Kitty caper stirs up ruckus, ends well

A 12-week-old kitten is safe after causing quite an uproar Tuesday before being rescued from high in the branches of a cottonwood tree.

The cries of the stranded kitten could be heard throughout the Cottonwood Mobile Home Park in north Carson City. A crowd of neighbors gathered around the tree as calls were made to various agencies, said resident James Grant.

"We tried the power company, and the fire department came out, but their ladder wasn't long enough," Grant said.

Animal Services also was called, but it wasn't until a truck from the city's public works department showed up that the furry feline would be saved.

"By then, a great big old crowd was out there," Grant said.

Riding in the bucket of the truck's boom, Animal Services Director Pat Wiggins and public works employee Justin Tiearney were raised about 35 feet into the branches.

Wiggins said the feral kitten had probably climbed the tree in pursuit of a bird, but didn't know how to get back down.

"He was not too brave up there," Wiggins said. "In fact, there was a hole in the tree that he climbed into, but once we got him out, he was ready for a fight."

The kitten was all claws and hisses as it was carefully extricated and placed into a cardboard box for the trip to ground level.

"Everybody applauded at that," said Grant, laughing.

Wiggins said occasionally feral kittens can be tamed, but he doesn't expect it.

"We'll try to work with it and see if we can tame it down, but he is pretty wild," he said.

The kitten likely will be eligible for the city's trap, neuter and release program for feral cats. It could possibly be returned to the same area in which it was picked up or used as a mouser at the shelter.

The trap-neuter-release program allows the city to return feral cats to their environments after spaying or neutering them, with the goal of reducing their numbers.