When I was a child a couple of my favorite things were climbing trees and reading books – sometimes I would climb a tree with my book in hand and read while sitting on an upper branch. I always wanted to climb as high as possible in the trees. As long as the branches would support me and I could wiggle my way through them, I’d keep going. I’ve continued reading, but climbing trees ended sometime in my early 20s. You might say I’m a little out of practice. (Understatement!) But those well-learned tree climbing skills served me well this past weekend. Perhaps I shouldn’t tell this story – I fear you all will think I’m a terribly irresponsible cat-mom – but it is a little funny (after the fact) and it does serve to illustrate that things happen even when we’re trying to be careful.
Late Saturday afternoon Ken took the babies out to the front yard again. I picked up the camera and went out to join the fun. I’d been planning to take the kittens outside one at a time for their seven week photos anyway, so this was as good a time as any to get that done. The weather was beautiful. Ken and Jeremy were there to help keep an eye on the kittens. What more could I ask for?
The kittens were much more adventurous on their second visit to the great outdoors. They chased each other around. They climbed up the first foot or two of the big trees. They climbed on rocks and through the flower beds. Basia was out with them, although she didn’t want to walk on the grass – she stayed on the cement driveway nearby, watching over the kittens with a concerned eye. Ken had also brought out their basket (you’ve probably seen it on the kitten cam) so they were hopping in and out of it and they played.
Then the trouble began. Jeremy said he wanted to bring Colter to see the kittens. They had met him before, but were by no means used to the big crazy dog. My concern wasn’t that Colter would intentionally hurt them, only that he gets so excited when he’s allowed to run free in the unfenced part of the yard. So I told Jeremy he needed to keep Colter under control. And for the most part, he did. Colter did not run over the kittens in his wild excitement. He came charging over, wagging his tail like mad, and stood there – just happy to be out with his family.
The same could not be said for Basia and the babies. Basia (forgetting she doesn’t like the grass) came running over to where the kittens were playing by the basket, hissing and spitting a warning to Colter. Four little kittens puffed themselves up, arched their backs and joined the hissing. Fayne jumped out of the basket and whacked Colter on the nose.
Colter just stood there like he didn’t understand what all the fuss was about. That is, until Basia decided that he was too close and not taking her warnings seriously enough. She leapt out of the basket and aimed for Colter’s nose with claws extended. Colter, deciding that she was intent on maiming or killing him, took off at a run with Buzzy in hot pursuit.
This was just too much for Seely to handle. He jumped over the side of the basket (he’d been there when all the excitement started) and ran for the nearest tree. Up the tree he dashed, exhibiting excellent climbing skills as he made his way up to the first branch, about six feet off the ground. No more playing around climbing up a foot or two then coming back down. Height meant safety and he didn’t hesitate.
When all this started I’d been sitting on the ground with the camera. As the kittens and Basia started hissing, I moved over by them to try to reassure them that the big crazy dog wouldn’t hurt them. My goal was to keep everyone in one central place rather than having frightened kittens scatter to the four winds. For the most part, that plan was successful – if not for Seely’s decision to climb the tree.
Ken was closer to the tree in question, so I called to him to grab Seely. (Jeremy had gone to catch Colter and put him inside the house.) Ken reached up for Seely, but Seely was having nothing to do with it. He climbed a little further up the tree.
Now, you might have noticed I said the lowest branch was about six feet off the ground. It’s not easy to climb a tree when the branches start that far up. So Ken went to the garage and got out the six foot ladder. He climbed the ladder and Seely went up higher in the tree.
Jeremy came back from containing Colter and Ken told him to climb up the ladder, then climb into the tree to get Seely. Seely climbed higher still. Jeremy’s every move was mirrored by Seely. After a minute or two of this, we came to the conclusion that Seely was afraid to be caught by Jeremy or Ken, so Jeremy climbed out of the tree and down the ladder.
We stood on the ground, looking up at the kitten in the tree. (I had taken Basia and the other kittens back in the house as Jeremy was climbing the ladder.) Jeremy suggested we call the fire department. J Ken went to the garage and brought out the 16 foot extension ladder.
While Ken and Jeremy tried to find a way to position the ladder in between the branches of the Ponderosa pine in which Seely was perched, I talked to him. I told him he could come down, the dog was gone, he’d be safe, come to mommy… a steady stream of soothing words that I hoped would convince him to quit going up and start back down.
Ladder in place, I climbed up as far as I could go (about 14 feet or so) on it and stood at the top of the ladder, continuing to talk to Seely. He finally stopped his upward climb at about 20 feet and was sitting on a branch, looking down at me. After several more minutes, he turned around on the branch so he was facing toward the trunk. I had hopes he might be considering climbing down. I didn’t know whether to be relieved or worried.
Ken and Jeremy were still standing on the ground, watching and ready to catch Seely if he fell while trying to come down. Another five minutes or so passed.
Stalemate. Seely looking at me from his branch. Me talking, begging him to come down. Ken and Jeremy making jokes about the fire department.
Finally, I came to the conclusion that we had two choices. We could wait around for Seely to finally get brave (or hungry) enough to try to come down by himself. Or I could climb up to get him. By then I was fairly certain he wasn’t going to go any higher. (At least I hoped so!)
I cautiously left the dubious security of the ladder and began my climb up the tree. Early on, a tree branch scratched my leg and I could feel blood running down it. Oh well. I kept up the stream of soothing words as I climbed up to Seely. He started to back away when he realized I was about to grab him, but I was quicker. I cuddled him to my body.
Now the next problem arose. It hadn’t been an easy climb up to him, with branches close together and not allowing me much room to move between them. I cautiously held on to the kitten with one hand, pressing him to my body, while hanging onto a branch with the other hand, and reaching out my foot for a lower branch. Move the kitten to the other hand, repeat. I finally got far enough back down that I called to Jeremy to come up the ladder and get Seely from me. Once they were both safely on the ground, I finished climbing out of the tree onto the ladder and back to the nice safe ground. Except for the big scratch on my legs and lesser scratches on my other leg and both arms, Seely and I were none the worse for the experience.
I can laugh a bit about this now – imagining the neighbors’ thoughts if they had seen me up in the tree rescuing Seely. I can laugh about how Ken and Jeremy were nearly right – the fire department didn’t need to rescue Seely, but it’s a wonder they didn’t have to come get ME out of the tree.
I also was reminded that no matter how careful we try to be, things happen. I never take the kittens outside all together by myself. They move too fast and too unpredictably for me to be able to keep track of them all by myself. In this case, even having the three of us there wasn’t enough.
But more than that, I’m reminded that kittens have great instincts. When faced with a threat (real or just perceived), they will find safety. It doesn’t matter if they’ve never climbed more than a couple feet up a tree – the skills needed to climb two feet work equally well when climbing up 20. And that’s not a bad thing – as long as they can get back down.
Okay, really, he called me to come outside and see the kittens who HE had taken for their first adventure outside. I grabbed the camera and headed out the door. The kittens weren’t too fond of that pokey, damp green stuff on the ground. They preferred the safety and comfort of crawling all over Ken-dad. But I did convince Fayne to pose on a rock for me.
Now normally we’d be over the moon at finals at all, let alone a 2nd Best AB Cat, but it was oh so close to that Best Smack needed! I assured Brenda that McCoy would get a Best some time during the weekend — I just knew it! She had orders to call me when it happened.
