Rescued tabby returns to area

By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff
May 1, 2008

NORTH BRANFORD — The cat came back.

And even if it wasn’t the very next day, those who worked to rescue him from a tree last week were happy to see him Wednesday.

The brown tabby cat that was stuck in a tree off of Branford Road for six days last week returned to the area Wednesday. Pam Cramer, who lives next door to the property where the tree stands, said he appeared midday.

“I was sitting on the porch wondering how (the cat) was,” Cramer said. “All of a sudden, I heard ‘meow’ from under the porch, and there it was.”

Cramer said she fed the cat, which she described as “emaciated” but very friendly. The cat is definitely the one she first noticed in the tree April 19.

“I’ve been looking at it long enough,” she said.

The owner of a tree-care company rescued the cat, which sat in branches at least 40 feet off the ground, using a bucket truck Friday. But in the process of transferring the cat from a bag to a carrier crate, it escaped and ran away across Branford Road.

On Wednesday, the cat was taken to the Branford Animal Shelter, which also covers North Branford. Animal Control Officer Pam Medlyn said the cat appears relatively healthy and he will visit the veterinarian tomorrow.

“I wouldn’t say that he’s totally dehydrated,” Medlyn said. “For the most part, what he’s been through, he looks pretty good.”

She added that the cat will be adoptable if he tests negative for feline AIDS and leukemia. Although animal control officers said last week that the cat might be feral, Medlyn said she now believes he is domesticated, based on his behavior while at the shelter.

“Nobody’s claiming him,” she said. “Nobody in the neighborhood said he’s their cat.”