My son has a 1-½ year old Manx cat, named Chip, who has been an indoor cat. I started feeling that he should probably be let outside once in awhile, so Tuesday, August 5, 2003 I picked him up and put him out. He then proceeded to get himself stuck in a tree on the side of our house.
By Friday, August 8, he still hadn’t come down and my son and I both were getting really worried. We called the Fire Department and they came out to try to get him down. They put their ladder against the tree and one of the Firemen started to go up. Chip got scared and went higher in the tree. The Firemen then told us that they couldn’t reach him because he was about 10 feet higher than their ladder would go. They then left and said if he came lower to call and they would try and come back.
My son and I would spend hours calling to him and shaking his kitty treats in hopes of him coming down on his own. We climbed onto our roof and called to him but nothing would coax him down. During this time we also had terrible thunder and lightening storms on a daily basis and it was extremely hot.
By Monday, August 11, I was frantic and started contacting anyone I could think of to help. No luck. On Tuesday, August 12, I received several emails from veterinarians stating that if I didn’t get him down he would die within the next day or two and that now he was probably too weak to get down on his own. I contacted Animal Control, Police Dept., Humane Society (who I still have not gotten a call back from after leaving a panicked voice mail) and the ASPCA, and 4-H Club, all of which said they couldn’t help.
Not all stories have a happy ending, BUT this one does. I called our local radio station, 107.5 KZL, and told them what had happened with my son's cat. They put a plea out over the air. A lot of people called in with advice. A New York fireman who now lives in North Carolina volunteered to come and try to climb the tree, even if it was the middle of the night and he lives about an hour from where I am. (He also had someone leave some kittens on his doorstep so if anyone lives near Greensboro, NC and wants one email me).
In the mean time "Top Notch Tree Service" in Eden, NC, came out and saved Chip. He, Wes Shelton, climbed the tree, which was an amazing thing to watch. Chip came right to him and he put Chip in a pillowcase and brought him down. This wonderful man also postponed a baseball game he was in to do this. When I asked how much I owed him, he told me nothing at which point I told him that he was better than Superman! Even though all we pretty much hear on the news is bad and depressing this proved to me that there are still true heroes in the world. Chip is doing fine, but he is emaciated from the ordeal and weak. He is getting his strength back and needless to say, being babied like you wouldn’t believe. I would like to thank everyone who cared and prayed for his safety. I am attaching a picture of Chip and my cat C-A-T. Chip is the Black one.
God Bless,
Sabrina
(N.C. USA)
Read Sabrina's article on alternatives to declawing:
In the Middle of a World...
"In the middle of a world that has always been a bit mad, the cat walks with confidence."
Roseanne Anderson
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