Champ Climbs Trees?

So after my overly dramatic "rescue" of our Champ, found here, I found him up in a tree again. Seriously.

My mom suggests we change Champ's name to Rue, after the little girl on The Hunger Games who climbs trees. I didn't realize cats do this. Oh, Champ.

A few days later we found out why he didn't want to spend time under the porch in his little house! Some GIANT animal tore down the lattice that enclosed the porch to get to Champ's house. Holy Crap, I felt so bad! 

He's definitely spending more time in the brush, up here in Brush Prairie, but we take it day by day to see how the little guy is doing. I'm always excited when I see him, and I make sure to give him extra hugs :)

Pull out the ladder...

 ...call the fireman. Champ was stuck in a tree.

Seriously. Not awesome.

Tuesday night I didn't see Champ when I got home from work, which was not the most unusual. But Wednesay before work when I took out his food, when he is usually there in 2 seconds, he didn't come up to the door. I walked outside and heard him meowing, but didn't see anything. I thought maybe he was hiding under the BBQ cover since it was snowing, so I thought he was just being weird.

Then Wednesday after work, when Brian said he thought Champ was on a vacation because he hadn't seen him yet, I went outside and I heard him meowing again but didn't see him. I went out the in the snow and finally tracked down his meowing and he was up in a tree. I felt like the worst cat owner ever because obviously he had been there all  day in the snow.

So I showed Brian where he was, and I was about to get a ladder and get the poor guy down, but Brian made a good point that it was snowing and rocky and on hill and about 10 o'clock at night.

So we  decided to wait out the night, but you could see him and hear him by our second story windows. So sad! Before I went to sleep, I googled different ways to get a cat out of the tree, and I saw everything from climbing up there and putting him in a pillowcase, to bribing him with food, to calling the fire department. A few different websites said that if a cat was chased up there by a predator, then the cat won't come down if ther predator is still there. Holy Crap!

In the morning, Brian said he saw a lot of cat foot prints in the snow so he probably got down. I went out there to feed the poor little guy and found him still up in the tree! Then I couldn't figure out whose footprints those were. Predator? Kitty friend? Poor Champ!

I was able to coax him down low enough to grab his scruff and bring him down, but he was all wet from the snow, and from being out there for over 36 hours. I felt so bad. I dried him off, fed him, and pet him for almost an hour. He's safe and sound now, but I feel sorry for the little guy... and I'm hoping it wasn't a bobcat or something that chased him up there...

A New Beginning

This weekend Brian and I hiked around our beautiful acreage in the snow. It's so pretty. We feel so lucky and blessed to live here.

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                    
Today I am procrastinating studying to create this new blog. I'm trying to figure it out while I am snowed in! Hopefully this will be a way to communicate our adventures while we are out here in the sticks. We always have something going on, and now that we are so far from family and friends, FaceTime and blogs will be a great way to stay in touch.

This week we had our first snow at Glory! I was cancelled at work, so I have been snowed in with Champ. There is about 8 1/2 inches on our back porch, and Brian needed a little extra help getting to work this morning. :) His truck is having a rough month.