In which the people of Arlington attempt to save the world...or at least one cat.

The people of Arlington are very loving. As long as the subject is not the width of Mass Ave, dogs off leash, cyclists who do not obey traffic rules, the town horn, overrides, MCAS tests or the best place to get Chinese food, the people of A town will always come to the rescue. They especially seem to love rescuing creatures which do not actually need rescuing.

Today this came over the list:

"My wonderful neighbors, the Sisters of St. Anne, need some help.  A black cat ran up a tree sometime in the night and now is so high that he cannot get down.  The poor cat is howling and shaking.  Plus it is freezing out!  The Sisters have tried to coax him down with food but he is just too scared.  They called 911 to ask the fire dept for their help but they were firmly told by the dispatcher "we do not do that type of thing."  I thought maybe for the Sisters they could make an exception, but no.

So, does anyone own a black cat with green eyes - mostly likely from somewhere in the Hillside, Claremont, Appleton area.   The cat is in a tree behind the chapel on the Germaine Lawrence property.  We think maybe the owner might be able to lure it down.  If not, who should we call next?  MSPCA?

Thanks for any help -"
NAME REDACTED

The people of Arlington sprang into action!

There were many helpful suggestions.

"Any contractor should have a 30 ft ladder. Then it is probably a matter of 2 men, good samaritans, to get the cat down. Any one out there fitting this description?"

"Is there a tree service nearby with a crane to get it down?"

"Has anyone tried running a can opener? This has always been an 
attention getter for my pets."
 
People became more panicked.


"Update on the cat - we have called the mspca, animal control, Boston animal rescue league and now the Arl Fire Dept twice!  AFD keeps saying they do not do this type of thing. we have left messages everywhere else.

we are very concerned this cat is going to die of hypothermia. the nuns are very upset. they do not have the money to pay for a tree company. does anyone have any other ideas.

the cat is all black, long haired, green eyes. it is about 30 feet straight up - very easy to get with a large ladder.

fingers crossed for a rescue!"


One Lister could not help getting a little barb in there. Get it? Barb? Never mind. Carry on.

"Good Samaritans indeed as they'd likely want to wear a suit of armor to avoid getting torn apart by the cat.

Another good reason to keep these 'bred to be indoors' cats inside."

Somehow, without the firefighters, the MSPCA and Animal Control, the cat started working his way down.

"My husband just reported back that the cat has come down a bunch, so
he is now bringing one of our ladders over there, which will hopefully be
tall enough."

A voice of reason!

"Thanks. Keep us posted. The other thing we should keep in mind is that cats almost always make their way down eventually. If the cat has already made progress, my guess is that it will get all the way down soon."

I don't know this lady, but she can't possibly be from Arlington.

"Everyone just needs to chill a little bit. Put a dish of food at the bottom of the tree - open the can outside so the cat can see (you don't need can openers anymore to open cat food). Wait a couple hours and it will probably come down on its own. It will never come down if there are a bunch if people making a commotion and staring up at it. Despite some people's concerns, cats are adapted to withstanding much colder temps than we are. They can withstand long periods in the cold (my cat is actually outside right now rolling around in a sunbeam and hanging out in the yard - she shows no interest in wanting to come in). More humans have died or gotten seriously injured from falling from high ladders than cats have gotten stuck permanently or died from being in a tree. It will come down when it's hungry. If its still there tomorrow, then try the ladder - but be careful."

Finally the cat did what most cold and hungry cats did. It came down.

"My husband just stopped back to check on the cat
and retrieve his ladder and just called me to report that the cat is down
from the tree -- yay!  Maybe he just got tired of all the humans making
such a fuss down on the ground he decided to get the heck out of there.
Anyway, hopefully he's found his way home.

Thanks for alerting us all to this, NAME REDACTED."

But then we learned something new! A cat ninja coaxed the cat down!

"The cat is down!  Larry went back to retrieve his ladder and saw that the
cat was no longer in the tree.  He met one of the nuns who showed him the
cat --- they have him safe and sound in the convent.  Apparently we have a
'cat whisperer' in town who stopped by and coaxed the little guy down with
his gentle technique.  No idea who he is ... like our own Zorro!  Came by
to do a good deed and quietly left without any fuss. The cat is now safe and sound
with the nuns.  It's a beautiful long-haired black cat, if anyone knows
someone who is missing one."

Next came the inevitable suggestion that the media be alerted to the fact that a cat was stuck in a tree and then came down.


"Now this would be a nice story for the Advocate. Arlington is a great town!
Anyone have any influence?"

Then came the jokes. This is the part I like.


"None of this would have even occurred if the town didn't insist on narrowing
Mass. Ave.

(Sorry)"

"That off-leash cat was probably spooked by a bicycle riding on the sidewalk."


"Nope, I think the town horn drove him up the tree."


"Amen! Not to mention the presences of bicyclists in Arlington Heights. We won't mention unleashed dogs ..."



There you have it. There were about fifty posts in total on the subject of a stray cat stuck in a tree.