Hiss & Tell: Cat Behavior and Beyond

From Panic to Purrs: Getting Unstuck with Canopy Cat Rescue

• Kristiina Wilson • Season 2 • Episode 33

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Sean from Canopy Cat Rescue takes us behind the scenes of an extraordinary mission—saving cats from towering trees across Washington State. As a professional arborist and mountain guide, Sean reveals how he and his partner Tom turned their climbing expertise into a specialized rescue organization that's saved nearly 8,000 feline lives.

The conversation unpacks the fascinating intersection of technical climbing and feline behavior—how expert rescuers interpret a cat's meows, ear positions, and tail movements to predict whether a terrified feline will accept help or climb higher to escape. Sean explains the startling reality that fire departments rarely rescue cats from trees, leaving desperate pet owners searching for solutions when their companions climb too high.

Through vivid storytelling, Sean debunks persistent myths about cats in trees. No, cats don't reliably come down when they're hungry—Sean has rescued cats stuck for over 23 days. Leaving food at the tree's base won't work and may attract predators. And the classic claim that "you never see cat skeletons in trees" misses the simple fact that deceased animals fall or are scavenged.

For pet owners, the episode offers practical prevention strategies, from creating secure outdoor catios to understanding why cats climb trees in the first place. Sean shares touching stories of "repeat climbers" (the record is seven rescues for a single cat!) and explains how the organization has expanded to rescue everything from iguanas and parrots to helping wildlife rehabilitators return fallen owlets to nests.

What began as occasional rescues has blossomed into a full-time non-profit service performing around 800 rescues annually. Whether you're a cat lover, fascinated by specialized rescue operations, or simply appreciate dedicated people using unique skills to help animals in distress, this conversation will leave you with a newfound appreciation for the heroes who climb toward the sky to bring our feline friends safely back to earth.

Kristiina Wilson:

Hi and welcome to Hiss and Tell a Cat Behavior and More podcast hosted by me, Kristiina Wilson, animal Behaviorist. Today is the last episode of Season 2 and I will be speaking with a truly unique guest, sean of Canopy Cat Rescue. Sean is a professional arborist and mountain guide and also one half of the dynamic duo that climbs towering trees across Washington State to bring stranded cats safely back to Earth. We're going to talk about behavioral cues, myths around cats and trees, and what you should and shouldn't do if your own cats get stuck. Hi and welcome to another episode of Hiss and Tell. I am your host, Kristiina Wilson, and with me today is Sean of Canopy Cat Rescue. Welcome, sean.

Sean:

Hi there, thanks for having me.

Kristiina Wilson:

Thank you for being on. Can you tell me a little bit about what Canopy Cat Rescue is exactly and what inspired you and Tom to establish it?

Sean:

Yeah. So both Tom and I are professional tree climbers and climbers, so we started a company that specifically rescues cats from trees. A lot of people think that the fire department rescues cats in trees, and when people have a cat in a tree they learn really quickly that they do not rescue cats in trees. So in other parts of the country we just say, call like a tree service, because they know how to climb safely. But in our area we're definitely the go-to ones for cats in trees and other high places. We do roofs, We've done other things like grain silos, anything that we can use our expertise of, you know, being able to climb up something. That's where we come on in. A lot of people they call us for things that we do not help with, like cats under decks or cats in back units or cats in chimneys or even cats that need to be rehomed, and we get a lot of calls just because we're really well known for doing what we do?

Kristiina Wilson:

What did you do previous to this? Like I know, you said, you were an expert tree climber. Were you arborists? Like? What were your backgrounds?

Sean:

Yeah, so both Tom and I have been arborists for many years. My previous background before we started CCR was I was a professional mountain guide.

Sean:

So I was a professional climber and Tom was a municipal arborist, so he worked for several different municipalities as an arborist, you know, assessing trees, things like that, for disease and possible outcomes. And then, when we first started, we had our own company called Canopy Conservation, which we basically did contract work for Fish and Wildlife, where we would climb up into eagle nests, osprey nests and heron nests and make cameras up in those nests, and so when our tree service friends would get the call for a cat in the tree, they'd say, hey, just call these guys. They have a little bit more time on their hands than we do because we're cutting trees down today. And so that's kind of how we got started. Early 2000s, we decided to operate on donations and then, 2015, we had our own TV show on Animal Planet called Tree Talk Cat Rescue, and basically ever since then it's been full time, all day, every day, and now nowadays we average around 800 rescues a year.

Kristiina Wilson:

Wow, that is amazing. So for people who may not know where are you located, we are located in Washington State.

Sean:

Like I said, we get calls from all over the country but, yeah, mainly Western Washington and just as of recently, we've trained some volunteers that work on the east side of Washington State. So you know, obviously they'll go to areas in eastern Washington that are a bit of a drive.

Kristiina Wilson:

Cool, Can you walk me through like a typical? I'm sure there's probably nothing that's typical about any of these cases, but can you walk me kind of through a typical cat rescue operation? Sure.

Sean:

Yeah, I mean it all starts with a phone call and that's you know. That's obviously where it starts. You know we ask a lot of questions on the phone like how long the cat's been stuck, cat's name, where's the cat, is it your yard, neighbor's yard? That sort of all tells us. You know how to go about the rescue. You know if somebody calls at like 10 o'clock at night and it's a super skittish kitty, we're probably not going to come on out until the morning, right? But yeah, there's a lot of specifics there. But it starts with a phone call.

Sean:

We get some basic information and then we sort of plan based on that information. We come on out, we see the kitty in the tree and then we go about the rescue process and then we start climbing the tree. We climb the tree a number of different ways. Most of the time we shoot a line up into the tree and then we pull up a rope. Sometimes we'll use the spikes on the feet, which most people have seen, sometimes we'll use a ladder to get us started and other times we'll call it like a jungle gym tree, which is basically where you start climbing, just like a ladder from the very base of the tree, we'll get on up to the cat. We'll do our best to make friends with the kitty there's a lot of techniques there, for sure and then, when we get close to the cat, it sort of goes back to that initial conversation we have with the cat owner.

Sean:

Is this a super friendly kitty, is this a super skittish kitty, things like that. And then I'll sort of dictate, when we get up to the cat, what goes next. But essentially, when we get up to the kitty, we'll make friends with the kitty, we'll pick it up and we'll put it in a special sack or a net come down, have the cat owner bring it back inside, and then we're onto the next one.

Sean:

Um, we do a lot of unknown cats as well. So where people are calling, um, just they just randomly see a kitty in the tree, or their dogs spooked a kitty up in a tree, and then you know, obviously we'll help those as well.

Kristiina Wilson:

Right, so you mentioned behavioral techniques. Do you want to tell us a little bit about the techniques that you're using to assess and to also make friends with the cats when you're in the tree?

Sean:

Yeah, so I mean, other than being professional tree climbers, we literally write a book on cat behavior.

Kristiina Wilson:

Yeah, I bet.

Sean:

Because we've rescued nearly 8,000 cats from trees. I mean, I'm sure you and your listeners are well aware of things like vocalizations, the ears, the tail twitches, the body languages like vocalizations.

Sean:

You know the ears, the tail twitches, the body languages, all that really tells us, everything that we need to know about a cat Right, for example, when we're on the ground and the cat's like meowing loudly, obviously it wants some help. As we get closer to the kitty, if the meows sort of diminish and go into the lower register of like a growl, that's then that sort of red flags in our mind and we need to be prepared for the kitty to possibly go higher or not be receptive to help. And yeah, sometimes folks will describe their cat as super skittish and like oh, this cat, this cat, nobody can pick this cat up or touch it, and then we'll climb on up to it and it'll hop on our lap and start purring. Sometimes folks will describe the cat as super friendly. Oh, this cat loves everybody. And then we'll get up to the cat and the cat will try to attack us. So we see it all. Sure.

Sean:

We put a lot of faith in how people describe their cat and most of the time they're totally, 100% right. But other times we're surprised and it's completely opposite of how they describe their cat.

Kristiina Wilson:

Well, I think that makes sense. If cats are anxious and they're over threshold obviously because they're stuck in a tree that their behavior isn't necessarily going to match what their normal behavior is.

Sean:

But most of the time they're true to their temperament on the ground. Yeah. You know, for example, like a lot of times people don't know how to describe their cat. That's fair. We say so when strangers come over to the house. Can people pick it up and pet? It.

Sean:

Or does it tend to run and hide? And that's, that's the. That's the distinction that we're trying to get at, because a lot of times we'll ask that question is your kitty friendly or skittish? And they'll say, oh, it's super, super friendly. And then we'll ask more questions and when strangers come over, it tends to run and hide, and so that tells us what's the cat, what the cat's going to do up in the tree it's likely going to try to climb away from us yeah, that makes that makes a lot of sense.

Kristiina Wilson:

So what are some of the most challenging rescues that you've encountered?

Sean:

ones that are described as skittish.

Sean:

It's the ones that are, like you know, a one person only cat, where you know very few people can pick it up or touch it and then it'll climb away from us, Like it 'll climb to the very tippity top of the tree. We use the analogy star on the Christmas tree. They'll climb to the very tippity top of the tree and sometimes the trees are totally fine. You know, we can literally climb to the very top of the tree and touch the top of the tree Right. Other times it's a really skinny, unstable tree and we'll need to use a tall net with poles. Sometimes the cats and Tom's had a few of these recently where trees have been really close together the cat will go from one tree to the next tree, basically just trying away from you. Yeah.

Sean:

And those are pretty challenging. You know, sometimes we'll, you know, say we're playing cat and mouse up in the tree and you know we're the cat. Cats, um, so yeah, it's the ones that are like trying to get away from you up in the tree, but then also like it's the ones that are high jump risks. You know, if the cat's at 150 feet up in a tree over concrete and it's a high risk, then we're like boy, we should maybe give the kitty more time to come down a little bit or get them to a different position up in the tree or come back when a bunch of people can hold a sheet or a tarp underneath the tree to cushion their fall if they do jump, slip or fall. Yeah, those are. Those are sometimes the most challenging ones when you know we're worried about the cat's safety. Right.

Sean:

Just because you know we rescued thousands of cats. You know we have rescued, you know done a few where the cat jumped and didn't make it. So obviously that weighs a lot on us. It's hard for the cat owner but you know we can't. We can't guarantee what the cat's going to do.

Kristiina Wilson:

Of course not. Of course not. Do you ever have cases where the cat then does come down on their own? Uh-huh yeah.

Sean:

Yeah. So sometimes folks will call us and the cat's been stuck for like five minutes. Okay, like, hey, you might want to give them some time, maybe overnight, see if they can figure it out. After that give them some help. But we also factor weather, rescue, load things like that, and sometimes you know the cat will be stuck for several days and then we'll come on out. The cat will be really skittish and bolt to another tree or something, and then we'll say, hey, let's give the kitty some time because it's going to likely jump if I try to handle it in the tree, and then it'll come down the next day. Right, that doesn't always happen, and so we try to. We try to dispel a lot of the myths out there with cats and trees and so by encompassing all that, we we try to say anything as possible with cats and trees.

Kristiina Wilson:

That's fair. So what do you think some of those myths are?

Sean:

We. There's a lot of them.

Kristiina Wilson:

Yeah, well, what are the top ones that?

Sean:

you would talk about.

Sean:

A lot of people around the country, even like vets and pet professionals, will give out bad information about cats. The number one thing that people say that is the worst thing you can do is leave food at the base of the tree and, trust me, it's kind of like you know the litter box myth the cats are missing. Just put your litter box on out. It's kind of the same thing. The litter box is going to attract other things back to the porch and the food at the base of the tree is likely going to attract the very thing that chased the cat up to the tree back to the base of the tree right like in most scenarios, like, literally, you could put a big garbage can full of tuna or the smelliest fish in the world and that cat ain't coming down, I guarantee it.

Sean:

So, yeah, the food at the base of the tree. Bad call, don't do it. Um, but I get on the internet right now and a lot of online sources are going to be like just just pop up. Like almost every rescue we go on, there's an open can of tuna at the base of the tree, and I'm like folks.

Sean:

I mean, it's one thing if, like, you shake a bag of treats or yeah, that's fine, um, but you know, save, save the tuna for your tuna sandwich. Yeah, the? Um. The other big thing that we try to tell folks is uh, has nothing to do with hunger. You know, I recently rescued a cat in the fall that was stuck for 23 days.

Sean:

Cats, cats don't come down when they get hungry. It doesn't work that way, you know. You know, obviously, if you're listening to this podcast, you're probably a cat owner Like, how many times a day is your cat like batting at your face, or like following you around the house, saying feed me? Like twice a day, three times a day, and so those, those cats are hungry up in these trees. Uh, on average, when folks give us a call, it's been two or three days without food and water. Um, you know, and so, yeah, as, uh, I'd say, a couple of times every year we get cats that are stuck between 15 and 20 plus days. Um, a lot of people think that if a cat's going to go without a couple of days, they're going to run into fatty liver disease no but yeah, not, that's not the case yeah but uh, we, we get a lot of comments on social media.

Sean:

Oh, I hope it went to the vet. If it went two days without food and water it can run into this and I'm like that's not how it works yeah we rescue cats all the time that are stuck for many, many days without food and water. Thankfully, in our environment here in washington state it rains a lot, so it's wet, and then they can lick their fur and then get moisture that way. Yeah. But the food is not. They can go a lot longer than people realize without food and water.

Kristiina Wilson:

No, they can. But it's starting, just like humans. It's affecting the blood sugar and it's affecting critical thinking, and then we're just compounding the problem of not being able to any.

Sean:

Anytime they're stuck for over five days, we definitely recommend a vet visit yeah, yeah um, but um, yeah, it's. Some people think that, oh, the cat's been up there for seven, eight days without food and water. It's probably pretty weak yeah they.

Sean:

They have just like the one I did, um, that was stuck for 23 days. It had lots of energy. Like it, it had plenty of energy. It actually tried to get away from me up in the tree, but we, we certainly wish that sometimes they had less energy because we, you know, a little uh more likely to get them after they've been stuck for many days right.

Kristiina Wilson:

I think people also underestimate the fight or flight response of animals and the adrenaline surge that all animals, including humans, get when kind of faced with something that they're scared with.

Sean:

Right, and so those are a few things. The other big things that we try to dispel is who to call Outside of Washington State. There's a few other. There's a few other like cat and tree rescuers Minnesota, ohio, east Coast, portland, there's a few. But general, our general rules just try a tree service because they're the ones that know how to climb trees safely. It's usually not the fire department, like.

Sean:

A lot of times folks will call us and they're like, oh, we tried everybody, nobody will help us. We tried, we tried the fire department, we tried animal control, we tried the police, we tried the vets and I'm like, yeah, none of those, yeah, none of those people know how to climb trees. You got to think outside the box and like, okay, this particular emergency, who do I call? For? A tree, we recommend a tree climber. Like a tree service roof. Anybody with a tall ladder can get on up there. If it's like in an HVAC system in a house, call like an HVAC professional. If it's in a car engine, we recommend like a mobile mechanic. So basically, the emergency where the cat is, you got to call somebody that is a professional in that field.

Kristiina Wilson:

That's absolutely amazing. Practical advice. Yeah it makes sense. But I also think when people, when this happens to people, people are not thinking clearly, right to think you know you're just an emergency, like my friend is stuck and I don't know what to do, and so you just don't necessarily have your best, straightest thinking cap on about who you should call.

Kristiina Wilson:

So yeah good to have someone spell that out. So have you observed any kind of like common behavioral patterns in cats that get stuck in trees and like do you have any advice that you would give to cat owners to prevent situations like that?

Sean:

Yeah, a lot I mean. So most, most of the cats that we rescue are indoor, outdoor you know on inside they'll go out. They're the ones that we rescue. Are indoor, outdoor, you know on inside they'll go out. They're the ones that can they have kind of free roam. Obviously, we rescue some cats that are indoor.

Sean:

Only that will escape and then aside and they're, like you know, walking on the moon. They don't know what's what's up from what's down. Sometimes we rescue cats that are outdoor only or like barn cats. So obviously the first thing is you know if you can transition your kitty to indoor only, that's obviously going to keep them out of trees and, you know, keep them from getting hit by a car or attacked by a dog or any number of those things. The next thing to consider is if your kitty really likes to go outside and you have a lot of trees that he could possibly scamper up, an outdoor cat enclosure like a catio definitely is. Well, that's the number one thing that we recommend. Sometimes, if it's, we get a lot of repeat cats that climb the same tree or multiple trees. If they are climbing the same tree over and over again, you can put flashing around the tree to prevent them from getting super high. But then obviously you got to factor in why the cats are climbing the trees and so generally they're climbing trees to get away from something.

Sean:

It's usually a dog, a coyote or a cat. So obviously you know if it's a young, unfixed kitty. Sometimes they're getting into fights with other cats in the neighborhood because obviously you know, if it's a young, unfixed kitty, sometimes they're getting into fights with other cats in the neighborhood because they're cats that's not spayed and neutered, they're going to attract a lot of attention. Dogs can't really do much about that and especially coyotes can't really do anything about that. Coyotes are everywhere. So if you're in an area where there's a lot of coyote activity or a lot of off-leash dogs, or say you're in a neighborhood with, like you know, dogs on this fence, this fence, this fence like if the cat goes over there, cat's climbing a tree, guaranteed. Yeah.

Sean:

Or getting attacked by the dog. So if you're in a situation like that, definitely consider a catio. For sure that's going to prevent them from climbing trees, and those are kind of the big things to prevent them from climbing trees. Surprisingly enough, we still get people that ask us about declawing and I'm like, oh, my God, no like, and yeah, I'm like, and I just very, you know, politely said please don't, don't, ever, don't, ever do that. Even I would rather rescue your cat from a tree a hundred times before you consider declawing it. But, yeah, catios, keeping them indoors. We're big fans of the GPS trackers as well. Those obviously aren't going to prevent your cat from climbing a tree, but you're going to know where to look. We're big fans of the Tractive GPS tracking device because you get a little app on your phone. You can pinpoint on a map exactly where the cat is. And so, with the innovation of those, you know, 10-15 years ago I wouldn't you know GPS trackers for cats. They were too big.

Kristiina Wilson:

Yeah, didn't really.

Sean:

But now they're.

Kristiina Wilson:

They're really awesome, really accurate, and so we're big fans yeah, yeah, I've used those before and put them on feral cats that I TNR'd and I wanted to see, like, where they went.

Kristiina Wilson:

Oh yeah, and it's really interesting to see to like map their territories and see, see where they go. I would also just add to that list that, if it's possible, doing harness and leash training on your cat would be a great way for them to be able to safely enjoy the outside without them predating on other animals and without them being able to climb a tree and they may also be climbing trees out of boredom. So adding intellectual stimulation is always a great idea to do for your indoor kitties.

Sean:

Yeah, so that definitely comes with its own set of hazards. Yeah. We do get a lot of. We call them adventure cats. Yeah. That are like they take their cats for leash and harness walks and the number one thing that we see with that is the fit in the harness. Here comes big off-leash neighborhood dog. Yeah, the cat will squeeze on out of the harness and now they're miles away from their home. And now they climb a tree. That's fair.

Sean:

Then it's a much bigger emergency, because if the cat comes down now, it's lost, yeah. Or if the cat you know climbs a tree with the leash and the harness on, it could strangle itself. Yep. And so we're big fans of it. But we recommend, you know, a slow process, keeping really close to your house. You know, maybe bring some dogs around, because you know the cattle climb a tree and they're like, oh well, it's the off-leash dog's, you know fault. Well, yeah, it is, but you brought your cat out there. Yeah.

Sean:

And so, yeah, that's one of the emergencies that almost requires an immediate response. And yeah, it's great People you know take their kitties for a leash and harness walks, but baby steps.

Kristiina Wilson:

No, I absolutely agree, and when I mention that, I mean for people to keep their cats within their property because of exactly what you say. We have several of our cats who do harness walks, but where we live we live in a forest on the East Coast we have coyotes, bobcats, bears so many predators that live out here so we do not go beyond the confines of our property because it's not safe for anyone. So how do owners typically react during a rescue? Are they there when you're working? Does that kind of help or hinder the process? Like how does that all work?

Sean:

It really just depends on the owner. Sure Most of the time the owners are. You know they're pretty, they're pretty grounded. They got their senses about them and they can, they can. You know. We'll tell them to stand in a certain spot, keep an eye on the kitty. At times they are completely losing it and they're bawling, they're screaming there, and then we'll say, hey, you might want to go on inside the house and let us do our thing Right.

Sean:

Yeah, but for the most part. Um, the owners are really valuable when we're on scene, like people to watch the rescue, to let us know what the cat's doing up in the tree, we prefer, if they, you know, sometimes call for the cat, other times let us call for the cat because we want them to get used to our voice as we're getting close to the cat up in the tree. Sometimes, when we're doing night rescues, I'll tell people to not shine a light up in the tree because it'll blind us. Light up in the tree because it'll blind us. But, yeah, their eyes and ears on the ground are oftentimes very important so they can let us know what the cat's doing. You know if it's climbing higher, going out on a limb, things like that.

Kristiina Wilson:

Makes sense. Have you ever rescued an animal other than a cat, like a raccoon or you know?

Sean:

Yes, raccoons, yeah, we've rescued a couple raccoons, but generally raccoons don't need help. But the two that we've rescued they were young babies and a lot of times raccoons. They'll nest in cavities, holes in the tree. Unfortunately, sometimes they'll get one of their paws caught in the crack and we'll go on up there and use our net, but raccoons are like little tasmanian devils. You're not going up to a raccoon and petting them and picking them up um crazy. We've rescued a few pet iguanas, rescued a lot of parrots. The most unique thing that we've ever rescued is a pet sugar glider. That's like a flying squirrel. And a lot of wildlife, a lot of birds. Birds will fly down into lakes and they'll get kite string or fishing line wrapped around them and then they'll fly up in a tree and get caught in the tree. Right.

Sean:

The other thing that we do a lot is we work for local wildlife rehab units. They'll call us when owls fall out of the nest prematurely, and so we'll come on out and put the, so we'll put the owl back up in the nest. So when cats down, put owls back up. So yeah, we do.

Kristiina Wilson:

We do a lot of that, so lovely. I love that that you you do that extra work and I assume you must have to have your rabies prophylaxis working with all of these sure yeah, yeah different animals yeah, very. I mean, we rarely get bit oh no, I know, but I just to work with rabies vector species like raccoons and yeah.

Sean:

Well, I mean, if we get bit by a raccoon, that's bad news.

Kristiina Wilson:

I know.

Sean:

Yeah, trust me.

Kristiina Wilson:

As a rehabber I know their teeth are crazy, but have you ever had to rescue the same cat multiple times, because I think you mentioned that. What do you recommend to kind of prevent repeat offenders?

Sean:

Yeah. So getting back to those things that we talked about earlier, the cat doors, you know, like you mentioned, leash and harness, our record is seven times, oh my gosh, and there's three or four cats that we've rescued seven times. And yeah, I mean just getting back to those tips that we tell folks, you know, keeping them inside. But the thing that Tom and I really try not to do is judge the cat, of course and I really try not to do is judge the cat.

Sean:

Of course. Yeah, a lot of people, like we try not to post on our social pages repeat cats because people will really judge the cat owner Like well, I hope you charged them. Or like you know they they're not fit to own a cat, or oh, you know all these other things. And we're like man, we just that's not our job. Our job is to help the kitty get out of the tree, right? Sometimes the folks are just like, oh well, I wouldn't help them if this is the third time. I'm like well, what are you going to do?

Kristiina Wilson:

Yeah.

Sean:

The cat's still in the tree. So you're saying that you're just going to leave the cat in the tree and not help them. So we're helping, regardless. Whether it's the second, third time in a week or you know third, fourth time in a month, we're still helping them. We often tell folks it's not a lesson the cat learns, it's a lesson the cat owners learn. So the cat owner sort of needs to figure out how they can keep the cat from climbing a tree and all those things that we talked about earlier are what we talk about with the cat owner every single day, like something else I mentioned to you is getting them spayed and neutered.

Sean:

A lot of people don't. They're like, really that'll stop them from climbing a tree. We're like, well, yeah, because you know, here comes you know big Tom cat from down the road that's just patrols the neighborhood and he senses if your cat's not spayed and neutered, he's going to try to get in a fight with it. Yep, there they go. Little things like that. But yeah, those catios keeping them indoors, like you mentioned, leash and harness flashing around the tree, all those things, yeah. And the catio business is growing too. There's a company here in Seattle that we recommend. Catio.

Sean:

Sp spaces. They have plans on their website, but I think the big resource that people get out of that site is they can go there and they can see what's possible Like everything from like a little attachment off of a window or by four to like I've seen. I've seen people like incorporate their entire yard, like way the people have like the tunnels and stuff.

Sean:

Those are, those are amazing, yeah I, you know, I, uh, there's this one lady that I asked her how much she spent on her catty, on she. She estimated like 50, 60 grand. It had like water sources, a creek and like it was. Basically it looked like a big chicken coop wow. Wow, it like looks like, looked like something you'd see at a zoo. Wow.

Sean:

Yeah, we, you know, we recommend and there's there's another company that will. They'll contract out people to come on out and build them as well. But yeah, that's, that's something that is growing. It's kind of like with the GPS collars. Yes. Catios are becoming more popular, people are realizing the benefits of them, and Tom and I would definitely love to rescue a few less cats, for sure, but it's never the need for our services. It's never not going to be there.

Kristiina Wilson:

No, especially where you live with those big giant trees.

Sean:

Right. And so a lot of times, you know, you know, obviously we're pretty big on social but, like you know, we'll get people from, like the Midwest. They're like, oh, you've never seen a cat skeleton in a tree. And I'm like, well, have you ever? Have you ever climbed anything like this? Um, and so that's another. You know, getting back to those myths is like you've never seen a cat skeleton in a tree and I'm like, well, we've never seen a cat skeleton in a tree, but we've actually done recoveries in the tree so we've rescued dead cats.

Sean:

And the thing is is that you don't see skeletons. You don't see any skeletons in trees, whether it's a raccoon, a bird.

Kristiina Wilson:

Right.

Sean:

Or anything, because when they die, they fall out, yes, or die up there. They get picked off by any number of crow rabbit like that. So that's why.

Kristiina Wilson:

No, exactly.

Sean:

But then we'll like, our rebuttal is like okay, so you know, if you want to wait, how long are you willing to wait? You know, just getting back to the um, we Tom and I call them cat haters. Um, you know the people that they, they hear what we do and they're like that's just completely ridiculous. I'm like folks, it's not, it's, it's a little bit more involved with that. Like you know, they were doing it for the cat. We're also doing it for the cat owner. A lot of times people, like folks, will call us at, you know, eight or nine o'clock at night and the cat's been stuck for 45 minutes and they're not willing to wait.

Sean:

They want their cat down like now, um, and we'll do our best to work with a cat owner, uh, based on all those questions that we ask and where they're located in the tree and things like that. But, um, but you know, if people are down on like what we do, just think of us as, like you know, a pet reunition like sort of service, like we're, we're there just to bring the kitty back home. In a lot of other cases, we're there to save the cats mm-hmm so it's those two things that we try to educate folks on.

Sean:

But, yeah, the whole cat skeleton in a tree thing is, and a lot of times we'll, I don't you know. We have family that work for fire departments. Yeah. Even my best friend is a is a captain in the fire service. A lot of times people that say you've never seen a cat skeleton in a tree they work for fire departments because you know it basically just sort of gets them off the hook right and they don't you know.

Sean:

They're like, hey, like a lot of times people like I mentioned earlier, they'll call the fire department first thing, and sometimes the fire department is totally cool. They're like, oh yeah, ma'am, like just get online and find a local tree service in washington state. There's a company that does this. Sometimes they're really rude. They'll be like, ma'am, you've never seen a cat skeleton in? A tree click and I'm like there's a better way to go about it yeah, of course.

Kristiina Wilson:

Of course have you. Do you know of any cases where a cat has developed anxiety or fear after being stuck in a tree?

Sean:

the thing thing that we've noticed, especially with repeat cats. They'll recognize that they had to go into a sack. Right.

Sean:

And so if it's a friendly cat, and the first time it totally was fine with us getting it, and then the next time they're like hey, last time I had to go into this sack for the way down and I didn't like that right so they'll, they'll try to climb away from us, but we don't see a lot of like you know, like, say, like behavioral issues after they've been stuck or anything like that or at least we don't hear about it yeah, and so the best thing that we can say is, like you know, we do see some correlations between cats that have been stuck multiple times and, like a negative like you know association with how the rescue went.

Sean:

Sometimes I will rescue the cat the first time and, you know, say it was a skittish cat, and then the next time they'll be like well, I remember this person helped me out and they'll do their best to get to us, and so that's, that's a positive.

Kristiina Wilson:

Yeah, that's nice. Yeah, that's nice to hear. Do you collaborate with local animal shelters or vet clinics, or you know anybody in your community, or do people just kind of find you and know about you because of all your social media?

Sean:

Yes, all of that, OK, yes, all of that. Okay, anytime people get on. You know, I'm sure you guys know, there's literally a lost and found pet page for almost every city, county, at least in Washington. Yeah, anytime folks will get on there and they'll say, hey, what do we do with a kitty in a tree? They're going to say to call us. Right.

Sean:

But, you know, sometimes we'll. You know, we've actually done talks for our local animal control, a few for local fire departments. We'll hand out flyers to vets but surprisingly enough, some local vets they've never heard of our service Because a lot of times they're sort of in the dark. They'll be like oh, you know, obviously we can't help. Call your local fire department, right, and the fire department will give out our information. Sometimes folks will call a non-emergency or even 911 and then they'll give out our information, uh, which is great, but I wish people wouldn't call 911.

Sean:

Or a cat in a tree. Just get on the internet, um, and just type in cat stuck in a tree, washington, we're going to be the first ones that comes up. Um, so, yeah, we definitely work with, work with a lot of them. Um, you know, obviously sometimes we get unknown cats, uh, out of trees, work with, uh, we'll bring, sometimes we'll bring it to a shelter, um, but most of the time with unknown cats. And that's a popular question is what do we do with unknown cats? Um, so we always carry a microchip scanner, um, so we'll always scan unknown chat, unknown cats for microchip and, uh, most of the time, you know, kind of getting back to the GPS things. Most of the time people nowadays they have a microchip with their cat. Right.

Sean:

And so then obviously you got to call the chip company to get permission and most of the time they're happy to give us the information.

Sean:

Sometimes the information is not correct and so we'll have somebody in the neighborhood hold on to the cat gohmm, go around door-to-door, you know, talk to people and figure out where the cat lives. It's kind of last last case scenario that will take it to a shelter because shelters are so, so busy, so overrun, and like, say, we take like a pure black cat to a shelter, the odds of the owners finding that cat again are pretty slim.

Sean:

Yeah, because even if they go to the shelter's website, they're gonna be like oh my kitty is so hard to tell. So unless they actually go there and visit the cat. Right.

Sean:

So yeah, most of the time we will release the cat because basically what we found is the cats live really close to where they're in the tree, literally like a cartoon. Sometimes we'll get the kitty out of the tree, scan it no chip, no id, nothing, no nothing. We'll let it out of the sack, sort of see what it does. It'll run right across the street into a cat, like it's. It's so funny and obviously why we don't like to, you know, remove cats from their neighborhood. Literally they're right like they're a stone's throw from that tree. So yeah, that's generally our protocol with unknown cats, for sure.

Kristiina Wilson:

All right. Do you have any thoughts about expanding Canopy Cat Rescue into other regions? I know you mentioned kind of training some people on the eastern side of Washington State or doing training for other people who want to do this.

Sean:

Yeah. So, yes, the short answer is yes, the long answer is we're very hesitant. Right.

Sean:

What we do is extremely dangerous. Both Tom and I were professional climbers for decades before we ever started. You know climbing trees for cats and so the last thing we want to do is, you know, have somebody that's really inspired by what we do. But if never, they don't even know like basic knots and for them to have, you know, start climbing trees is is pretty dangerous thing. Definitely recommend people getting, if they're interested in doing this, working for a tree service, getting training for tree climbing, things like that, before they ever even think about, because basically, climbing the tree is only 50% of what we do.

Sean:

The other half is winning over a stressed out cat. So we recommend getting a lot of training before ever even rescuing a cat. The two folks that I recently trained were really good friends of mine and they were both professional rock climbers. So they were, you know, they had the whole skill set and basically just carrying over the skill set from rock climbing to trees is a pretty quick transition. The other folks that you know want to do what we do. Uh, we're really stoked when we get people that work for tree services, because we don't need to teach them anything about climbing, we just need to teach them the cat behavioral side. Right.

Sean:

And that's the angle that we really want to work. Um, we don't. Tom and I don't want to spend weeks teaching people how to climb. So if they can get that training separately and then come to us, then we can quickly teach them in a day or so the ins and outs of dealing with a stressed out cat. That's the angle that we want to work. So, you know, potentially we're definitely looking for people in other parts of the country that have the climbing skill but are interested in learning about cats and particularly, you know, people that live in areas that are in areas that were that are many hours away from us.

Sean:

We don't need anybody else in the Seattle, tacoma, olympia area because those are areas that we go to every day. We need areas. We need people like. A black hole area is northern California, hole area is Northern California. If you get a cat stuck in a tree in Northern California, you are the odds of you finding somebody are pretty slim and hopefully that's going to change soon. Places that are a little bit more rural, where, like, the services are hours away, that's going to be hard to find somebody for help. Right, it's areas like that that we want to find people that are willing to rescue cats. But yeah, definitely, expansion is definitely in our future, for sure.

Kristiina Wilson:

That's. That sounds amazing, and I hope that you find some people to come on board with you. You did mention teaching people behavioral techniques for winning over cats in the trees. Can you tell me a little bit about what you guys do? I can't believe I didn't ask you that before, so yeah, I mean a lot of times.

Sean:

you know, obviously the first thing is learning the cat's name and how the cat owners call their cat, and so you know this, all the other people that are listening cats have a name, right, so your cat's name is Spike. You don't ever call the cat Spike. Call it Smoochie or Spoochy or goofy or fuzzy pants or anything like that. That's, that's what we're trying to learn from the cat owner, right, how you call it. We've learned that different nationalities call their cats differently, want to sort of get on that page and how they call the cat, and so that's, that's number one.

Sean:

But also the big thing that we do is, when we get close to the cat, don't just reach up and grab the cat. If you do that, you're going to end up fighting the cat. Well, the first thing you want to do is let them smell you. You want the cat to be as comfortable with you as possible, and so sometimes I'll use I'll use a product called FeloA or FeloA to mask the smell of other cats, because a lot of times if we're climbing a tree or a cat's been stuck for multiple days, we're getting cat pee on us and other stuff. I'll use that, or I'll use a natural bug spray to just basically make myself smell good and the cat's really interested in that.

Sean:

Because if you get up to the cat and the cat's smelling like a stressed out pee on you, cat's going to be like yeah things like that, but also reading, reading the cat's behavior, like the vocalizations you know, like earlier, if the cat's going from like a super high pitch, help me meow to when we get close to it's growling, I might take the time to put on my bite-proof gloves and then approach the cat. You know, if the, if the tail, like any of your listeners know that, you know when you come home from the grocery store what does the cat's tail do? It goes up like this, I'm happy to see you. But if it's like low and twitchy like this, that's a red flag. Also, the ears, you know, if they're straight up, straight up, cat's not bothered. But if they're down and pointed, recognize that for sure.

Sean:

And if the cat, you know, if we get them, get on up to the cat and the cat stands up on the branch and is like, oh hey, how's it going, that's really good. Um, if the cat stays crunched down, ears pinned back, growling, that's a cat that's going to be a pretty difficult customer. Um, so yeah, things like that. Um, learning those, those subtle cues, but the vocalizations, they tell us a lot. Yeah.

Sean:

Sometimes they don't tell us anything like, uh, my East side volunteers. They went to a place in Spokane that's five hours from me, but it was only two hours for them and the cat wasn't meowing at all. No, zero meows. Even when somebody went to the base of the tree and said, hey, kitty, kitty, no meows. And so that tells us that it could be.

Sean:

Could be not always, could be a stray, could be a feral feral cats they're not super vocal up in trees, but other other times the cat just could just be quiet and uh, so it turns out the cat was super friendly, it just wasn't making any sound and but, uh, the rescue was difficult but you know, they were able to get the kitty down. But a lot of times the vocalizations tell us a lot. But yeah, um, learning those things, how to how to talk to the cat. Sometimes what we'll do is we'll tap loudly on the trunk, because what we want the cat to do is stay focused on us. What we don't want to do is just be climbing up, not talking to the cat. Tom and I are constantly talking to the cat, almost to a point of annoyance. A lot of times I'll wear know, you know, wear a GoPro and video like the rescue process and I'm like I get annoyed at myself how much I'm talking to the cat and you know, can't do anything about them. We want the cat to focus on us.

Sean:

The thing we want the cat to do is start wandering around and start looking at other options. So basically, if the cat's focused on us, that's really good, but then if the cat's focused on us, that's really good. But then if the cat turns around and puts its paws in the trunk and, you know, looks like it might go higher, that's where we act pretty quickly.

Kristiina Wilson:

Yeah, that makes sense. So there's just a few listener questions. One person wanted to know if you've ever kept a stray cat that you found in a tree.

Sean:

I haven't because quick sad story my cat recently passed. I'm so sorry. He was a big bully. He did not like other cats. He loves dogs, but he did not like other cats. Tom has Tom's kept two or three Great cats. I think maybe one or two he kept for forever. The other is like he just kept them for a short period of time and then found homes for them. So yeah, short answer is I haven't Tom.

Kristiina Wilson:

Got it All right. Another person wants to know and I think that we touched on this already, but do you find that most cats have escaped, or are they allowed outside by their owners?

Sean:

Both.

Kristiina Wilson:

Yeah.

Sean:

Both for sure, and the ones that are allowed outside are less likely to climb a tree than the ones that are escaped. The ones that are, you know, say our total percentage. You know it's a smaller percentage of indoor only cats. However, if an indoor only cat escapes and they get outside, like I said, they are, they're not aware of their surroundings and they're in the backyard. They're just like said, they're not aware of their surroundings and they're in the backyard. They're just like whoa, what's this place? And then any loud noise, say a garbage truck picking up the trash that could spook a cat up a tree.

Sean:

As opposed to an indoor-only cat. It's very aware of their surroundings, they know the dogs next door, they know the cat down the street, they know everything. So yeah, we see it a lot and we see it most of the time in the summer. So we're busy. You know, busiest from May through October when you know windows are open and weather's nice and uh yeah, um, you know, between between Tom and I like a busy day in the summer we can juggle as many as a dozen rescues.

Kristiina Wilson:

Oh my gosh Wow.

Sean:

So a lot of times we're just sort of, you know, connecting the dots around the Puget Sound area and just get to as many cats as we can.

Kristiina Wilson:

That is crazy. That is a lot of cat rescues. And then the last listener question that I think that we also kind of touched on is what is the challenge about getting the word out about your services? And it doesn't seem like you have much challenge about getting the word out about your services.

Sean:

Yeah, and, like I mentioned, ever since we had our own TV show. We knew doing the TV show is would propel us to, you know, cat rescue startup. But now it's, it's, the work's done. Right.

Sean:

And so now the challenge is to, you know, do as many as we can, um, and then the ones that we can't get, to help them find somebody. And yeah, like I, I think this is actually going to be our biggest year ever. Just given how many Tom and I've done so far this year, I think that this year we'll probably do like 850 rescues, wow. And so what tom and I do? We never take vacation at the same time, so we'll always coordinate our vacation and, uh, make sure that the other person's available, and then, usually, if one of us is on vacation, it's like a madhouse for the other person's available, and then, usually, if one of us is on vacation, it's like a madhouse for the other person. You know, all day nonstop and getting cats.

Kristiina Wilson:

All right. So how can our listeners help to sustain your operations, cause you guys are a nonprofit. So what can people do to help support you? Do you want to shout anything out? This is your time for self-promotion.

Sean:

Yeah, so I mean, the best thing that folks can do is donate. You know, donate on our website, canopycatrescuecom. We also have a Venmo sources like that they can check. Anything like that is greatly appreciated. They can share our social media posts. That's always great.

Sean:

But, yeah, you know, know, we operate as a non-profit, so the more folks can donate the better. It's definitely going to go to, obviously, the rescue process, but also training other people and finding people in other parts of the country to help rescue cats. Yeah, if you're on the west coast, definitely give us a shout. Uh, in other parts of the country, you know, like I said, we'll recommend, you know, see if they can find a tree service. But also there's a directory on cat in a tree rescuecom. There's a directory of tree services that occasionally help cats and trees. Most of those folks will charge. You know, a side note of like us operating on donation really inspired a lot of other tree climbers around the country to do so as well. So that's super positive. But, yeah, donating is the best way that folks can support our service.

Kristiina Wilson:

Okay, and so, for people listening, if you want to go to the Hissintel website on this episode guide, I will have a link to the Canopy Cats website where you can go and donate, so you can just easily access it that way. And I want to thank you so much, sean, for coming on the podcast and sharing about the amazing service that you guys provide and for helping so many cats and, yeah, just for everything that you both do. Thank you so much and for sharing all these insights.

Sean:

Yeah, Thanks. Thanks for having us and yeah, definitely check out our social pages. We we can't post enough. All right. Our rescues a year. You know, a lot of times in the summer, like I'll tell folks, I'll preface our posts. Hey, if we haven't posted for three, four or five days, that means we're very busy. It doesn't mean that we're just sitting at home bored. Right.

Sean:

Like I have a backlog in my phone of probably 15, 20 rescues that I haven't posted. So yeah, definitely check out our social pages and a lot of people are really entertained by our posts. The other day I rescued a cat named Ganon. Ganon is one of the final bosses in the Zelda video game series, and so it was fun to sort of parody the rescue as opposed to rescuing a final boss. He actually turned out to be a very difficult cat, but you know, at the end of the day, really sweet. So yeah all right.

Kristiina Wilson:

Well, I'm sure everyone will go to check that out and thank you again. So much for everything. It's been lovely talking to you.

Sean:

Yeah, Nice to meet you guys and uh, thanks for having me on and got a kitty in a tree. Give us a call.

Kristiina Wilson:

Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review wherever you listen. It's super helps for more information and to support our podcast. Check out our website at his Intel podcastcom. You can also find us on Instagram at hissandtellpodcast. Music provided by Cat Beats.

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