ELORA – Who do you call if your cat is stuck in a tree? A local company says they're ready and willing to help.
While Joe Legate didn't intend to become the go-to guy for cats stuck in trees when he started his business, J.L Tree Service a decade ago, he was inspired to begin offering free rescue services after receiving calls from community members who needed help and didn't know where else to go.
Since then, Legate has been on speed dial with the Humane Society and estimates he's rescued approximately 60-70 cats stuck in trees- including the same cat twice.
"It's kind of a normal thing over here, we get a lot of calls for (cats stuck in trees)," said Legate. "It's not all the time. It's so random like you'll get a call at nine at night or six in the morning...and it just kind of became something that we do."
On Sunday, Legate was called to Elora at 8 a.m. to rescue a young cat named Winnie who was stuck about 35 to 45 feet on top of a Spruce tree on a walking trail near Spencer Drive for two days.
Stuck in a tree 20 to 30 feet off the trail, Legate used a nearby cherry tree as a tie-in point to access the area where the cat was before he picked her up off a "tiny Spruce limb waving in the wind," put her in a bag and brought her to the ground where her owner was waiting.
"I got out to where the cat was, within about six feet, and it just turned around like it was just trying to scramble on this limb towards me but it was super windy," said Legate. "When it blew over a little bit, she just came right to me and grabbed onto my shoulder...so it went smooth."
According to Legate, he must consider several factors when rescuing a cat from a tree including what kind of tree, how tall the tree is and whether the tree is in a condition where it can hold an adult's weight.
Once in the tree, Legate said the rescue depends on how the cat reacts.
"We had one that jumped out of the tree during one I did at night probably two years ago," said Legate. "It was probably 10:30 at night, raining and it just jumped out of the tree into the darkness so it's nice when they're happy to see and they want to get down, and they don't put up too much of a fight."
Available year-round, the self-proclaimed animal lover said it was important for him to offer the service for free because every cat rescued doesn't always have a home and he empathizes with how frantic owners feel in the moment.
"I look at it this way; if I needed a hand with something, and it was specialized, and I didn't know even who to call to do it, I would really appreciate somebody being able to help me," said Legate. "It's a bit of a restoring faith and humanity kind of mindset, that's why we do it."
To obtain tree or cat rescue services, Legate said the best way is to call them directly at (519) 242-5193 or email at [email protected].
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.
