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It’s been a busy season of cat rescues for Central Electric Cooperative Serviceman Chris Laite. In May, Chris was dispatched to a member’s home to rescue a wayward cat who had managed to get to the top of a power pole with a transformer. The owner called Central Electric Cooperative to ask for help.
Chris says when he arrived at the property, the owner told him the cat had been up there for about a day and a half. Proceeding with caution and safety, Chris disconnected the power on the single-span tap to the transformer to protect himself and the cat.
“I decided to do that just in case he decided to go crazy,” Chris says with a laugh.
The owner said the cat was friendly, but having rescued felines before, Chris took one more protective measure—a sweatshirt. This way, he would be covered if claws came out during the ride down.
Chris says the cat eyed him warily as he approached in his bucket, but cautiously sniffed his hand when he got near enough to rescue him.
“He sniffed my hand, looked at me, and I reached over and picked him up,” he says. “I took a picture with him because he was the first cat that ever waited for me to arrive.”
No stranger to rescues, Chris says cats often become skittish and jump down or to the nearest object.
With the furry bundle tucked in his arms, Chris moved down the boom.
“I will admit (the cat) started questioning what was going on as we moved down,” he says. “That’s when the dew claw came out, and he held on.”
Once safely back on the ground, Chris handed the cat to the grateful owner.
The cat is safe, and CEC has received no further reports of him trying to climb up any power poles.