PRPG:

Ask Uncle John Anything: Cats Off!

August 4, 2014

Uncle John knows pretty much everything—and if he doesn’t, he heads his massive research library, or puts one of his many associates on the case. So go ahead: In the comments below, ask Uncle John anything. (And if we answer your question sometime, we’ll send you a free book!)

Cat Stuck in a TreeWill fire departments still come out to rescue a cat stuck in a tree?

As quaint a picture of mid-century Norman Rockwell Americana as it might be, most modern day fire departments are not in the business of rescuing cats. It’s not that they don’t want to help you, and yes, your tax dollars do fund them. Rescuing cats just isn’t a priority for the fire department. After all, what if a major fire breaks out and an engine is out on call with a ladder in a tree trying to grab a fussy runaway kitty? They’d be delayed in getting to the fire, and major property loss or even deaths could occur by the time they get their ladders tucked in and on the road.

There’s also the matter of the fact that firemen are not trained in tree climbing. They’re certainly trained in locating people (and even cats!) in burning or otherwise compromised buildings, but most fire departments are too financially strapped to spend resources training firemen in tree climbing and treetop rescue situations.

It’s also a safety risk for the firemen. Most are insured against injuries that take place in the line of dusty while fighting fires, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a fire department that has a workman’s comp program set up for a hard tumble from a ladder in a cat rescue gone wrong.

But in today’s marketplace, there is a service for every niche. TreeCat Rescue Services does exactly what the name says it does—they rescue cats from trees…provided that your cat is stuck in a tree in Alachua or Marion County in north-central Florida. (Do not ask Tree Cat Rescue to put out any fires.)