ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — An Air Force veteran is constant his public service by serving to Asheville communities and surrounding areas catch cats that obtained a bit too curious.
Retired Air Force colonel Spencer Cocanour affords free assist by Asheville Tree-Top Cat Rescue, rescuing cats from timber. He went from working particular operations and private restoration with planes and pilots to non-public restoration of cats.
What may need began as a joke between Cocanour and his spouse has become a really actual operation.
“So, I decided to buy my own tree climbing kit and my wife looks in the garage and sees it hanging on the hook and says, ‘what’s that?’”
“Well, I might have to rescue a cat someday, Hun!”
And just a month later, that’s exactly what happened.
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“I’m up to about 140-150 cats that I’ve rescued out of trees,” Cocanour said.
One might think with his military training, climbing trees would be a piece of cake for Cocanour.
That would be wrong, though, as Cocanour explains.
“Dead trees are ones that I’m always really cautious of,” he said. “I try not to climb dead trees, I’ll even usually climb a live tree next to it and try to either swing over to the dead tree or I’ll tie off on another tree just in case something snaps so that I don’t go tumbling down, I’ve done that before.”
Cocanour says most cats will come down on their own by day two but that’s not always the case.
“Dehydration is my biggest concern when it comes to a cat in a tree,” he said. “So if you go more than four days, they start having a lot of kidney issues.”
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But before it gets to that point, he’s ready with his climbing shoes. No, not a laddershoes.
“So basically, spikes on your shoes that helps you climb up.”
And these cat rescues can look loads like a scene out of an excellent spy movie.
“If it’s a friendly cat and it’s an easy tree to set, I’ll shoot a line up there, tie it off and just climb the rope up to get the cat.”
If you’re a courageous soul that want to assist Cocanour on his mission otherwise you simply want your cat rescued, you may contact him by Facebook on the Asheville Tree-Top Cat Rescue web page.
“As long as I’m still able to climb the trees, I’m still doing it,” he said. “Keeps me entertained.”
