4:30AM is too early for cat "rescue"

So I sleep in till about 4:15AM today. Really is sleeping in for me. Get up, head for the bathroom. Nicki always comes up and follows me in, and if I'm not quick enough, starts screaming at me to hurry up. No screaming today.

I head downstairs, no sign of Nicki following me, but Derry's waiting.

All of a sudden, I hear the sound of thundering hooves...paws...and Nicki comes tearing downstairs and heads straight for the patio door, wanting out, now.

I flip on the back light, don't see anything, figure he's caught sight of a raccoon or something else in the tree behind my fence. I feed the boys, they eat about half their food, then demand to go out back pronto.

Out they go, I fix my coffee. Notice they're both still very intent, at the back the of the fence. I go to the screen and look...and hear a tiny "meow." Not a kitten meow, just a tiny meow. I start chanting, Please god, don't let it be injured or dying, even though I don't believe in a personal deity.

I scramble for a flashlight, because it's not quite 4:30AM and it's dark, take my spray water bottle because both Toby and Niko are out front (Toby with a terrible sounding cough, by the way) and heaven only knows what fight will ensue. Rush around the back of my townhouse, followed by Niko, and shine the flashlight beam around.

There, on the utility box behind my fence, is a short-haired black cat with a white bib, lying comfy as you please, not appearing to be in any distress. I start talking to him/her...then hear another little meow. Look up into the tree...And there's a big bundle of black floof looking down at me, a cat part way up on the branches, looking distressed--panting.

I say a few choice words, run back to the house to get a step stool, treats and gloves, and head back to the tree. The short-haired black cat finally saunters off while I'm opening the step stool, and this seems to ease the stuck cat's mind a bit. I should point out that my Nicki is going ballistic in our back space while this is going on, yeowling his fool head off and generally making a ruckus.

But how to get this cat down? I rattle and open the bag of treats and get up on the stool. Mr. or Ms. Kitty shows interest in the scent of the Temptations, but doesn't move. Mr. or Ms. Kitty is fat, by the way, not a stray and hungry cat by any means. I'm impressed it even got up the tree in the first place.

Finally, finally, s/he maneuvers around and ends up on a lower branch, then a lower one still. I hold out my hand with the treats and there's lip-licking but no eating. Then, when I'm thinking this cat never will make a move to come down, s/he gets low enough to grab while I've got both feet on the ground. I pry him/her off the tree trunk and put him/him down, offer some treats, which are ignored. A few minutes later, s/he wanders off, presumably in the direction of home.

I think, Thank goodness! And think this is way too much excitement for 4:30AM on any day.

So I can't really say I rescued the cat, because s/he eventually would have come down once feeling safe. I imagine s/he went up the tree instinctively, to get away from the other black cat, but of course that's speculation.

I'm just hoping we don't have a repeat "adventure" any time soon!

Snapped with the little Canon Elph on the way to work yesterday.

 Universal Blessings and Light to All Beings.