easyphloem
Branched out member
- Location
- Louisville, KY
Today I got a call from a lady who lives south of Charlotte by a lake. Her cat, Colby, had been up a pine tree since Friday when a dog chased it up there. It is Tuesday now, and I tell her I will be able to stop by after all my appointments are done and see what I can do.
How much?, she asks. Oh, I usually don't charge. Kind of a pay it forward type thing. (plus they always give you money anyway)
I drove down there after five o'clock and I brought the Altreeist with me just in case things got hairy, plus I needed someone to ride with me all the way to Fort Mill.
When we pulled up and stepped out of the car, we got our PPE on, and the homeowners (Colby owners) approach us nervously. We assured them that indeed, Colby would be coming down this very afternoon, and the fact that I had purchased a 12 pack of Miller Lite earlier, and stashed back at the shop just waiting for our return was like a stone cold guarantee that I would get that cat down in a timely fashion....
Until I saw the tree.
A small pine. Leaning over the lake. 35 feet tall if that. Top blown out in a storm maybe a decade ago, and a long, ten to fifteen foot injury to the tension side of the tree from another tree falling on it a few years back. To top it off, the root system was somewhat undercut from the wave action on the shore.
No way to climb it. Not safe.
I look at Colby for the first time. We make eye contact, and I can feel this cat is looking for an excuse to give up this charade and come on down.
There is no clear shot at the pine from the shore, due to brush and smaller trees. There is a dock, and from the dock I get a clear view of the pine, the hillside, and poor Colby (who I can also tell is a bad kitty, probably prone to biting and hissing, followed by intense bouts of staring at things with hatred in it's little kitty eyes, believe me, I know the type)
So from the dock I start swinging my throwball thinking... if I can get this cat spooked enough with a throwball, maybe it'll just come down by itself, I mean, this is day four of it's adventure in being a bad kitty, and even bad kittys have to have water and food.
I shoot over the top of the pine, right over the middle of the crown. Two fisherman behind me in a bass boat watched as I danced the throwball near Colby, and saw her lunge for the throwball (I was amazed).
I pulled the line out, and figured if I could get the throwball to come down the trunk on the top of the lean, this cat would follow!
Sure enough, I throw the ball over the left side of the crown, and the ball comes down right behind Colby, and she immediately starts following it down the trunk, half sliding, half scraping it's body against the trunk, upside down and right side up....I kept dancing the throwball down the trunk until the cat was about 15 feet off the ground, and at that point I figured that the cat sees the ground, and will keep going, but instead it starts climbing back up the trunk, howling at the throwball until I let it back down all the way to the ground. Colby followed and tumbled the last 8 feet or so and took off for the safety of some dark corner under the deck.
Darndest thing.
SZ
How much?, she asks. Oh, I usually don't charge. Kind of a pay it forward type thing. (plus they always give you money anyway)
I drove down there after five o'clock and I brought the Altreeist with me just in case things got hairy, plus I needed someone to ride with me all the way to Fort Mill.
When we pulled up and stepped out of the car, we got our PPE on, and the homeowners (Colby owners) approach us nervously. We assured them that indeed, Colby would be coming down this very afternoon, and the fact that I had purchased a 12 pack of Miller Lite earlier, and stashed back at the shop just waiting for our return was like a stone cold guarantee that I would get that cat down in a timely fashion....
Until I saw the tree.
A small pine. Leaning over the lake. 35 feet tall if that. Top blown out in a storm maybe a decade ago, and a long, ten to fifteen foot injury to the tension side of the tree from another tree falling on it a few years back. To top it off, the root system was somewhat undercut from the wave action on the shore.
No way to climb it. Not safe.
I look at Colby for the first time. We make eye contact, and I can feel this cat is looking for an excuse to give up this charade and come on down.
There is no clear shot at the pine from the shore, due to brush and smaller trees. There is a dock, and from the dock I get a clear view of the pine, the hillside, and poor Colby (who I can also tell is a bad kitty, probably prone to biting and hissing, followed by intense bouts of staring at things with hatred in it's little kitty eyes, believe me, I know the type)
So from the dock I start swinging my throwball thinking... if I can get this cat spooked enough with a throwball, maybe it'll just come down by itself, I mean, this is day four of it's adventure in being a bad kitty, and even bad kittys have to have water and food.
I shoot over the top of the pine, right over the middle of the crown. Two fisherman behind me in a bass boat watched as I danced the throwball near Colby, and saw her lunge for the throwball (I was amazed).
I pulled the line out, and figured if I could get the throwball to come down the trunk on the top of the lean, this cat would follow!
Sure enough, I throw the ball over the left side of the crown, and the ball comes down right behind Colby, and she immediately starts following it down the trunk, half sliding, half scraping it's body against the trunk, upside down and right side up....I kept dancing the throwball down the trunk until the cat was about 15 feet off the ground, and at that point I figured that the cat sees the ground, and will keep going, but instead it starts climbing back up the trunk, howling at the throwball until I let it back down all the way to the ground. Colby followed and tumbled the last 8 feet or so and took off for the safety of some dark corner under the deck.
Darndest thing.
SZ
