Expert: Jessica - 9/16/2009

Question
QUESTION: I have a 2 part question.  My cat ran out the door 6 days ago, and finally I located him in back yard about 4 stories up our cottonwood. I've no idea how to get him down.  He appears to be stuck or afraid?  I'm not sure which, but he hasn't eaten in @ least 3 days.  When I do finally get him down; how do I keep him from doing this again, if possible?

Thank You,
Anxious & Concerned

ANSWER: Hi Debi.  As cliche as it sounds, this is truly a job for your animal control officer/fire department!  Because of the way a cat's claws are shaped, they are perfectly adept at climbing up but quite inept at climbing down trees.  If he is this far up your tree, you will be unable to get him down without help.

Chances are good that he was chased up the tree by something at first and then wasn’t quite certain how to get down.  It would be dangerous to allow him outside and yet prevent him from climbing trees, because this is actually their best chance at defending themselves against predators.  This kind of escape is far more effective than using their nails or teeth for protection.  The best way to prevent him from getting stuck in trees in the future would be to convert him to an indoor kitty, but if this is impossible, I would just keep my fingers crossed that he has learned his lesson not to get quite so high.  Hopefully if he does need to climb trees ever again, he will stay low enough so that he can jump down once whatever he is escaping disappears.

Best of luck!

Jessica




---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for the info.  Sadly Salem still hasn't came down from tree, and the fire dept. said they just don't rescue due to budget cuts and down-sizing of Fire Department.  The Anchorage (ALASKA) SPCA has neither the officers nor eqpt. to assist in such a rescue!  Can't seem to locate anyone able to assist from the municipality.  
Am I out of options?  I was told that he would eventually come down; however it has been over 7 days, and it's really hard to listen to him meowing.  I feel very helpless.  Please, if there's any other suggestions let me know.  

Very Desperate,
Debi

Answer
I'm so sorry!  That's horrible.  Unfortunately, I think you are out of options.  If you feed him dry food, you can try shaking the bag of cat food outside for him.  If you feed him canned food, you can try opening a can and tapping the edge of the can with a spoon for a while to get his attention.  Sadly, as I said, although he may want to come down, most cats can't figure out how to climb down.  

Amazingly, he probably has a better chance of surviving if he jumps straight down from where's he's at than if he stays up there for much longer.  Most cats who fall or leap from third story windows survive, albeit some suffer broken legs.  This because they have the ability to correct their posture so they can land on their feet, and their flexible joints absorb shock so well.  If no coaxing of any kind works, I have to say I might consider trying to scare him down before he starves.  See if any sort of soft object such as a tennis ball thrown in his direction might make him move.