We lived on the edge of a green belt, high above picturesque Deep Cove, in North Vancouver. Tall trees block the sun early in the day and the remains of old logging still visible behind the property. Also the home of coyotes, a few stay bears and possible cougars. The well-fenced backyard had an access gate into the woods.
The all-female household included my two daughters, myself and two felines called Molly and Daisy. Friends claimed that the spiders around the house were also female. The cats were indoor cats and we had no problem with Daisy. Molly being more adventurous, wanted to see the outside world and we had to keep her at bay. There were coyotes chasing cats in the neighbourhood and we even found some cat collars in the woods.
We went away on vacation and asked our tenant, who lived in the suite below us to care for them. On our return, the renters advised us that Molly had escaped the day before and had disappeared into the woods. It was already late in the afternoon when the girls went looking for Molly. It was getting dark when they spotted her the forest. In turn, they called me for the rescue mission and as I made my way up the path, I spotted Molly. After calling her name, she came over towards me and I was able to grab her by the scruff of her neck. Heading down the steep incline with a firm grip on the cat, I slipped on loose gravel and fell. Molly turned around and gave me a farewell bite, before disappearing into the now dark woods along with some hungry coyotes.
We could hear Molly meowing throughout the night. The following morning I notice that my hand was swollen and sought medical attention immediately. With antibiotics, bandage and tetanus shot we renewed our search. The girls spotted Molly up a tall tree close to the fence but behind the property in the forest.
I called the local fire department for advice and they said that someone would come and have a look at the situation. Soon after that, a huge firetruck with lifting basket and full crew showed up. Clipboard in hand they trotted behind the property and advised me that they are unable to reach Molly as there is no access to the woods.
One firefighter recommended to nail a can of tuna high up on the base of the tree and the aroma of sun-drenched tuna will bring the hungry cat her down. More advice followed that if the tuna did not work, to find a tree logger to scale the tree and rescue Molly.
With the help of the YellowPages, telephone directory, I found a tree climber. A height impaired French-Canadian showered up only stopping to strap on his cleats and threw a large sack over his shoulder. He proceeded to climb the tree, in logger-fashion and Molly took one look at what was coming up towards her and shot up higher in the tree. She ran along a branch and stopped at the tip of it, strong enough to hold her weight with the branch swinging up and down. With Molly now holding on for dear life, the French-Canadian threw his hands in the air, followed by "merde" backed down and left Deep Cove, never to be seen again.
The next call was to the local SPCA to ask them for advice. “ah yes” they replied “we use Wally-the-cat-rescuer in situations like that“ and gave me his phone number. An immediate phone call went to Wally, who lived about 30 minutes away, quoted a price and was en route.
A second later after I hung up, the phone rang again. It was my neighbour a few doors down who had last minute free tickets to see the Japanese Sumo Wrestlers. We had to leave in 10 minutes and would I join her?
But of course……
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