Cat rescue

[Bounce]

I refuse to rescue my own cats anymore. The pay is too low.

 

[Burnham]

I seem to pretty often see two words in close conjunction..."free" and "kittens".

 

[Blinky]

I tell the rescuee (the customer) that if I show up they have to pay regardless of whether the cat jumps, downclimbs or I fetch it. The truth is, it's the owner being rescued from their worry about the cat, that's why I prefer to call it fetching.

I agree about non or partially domestic cats, they bite and it's no small deal when they bite hard. I know a woman who lost 2 fingers from infection after her own cat bit her. It's also iffy about who gets the cat, so far I've done two like that and the people who called took the cats to animal control.

I like the idea of charging mileage, that's where I lose money on cats... Raleigh is 45 mins to an hour away and I've been turning those down lately.

I bag'em in a pillowcase, I can't get a good grip on the scruff with gloves.

 

[Burnham]

I've put this out there before...for handling cats in a tree you can't beat a duffle bag with a heavy glove sewn inside in a seam. Put your hand in the glove, reverse the bag over your arm, grab cat and invert the bag over the snarling beast and zip it up. Done.

 

[Blinky]

I agree, but I hate to sew. I do the same reverse the bag maneuver with the pillowcase. When I grad the little bastard I grip as tight as i can, to hell with whether the cat gets pinched or not.

Just for reference, I worked at a Veteranarian's office for a Summer and he taught me to grab a cat by the scruff and the hind legs, then stretch. The cat can't do shit like that, I don't care how pissed off it is.

 

[treesmith]

I've put this out there before...for handling cats in a tree you can't beat a duffle bag with a heavy glove sewn inside in a seam. Put your hand in the glove, reverse the bag over your arm, grab cat and invert the bag over the snarling beast and zip it up. Done.

That sounds like a great idea, Burnham. I just hope I don't get enough calls to warrant sewing one up. I usually pull a pet taxi up on a line, insert the kitty, and let 'im down.

 

[Burnham]

I once had a cat scatch the pizz outa me through a pillow case...now I use something stout to bag the rascals.

Good point, Scott...being prepared can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

 

[stehansen]

It's been a couple of years since I had one. $180 I think I charged.

 

[bstewert]

$75 to $150. I've been bitten twice, so now I use a folding net to assist in grabbing them. Then they go into a laundry bag, which quiets them right up since they can't see anything.

Did anyone see Dan's "Must Love Cats" on Animal Planet?
http://animal.discovery.com/videos/must-love-cats-4-dan-the-tree-climber.html

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[woodworkingboy]

A net sounds good. I had a wild cat come into my shop and climb up around the ducting to remove chips from the planer. I climbed up on a ladder after putting on a thick glove, reached for it and it bit down right through the glove. Nice puncture and it hurt like hell. I left the door ajar when I went home that night and it was gone in the morning. Hope to never make that mistake again.

 

[Cobleskill]

I think they could bite through heavy welding gloves. There must be a glove that would be bite-proof.

 

[bstewert]

No such thing as bite-proof gloves that would leave any sort of dexterity to grip the cat. If you know of some, please let me know. I heavily researched gloves for a year, even purchasing several pair. The closest thing I found was Hex Armour's needlestick resistant. My test was pruning roses and blackberries. Not too bad, but an occasional thorn would go right through them, plus the back of the hand is totally unprotected, not to mention your arms.

Even with the net, I haven't had a situation where you could cleanly swoop up the cat. Mine have always been tangled up in branches, and have to be peeled away. Plus I don't have a strong grip like I used to, so the net helps get the cat's claws and teeth tangled up a bit while trying to grab it.

 

[Burnham]

I say again..."free kittens".

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Shhhhhhhhhhh Burnam Katy might hear you

We just "lost" one of our dogs... I am expecting a pair of something as a replacement

 

[Porkbrick]

just got back from a retrieval job. only about 15 feet up a live oak. used the pillow case method as i was told the cat was terrified of the carrier (my usual method). i had a bit of an oh shit moment when i went in to scruff the critter and it was too fat to get a grip. i had it pinned down on the branch, luckily it didn't struggle and i was able to get the other hand underneath to scoop it into the bag. success.

 

[Al Smith]

I imagine it's easier to let the cat out of the bag than to stuff it in the bag .

 

[Burnham]

By far .