Cat up for 13 days

[bstewert]

Now I know a cat can last for at least 13 days in a tree with rain, snow and nights in the low 20's. (My longest one so far was 6 days @ 95°).

The condition of this cat was remarkable. She was around 110' when I got to her. They told me she was 3 1/2 yrs old and has had 2 liters, but I thought it was a kitten. Probably weighed 5 lbs. She had healthy meows and definitely wanted to be rescued. I assume water was not an issue at all with the rain.

Also tried something different. Lowering the cat in firs with lots of branches can be annoying, and downclimbing with the bag hooked to the harness can be tedious as it often gets tangled up. This time I tossed out a throwline to the ground, hauled up a 200' line and zipped the cat bag down, using the throwline for control.

Now if I could figure out how to zip down myself, and get my rope back . . .

 

[atw]

Nicely done. I did a rescue a couple of years ago in the middle of summer. homeowner said it was up the tree for 9 days in 90+ temps. Don't know how it survived without water. makes me wonder if it came down in the night for water and would go back up the tree. Who knows

 

[MasterBlaster]

Zip-Line? Ingenious!

Cats are tough! I once had a stray kitten wander into my car before I locked it up for the day, at the shop. Now, bear in mind we park on a concrete lot, so it's a mofo of a heat-sink. Also, this was in july/aug, so you can guess how hot it was. Long story short, the cat survived spending all day in that oven of a car. The kitty was unconscious; I ran a garden hose over it and it slowly came back to life and ran off. I couldn't believe it.

Someone ran over it a few days later. I bet it was brain damaged orrrrrr something.

 

[Cobleskill]

When I was a child my Grandmother came down to the farm for a visit. She returned to her home in the city and didn't drive her car for several days. She had somehow locked a cat in her trunk. Quite the mess to clean up, but the cat was fine. I will ask Mom and my sisters if they remember how many days it was.

 

[pantheraba]

Good rescue...any pictures of the zip?

 

[Mr. Sir]

I rescued a Persian last week that had been up in an oak tree for seven days; strictly an indoor cat I was told. The dog chased her out the door and she went straight for the tree and stayed there. Simple rescue with the bucket. I brought up a pillowcase because the owner said the cat was mean to strangers, usually. Turns out she was pretty docile, I just grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and cradled her in my free arm down to the ground. Being stuck in a tree for a week takes some of the fight out of you, I guess.

 

[arborworks1]

The cat I rescued last may had been in the tree for 6 weeks according to the homeowner. The pine he was in was totally covered in ivy and vines. I assume that he was eating bugs and lizards. Getting wateroff the dew covered leaves of the ivy. Still not sure why the owner left him up there that long. Cat had plenty of energy, chased him all the way to the top of the pine. Everytime I got close enough to reach him he would move a few feet! That was a tough rescue it was near 100 that afternoon.

 

[bstewert]

Don't think there are any pics with the zip, unless someone on the ground took them. I wanted to take some, but I was so concerned about getting the cat down I even forgot to take pics of the gorgeous view from up there. The 200' of HTP 7/16 was a bit too heavy for my wife to pull at an angle to get it away from the top branches, so the owner came over to help. He had been taking pics up to then.

If I had known how the cat was going to be running around when it got home, I might have stayed up there and had lunch or something.

 

[Blinky]

Nice, I love the zipline idea!

I got one down that was up for 26 days and it was in good condition too. I did have another one that was missing for 18 (no one knows when it went up the tree) and it was featherweight and barely responsive... died a day later.

Good onya!

 

[Old Monkey]

Good rescue.

Butch, that was a most heartwarming tale.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Sure, at least up 'til the last part.

 

[stehansen]

That's a long time.

 

[Cobleskill]

They might catch birds that roost.

 

[tophopper]

Butch, that was a most heartwarming tale.

 

[Blinky]

Domestic cats don't perspire so they don't dehydrate nearly as fast as humans. They're also evolved from wild cats that can go for weeks without eating. They're tough little critters.

 

[bstewert]

Check out these fun facts on cats:

http://www.catsofaustralia.com/cat-facts.htm

 

[bstewert]

Yes, they are tough creatures. This one chased a bear up a tree!

 

[MasterBlaster]

Check out these fun facts on cats:

More cats are left handed than right handed. Out of every 100 cats approximately 40 are left-pawed, 20 are right-pawed, and 40 are ambidextrous.



I'd sure like to know how they came up with that.

 

[Burnham]

They just give them a bowl of soup and watch which paw they pick up the spoon with Butch, duh!