How do you get a cat off a power pole?

On Jan 9, 9:29*pm, "Spot" wrote:
I'd put some food out some really smelly tuna or mackeral. *Food it s great
motivator maybe once it's hungry it will make it's way down.


A friend who does feral rescue swears by a tin of sardines to attract
a cats interest

Lesley

Slave of the Fabulous Furballs

On Jan 9, 9:23�pm, Candace wrote:
On Jan 9, 8:13�pm, wrote:





In rec.pets.cats.anecdotes Noon Cat Nick wrote:

� Candace wrote:

� Another freaking cat crisis in my 'hood.

[snip]

� The poor thing is up a power pole, resting precariously on the
� telephone lines. �About 5-10 feet higher are the live power lines. �It
� looks like a muted tortie or calico. �Of course, it looks very sad and
� uncomfortable and scared. The neighbor had already called the Humane
� Society (but I went and called, too, as they have ambulances and are
� usually here promptly to help) but they do not do power pole rescues.

� A cat can certainly survive temps in the middle 40s; that's no problem.

� As far as getting him down, I checked on news reports from the past year
� throughout the U.S. regarding cats stuck atop power poles. Seems it's
� unlikely that the animal can be coaxed down; someone's gotta go up and
� get it.

� Start with Animal Control; they might have some ideas. From there, go to
� the Phoenix Police, possibly the local municipal utilities, then try the
� County Sheriff's office.

If the program "Animal Rescue: Phoenix" on Animal Planet has even a grain
of truth to it, the Animal Control people should be willing to rescue her.
I'm always seeing shows about them rescuing kitties from storm drains, from
very high trees, off high ledges and so forth. Time to call their bluff -
see if they'll do it in real life! (The show is supposed to *be* real life,
but I don't know.)

Good luck, and I hope she comes down on her own if you can't get anybody
to intervene.

--
Joyce � ^..^

(To email me, remove the X's from my user name.)

That show (which is true--and they have several ambulances and they
have always come out to help me before--no film crew, thank God) is
the Arizona Humane Society's show, not our Animal Control, and I
called the Humane Society. �They said it's the owner of the pole's
problem, our electric company (one of them) and they're the ones with
the 72 hour rule. �No, the Fire Dept. will not do it here.

I guess we might have to call the media tomorrow. �Tonight there's not
much to do. �I put the food (Fancy Feast Trout Feast) out there on a
block fence under the cat. �He had switched his position, I'm sure
he's totally uncomfortable, and is sort of facing downward now, maybe
he's thinking about coming down. �It's only about 20 feet up and there
is a 6 foot block fence so he could attempt a jump of about 14 feet.

The woman with several cats is not home yet. �All my outdoor cats are
out in my yard so I'm sure the stranded kitty can see them. �I'll
check again in a little while and then I won't check anymore because
I'm home alone this weekend and he's out in the creepy old alley. �The
people in the house closest to him are concerned and keep checking on
him, too.

Pray for the little guy...

Candace- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Geez, Candace. I wish I had a magic answer but you know as much about
cats as
anyone here and I'm sure you've already tried the obvious. I guess I'd
keep trying
to coax him down with food. That worked eventually for us when there
was a cat
on top of the school roof here -- he finally figured out a way to get
down during the night.
I hope this kitty did also, i was late reading this post, and am
anxious to hear
how it turned out.
I had no idea there was a "72 Hour Rule" for such. We need to make
friends with
someone who owns a cherry picker for future need :-)

Sherr

On Jan 10, 7:26*am, Sherry wrote:
On Jan 9, 9:23 pm, Candace wrote:



On Jan 9, 8:13 pm, wrote:

In rec.pets.cats.anecdotes Noon Cat Nick wrote:

Candace wrote:

Another freaking cat crisis in my 'hood.

[snip]

The poor thing is up a power pole, resting precariously on the
telephone lines. About 5-10 feet higher are the live power lines. It
looks like a muted tortie or calico. Of course, it looks very sad and
uncomfortable and scared. The neighbor had already called the Humane
Society (but I went and called, too, as they have ambulances and are
usually here promptly to help) but they do not do power pole rescues.

A cat can certainly survive temps in the middle 40s; that's no problem.

As far as getting him down, I checked on news reports from the past year
throughout the U.S. regarding cats stuck atop power poles. Seems it's
unlikely that the animal can be coaxed down; someone's gotta go up and
get it.

Start with Animal Control; they might have some ideas. From there, go to
the Phoenix Police, possibly the local municipal utilities, then try the
County Sheriff's office.

If the program "Animal Rescue: Phoenix" on Animal Planet has even a grain
of truth to it, the Animal Control people should be willing to rescue her.
I'm always seeing shows about them rescuing kitties from storm drains, from
very high trees, off high ledges and so forth. Time to call their bluff -
see if they'll do it in real life! (The show is supposed to *be* real life,
but I don't know.)

Good luck, and I hope she comes down on her own if you can't get anybody
to intervene.

--
Joyce ^..^

(To email me, remove the X's from my user name.)

That show (which is true--and they have several ambulances and they
have always come out to help me before--no film crew, thank God) is
the Arizona Humane Society's show, not our Animal Control, and I
called the Humane Society. They said it's the owner of the pole's
problem, our electric company (one of them) and they're the ones with
the 72 hour rule. No, the Fire Dept. will not do it here.

I guess we might have to call the media tomorrow. Tonight there's not
much to do. I put the food (Fancy Feast Trout Feast) out there on a
block fence under the cat. He had switched his position, I'm sure
he's totally uncomfortable, and is sort of facing downward now, maybe
he's thinking about coming down. It's only about 20 feet up and there
is a 6 foot block fence so he could attempt a jump of about 14 feet.

The woman with several cats is not home yet. All my outdoor cats are
out in my yard so I'm sure the stranded kitty can see them. I'll
check again in a little while and then I won't check anymore because
I'm home alone this weekend and he's out in the creepy old alley. The
people in the house closest to him are concerned and keep checking on
him, too.

Pray for the little guy...

Candace- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Geez, Candace. I wish I had a magic answer but you know as much about
cats as
anyone here and I'm sure you've already tried the obvious. I guess I'd
keep trying
to coax him down with food. That worked eventually for us when there
was a cat
on top of the school roof here -- he finally figured out a way to get
down during the night.
I hope this kitty did also, i was late reading this post, and am
anxious to hear
how it turned out.
I had no idea there was a "72 Hour Rule" for such. We need to make
friends with
someone who owns a cherry picker for future need :-)

Sherr

Yay! I'm so happy and relieved--no sign of the kitty this morning. I
was still in my kitty jammies and kitty slippers so I didn't want the
neighbors to see me (I'm pretty sure I'm considered a CCL and I don't
want to add fodder to that perception) but later today I'll wander
over and ask them if they saw her come down or if she was just gone
when they got up, too. The food dish is gone, too, but it might have
blown away once the plate was empty as it was a little breezy last
night.

This is a quiet 'hood, not a lot of cars, etc., so I was thinking once
darkness fell, dogs quit barking, people went inside, that the cat
might make its move. Hope she has a home that she went back to.

Thanks for thinking of the kitty, everyone.

Candace

"Candace" wrote in message
...
(snip)
Yay! I'm so happy and relieved--no sign of the kitty this morning. I
was still in my kitty jammies and kitty slippers so I didn't want the
neighbors to see me (I'm pretty sure I'm considered a CCL and I don't
want to add fodder to that perception) but later today I'll wander
over and ask them if they saw her come down or if she was just gone
when they got up, too. The food dish is gone, too, but it might have
blown away once the plate was empty as it was a little breezy last
night.

This is a quiet 'hood, not a lot of cars, etc., so I was thinking once
darkness fell, dogs quit barking, people went inside, that the cat
might make its move. Hope she has a home that she went back to.

Thanks for thinking of the kitty, everyone.

Candace

Hooray!
And your outfit sounds perfectly respectable to me. After all, the jammies
didn't have feets in them.
Karla

"Candace" wrote in message
...
Another freaking cat crisis in my 'hood. Of all the zillions of
outdoor cats I now feed that have been dumped (discussed here
previously so I won't bore everyone)--literally 9 regulars, 3 semi-
regulars, and several other occasional drop-ins (those have homes, for
the most part)--tonight while walking down the alley looking for one
of them who I hadn't seen in 36 hours (and who was here when I got
back, of course), a neighbor 2 houses down from me was looking up at a
power pole, at a stranded cat, who I have never, ever seen before! I
thought I knew every cat in the neighborhood.

The poor thing is up a power pole, resting precariously on the
telephone lines. About 5-10 feet higher are the live power lines. It
looks like a muted tortie or calico. Of course, it looks very sad and
uncomfortable and scared. The neighbor had already called the Humane
Society (but I went and called, too, as they have ambulances and are
usually here promptly to help) but they do not do power pole rescues.
They said to call the power company, SRP. The neighbor had already
called them, too. SRP will not come out until the cat has been there
for 72 hours because they say by then the cat will be exhausted enough
that it won't climb up the pole trying to escape them and electrocute
itself. So, great. I was thinking of calling them and saying I knew
it had been up there that long but the neighbor--perhaps, wisely--said
that if that were not true and the cat went flying up the pole and got
electrocuted that I would feel responsible. True.

So, how does one get a cat down? I know they do come down on their
own sometimes and I am hoping that once it's dark--which just
happened--it might be less scared and more brave. There are barking
dogs in the yards by the pole so I'm sure the cat is afraid. If the
dogs go in and shut up, maybe the cat will calm down and come down.
I'm going to go put a can of food at the bottom of the pole now that
it's dark but I don't know what else to do. I don't think it's safe
for someone to try to get it in the dark anyway. I think maybe the
best plan is to wait until daylight and see what the situation is?

This is Phoenix, it will get cold tonight, mid-40s, but not cold
enough to cause the cat's death. It will be in the low-70s tomorrow.
I do worry that kids will shoot pellets at it--it seems that there are
those types in this neighborhood. I certainly don't want to throw
anything at the cat or do anything to scare it further up the pole.

****!!!!!!!!!!! And I was planning on renting a bunch of movies,
relaxing, and enjoying the weekend after an especially horrific work-
week.

Anyone got any ideas what to do? There is a woman 2 houses down in
the other direction who has several indoor/outdoor cats and I'm
wondering if its hers. I went to ask her but she isn't home right
now. The cat looks well-fed and healthy despite its predicament.
I'll check back in an hour or so to see if she's home yet.


In the UK we would call out the fire service for this, and they would rescue
the cat. Can you do this in the USA?

Tweed

On Jan 10, 1:13*pm, "Christina Websell"
wrote:
"Candace" wrote in message

...





Another freaking cat crisis in my 'hood. *Of all the zillions of
outdoor cats I now feed that have been dumped (discussed here
previously so I won't bore everyone)--literally 9 regulars, 3 semi-
regulars, and several other occasional drop-ins (those have homes, for
the most part)--tonight while walking down the alley looking for one
of them who I hadn't seen in 36 hours (and who was here when I got
back, of course), a neighbor 2 houses down from me was looking up at a
power pole, at a stranded cat, who I have never, ever seen before! *I
thought I knew every cat in the neighborhood.

The poor thing is up a power pole, resting precariously on the
telephone lines. *About 5-10 feet higher are the live power lines. *It
looks like a muted tortie or calico. *Of course, it looks very sad and
uncomfortable and scared. The neighbor had already called the Humane
Society (but I went and called, too, as they have ambulances and are
usually here promptly to help) but they do not do power pole rescues.
They said to call the power company, SRP. *The neighbor had already
called them, too. *SRP will not come out until the cat has been there
for 72 hours because they say by then the cat will be exhausted enough
that it won't climb up the pole trying to escape them and electrocute
itself. *So, great. *I was thinking of calling them and saying I knew
it had been up there that long but the neighbor--perhaps, wisely--said
that if that were not true and the cat went flying up the pole and got
electrocuted that I would feel responsible. *True.

So, how does one get a cat down? *I know they do come down on their
own sometimes and I am hoping that once it's dark--which just
happened--it might be less scared and more brave. *There are barking
dogs in the yards by the pole so I'm sure the cat is afraid. *If the
dogs go in and shut up, maybe the cat will calm down and come down.
I'm going to go put a can of food at the bottom of the pole now that
it's dark but I don't know what else to do. *I don't think it's safe
for someone to try to get it in the dark anyway. *I think maybe the
best plan is to wait until daylight and see what the situation is?

This is Phoenix, it will get cold tonight, mid-40s, but not cold
enough to cause the cat's death. *It will be in the low-70s tomorrow.
I do worry that kids will shoot pellets at it--it seems that there are
those types in this neighborhood. *I certainly don't want to throw
anything at the cat or do anything to scare it further up the pole.

****!!!!!!!!!!! *And I was planning on renting a bunch of movies,
relaxing, and enjoying the weekend after an especially horrific work-
week.

Anyone got any ideas what to do? *There is a woman 2 houses down in
the other direction who has several indoor/outdoor cats and I'm
wondering if its hers. *I went to ask her but she isn't home right
now. *The cat looks well-fed and healthy despite its predicament.
I'll check back in an hour or so to see if she's home yet.

In the UK we would call out the fire service for this, and they would rescue
the cat. *Can you do this in the USA?

Tweed- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Each fire department in each individual city has its own policies. It
would just depend on what those
policies are. In a small town like this one, they'd do it because
they're just nice guys and there's
no city ordinance that would prevent them from doing so. It sounds
like in Candance's case, the
complication was that it was an electric pole.

Sherry

Sherry

"Sherry" wrote in message
...
On Jan 10, 1:13 pm, "Christina Websell"
wrote:
"Candace" wrote in message


In the UK we would call out the fire service for this, and they would
rescue
the cat. Can you do this in the USA?

Tweed- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Each fire department in each individual city has its own policies. It
would just depend on what those
policies are. In a small town like this one, they'd do it because
they're just nice guys and there's
no city ordinance that would prevent them from doing so. It sounds
like in Candance's case, the
complication was that it was an electric pole.

I don't think that fact would make much difference here. I am fairly
certain the cat would be rescued no matter how dangerous and difficult here.
Brits are famously fond of animals and our emergency services will go to all
lengths to save them.
If Boyfie was up a tree for 24 hours they would not come. If he was up
there after 48 hours they would put a ladder up and get him down.

Tweed

On Jan 10, 3:29*pm, "Christina Websell"
wrote:
"Sherry" wrote in message

...
On Jan 10, 1:13 pm, "Christina Websell"

wrote:
"Candace" wrote in message

In the UK we would call out the fire service for this, and they would
rescue
the cat. Can you do this in the USA?

Tweed- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Each fire department in each individual city has its own policies. It
would just depend on what those
policies are. In a small town like this one, they'd do it because
they're just nice guys and there's
no city ordinance that would prevent them from doing so. It sounds
like in Candance's case, the
complication was that it was an electric pole.

I don't think that fact would make much difference here. *I am fairly
certain the cat would be rescued no matter how dangerous and difficult here.
Brits are famously fond of animals and our emergency services will go to all
lengths to save them.
If Boyfie was up a tree for 24 hours they would not come. *If he was up
there after 48 hours they would put a ladder up and get him down.

Tweed

When I was 10, a long time ago, we had just moved to a 2 story house
in Indianapolis, IN, and our cat (everyone's cats were pretty much
indoor/outdoor back then) somehow climbed this really high chimney.
She couldn't have just jumped to it from the roof. It was all brick,
of course, so we have no idea how she climbed the bricks. The Fire
Dept. came right away and got her down--put their ladders all the way
up and a guy in a plastic raincoat climbed up and got her while we
watched terrified from below. It's a good thing he had the plastic
coat on, if you know what I mean. She never went up the chimney again
although she still loved going on the roof and scratching at these
dormer windows in my parents' bedroom to get in around 2am.

I imagine if the cat had been stuck in really high tree or on top of a
building that the Humane Society would have come but I don't think the
Fire Dept. does that here--unless, maybe, the Humane Society asks
them. Everything seems to have to go through the proper channels here
and a lot of red tape.

Candace

On Jan 10, 10:49*am, "Karla" wrote:
"Candace" wrote in message

...
(snip)
Yay! *I'm so happy and relieved--no sign of the kitty this morning. *I
was still in my kitty jammies and kitty slippers so I didn't want the
neighbors to see me (I'm pretty sure I'm considered a CCL and I don't
want to add fodder to that perception) but later today I'll wander
over and ask them if they saw her come down or if she was just gone
when they got up, too. *The food dish is gone, too, but it might have
blown away once the plate was empty as it was a little breezy last
night.

This is a quiet 'hood, not a lot of cars, etc., so I was thinking once
darkness fell, dogs quit barking, people went inside, that the cat
might make its move. *Hope she has a home that she went back to.

Thanks for thinking of the kitty, everyone.

Candace

Hooray!
And your outfit sounds perfectly respectable to me. *After all, the jammies
didn't have feets in them.
Karla

No, they didn't And, hey, it's not like I buy this kitty stuff for
myself. Everyone I know gives me kitty-related gifts. My mom gave me
the jammies and my SIL gave me the slippers. What are you gonna do,
you can't waste stuff.

Candace

On Jan 10, 3:29*pm, "Christina Websell"
wrote:
"Sherry" wrote in message

...
On Jan 10, 1:13 pm, "Christina Websell"

wrote:
"Candace" wrote in message

In the UK we would call out the fire service for this, and they would
rescue
the cat. Can you do this in the USA?

Tweed- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Each fire department in each individual city has its own policies. It
would just depend on what those
policies are. In a small town like this one, they'd do it because
they're just nice guys and there's
no city ordinance that would prevent them from doing so. It sounds
like in Candance's case, the
complication was that it was an electric pole.

I don't think that fact would make much difference here. *I am fairly
certain the cat would be rescued no matter how dangerous and difficult here.
Brits are famously fond of animals and our emergency services will go to all
lengths to save them.
If Boyfie was up a tree for 24 hours they would not come. *If he was up
there after 48 hours they would put a ladder up and get him down.

Tweed

When I was 10, a long time ago, we had just moved to a 2 story house
in Indianapolis, IN, and our cat (everyone's cats were pretty much
indoor/outdoor back then) somehow climbed this really high chimney.
She couldn't have just jumped to it from the roof. It was all brick,
of course, so we have no idea how she climbed the bricks. The Fire
Dept. came right away and got her down--put their ladders all the way
up and a guy in a plastic raincoat climbed up and got her while we
watched terrified from below. It's a good thing he had the plastic
coat on, if you know what I mean. She never went up the chimney again
although she still loved going on the roof and scratching at these
dormer windows in my parents' bedroom to get in around 2am.

I imagine if the cat had been stuck in really high tree or on top of a
building that the Humane Society would have come but I don't think the
Fire Dept. does that here--unless, maybe, the Humane Society asks
them. Everything seems to have to go through the proper channels here
and a lot of red tape.

Candace