make it more interesting, after she went past me, she disappeared. I have certainly had cases where the cat was very difficult to find in the tree from the start, but this is the first time I have ever had a cat disappear in the tree after we became friends and established an excellent level of comfort and trust. That is what Little Mama did.

Little Mama is a mystery torby kitty who showed up at Donna's door in rural Carriere, Mississippi a few months ago. All attempts to find the kitty's owner failed, so Donna decided to add this sweet girl to the family. They called her Little Mama even though they had no idea if she had ever actually been a mama or not. When Little Mama got stuck in a large Sweetgum tree at the edge of their yard, they tried everything they knew to get her down. By the time I arrived after all other efforts had failed, Little Mama had spent five nights in the tree, and I was determined to rescue her despite the rainy weather.

When I first climbed up into the tree, Little Mama had settled far out near the end of the limb and refused to have anything to do with me. Every time I asked her nicely to come toward me, she simply said, "no." I had expected her to come to me fairly easily, but, since she refused, I worked my way out to her. Once I was close to her, she decided I was trustworthy and came to me, sniffed my hand, rubbed her face on the tree, and let me pet her. She was clearly relaxed and comfortable with me now, and then she came closer to me, stepped on and over my feet, stopped a few feet past me, turned around, and stepped back on my feet to return to her original starting point. I petted her each time as she passed, and she paused to enjoy it. Even though it felt eerily similar to those cases where a frightened cat would walk over my feet to sneak past me and get away from me, I wasn't worried because Little Mama was very friendly and comfortable with me. She had no reason to sneak past me to escape, so when she started to step over my feet a second time, I wasn't concerned. I began to get the carrier ready so I could place it in front of her, but she kept on walking down the long limb toward the trunk far out of my reach. I was puzzled. She wasn't afraid of me, and she wasn't just burning excess energy before returning to me, yet she kept going farther and farther away.

I turned my attention to returning back to the trunk to follow her, and when I reached the trunk, I could not find her. I called for her and got no response. I searched all the limbs above and below me and saw no sign of her. I leaned over to the other side of the trunk and looked there. Nothing. I noticed a cavity in the trunk where she could have hidden, but I didn't see her inside. I continued searching and wondered if she had climbed all the way down to the ground while I wasn't looking. I didn't know what to do. I can't rescue a cat I can't find. I stretched over to the other side of the trunk one more time, and this time, I found her sitting pretty inside the cavity where I missed her before. When I began to pet her there at the edge of the cavity, she started purring and kneading her front paws. She wasn't afraid of me, and I have no idea why she hid from me.

I held a carrier in front of her, and she rubbed her head on the carrier and on my hand for a minute before casually walking inside. I closed the door, took her down, and handed her over to Donna who took her inside. Little Mama has settled in and fully recovered, and Donna is enjoying a much lower level of stress now.

Link to rescue video is in the first comment.

22/04/2025

Hannah contacted me to see if I could help with a cat stuck in a tree behind her parent's house in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. They had been hearing a cat crying off and on for five days, and they just discovered it in a very large oak tree just behind their backyard fence on the bank of a creek. They didn't recognize the cat, so I gave them my usual instructions about asking their neighbors, checking for Lost Cat signs and online posts, and posting notices on the local Nextdoor and Lost Pets sites. It is usually to the finder's advantage to locate the owner so the problem and responsibility can be given to them, and sometimes, the owner may be able to coax the cat down when no one else can. I agreed to go there in the morning, and I hoped that the owner could be found by the time I arrived there.

It so happened that there was a Lost Cat flyer that had been placed at all the intersections of the neighborhood, and it was possible this cat could be a match. They called the number on the flyer, and when the possible owners went there to see the cat, they all clearly recognized each other and were very excited. Their cat had been missing for thirty-one days, and they had just about given up hope of finding him again. His name is Kuaitiao, and he has been a part of the family since they adopted him as a kitten four years ago. The name, pronounced KWAH-tee-ou (ou as in out), is Thai and means "noodle soup," and, yes, I had to practice it several times and kept getting it wrong in spite of that.

Kuaitiao is normally a friendly boy at home even with strangers, but that was before he became lost. After spending a month in the wild, he could be expected to be at least very cautious with me in the tree with him, but I was hoping for better. Unfortunately, things got off to a bad start when he became frightened by the installation of my rope in the tree. The commotion I created in the tree was pretty minimal, but it was enough to make him nervous and move around to a short dead stub on the back side of the tree. I climbed up the center of the tree between the major stems thinking that would put me in a good position no matter where he went, but the stems were very large, and Kuaitiao moved to the opposite side of the stem where we could not see each other. While I tried to let him know I was climbing up toward him, he was still surprised when he first saw me poke my head around the trunk. He became very frightened then and started looking for an escape route. He was looking intently at a smaller stem that angled away from us, and he was clearly thinking about jumping to it despite the distance and danger, so I backed off to give him time to calm down. This rescue could turn into a very difficult and lengthy one if he jumps over there and climbs higher, because this is a very large tree with lots of room for him to roam.

I spent several minutes there just being calm and letting him know that I was not a threat. Occasionally, I would reach my hand around the stem so he could sniff it if he wanted. The first few times, he was not interested in sniffing my hand. He just wanted me to go away. Eventually, however, he sniffed, and while that usually settles most cats down somewhat, I couldn't see much difference in Kuaitiao. After some more time and a couple more sniffs, he seemed to be relaxing more. When I reached my hand out to him and he pushed his head into my hand, then I knew everything was going to be fine. I just needed to get around this big stem to get closer to him.

I was preparing an extra rope to help me move to the other side of the stem when I accidentally dropped one end of the rope, and it fell almost twenty feet down. The other end of the rope was attached to me, so I was not concerned about losing it, but I mention it only because something spooked Kuaitiao at that moment, and that is the only thing I noticed that could have had that effect even though it was on the opposite side of the stem from him. Kuaitiao suddenly sprang into action and started climbing down. I saw him only briefly when he came into view below me, and then he went to the opposite side of the stem out of my view. I went down as quickly as I could to follow him, and I didn't even take the time to reel in my loose rope. Kuaitiao had settled on another limb, but when he saw me approaching him from above, he went back toward the trunk and started working his way down. He was going down backward, and I thought he would go all the way, but he stopped and then climbed back up into the junction of all the large stems. There he wedged himself into the tight forks and settled there.

I came down some more where I could reach him, and I touched his back and petted him gently to calm him. The only way I could get him out of this tight spot was to grab him by the scruff and lift him out, so I quickly prepared the cat bag on my arm and did just that. I inverted the bag around him and secured him inside, and this baby's month-long, suffering adventure was now over.

Kuaitiao's super-nice family is enjoying the enormous relief of having him safe at home again, and Kuaitiao is enjoying the comfort and security of sleeping fear-free on a warm lap. It's a great feeling to be able to rescue a cat who is stuck in a tree. It's even better when I can also reunite a lost cat with his family. When the cat has been missing for thirty-one days, it's even more special. You should try it.

15/04/2025

I was naively expecting an easy rescue when I arrived at Kamryn's house in Livingston, Louisiana that morning, but I was surprised by what I found. Yes, Kamryn told me that her cat was very high, but that is what everyone says, and "high" does not necessarily mean it will be difficult. This kind of "high," however, is different. The cat, Alphie, was in a wooded area at the top of a tall, skinny, and floppy Tallow tree that had no limbs until the top. The height at 60 feet was not a problem, but my weight at the top of a tall, flimsy stick like this would be too much for it to hold without flopping me over until it snapped in two.

When trees grow in a wooded setting, they tend to grow tall and skinny in order to reach the sunlight they need. When a cat is stuck in one of these trees, often there are other larger and taller trees nearby that I can climb instead and still be within reach of the cat. That was not the case this time. All the trees were roughly the same height. I knew I could climb Alphie's tree pretty high, but I didn't know exactly how high I could safely go. Perhaps I could get close enough to reach her with the catch-pole. I wouldn't know until I climbed it to see how it responded to my weight, so up I went.

Alphie is seven months old and had been stuck in the tree for three nights. She was in a miserable and uncomfortable spot. There was no way to rest on that skinny limb where she was perched, so she must have been extremely tired of standing and balancing there that long. To make it worse, she was spayed just a few days prior to climbing the tree, so that surely added to her discomfort.

She appeared to be excited to see me coming up toward her, but she was not making an effort to come down toward me to make it easier. As I climbed, I noted how much the tree was swaying due to my weight, and I found that it started swaying more than I wanted sooner than I expected. I had not yet reached the lowest limb, and it was clear that I was well out of range to reach Alphie even with the fully-extended catch-pole. I went as high as I dared, but it was not going to be enough. I stopped there and pondered other options for a while.

Behind me was a Pine tree that, while not much taller than Alphie's tree, was much sturdier, and it would allow me to climb almost to Alphie's height. From there I might be able to reach Alphie by pulling her flimsy tree to me. I wasn't positive it would work, but it was the only option I had. I needed to attach a rope up high in Alphie's tree to use to pull it toward the Pine tree, and if I had had the extra rope with me, I could have placed it while I was up there. I had not planned for this, however, so I had to go back down to the ground to retrieve it and climb back up again.

When I climbed back up Alphie's tree again, I noticed she had come down to the next limb. Suddenly, I had hope that she might come down far enough where I could reach her. I have noticed in other rescues before that some cats won't make a move to come toward me when I first climb up toward them, presumably because they are expecting me to come all the way to them. Once I go back down, however, they seem to get worried that they are getting left behind, and then they make a more determined effort to come down. Even when I have no need to go back down again, I will do so in some cases just to see if that makes a difference in the cat's response, and it often does. That appears to be what happened here, because Alphie was now more motivated to come down. As you will see in the video (link in first comment), she precariously worked her way down head-first to the next limb. It was scary, but she did it and was happy to see that she was that much closer. After a short rest, she did it again to the next limb. That brave little girl came down all the way to the lowest limb. It wasn't easy, but she did it.

To reach Alphie on that lowest limb, I had to go up a little higher than I wanted, but I kept most of my weight on a rope attached lower on the stem and used another rope on the lowest limb just to help hold me upright. From there I was able to pull her off the limb and hold her in my arms. I petted and reassured her for a while and then I wrapped the cat bag all around her until she was secured inside.

Kamryn was very relieved to have her sweet girl safe on the ground again, and Alphie is now enjoying some recovery time in the comforts of home.

Link to video in first comment

Cat Rescue Guy

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