Nifty's Feral Kitty Adventure

[N F C]

Some very sad news. Our kitty has been missing since last Thursday (Thanksgiving).


We've looked all over, called her throughout the yard and around the neighborhood.

My GF has passed around flyers, posted online, called the animal shelters, and following all and every advice she can find on the internet to potentially find her, lure her back, etc. Kitty is chipped, so we're hoping she'll either turn up or be found.

Unfortunately, there have been a lot of reports of coyotes in the area, so we're definitely worried that had something to do with her disappearance.

We're all just terribly heart-broken... just very very sad.

So sorry about your cat Nifty, I was hoping you'd have better news about her.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

Some very sad news. Our kitty has been missing since last Thursday (Thanksgiving).


We've looked all over, called her throughout the yard and around the neighborhood.

My GF has passed around flyers, posted online, called the animal shelters, and following all and every advice she can find on the internet to potentially find her, lure her back, etc. Kitty is chipped, so we're hoping she'll either turn up or be found.

Unfortunately, there have been a lot of reports of coyotes in the area, so we're definitely worried that had something to do with her disappearance.

We're all just terribly heart-broken... just very very sad.

Oh no, I'm so sorry!
There is always hope. My male kitty I had when I was a kid went missing for a year, in the woods somewhere. One day he showed up again. It was crazy.
I pray she comes home to you.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

My brother's indoor cat disappeared a few days before Thanksgiving, and he and his DW canceled their Thanksgiving plans so they would be home in case Tom showed up. He didn't ... Until Monday after Thanksgiving, I think, when a neighbor just TWO DOORS DOWN spotted him on their Ring camera and they were reunited!

In another happy ending to a bad beginning, many years ago my cat vanished. I later found out (bc they confessed) that disgruntled friends of one of my kids had taken him and dropped him off about six miles away, across a river and a highway, sure he would never find his way back and rat them out. It took him six weeks and he'd lost some weight, but return he did! And they ratted themselves out, these astonished and contrite kids.

So have hope! I will pray for your kitty and if you like, put her on the Prayer Warriors thread.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

GREAT NEWS!
Kitty has been found!!!​

We've all been a bit of a mess since kitty went missing. Lots of tears and sadness... especially once it was reported that coyotes have been right in our neighborhood and people had videos of them attacking / eating cats.

GF didn't give up hope. She stayed diligent on Nextdoor, calling shelters, etc. etc. etc.

Yesterday a woman contacted my GF on Nextdoor saying that an elderly woman in the neighborhood has had a very vocal cat stuck up in her tree for the last day or so. The woman wasn't able to receive or send pictures to try and verify what the cat looked like.

This morning I got the elderly woman's address, and discovered it's a house that has a backyard that is very close to my backyard. So, I walked around to the house and looked in the trees and didn't see anything. I was about to head back home, but decided to look some more.

Well, way WAY up in one of the trees I see our kitty! She was just staring at me.

I said, "Kitty, what are you doing up there!?!?!"

That's all she needed to hear, and then started MEOWING like CRAZY!... non-stop!

I quickly sent that video to my GF and daughters... they were beside themselves with happiness.

... but now what to do? She was at least 25 - 30 feet up in the tree. My GF started calling around. She discovered the fire / police don't bother with that kind of thing.

I went back home, got my buddy to help me load up my "Little Giant" ladder, and we headed back. The old lady was there and very supportive.

The ladder was clearly not tall enough. Here's the ladder, tree, and arrows pointing at the cat behind a squirrel nest:


When I realized the ladder was too short my GF found an arborist that will come out and get a cat out of a tree for $200. I told her to have him come out.

I decided to go ahead and go up the ladder while my buddy stabilized the bottom. I got to the top and tied the ladder to the tree for more safety.

I realized if I stood on the top wrung I was able to just barely reach the very beginning of the branch.

I wrapped my left arm around the tree trunk, and motioned for kitty to come to me. She was pretty hesitant and just walked around a bit. While up there I took a pic. Her hair was all over up and down all the branches. A TON of hair... as though she might have been up there for 8 days since Thanksgiving!

I got this pic while up there (you can see a lot of the hair in the bark):

After about 10 minutes she finally got close to my hand. I gave her a tiny pet, slowly to the back of her neck... then GRABBED HER very tightly by the scruff of her neck. I know it's not an ideal thing to do, but I didn't want either of us to die.

She wasn't too happy, but I had a solid hold on her. I slowly went down the ladder and on the ground, then put her in her cat carrier.

We got her home, let her out, gave her space, and access to food and water. Once she settled down we checked her out and other than seeming a little skinnier, she's as fine as we can tell.

After a while she clearly wanted to go back outside, but we're keeping her inside while we monitor her for a while. We're also a bit possessive & a little paranoid about her being outside.

My best guess is that something (like the coyotes) scared her up the tree, or she chased a squirrel up the tree towards its nest... and either way couldn't get down.

I don't know what most other cats do when they get themselves into these situations. She was clearly up there a LONG time and was completely unable to get down on her own... at least not safely.

Here she is recouping from a very traumatic experience:

 

[HumbleAmerican]

I've had only one cat get 'stuck' in a tree. Dad used a water hose to coax it out.

Not like spraying with water to knock it over, but using the water to herd it back to the trunk and find the motivation to get down.

Glad it worked well for you.

 

[casportpony]

This post made my day! We are so happy for you!

 

[21hens-incharge]

I had feared the worst.

I am super happy to know she is safe!

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

GREAT NEWS!
Kitty has been found!!!​

We've all been a bit of a mess since kitty went missing. Lots of tears and sadness... especially once it was reported that coyotes have been right in our neighborhood and people had videos of them attacking / eating cats.

GF didn't give up hope. She stayed diligent on Nextdoor, calling shelters, etc. etc. etc.

Yesterday a woman contacted my GF on Nextdoor saying that an elderly woman in the neighborhood has had a very vocal cat stuck up in her tree for the last day or so. The woman wasn't able to receive or send pictures to try and verify what the cat looked like.

This morning I got the elderly woman's address, and discovered it's a house that has a backyard that is very close to my backyard. So, I walked around to the house and looked in the trees and didn't see anything. I was about to head back home, but decided to look some more.

Well, way WAY up in one of the trees I see our kitty! She was just staring at me.

I said, "Kitty, what are you doing up there!?!?!"

That's all she needed to hear, and then started MEOWING like CRAZY!... non-stop!

I quickly sent that video to my GF and daughters... they were beside themselves with happiness.

... but now what to do? She was at least 25 - 30 feet up in the tree. My GF started calling around. She discovered the fire / police don't bother with that kind of thing.

I went back home, got my buddy to help me load up my "Little Giant" ladder, and we headed back. The old lady was there and very supportive.

The ladder was clearly not tall enough. Here's the ladder, tree, and arrows pointing at the cat behind a squirrel nest:
View attachment 2918738

When I realized the ladder was too short my GF found an arborist that will come out and get a cat out of a tree for $200. I told her to have him come out.

I decided to go ahead and go up the ladder while my buddy stabilized the bottom. I got to the top and tied the ladder to the tree for more safety.

I realized if I stood on the top wrung I was able to just barely reach the very beginning of the branch.

I wrapped my left arm around the tree trunk, and motioned for kitty to come to me. She was pretty hesitant and just walked around a bit. While up there I took a pic. Her hair was all over up and down all the branches. A TON of hair... as though she might have been up there for 8 days since Thanksgiving!

I got this pic while up there (you can see a lot of the hair in the bark):
View attachment 2918748

After about 10 minutes she finally got close to my hand. I gave her a tiny pet, slowly to the back of her neck... then GRABBED HER very tightly by the scruff of her neck. I know it's not an ideal thing to do, but I didn't want either of us to die.

She wasn't too happy, but I had a solid hold on her. I slowly went down the ladder and on the ground, then put her in her cat carrier.

We got her home, let her out, gave her space, and access to food and water. Once she settled down we checked her out and other than seeming a little skinnier, she's as fine as we can tell.

After a while she clearly wanted to go back outside, but we're keeping her inside while we monitor her for a while. We're also a bit possessive & a little paranoid about her being outside.

My best guess is that something (like the coyotes) scared her up the tree, or she chased a squirrel up the tree towards its nest... and either way couldn't get down.

I don't know what most other cats do when they get themselves into these situations. She was clearly up there a LONG time and was completely unable to get down on her own... at least not safely.

Here she is recouping from a very traumatic experience:

View attachment 2918757

God was looking after your kitty! I'm so glad you found her!
Maybe instead of Kitty her name could be Princess. Since she's always needing you to rescue her.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Hooray!!!

Hallelujah!!

And HUZZAH!

Thank you for this update, I am VERY happy for you and for Miss Kitty!

 

[N F C]

That's great news, glad Miss Kitty is home again!