Conference misery::feline_v1

Yeah, one always feels so helpless, even if the poor pitiful cat
is perfectly capable of coming down on his own. I've rescued a few,
to be rewarded with scratches (and sometimes with nastier stuff if
the cat was really scared!); fortunately, the ones I have now can
climb down as easily as up.

The last time I called the fire department about rescuing cats they
were, shall we say, short with me. I expect it depends on how busy
they are.

Short of climbing the tree yourself, or finding a friendly lumberjack
to do it, there isn't much else but waiting. Might put some food or
water near the base of the tree.

(Semi-facetious) Or you could pile lots of cushions or hay around
the base, just in case the cat falls ...

-b

   Actually there is something else you can do.  I read an article in a 
cat magazine not to long ago about a lady who was older and hated to call 
the fire department because they were "short" with her too.  Try what she did.
Get a box big enough to hold that cat fix it to the end of a rope in a stable 
manner (I hope you know what I mean by that).  On the other end of the rope 
put some kind of weight so you can throw the  end of the rope over a n  
oops  Over a near by Branch that is.  Put something enticing like tuna in the 
box.  Then use the rope to raise the box to kitty's level.  He will (hopefully)
smell the tuna get in the box to eat it, then you can lower him down to the 
ground safe and sound.
    Let me know if you try it and if it works for you.

tlh

I have to tell you that the "cat in the tree" dilemma is how this whole notes
file got started.  I was finally able to get a kitty out of a tree where whe
had been marooned for a WEEK!! (I didn't know it till a neighbor asked me for
help).  We had a ladder which ALmost reached the cat, but I was too nervous
to scale the heights.  Fortunately another neighbor who saw our predicament
came to our rescue--scrambled right up to the top, plucked the cat out of the
crotch in the trunk, and descended with speed and grace.  After caring for
her wounds, I found her a LOVELY home (see note re: HERA) where she now reigns
supreme.  Anyway, the neighbor (this was in Manchester, NH) had tried the fire
dept., the police dept., and the animal rescue league, all to no avail.  My
only unhelpful suggestion would be to find a charitably minded construction
firm or cable co. with a cherry picker.  (I said is was unhelpful).  Added to
your problem is the fact that the tree is probably in the middle of a meadow!

I think the previous suggestion might be a good bet.  look forward to hearing
about the (happy) ending.

Cathy

I am not sure who saved the little guy, but he is no longer in the tree.
I am going to wander down to the barn and have a chat with the cat owners.
The cat is not working out really well as a barn cat (he hates the barn and
loves to spend all his time at the main house).  If they are looking for a
loving home, I may offer.  I am such a soft touch when it comes to animals.

    I was very relieved to hear that the cat was rescued - did you ever find
out whether he came down on his own or not?
    The only time one of my cats (Nimbus) got stuck in a tree, I tried to
coax him down for half an hour or so, and then went indoors, hoping that I
could think of something if my brain wasn't geting fried in the sun (of course
this was on the hottest day of the summer).  The other two cats insisted on
having dinner, so I opened the can of food (with the electric can opener, as
usual), and when I headed back to the tree, Nimbus was scratching on the
door to be let in!  (We have found that running the can opener also works
well to call Snoopy home if we are about to leave for a few days vacation
or something and want him to be indoors.)

    I have a friend who is a volunteer fireman, and he says they have a policy
of NOT rescuing treed cats because the firemen often get mauled by the
terrified cat, and because the cat will eventually come down on its own
(their quote is "How many cat skeletons have you seen in trees lately?")
I hoped that this was true, so I was worried about the earlier response to
this note about the cat that was up a tree for a week.  Was it sick or hurt
before it climbed the tree?

				ch

  Another thing to worry about is cats getting theor collars (flea or other)
caught on something and be unable to come down.  I heard a real horror story 
along those lines once.

tlh

I don't worry too much about it, since I have never seen a cat skeleton
in a tree.  They eventually come down to eat.

in response to 5 and 7, yes, the cat WAS injured, and therefore I do NOT
buy the concept that they will eventually come down.  This kitty (aka Hera)
had ripped a pad on one of her front paws, and it later developed that she
had a severe contusion on her front shoulder.  Believe me, I OPENed the can
of cat food where she could both see and hear it, and you had better believe
that she WANTED it in the worst way!  It was more torture to her than kind-
ness to try to tempt her down this way.  I am confident it would work for one
uninjured, but I also feel the rescuer should stick around to find out the
result.  This story had a wonderfully happy ending, but the fireman's response
is a sick joke.  End of soap box delivery.

cg

    A story with a happy ending...
    
    I heard on a radio news broadcast last night a rather nice little
    item. A cat was stuck up a tree, and had been there for about a
    week. It must have been a very tall tree, because it seems normal
    rescue methods would not work. So, the Auckland Rescue Helicopter
    was called in! A man was lowered on a rope to pick up the cat; however,
    the cat took one look at him, said "I'm not getting in that thing"
    and climbed down! End of story.

    
    let'z hear it for our buddiez in new zealand! had i been the cat, i
    don't think i would have wanted to get in that thing either.
    
    of course, it'z better than the way they got the cat out of the tree in
    the "police academy" movie...
    
    diane
    

  OK, here we go again, folks: another cat stuck up in tree story.
  Here's a little background:

  Munroe is a spayed 13-year-old female grey tiger mutt. She's gotten
  stuck in trees around a half-dozen times before. On two of those
  occasions, I rescued her with a ladder, not out of worry, but because
  we were about to leave on vacation, and couldn't afford to wait 'til
  she came down (she knew we were leaving, of course!). On another
  occasion, she was rescued by my brother-in-law who was visiting, has a
  soft heart, and doesn't mind climbing 30-foot ladders to rescue a
  stupid cat who's been in a tree for three days during which it poured
  rain for two days. The rest of the times, she's climbed down by
  herself, usually after a day or two.

  Last night she got herself up an oak at about 40 feet. NO WAY am I
  gonna climb any ladder that high, even if we could locate one. I'm not
  even going to waste a phone call to the fire department. I know for a
  fact the local tree-trimming guys will climb up for 100 bucks or so,
  but I can get a new cat for free!

  I sound cruel, I know, but I really do love the kitty, and so do our
  little girls. I hope she comes down safely by herself, and believe she
  probably will, because she's come down from trees before. But it's not
  nice to think that she's going to be in this tree for probably at
  least a couple of days (we're expecting rain Sunday night). And
  there's always this nagging worry that she'll hurt herself coming
  down, especially if she waits too long (she's not hurt, yet, by the
  way).

  So this story isn't really offering any useful information, nor is it
  asking for any. I just felt like telling it so I could feel a little
  better. I'll post an update on Monday. I hope I don't have to write
  the first sad "cat-stuck-in-tree" story in this notesfile.

    I hope she can climb down on her own.  I'm not really sure I could
    handle hearing a sad ending to this story......
    

  Well, I have good news and bad news.

  First the good news: she's down from the tree.

  But the bad news is that we decided to ask one of the local tree folks
  (who lives around the corner) to go up and get her. He didn't want to
  charge (loves cats), but we gave him something, anyway. But that's not
  the problem. We decided to ask for help when it looked like she was
  suffering in the hot sun (panting, weak). It was a good thing we did,
  because he said she had managed to wedge herself in, and couldn't move
  too well. There must've been a lot of pressure on her ribs and
  stomach. She hasn't been eating or moving around too well since coming
  down, though doesn't appear to be hurt. If her eating doesn't improve,
  we'll have to visit the vet.

  Anyway, I didn't mention in my original note that she's not a very
  intelligent cat (you know the smart ones right away, and she's not),
  so we think she might not have survived (she was weak and dehydrated).
  And then we would've had to get someone to fetch a dead cat out of the
  tree, so we thought it made more sense to do it while she was alive.

  And the old story about skeletons ... I know no cat-lover puts much
  faith in that story, and I can think of several real good reasons why
  you don't see skeletons in trees, and it's not because they always get
  down safely.

    I hope she'll be ok.  I think you'd better take her to the vet
    for a checkup unless you've seen a drastic improvement by the
    time you get home.
      Nancy

    Yes, I agree w/ Nancy.
    
    I find it hard to believe ANY cat could survive w/o food & water for 
    three days! They NEED water! If it didn't rain, the kitty WOULD NOT
    have survived much longer w/o water. I wouldn't advise leaving her up
    there so long next time.
    
    I sued to have some neighbors w/ a big tree their kitty loved to climb.
    they put a picket fence around it so the kitty couldn't jump over it, &
    he couldn't get up the tree. Might work...
    Bonnie

    Happy to hear the cat came down.   I know how you feel...about a
    month ago we rescued a stray from the roof of a three story
    apartment building.   My heart broke seeing this guy up there.
    
    Of course we called the fire department and they laughed in our
    face.  Thank god my husband loves cats...him and a neighbor
    climbed up to get the big guy.
    
    I do agree...if you see no improvement..please go visit the vet.
    
    Sandy

  Have no fear, we're watching her closely. If she hasn't improved by
  this evening, it's off to the vet tomorrow. She's been eating a
  little, but she's not back to her old self, yet.

	A fence around the tree? I have yet to see a fence that either of my 
	cats can't climb. The manage to get on the brick-built garage roof,
	which is 9 feet high. I am fortunate that they are able to get down
	from the garage roof, and the trees, without assistance, and without
	injury.

	What about planting a smaller tree neerby, which is easier to get up - 
	and down?

	I'm sure your moggie will be fine, my smaller came home 2 days ago 
	after 5 days, he was obviously stuck in someones shed or garage.
	He's very hungry, thirsty and affectionate at the moment, and he's 
	already back to his usual tricks of catching leaves.

	Heather

  Happy news: Munroe is much better. She's still a bit sore and moves
  more slowly than usual, but her eating has picked up reasonably. This
  is pretty much the same routine as the time she was stuck for three
  days. Such silly beasts, they are.

    
    
    	Would you believe I saw a fire chief on Resue 911 last
    	night say ,`have you ever seen a cat skeleton in a tree?'.
    	It was in regards to the rescue of a racoon who had gotten
    	it's head jammed into a hole 30 ft up a tree - he saw no 
    	reason not to rescue the racoon but he wouldn't think of 
    	going to get a cat. Give me a break!
                                            
    
    	Sherry
    

    I saw 911 last night too....and I was very happy they rescued
    the racoon...but I thought of what had happened to me when I
    called the Fire Dept and wanted them to save a cat from a
    roof of a three story apartment building.  They laughed!!!
    
    I just loved that 70year old man that went up in the tree 
    because "his daughter asked him to do something". He was so
    sweet....
    
    The funny part was...after the show I went out in the kitchen...
    looked out my window...and there was a big racoon eating my
    Hills Science Diet that I leave out for the strays.  He was
    truly enjoying himself.  I even put the light on...he looked
    up and continued eating.   
    
    Sandy

    I think that they teach that "skeleton" phrase in fireman's school.  I
    have been told the same thing and I live out here in California. 
    
    :^)
    
    Jo

    I used to work at a police department where we did the dispatching
    for the fire department too.  We were told not to send the fire
    trucks out for cat rescues from trees, etc.  I did hear that 
    "skeleton" phrase from a number of the officers I worked with. 
    (We worked out of the police bldg. and not the fire bldg. so I
     never actually heard the firemen say it.)
    
    I always felt so bad when I had to tell the caller that the fire
    department wouldn't be able to come out and help them.  This was
    even before I came out of the closet as a "cat" person.  
    
    It seems there was a major concern about how much it costs each time 
    the fire truck rolls out of the station on a call and "they" just 
    couldn't justify cat rescues in the overall scheme of costs and
    what they considered "real" emergencies.  (Nobody ever actually
    came right out and said this but this is the feeling I got from
    them.)
    
    Jan
                                        
    
    

I think I would keep my cat confined if it got into a tall tree the second time.
Obviously, this cat doesn't have the intelligence to stay out of trouble when
outside running around.  Is is possible to build a barrier on the tree trunk
that will keep the cat from climbing past it - like the funnel-shaped barriers
that are used to keep rats from climbing up ropes to ships?  I would think
you could rig up a structure with spokes out from the trunk and cover all 
with chicken wire to make something that the cat would have to let go of the
trunk and grab onto - and make sure it didn't feel that secure by giving it
lots of "give" when pulled down - and it's a good bet the cat would find
something else to climb...of course, she could end up stuck there as well.

FWIW:  Leaving a small animal without water for more than 24 hours is 
life-threatening - and incredibly painful for the animal.  Your
cat was/is dehydrated and may be suffering from electrolyte imbalance - this
can very have negative effects on the heart/liver/kidneys.  I suggest you 
get her to the vet to be SURE she is okay...she very well may not be.

  The notes in this and other topics prove that kitties can survive for
  several days in a tree, so what's true for people about water isn't
  necessarily true for cats (and is obviously not true for camels). Just
  the same, we decided not to wait any longer, since it was very warm
  and sunny on Saturday (when we decided to call for help).  She's
  completely back to normal, now (this is at least the eighth time she's
  been stuck in trees, so we know the routine by now).

  As to putting a barrier around the tree: hopeless. We have more trees
  on our property that she could get stuck in than we could possibly
  protect. 

  The solution I'd personally like to implement would be to get rid of
  the particular dog (always the same one) that chases her up trees. Our
  town has a leash law, but getting it enforced when the dog's owner is
  prominent in town govt is pretty much a waste of time.

  The only other solution is to not let her stay outside when we're not
  around. As she used to be 100% an indoor cat, and isn't really an
  outdoor cat now, this will be no problem, and will have the added
  benefit in the summer of cutting down on fleas and ticks.

    Perhaps if you sent a nicely written letter to the editor of the news-
    paper stating the problem w/ the town official's dog, it would get more
    attention! After all, if he's in town government, he helps to make
    these rules, he SHOULD KNOW THEM BY NOW & should also set an example
    for the other members of the community!
    
    Stuff like this REALLY burns my butt! 
    
    Bonnie

  You have to understand ... this is a very small mostly rural town.
  Everyone knows everyone else, and people get along. This isn't really
  a big deal, and it's much easier to have friendly neighbors than to
  worry about it. Besides, all the other cats in the neighborhood are
  smart enough to know how to fend the dog off, or run someplace safe
  where they don't get stuck. Ours is the only kitty too dumb to have
  figured this out by now (and she's 13 years old).

uh....you might want to soft-pedal the "leash law" issue...the leash laws I've
seen are WRITTEN to apply to both cats and dogs....whether enforced for either
pet.  If you let your cat out to roam around your neighborhood, then expect
your neighbors to keep their dogs in their own yards, it seems to me you are
expecting special privilege.  That might back-fire into the town deciding
to enforce leash laws for BOTH cats and dogs.  It has happened in many places.