Sunday, February 5, 2012

Dumb Cat in a Big Tree

This is Angelo.

This is the live oak in the neighbor's yard.  (The one with the green leaves on it.)

This is the story of a dumb cat in a big tree.
Last night, just as I was setting dinner on the table, someone knocked on our door.  It was our next door neighbor.  She said there was a cat in her tree and wondered if we had any good tree climbers in our family.  Steve and Gabriel went with her.  I stayed with Annalise and Nathan and continued to get dinner on the table.  A minute later, Steve and Gabriel came back in and said it was OUR cat that was in her tree, and he was really high and wouldn't come down, but he was crying incessantly.  They got some cat treats and went back out to try to get him down with those.  I decided to go too.  (Good thing we were having tacos, so it was ok if everything sat for a few minutes.)
They had a ladder that went up to the first fork in the trunk.  Gabriel hesitantly climbed to the top of the ladder, but was  afraid to go up into the tree.  That wasn't working.  Angelo was probably 25 ft up in that tree.  To my knowledge, Gabriel has never actually climbed a tree before.  I learned last night that he is also afraid of heights.  Steve got a taller ladder, and this time I went up.  I used to climb trees all the time when I was growing up, but it's probably been over 25 years since I've climbed one. 
Up the ladder I went, and when I got to the first fork in the tree, up the tree I went like a monkey.  What a great climbing tree that is!  There were foot holds EVERYWHERE!  I got all the way up to Angelo in what seemed like two seconds.  I scruffed him, and got him off his perch, and he clung to me with all four paws!  It was so cute!  His front paws were around my neck like a little kid!  Goofy cat!  I climbed back down the tree one handed, and scruffed him again to hand him off to Gabriel who had climbed the ladder again.  Angelo didn't like the transition, but clung to Gabriel just as he had clung to me.  Gabriel got down the ladder one handed with no problem.  Once I was back on the ground I took that dumb cat, because he wanted to get down and run to God only knows where.  Climbing that tree was fun, but it was getting dark, and I wanted to eat dinner, so I didn't really want to chase him around the neighborhood climbing every ones trees! 
All's well that ends well, and I found out that I still love to climb trees!  I'm completely sure that if Angelo hadn't been making such a racket with his constant meowing, the neighbors wouldn't have known he was there, and he would have gotten down himself eventually.   I'm glad they came and got us though, because they were about to call the fire department!  I'd have been so embarrassed if the fire department had to get my dumb cat out of a tree!  Sheesh!!
(Oh, one more thing, I didn't have any shoes on through all this.  :-P)

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