Rescuing Rocket, the cat stuck up a tree for several days

On Tuesday morning, an AT&T worker attempted to rescue Rocket, the orange and white cat stuck up an 85-foot-pine in Los Gatos, with his bucket truck.

The 3-year-old male cat had come down quite a bit from where it had been the prior evening, when an arborist tried, unsuccessfully, to scoop-up the beloved animal, who’d been trapped in the tree, in front of Parlour 308, since Friday.

But unfortunately, the extension arm didn’t reach high enough, and the cat continued to mew mournfully, as the communications company worker had to admit defeat.

On Monday, more than 50 local residents had watched as a professional arborist ascended towards the fearful cat, with some on the ground holding a sheet to catch the pet if it took a tumble.

Some had even traveled from San Jose and Felton, specifically to try to check in on the plight of Rocket.

Hairdresser Rachael Martines, of Parlour 308, says she first noticed the treed cat on Saturday morning, though other residents said they spotted him Friday evening.

Firefighters and animal control had been unable to solve the puzzle of how to get Rocket off the tree.

Kevin Gutierrez is a certified arborist and tree risk assessment professional. He works full-time for PG&E as a senior vegetation management inspector, based out of Isleton, Calif.

Gutierrez has done five cat rescues in San Jose over the last year through his company Tlalli Arborist, which he started in January.

Rocket’s owner, Elva Kogl, reached out to Gutierrez around 10am Monday morning, arriving in Los Gatos at Alpine Avenue and East Main Street at 6pm.

He spent five hours trying to get Rocket down, deploying a variety of different cat-collection techniques.

“I love everything about trees. I love what I do,” said Gutierrez, who says he’s rescued 20 cats in total. “I was talking with my wife, Juanita, through my bluetooth headset, and it’s really her and I going back and forth speaking, and I just follow her lead. The tree is about 85 feet, and Rocket urinated on me at one point—and I stayed where I was at and didn’t move.”

Gutierrez climbed into the canopy, and one person suggested bringing up a blanket to catch the cat if it fell or jumped. He spoke to the animal and shook the tree a little.

With the wind gusting—bending the trunk like a twig—Gutierrez had to shut down that approach.

He says he knows his limits. Pushing the envelope further could put his own life in jeopardy, he says.

“It didn’t want me to leave the tree, and he was meowing for a while,” he said. “We set up a cat trap at the end with sardines and water, and hopefully the cat will come down the tree and into the cage.”

The trap was left about 70 feet up.

Gutierrez charges $350 for his service, but notes he got $470 in donations.

Onlookers come from near and far

Martines has been working at Parlour 308 for 18 years.

When she and her friend first realized that Rocket was up the tree, they went to two fire stations in Los Gatos—the one on University Avenue and the one on Shannon Road—for help with the emergency situation.

“So, Sunday morning before I got here, the fire department and animal control showed up,” she said.

One of Martines’s customers, Danielle Stafford, says she’s seen Rocket on her driveway several times.

“The community came together,” she said of the outpouring of concern for Rocket, pointing to strangers offering to chip in to cover the rescue bill and the folks who held on to a blanket at the base of the tree.

Sunayna Almal heard about Rocket on Sunday, via a Nextdoor post.

“I came here around noon today,” she said. “I came with some sheets and water to help. I have a cat myself and was imagining my cat in the same situation.”

In fact, it was Almal who called Gutierrez, since she’s used him in the past.

Almal came to check up on Rocket, Monday night. She said it was inspiring to see everyone pitching in.

Russell Brown, of Felton, first heard about Rocket when he was visiting the Self-Realization Fellowship across the street on Sunday at 9:30pm.

“People knew about the cat before then, because people put a sign on the tree,” Brown said.

Efforts to rescue the cat resumed on Tuesday evening.

Suddenly, before 6:30pm, Rocket shot off like a missile. Down through the branches. Disappearing.

A few minutes later, Kogl told the Los Gatan Rocket had arrived safely at home.

Miraculously, he didn’t seem to have any serious injuries.

But he won’t be able to avoid a trip to the vet.