The Emancipation of Mimi

[Fandango 1,440]

OK so I feed this stray cat. I've named her Mimi. She is such a cutie and she and I are building this bond. But she's very skittish also. I'm trying to get her to really trust me so I can put her in a cat carrier and take her to the vet, but so far, I haven't been successful. She does, however, trust me enough to pet her....tho I try to not make that a habit since she may not have her vaccinations yet. But she's a gentle cat, and very lovable....and I am soooo not a cat person either. She's cute cos she will meow every time you say her name.

Ok so I go on my back porch in the morning and there's no Mimi! I'm like 'ok she's galavanting around' So I'm sittin there & then I call for my mother, who was in the house. Then I hear a faint meow. I'm like 'where is she?????' So I call to her and she meows again. It's faint and distant so I start walking around. Keep in mind my parents' home is on 6 acres. So I walk to where I think I hear her and I'm looking under bushes and stuff. Also keep in mind I dislocated my hip last week and I am just starting to walk with bearable pain. Anyways, she keeps meowing, and I look up and she's in a tree!!!!!!!!! Like stuck!

So I'm like #######???? and she's all looking scared and trying to maneuver herself off this branch. The tree is very thin and goes straight up. I start freaking out! My dad, who was a contractor, has a backhoe. So I beg and plead for him to bring the backhoe over to the tree. I figured I'd stand inside the bucket, he'd raise me up, and the cat would come to me. He's all 'you'll never reach that cat in the bucket'. But I think I know better, so I get him to try.

And of course it didn't work. Not only didn't it work, but the backhoe lever slipped while my dad was bringing me down and it went down like FAST for a second, which caused me to fall in the bucket. I got banged up pretty bad

So my dad's all 'leave the stupid cat....it got up, it'll get down.' But she kept meowing and trying to move so she could shimmy down, but everytime she tried, she'd almost fall. My mom and I decide to get a long 2x4 and prop it up diagonally ont he tree . so she could walk down it. We propped it up on a stack of concrete block that we stacked up to hold the wood. Then we tried a piece of siding, cos it was longer. My mom's stood on the block, and i'm trying to guide the siding to the tree with a long pole. Then the siding fell right on my head!

So me and my mom walk away. I'm freaking out, but there's not much more I can do....the cat was just too high up. My mom and I say a prayer for God to guide the cat down safely....and that was that. I said that if the cat didn't come down in an hour, we'd try summat else.

An hour goes by and she's still up there. She's been meowing this whole time, btw. It really broke my heart. Anyways, then my mother and I start bothering my dad again to help us. He gets one of those big long collapsable ladders. But the tree is so thin that it doesn't look stable for this ladder, and now I start to think maybe he shouldn't go get her, cos God forbid HE fall and hurt himself. But as he went up there (btw the cat is afraid of my dad for some reason) sees him and freaks out...and when she did that, she FELL OUT OF THE TREE!!! Like she musta dropped 5-7 feet. But she twisted wierd and caught a small branch and was hanging on long enough that she steadied herself and then he got her out of the tree safeeee and sound!!!!

omG what an ordeal!!!! I am purple like EVERYWHERE from bruising...and I feel like I got hit by a truck but my cat is safe!!!

I know, soppy cow...but still.....

So I went out to get my dad a cake....lol....I wanted to make a big fuss for him cos he actually doesn't like the cat....and he's a grouch sometimes so for him to come and help was a cool thing to do. I bought him a Pirates of the Carribbean cake & then when I came home, I got this little dog figure that I had, cut out a cat face from the cat food...stuck it on the dog, and put the dog in the tree. It was sooo funny.

Anyways, so that's my story.

[Fandango 1,440]

Mimi

[browneyez40 0]

Mimi

Awe, she is beautiful!

[Ban Hammer 13,656]

dang lisa, sounds like you better stay outta backhoe buckets

i understand your concern and good intentions about the cat being in the tree, but isn't it logical that if cats could climb up a tree, they can climb down? if they could not, would we not see cat skeletons in trees all over the place?

if you do try this again in the future (which i don't recommend), i suggest you put on some thick leather gloves as i'd imagine that getting a cat, especially one that can't be labeled as tame, out of a tree 20 feet off the ground has a strong probability of turning into an interesting experience, know what i mean?

hope your hip heals fast along with the bruises disappearing quick and have a good christmas.

Mimi

that's a beautiful cat. omg

[Fandango 1,440]

dang lisa, sounds like you better stay outta backhoe buckets

i understand your concern and good intentions about the cat being in the tree, but isn't it logical that if cats could climb up a tree, they can climb down? if they could not, would we not see cat skeletons in trees all over the place?

if you do try this again in the future (which i don't recommend), i suggest you put on some thick leather gloves as i'd imagine that getting a cat, especially one that can't be labeled as tame, out of a tree 20 feet off the ground has a strong probability of turning into an interesting experience, know what i mean?o

hope your hip heals fast along with the bruises disappearing quick and have a good christmas.

Hah you sound like my dad Charles

Yeah but if she coulda gotten down, why do we always hear that silly thing about the lady calling the fire dept to get the cat outta the tree? And ####### wouldn't she climb down then? She was up there for God knows how long. I'm not an animal behavior expert, but it LOOKED like she was trying but couldn't. And why all the meowing then?

She was up like 40 feet in the tree Could she have jumped and survived?

But if she does it again, she's on her own. Seriously.

Ty Borwneyes & Charles.....as I said before, I'm nt a cat person, but I do happen to think she's gorgeous

Edited December 22, 2006 by LisaD

[SoL. 0]

Mimi is sooooo lovable!

Wow Lisa, you went all the way to get her, kudos! That was some risky business!

The cake is so awesone, I am sure your dad liked it

[Fandango 1,440]

Mimi is sooooo lovable!

Wow Lisa, you went all the way to get her, kudos! That was some risky business!

The cake is so awesone, I am sure your dad liked it

hah, it was buttercream, and too much of that is gross...so after we ate a piece, I wiped all the frosting off the cake and threw it away.

So basically $16 bucks for a box cake with no frosting , but it served it's purpose, lol

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

Oh she is gorgeous!

The thing about cats is -- they always want to be a challenge.

My cat is always going up trees -- we try and keep her inside but she shoots out the door like a bat out of hell. Once she climbed up a tree and we required the help of 3 passing homeless people to get her down. Ingrateful sod.

[Ban Hammer 13,656]

Hah you sound like my dad Charles

[TracyTN 237]

What a great story! And Mimi is beautiful. :)

Methinks she learned this lesson the hard way. Hopefully no more climbing trees that she cannot get out of...!

But the real question Lisa - are you becoming more of a cat person?

[Ladylethal 12]

Awwww Lisa, she's gorgeous! And you're just like me! I'd do all for my cat as well!

They do manage to come down, actually, in time. I've seen a cat on top of a lamp post once, that had no wires or anything on it, it was a smooth, concrete pole, and the cat was on the tip of it. I couldn't understand even how it got there since, unlike a tree, his claws can't really stick to the concrete.

[Fandango 1,440]

Aww thanks everyone

Tracy....I am finding that cats are more selfish in a way.....she comes here, she eats, she nuzzles me for some lovin, then she fcuks off when she feels like it. Sometimes she'll be on the porch and I call her and she's all 'biotch you come to me!' lol

I am also finding the shedding to be ikky. Any cat experts out there who can tell me if there's anything I can do? I only ever owned one dog in my life, and that particular breed (Westie) didn't shed, so I find the shedding to be high on the ick factor, lol.

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

You need to brush her daily -- and invest in a lint brush for yourself!

[Fandango 1,440]

You need to brush her daily -- and invest in a lint brush for yourself!

We haven't gotten there yet to where I would feel comfy brushing her Until I can take her to the vet, I'm trying to limit our contact since she's a stray and may not have been vaccinated.

She could be a runaway who's had all her jabs, but there is no collar, she's here all day and all night long, and I have asked around in the neighborhood and no one knows anything :/ If I ever do get her to a vet, is there anyway the vet could test if she's had her jabs? I'm not sure what a double dose might do :/

Awwww Lisa, she's gorgeous! And you're just like me! I'd do all for my cat as well!

They do manage to come down, actually, in time. I've seen a cat on top of a lamp post once, that had no wires or anything on it, it was a smooth, concrete pole, and the cat was on the tip of it. I couldn't understand even how it got there since, unlike a tree, his claws can't really stick to the concrete.

I was remiss in saying...that baffles me how the cat got on the lamppost!!!!

[Peikko 1,575]

One very cute cat. Cats do have a way of gaining sympathy from very unexpected sources. Something about their eyes and a hypnotic quality and a very superiour expression that says not only, help me, but also, but if you do help me, don't expect any affection.

When she does vote, I think I can guess where her x is going to go