Thursday morning when Liberty and I went to leave for school and work, our cat Tiger was up the oak tree over our carport. I called Gabe who said not to worry. When we got home Thursday, the cat was still up the tree. We tried all night to get him down, but the tree is not easily accessible. He was high up. Gabe had to climb up the ladder onto the roof, then put the ladder to the tree and still could not get where he was. We even called a fireman friend to see if they really get cats out of trees. Nope. Back to the drawing board of ideas.
Friday morning he's still up there. Gabe came up with the idea of making a bridge from the tree to our roof. He went to Lowes and bought 16' long 2x4s. With the help our our neighbor he they built a 32' long bridge.
I came by the house after reading to Liberty's class on my lunch break to check on things. The cat was still in the tree. It was decided we needed soft cat food to help coax him down.
When we got home from work I remembered there were cans of tuna in the hurricane supplies. I poured some in a bowl and was going to put it on the roof, but I chickened out. Another neighbor came over and climbed the ladder and took the tuna up. The cat came within two feet of her on an overhead branch. The neighbor who helped build the bridge got home and he climbed the ladder as well. He thought he might be able to grab the cat on this branch that slopes to the roof. Nope. Gabe arrived home to find a front yard full of neighbors and neighbors on the roof. He then put a bowl of tuna on the bridge and left another can of tuna on the roof. We knew it would take some time. Before Gabe came to bed at 2am the cat was still on the roof.
On Saturday morning I had to get up to work a full day at my part time job. I woke up at 6:30am. I dressed then went out front. When I called Tiger's name I looked up at the roof and the tree expecting to hear him meow. He meowed all right, but he came running from around the side of the house. I was so happy I almost cried. I scooped him up in my arms, loved on him, and brought him into the house. He drank a ton of water and ate cat food. I told Gabe the good news. Liberty was so happy when she woke up. She ran downstairs to love on her kitty.
Through this experience I learned what great neighbors we have. We became closer through this adventure of needing help. Everyone thought of different ways to get the cat down. He was up that tree for about 48 hours. It made for two stressful days and sleepless nights.
4 comments:
I was wondering, do you think that if I could climb in a tree for a "mini vacation" , would they call the mental hospital on me? I love the fact that entire neighborhood made such an effort!
Yes, the mental hospital would be called. Did you see the pictures from the cruise????
It sounds like you have incredible neighbors. I am glad to hear that your kitty made it off of the roof.
I always wondered about that. How the fire dept has a stigma of being the ones to pull the cat out of the tree. Now it makes more sense. I wonder if they charge for that?
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