Cat Rescue Guy (2025)

22/03/2025

My recent quiet rescue period ended abruptly with two, similar cases in one day. Both cases were for black cats in the top fork of a small tree which I could not climb in the traditional manner, and during both rescues, I unknowingly turned the camera off when I thought I was turning it on and vice versa. Consequently, I have plenty video of the boring parts of the rescue and no video of the important parts, so I have very few pictures to share.

First was Baby, a two-year-old, one-eyed, sweet kitty who spent two nights in the tree in a wooded area next to her house in Gonzales, Louisiana. She was very anxious to get help up there in the tree and was very cooperative with me with one exception: she refused to walk into the carrier. I really wanted her in the carrier because of my limited positioning options in this tree. I could not get into a position where I could get my lap nearly level with her, but I could hold a carrier up to her for easy entry. Since she refused to go inside the carrier, I had to lift her off her limb and bag her. She didn't struggle or fuss, but she grabbed the limb tightly and managed to get all her claws stuck in the bag. I eventually freed all her claws and got her settled and comfortable in the bag for a safe ride back down to the ground. Debbie carried her back home, and they are both happy girls again.

Just as I was finishing Baby's rescue, Pamela and Cara contacted me about an unknown cat they discovered in a tree in their backyard in Baton Rouge. The cat had been stuck there at least one night. They didn't recognize the cat, but it appeared tame and was wearing a collar. I arrived to find the cat in the top fork of a small tree which I would have to climb the hard way just as I did with Baby earlier. The cat appeared to be friendly, and when I climbed up to him, he proved to be exceptionally friendly and cooperative. He was happy to have some company and help. I managed to work my way up high enough where I could place my lap just below him, and he knew exactly what to do. He did not hesitate to step on my lap, and I enjoyed visiting with him there for a short time. 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 him and secure him inside.

Once we were back on the ground, I left him in the bag so I could check him for a microchip. I found a microchip, so I began the process of finding his owner. In the meantime, we transferred him to Cara's carrier, and Cara had already planned to keep him inside her home until we found the owner. I called the microchip company but, instead of talking with a live agent, I could only leave a recorded message and wait for them to return the call. Cara took the cat inside for food, and I packed my gear and left. A few minutes later, Cara told me she found the owner. I didn't recognize it, but the cat had an Apple AirTag on his collar which Cara used to get the owner's phone number. The owner lived very close and came to retrieve the cat, so this super sweet kitty is now safely back home.

12/03/2025

UPDATE:
I don't know who it was, but someone called the fire department, and, to my shock, they actually went out there this morning. The cat was scared, ran from them, and jumped to the ground. (That is why I wanted to set a trap.) I am told the cat appears to be fine. So the crisis is over now, but I want to thank all of you who referred capable people to me, and I am very grateful for all the many offers of help. It is heart-warming to know that there are good people out there who are willing to help. All you have to do is ask. Thank you!

ORIGINAL POST:
I need help. There is a cat stuck on the roof of a two-story apartment building here in Baton Rouge. This kind of thing happens often, and it is usually a case where the cat climbs a tree, jumps onto the roof, and can't get back to the tree. I would typically climb the same tree the cat used and either lure the cat to me or set a trap on the roof. In this case, however, the tree the cat used is not suitable for me to climb and there are no others. Instead, I thought I could use a ladder to reach the lower roof and then move the ladder on top of the roof to use to reach the upper roof where I would set a trap. Folks, I can't do that. It's not safe for this old man to do. I'm no good on sloping roofs, especially when trying to lift a heavy ladder up there with me. Roofers do this all the time and have no trouble with it, so I need the help of a roofer or someone who is super experienced and comfortable with ladders and roofs and is professionally safety-minded. I need someone who can place and set the trap I provide on the upper roof, and then I will need them again to retrieve it, hopefully with the cat inside. It would be best to set the trap in place late in the day shortly before sunset and retrieved the next morning, since the cat simply hides under the overhang all day to avoid the hot roof and sun. If there is anyone out there who is willing to do this, I will meet you there on your schedule. We have authorization from the property manager. Tonight, Tuesday night, is at least the third night the cat has been stuck on the roof as far as we know. The cat is unknown. Call me at 225-573-7715.

10/03/2025

Louie puzzled me. He is a sweet, friendly kitty who happens to be stuck in a tree in his backyard, and he was friendly with me when I approached him in the tree and petted him, but he occasionally made some growling noises which let me know that something was wrong. The first growl came when I reached for the carrier which was behind and below him and out of his sight. It made a little noise when I began to move it, but it wasn't anything drastic. Maybe that was a coincidence. Maybe he is growling because of his discomfort, or he felt like he was losing his footing, or feeling some kind of pain. I didn't know.

Louie was perched in a fork of the stem and had been there for two nights already, so I know he must have been uncomfortable and tired of being there. Because of his position and the way in which I had to approach him, the best way to bring him down was to hold a carrier up to him so he could walk into it. That is why I was reaching for the carrier, but his growl gave me pause. Since I didn't think the carrier could have been the cause, I reached for it again and brought it slowly and gently into his view well below him. He growled again. This surprised me because Matilda told me she didn't think he had ever been in a carrier. He was first discovered as a lone kitten and taken to the vet and neutered at a very young age, but that was almost two years ago, and Matilda did not think a carrier was involved then.

I put the carrier away, and Louie was still friendly with me. I could still pet him, and he even surprised me by licking my finger at one point, but his voice still continued to have a little tinge of anger mixed in with the usual distress from being in the tree. His cries were sustained a little longer than usual, but not enough to alarm me. I was still not sure what was bothering him or if it had anything to do with the carrier at all, but I was not going to try the carrier again.

I didn't want to pull him out of the fork by the scruff and bag him, but I had decided that is what I needed to do to be sure I got him while I could. As I prepared the cat bag on my arm, Louie decided to turn around to face me. Up to this point, he had his back to me the whole time, and turning around was not an easy maneuver in this small fork. He seemed calmer, and since he was now facing me, I thought there was a good chance he would step on my lap if I could get a little higher. I used a couple ropes to get myself in a better position, and he was now showing interest in my lap. I spread the bottom of the cat bag over my lap, and Louie calmly stepped on my lap. Room was tight with the two ropes holding me in position there, but we made it work, and I pulled the sides of the bag up around him and took him down.

Louie is fine and safe at home now, and I did not do any more tests with the carrier to see if that was the reason for his growling, but I sure would like to know.

07/03/2025

We had some severe weather roll through our area recently, and that was the day that Fynn chose to get stuck in a tree in his next door neighbor's backyard. He hung on tightly as the wind and rain thrashed him about, and it broke Kristy's heart to watch him suffering up there and to be unable to help him. Kristy did her best to coax him down, but he was 45 feet high in a Sweetgum tree, and Fynn was just too scared to try. She called various people and services for help but failed until Animal Control referred her to me, and by that time, Fynn had spent two nights in the tree.

Fynn is a sweet and friendly boy, but I was worried about my rope installation scaring him out to the end of his limb where I would not likely be able to reach him. To prevent that, I chose to install my rope below him and work my way up to him gently and quietly. That was the plan, but I struggled clumsily and noisily like an amateur climber to reach him, and Fynn was concerned enough to walk out his limb. Fortunately, he went only half way out and was still at a point where he could easily return. Once I settled down, he came back to me and introduced himself. I was still in a very awkward spot, but I was able to earn his trust and friendship before making a little more commotion to get myself in a better position to rescue him. I had to work at it, but I was able to get myself high enough where he could step on my lap, and that is exactly what he did. I already had the cat bag prepared over my lap, so all I had to do was pull the sides of the bag up around him and secure him inside. Fynn was very quiet and patient inside the bag even though it took me a long time to get him back down to the ground.

I could sense Kristy's love and concern for Fynn from the first moment she contacted me, and it was even more evident when I handed Fynn safely back to her to take home. It is at that moment when all the fear, stress, and worry of the past few days are finally relieved. This is serious stuff here, and sometimes even I need to be reminded how important and meaningful it is. It feels wonderful to be able to do this, and I desperately hope there will be others to take my place when I am no longer able.

05/03/2025

What happened to Dum Dum after he escaped his house in Baton Rouge, Louisiana is a mystery. We don't know where he went or what he did. We know only that he was gone for a total of eleven days and ended up a few houses down the street where he was stuck in a tree for at least three nights. It's possible he was stuck in the tree the entire eleven days, but three nights is all that we can verify for sure, and it seems likely that he would have been noticed sooner if he had been there longer. Only Dum Dum knows the answer, and this eight-month-old part Ragdoll kitty isn't saying a word about it.

When Tyson discovered Dum Dum about thirty feet high in a Sweetgum tree in his backyard, he and his family then realized that this must be the cat they thought they had been hearing faintly crying the past three nights. Tyson immediately began to take responsibility for the cat and find a way to help him. When a friend of his told him about me, he called me and explained the situation. Whenever I am called to rescue an unknown cat who had never been seen in the neighborhood before, I want to know what to do with the cat once I bring him down. If this is a lost cat, I don't want to turn him loose where he is still lost and miss a chance to return him to the owner. I asked Tyson to see if he could find the owner by posting online and knocking on a few doors nearby, and I was delighted to hear him sound so willing to do just that. I was even more delighted when I arrived and Tyson told me he had already found the owner. The owner, Nicolette, lived a few doors down and was on her way. By the time I was ready to climb, Nicolette had arrived, and I was able to learn all about her cat before the rescue.

Dum Dum is normally a friendly and docile boy, but this was not a normal situation, and I made him more nervous with the commotion and noise I created as I struggled past some limbs to reach him. He walked out his limb a bit to put a safe distance between us, but I was pretty sure I could eventually lure him back to me. He turned out to be surprisingly difficult to convince, and he stayed out there refusing to come closer to me. While it usually does not work, I decided to open a can of food for him, and like flipping a switch, he suddenly started coming toward me on a mission to get that food, and he didn't care if I was trustworthy or not. I held the food out for him, and he took the biggest gulp I have ever seen a cat take. He was trying to eat the entire contents of the can in one bite. I pulled the food away from him and closer to me, and he followed along. It was soon clear that he would readily step on my lap to reach the food, so I prepared the cat bag over my lap. He had no hesitation in stepping on my lap for more food, so I let him eat there as I gradually pulled the bag up around him and secured him inside.

I took him back down to the ground and transferred him to Nicolette's carrier, and she and her family took Dum Dum back home and celebrated his return. Months earlier, Nicolette originally intended to foster him until he could be adopted, but the family fell in love with him and decided to keep him. They had been worried about him the past eleven days, but that was all over now, and they were happy to have their sweet boy home again.

It feels great to rescue a cat in a tree, and it feels even better to reunite a lost cat with his family. That reunion was made possible by Tyson who took charge and cared enough to go to the trouble of finding both me and the owner of this lost cat, and that is commendable and admirable. Thank you, Tyson. You made a big difference in the life and happiness of a cat and his family. Well done.

03/03/2025

Most rescues are routine in the sense that I climb the tree, get the cat, come back down, and everyone is happy. Some rescues, however, are not routine. The cat may be difficult, the tree may be difficult, more time and trouble may be needed, more drama may unfold, and the ending may not be typical. Carly's rescue could have been routine, but I made a blunder which led to more drama and risk than usual.

Carly is a four-year-old kitty who first mysteriously appeared to Andy and Troy as a small kitten in the woods miles from anyone. They kindly took her into their home on the bank of a bayou near Plaquemine, Louisiana and made her a part of the family. They don't know what happened to cause Carly to climb the Sweetgum tree next to their house, but they found her 55 feet high in the tree and crying loudly for help. They did everything they could to help her down, but nothing worked. They contacted me in the afternoon after Carly's first night in the tree, but I was just starting Kimchi's rescue and could not get there that day. I promised to be there the following morning.

When I arrived, I found Carly perched in the crotch where indicated by the yellow circle in the picture. I was not fond of going far up her angled stem, but she appeared to be within reach as long as she didn't go out any farther. I learned from Troy that Carly would likely be receptive to me as long as I approach her properly. I also learned that she was not afraid of carriers but could be quite skittish when hearing unexpected noises. Overall, I was hopeful for a routine rescue, so I installed my rope and then climbed up until I could stand on top of the main stem.

I climbed up Carly's angled stem just a few feet until I was within reach of her. Thankfully, she stayed in place even though she appeared very nervous with me so close. I could tell she was looking to step down to the limb slightly below her so she could walk out that limb to get farther away from me, so I placed one hand between her and that limb to discourage that. She needed to know that I was friendly and safe, and the fastest way to communicate that to her was to touch her gently. I reached out and gave her a few pets and pulled my hand back, and she was clearly becoming more relaxed now. After a few more pets, she was fully comfortable with me, and I knew I practically had this kitty in the bag.

At this point, I could have prepared the cat bag over my arm, grabbed her by the scruff, and bagged her, but I hate to do that when there are gentler options available. Given the position I was in, making a lap for her was impossible, so the lap bag was not an option. Since she is not afraid of a carrier, I reached to pull my carrier up to me with the expectation that she would voluntarily walk inside it for a gentle return to the ground. Between me and the carrier were some limbs and twigs blocking a free path for the carrier, so as I pulled it up, it made a bit of noise. I know that noise can make some cats nervous, but I forgot that Carly was probably more sensitive than most cats to unexpected noises. Her reaction was immediate. It wasn't the sight of the carrier that affected her, because I had not even pulled it even with my body yet. It was the noise that scared her, and she stepped down to the limb leading away from me, and walked out to the end well beyond my reach (circled in red).

I mentally kicked myself several times for making that mistake, but I still thought she would return once she settled down. She was not comfortable out there on such a small limb, so I knew she would want to return. She had already learned I was friendly, so there was no reason why she shouldn't return. So I waited. I remained calm and showed no interest in her. She wasn't coming back, so I waited some more. Eventually it became clear that she was not going to return to her safer perch as long as I was there, so I went back down with the expectation that she would return once I was gone and the hope that she would remain there when I climbed back up. If she stayed out there out of my reach, then I would at least have the catch-pole ready to deploy.

Once I was back on the ground, I went out of her sight, took a break to rest, drank some water, and ate a snack. A few minutes later, I noticed she had returned to her original perch just as expected. I prepared to climb back up to her, but this time I had the catch-pole and net on the ground ready to pull up to me if I needed it. Unfortunately, I needed it, because as soon as she saw me coming back up to her, she walked right back out to the end of the limb again.

I knew there was little chance she would return, so I pulled the catch-pole up and got ready to use it. I practiced using it a few times to make sure I had a clear path to maneuver it, and then I tried to slip the noose over Carly. The goal is to get the noose around her chest just behind her front legs, but it was very difficult to see when or if I had it in place. Her body was behind one large limb blocking my view, and the glare from the sun shining directly on the reflective catch-pole was blinding me. I struggled with it a few minutes before I got the noose in place, but it was very difficult to be sure. I lifted her off the limb to pull toward me, and as I did so, I could finally see clearly that I had the noose around one leg but not both. She could easily slip out of the noose like that, so I dared not hover her over open space as I would need to do before transferring her into the net. Instead, I held her over the limb and brought her back to her original perch and placed her there still tightly attached to the catch-pole. She can't get away, but what do I do now?

Fortunately, Carly was handling this very well. She wasn't fighting or fussing, and she remained docile and calm. I have never had this situation before, and I wasn't sure what to do. I decided to get the cat bag ready so I could scruff her into the bag while I also release her from the catch-pole. Ideally, at least three hands are needed to do that, so I had to do the best I could with only two. I was able to rest the catch-pole on two limbs while I prepared the cat bag, but there was no way I could reach the end of the pole to release the noose. Instead, since the pole was extended, I retracted the pole knowing that would also loosen the noose. I grabbed Carly by the scruff and tried to get the bag around her, but by this time, she was losing her patience and started kicking up a fuss. I had her almost completely in the bag, but she fought her way out, and I could not stop her from going right back out to the end of the limb. During that struggle, the catch-pole, which had been precariously balanced on two limbs, fell 50 feet to the ground, and I was not optimistic that it would still function properly now.

At this point, I told Andy and Troy that I could simply cut the limb to force Carly to fall if they wanted to be below to try to catch her in a tarp. It's risky, but I will do that if they wish to do so, and they were all for it. They prepared the tarp while I rigged the large limb to stay attached to the tree so that it would not fall on anyone below. The limb was larger than I like to cut, especially with a small, folding handsaw, so it took me a few minutes to cut through it. Andy and Troy were positioned and ready below, but it is impossible to predict exactly where the cat will fall. It depends on how long they hold on as the end of the limb falls toward the tree, and sometimes cats will fling themselves out to one side or another. Despite all the possible places where the cat could fall, Carly somehow fell right into the middle of the tarp. Andy and Troy never had to move. Carly landed as gently as possible and ran off into the wooded area to hide. She appeared to be fine, but I knew she would not likely come back home until I was long gone. I dropped the limb to the ground when it was safe to do so, packed up, and began the drive home exactly five hours after I had arrived.

As expected, Carly waited till it was clear I was gone, and then she returned home. In hindsight, I wish I had bagged her while I had the chance and prevented this saga of stress and suffering, but after all is said and done, Carly is fine and happy to be safe and comfortable at home again, Andy and Troy are happy to have her back, I went home safe, and the tree is still alive, so this non-routine rescue has a happy ending after all.

01/03/2025

Kimchi was not in the mood to entertain visitors. This ten-month-old kitty had been stuck in this stupid tree in Baker, Louisiana for more than two days and had not had a thing to eat in all that time. He was tired, he was hungry, and he was sleep-deprived. Now along comes this strange man intruding on his solitude and acting all friendly and cheerful, and Kimchi was just too grouchy to deal with that. Then that audacious man just plopped himself down on the limb just three or four feet from him and kept on talking. Kimchi had no interest in what he had to say. Although he was on a long limb and could have walked away from the annoying man, he was just too tired to move. He would tolerate the man for a while, but he was not going to be friendly or polite. It wasn't long before he reached the point where he could not tolerate the annoying man any longer, so he stood up, turned his back to the man, took a few steps away and settled there.

Kimchi's limb was pretty long, and I did not want to let him go any farther away from me, so I decided to put a stop to this right away. Even though he had let me pet him, he was just tolerating it, and I was not making much progress making a friend here. I prepared the cat bag on my arm and reached out to grab him by the scruff. He was too tired to resist, and I pulled the cat bag over him and secured him inside. I took him back down to the ground and returned him to his family. He is doing just fine, and he is in a much better mood now.

28/02/2025

Meghan is quite a cat lover, and she has several cats of her own, including one six-month-old Ragdoll, named DaVinci, who is very special to her. DaVinci is not allowed outside, but he managed to escape and climb the large Live Oak tree in the backyard. Meghan lovingly describes DaVinci as "not very bright" unlike his namesake, and DaVinci not only climbed the tree, but he went thirty feet high which, in a Live Oak, is very high and getting into the small wood. Of course, DaVinci did not know how to climb down, so he was stuck there, and Meghan was very distressed. She and her family "moved mountains" to help DaVinci down, but failed in their efforts which only added to the distress. DaVinci wasn't happy either, and he was complaining constantly about his plight and their lack of success. At her wit's end, Meghan called me and asked for help. I heard the distress in her voice and her need for a quick resolution, and I understood how much her baby meant to her, but I could not give her the answer she wanted. I was just arriving to rescue Breezy in Denham Springs, and I knew I would not have time to rescue Breezy and drive to Slidell to rescue DaVinci before dark. It hurts me to tell suffering people and their cats that they will have to wait till morning, and I knew Meghan was in for a second sleepless night, but there are limits to what I can do.

Sometimes, after I rescue a cat, the owner will hug me, and that is a reward I truly enjoy. Meghan hugged me as soon as I arrived. I think that is the first time that has ever happened to me, and I hope it is the beginning of a new trend. She was so relieved to have some help and hope at last, and my arrival was equivalent in her mind to a happy ending, so she was ready to celebrate. However, I was quietly thinking that I can't make any guarantees here, but I didn't say anything about it being too soon to celebrate. After all, I don't want to be a Gloomy Gus, even though I haven't even seen the cat and tree yet.

Rescuing cats in Live Oak trees can be challenging. Depending on where the cat is and how cooperative he is, it can be very frustrating or even impossible. Fortunately, DaVinci was expected to live up to the Ragdoll reputation and be cooperative, but that is not a guarantee in this situation, and he was still located in a spot where I could not go. I was apprehensive as I installed my rope in the tree and climbed up to him, but I was happy to see him come closer to me and appear friendly. It was difficult and awkward to scramble up a little higher so that he would be within reach, but once I got there, he was ready to greet me. We didn't waste time chatting. Knowing that he was well acclimated to carriers, I held the carrier out to him, and he gave it a good, long look and then stepped inside. When I closed the carrier door, I think I was more relieved than Meghan and DaVinci were.

I brought DaVinci down, returned him to his safe place at home, and restored peace in Meghan's house again. DaVinci was fine. After the other cats sniffed him and welcomed him back home, he ate, and they played together before DaVinci went to his spot on top of the cat tree and settled in for a long nap.

It's aggravating, but I forgot to turn on the camera for video of the important part of the rescue. I am thinking about many things when up in the tree, and the camera simply is not at the top of my priority list. DaVinci's rescue in a Live Oak tree would have made a cute video, but it is not to be. I was lucky to salvage a few decent pictures of him, and that will have to do.

26/02/2025

After I arrived at Bridget's home in Denham Springs, Louisiana to rescue her cat, I was talking to her to learn as much as I could about her cat so I would know how best to manage the rescue. Of course, one of the things I want to know is the cat's name. When Bridget told me the cat's name, she paused a bit before telling me the story behind the name. About two years ago, Bridget adopted an eight-year-old boy whose mother had just died suddenly. Shortly after his adoption, the boy asked if he could have a cat, and that is when they adopted a sweet, black-and-white, girl kitty. When Bridget asked him what he wanted to name the cat, he said, "Breezy." She smiled and understood, because his mother's name was Bree.

I always feel pressure to get every cat down safely, but stories like that add even more weight to my shoulders. Breezy is now a year and a half old, and she is stuck just over thirty feet high in a small tree located by the driveway. I could tell how much they all cared about this cat by the stories and troubles they had already been through in their unsuccessful efforts to get Breezy down, and I saw the evidence of their efforts in the tire tracks in the mud leading from the driveway to the tree.

Bridget had to leave for a short while, so I began my work in solitude and had soon climbed up to Breezy who had perched in the crotch where the trunk forked into two vertical stems. She was calm and receptive, so I had no trouble making a new friend there and gaining her trust. There was no place for me to install my rope above her, so I had to approach her using ropes installed below her, and I was limited in how high I could get. My head was almost level with her, and that is good enough for interactions, but it is not adequate for most of the rescue methods I use except for the carrier. I held the carrier above my head and gave her an invitation and opportunity to walk inside, but she wouldn't do it. She was not disturbed by it in the least, but she would not go inside no matter how much I encouraged her.

I needed to go higher in order to be in a better position to get her in the cat bag, so I calmly placed a rope on one of the stems above her. That is an action that often frightens some cats, but Breezy had no trouble with it. With that rope in place, I pulled myself up a little higher, and I could now place my lap in front of her. I covered my lap with the bottom of the cat bag, and Breezy stepped on my lap right away. She curled up against me, and I held her there for a minute before pulling the sides of the bag up around her and securing her inside.

Bridget had not yet returned, but before she left, she told me I could let Breezy go on the screen porch. I took Breezy down to the ground and set her down gently on the floor of the porch. I lowered the bag around her and gave her a minute to see where she was and to feel free and safe again. She rubbed against my legs as I gave her a few last pets, said good bye to her, and began to pack up just as Bridget returned with her family. They all were happy to see Breezy safe on the ground again, and I left feeling much lighter now that all that weight was not on my shoulders any longer.

Cat Rescue Guy

22/03/2025

12/03/2025

10/03/2025

07/03/2025

05/03/2025

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