The call came in the early afternoon of April 25, 2017. A resident’s cat in a tree, approximately 25 feet up. Jeff, our Director of Field Operations, arrived first and assessed the situation. It had been raining for two days straight and the ground was soft and muddy. A turbulent river coursed behind the property and the grounds were sloped downward around the tree. The poor kitty had been in the tree for 24 hours and was not budging. Jeff retrieved his climbing gear and ascended, hoping to retrieve the frightened feline. Just as Jeff reached for the cat, she climbed higher, and higher…and much higher! Now the kitty was over 50 feet high and way out on a limb.
After many attempts to get the appropriate apparatus to get within a reachable range to rescue the cat, a local fire department crew brought an extension pole with a maximum reach of 50 feet. We attached our catch pole to the end, and amid a torrential, driving rain and darkness, all hands operating the equipment managed to loop the snare of the catch pole around the kitty’s neck and secure it. The pole was maneuvered away from the tree and lowered.
The frightened cat swayed as she was brought down and to everyone’s shock, became stuck in a fork of the tree! We all held our breath as now it was a frantic fight against time. The fire crew managed to free the pole from the tree and lower the cat to where Jeff was waiting. The now lifeless cat was immediately released from the snare of the pole and Jeff quickly placed her in a carrier. I grabbed the loaded carrier and with the assistance of the neighbor next door and one of our dedicated volunteers, Shari, we raced to the neighbor’s house where I performed CPR on the beautiful limp drenched body of this precious kitty.
It took me 5 evolutions of CPR to bring her back to life, but I was NOT going to let her die! She spontaneously let out a meow and we all exclaimed, relieved and overjoyed! Her legs were temporarily paralyzed from lack of oxygen, but she soon regained her movement. We cradled her in warm blankets and gave her time to stabilize, then I transported this brave and incredibly lucky cat to NFFAR headquarters. As she settled her into a spacious and cozy cage, I monitored her for several hours until she fell into a restful sleep. The next day Jeff named her Annie Oaktree.
This beautiful, talkative and gregarious cat graced our presence for 7 years. She loved Jeff with all her being. The day her extraordinary rescue concluded, Jeff gazed into her beautiful green eyes and lovingly told her, “Annie, you will never have to worry about being in jeopardy ever again.”
In February of 2024, Annie acquired an extremely rare form of cancer. She had complex surgery, performed by our incredible Dr. Jennifer Bonczynski. Unfortunately, cancer had invaded her lymphatic system, and after a brave battle which included chemotherapy, our dear Annie Oaktree was laid to rest on 3 June 2024. We will always be grateful for the support and generous donations we received to help Annie Oaktree in her greatest time of need.