Cat in Milan rescued

This is a great story from the Humane Society of Huron Valley that I thought I'd share with our readers.

After being stuck on top of a 45-foot utility pole in Milan for 4 days, a black and white cat, now named Nina is warm, safe, and dry and up for adoption at the Humane Society of Huron Valley (HSHV). A Milan resident initially called HSHV to report that the cat was on top of the pole and wasn’t coming down on its own.

“Cats will often run up a tree or a pole in flight from a predator. But they can usually get themselves down again. They just need to get hungry enough. Obviously it takes more courage and more skill to go down than it does to go up. Because we know they can get down and because going up after them can cause them to fall we prefer to let them come down on their own. In this particular situation the cat wanted to come down, but just couldn’t muster the courage to do it,” said Julie Curtis, the head of HSHV’s Animal Rescue and Cruelty Investigation Department.

The neighbors were all wonderful, including Milan’s Schultz Motors. They were all very concerned for the cat and kept close tabs on how she was doing. They even made sure to keep their dogs inside so as not to scare the cat in hopes she would eventually come down.

HSHV also kept an eye on the cat and tried to wait her out, but on day 3 decided to take more serious action and started calling tree service companies. “We had trouble finding a company willing to help, but on the morning of day 4, after one call to Ann Arbor’s McFarland Tree Service we had a community partner willing to rescue the cat,” said Tanya Hilgendorf, Executive Director.

When the employee in the lift from McFarland’s got close to the cat, she was so happy to be rescued that she actually jumped into his arms. The cat was taken to the Humane Society of Huron Valley and although a bit hungry was no worse for the wear. "Everyone here at McFarland's was grateful we had the time to help the Humane Society, and it was the right thing to do," said Sherry Keeney, owner of McFarland’s Tree Service.

“We are so relieved that this cat is okay and are very grateful to all the compassionate people in the neighborhood and to the generosity of McFarland Tree Service for ensuring a happy ending,” said Hilgendorf.

The Humane Society of Huron Valley (HSHV) is an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization serving all of Washtenaw County and beyond, and relies solely on donations from businesses and individuals in our community. The mission of HSHV is to promote responsible and compassionate care of all animals in our community. For more information, call (734) 662-5585 or visit www.hshv.org.