Help!!! Kitten in tree!

moxiewild

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Apologies. Trying to get back to kitten ASAP, so this is rushed.

I’ve been tracking some feral kittens and cats in the neighborhood.

My boyfriend and I went to feed and check game cameras this morning for one of the litters. They’re in a wooded area on the other side of a residential fence.

The person at that residence let their dog out in the yard while we were there and it was going nuts.

We figured it was because of us, but after a while we heard some commotion, and a tiny kitten (looks to be part of the litter we’re tracking) shot up the fence from inside the yard and climbed on top of a nearby tree in the wooded area we were in.

He just kept going up and up.

We knocked and knocked on the neighbor’s door with the intent to ask them to make sure no other kittens were under their porch or anything and to give them our contact information in case they find do find any so that we can retrieve them, but unfortunately they didn’t answer. We’re going back to put a note on the door.

Right before this happened, I had just spotted Momma cat in the distance.

Plan so far is to set out tuna, bait, whatever smells (no trap) to hopefully lure the kitten down, or lure Mom out so she can help bring him down.

That’s our first move. We’ll leave them alone for maybe an hour or so and check again? What do y’all think?

Other things we’ve brain stormed if that doesn’t work, is playing kitten vocalizations or Momma cat vocalizations calling to kittens audio to lure either of them.

Another idea is constructing something soft somehow, like a big net or “fall bag/pillow” like stunt people use, and place it under the tree in case kitten does fall (we have zero clue how we would go about that at the moment, just brain storming).

My mom knows an arborist that I know has volunteered time before to help get cats and ferals out of trees before, so I’m waiting to hear back from him.

Any other ideas? How long should I wait to check? At what point do I know the kitten really can’t get down by himself?

If kitten is from the same litter that I suspect, then he looks to be around 5-8 weeks old. They’re able to eat soft food. We haven’t been able to evaluate them super well yet.

When we left, the kitten was 20-30 feet up. I’ve attached photos. He’s all black and tough to see, so I’ve circled him to make it easier.

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tabbytom

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Plan so far is to set out tuna, bait, whatever smells (no trap) to hopefully lure the kitten down, or lure Mom out so she can help bring him down.
Cats can only come down from trees by rear end first else there's no grip from the claws. Not sure if momma cat will go up to rescue but if she does, she'll probably be able to bring the kitten down safely but not sure how long it'll take. If the dogs are out again and momma cat is up there rescuing he kitten, she won't come down as the dog is around and you'll have two cats stuck up the tree. Hopefully the dogs and noise won't be around when momma cat decides to save the kitten.

Any other ideas? How long should I wait to check? At what point do I know the kitten really can’t get down by himself?
Not sure if the kitten knows how to get down due to it's age unless it's a older cat and has gotten use to climbing trees, then I think it should be no problem but for this case, I think not.

Have you seen this rescue group before? Not sure if they are around your area :- canopycatrescue
 
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moxiewild

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Cats can only come down from trees by rear end first else there's no grip from the claws. Not sure if momma cat will go up to rescue but if she does, she'll probably be able to bring the kitten down safely but not sure how long it'll take. If the dogs are out again and momma cat is up there rescuing he kitten, she won't come down as the dog is around and you'll have two cats stuck up the tree. Hopefully the dogs and noise won't be around when momma cat decides to save the kitten.


Not sure if the kitten knows how to get down due to it's age unless it's a older cat and has gotten use to climbing trees, then I think it should be no problem but for this case, I think not.

Have you seen this rescue group before? Not sure if they are around your area :- canopycatrescue
We’re in Texas, so nowhere near me, however, we went ahead and called and left a message anyway!

Hopefully they might have some advice, thank you so much!

Also, the neighbors have put their dog back inside now thankfully! They just didn’t answer if us (it was still super early!), and it doesn’t look like they’ve seen the note yet, but hopefully they’ll contact us and work with us on keeping the dog out of the yard until we get this sorted!
 

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Cats can only come down from trees by rear end first else there's no grip from the claws.
My girl goes nose first and then does this scary one armed swinging thing to turn around closer to the base. I can honestly say, I have never seen a cat climb like she does but she also is a little monkey when she wants to be.

That tree looks very climbable and doesn't have a long stretch without branches. There are one or two spots that look a little tricky to get down but I could see some branch jumping or sliding happening to get past it. Judging by the fence in the background the base is maybe five feet from ground to the bottom branch. I'd just wait for the kitten to feel comfortable/safe enough to come down. My aforementioned cat often goes that high in a random burst on energy and will come running down when she is ready. Then I have my boy who makes a running leap at trees and ends up six inches off the ground looking super proud of himself. Cats do vary on their abilities but I wouldnt worry too much.
 
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moxiewild

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My girl goes nose first and then does this scary one armed swinging thing to turn around closer to the base. I can honestly say, I have never seen a cat climb like she does but she also is a little monkey when she wants to be.

That tree looks very climbable and doesn't have a long stretch without branches. There are one or two spots that look a little tricky to get down but I could see some branch jumping or sliding happening to get past it. Judging by the fence in the background the base is maybe five feet from ground to the bottom branch. I'd just wait for the kitten to feel comfortable/safe enough to come down. My aforementioned cat often goes that high in a random burst on energy and will come running down when she is ready. Then I have my boy who makes a running leap at trees and ends up six inches off the ground looking super proud of himself. Cats do vary on their abilities but I wouldnt worry too much.
You should get a video of that! Sounds so adorable/funny!

But yes, the tree is definitely very climbable, and I’d only be marginally worried about an adult cat. My primary concern is that the kitten is maybe 5-6 weeks old, and was up at least 30 feet.
 
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moxiewild

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Update - we set out all sorts of food, and repositioned the camera.

We came back a very short time later, and we couldn’t find the kitten.

At one point, we both heard what sounded like a mew. Both of us turned our heads at the same time and everything, we both definitely heard it.

We walked around playing audio of Momma cat’s calling their kittens, but couldn’t find/hear anything.

There are two trees the kitten could have gotten to from the one he is on, and they’re much more dense and the leaves darker, which would make him more difficult to find if he were in them. So that’s one possibility.

We also looked all around on the ground - the grass is extremely tall here, up to my thighs. We did our best to search the area again and again, but no sign of kitten.

There is some hope though! We forgot to turn the camera toward the tree (ugh, so stupid!), BUT while we were gone, Momma cat came to the feeding station, which is near the tree. So it’s very possible that she called the kitten down or maybe went and got him.

We’re just hoping he didn’t fall and injure himself. Or that he’s still up in the tree.

Once it’s dark, we’ll go out with flash lights to see if we can catch some eyes reflecting back anywhere, and we’ll go check the site and cameras periodically in the meantime.

Really hoping everything already worked out though and all is well with him.
 

Kieka

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In my experience, kittens tend to be a lot more flexible and take tumbles more then adults. I've had kittens climb up and get down from things that adults balk at.

Definitely look again, but I don't think I'd be too concerned.
 

tabbytom

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My girl goes nose first and then does this scary one armed swinging thing to turn around closer to the base. I can honestly say, I have never seen a cat climb like she does but she also is a little monkey when she wants to be.
Your cat must be a daredevil adventure cat :agree: .............................Have she been watching too much National Geographic shows? :lol:
 

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I hope things have worked out and the kitten is down, but the link provided above by tabbytom to Canopy Cat Rescue has a list of FAQs which include a link to another website (Cat in a Tree Rescue) that has a directory by state of people who could help. There are several listings for Texas. Not sure how old this information is, but here is a link to the directory:
http://www2.catinatreerescue.com/view/directory.cfm
 
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