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I follow the sound to the side of the building, then hurry forward. Ensley has climbed a tree in her boots and suede skirt, clutching a limb with one arm and the mama cat in the other.
“Ensley?” I ask.
She doesn’t answer. Her face is buried in the cat’s fur.
I approach the tree. There is no way for her to get down with the cat in her arms.
“Pass me the cat,” I say. “Then I will get you down.”
She turns her head ever so slowly. Her voice is raspy, dark with fear. “I don’t think I can move.”
I pull out my phone and quickly text Todd to bring a stepladder. “I’m getting reinforcements.”
Ensley hangs on to the tree. Her curls are a riot around her face. The cat is angry in her arms, yowling to be put down, but isn’t biting or scratching.
“So you followed her up the tree?”
Ensley’s big eyes meet mine. “I didn’t think I was climbing as far as I was.”
“Just hold on. Todd’s on his way.”
Todd emerges from the back side of the clinic with a ladder. “What’s going on, boss?” Then he sees Ensley. “Oh.”
“Set it here,” I say, pointing at a spot below the cat. I climb up the steps, my lab coat flapping in the breeze. I reach up and carefully disentangle the cat. I pass it down to Todd. “Take her in through the back to avoid the dogs. There’s a box with her kittens on the reception desk. Get them in a kennel and feed them. We’ll do a full exam in a bit.”
Todd curls the cat in his arms. “Gotcha.” He shakes his head up at Ensley. “She okay?”
Ensley still clutches the tree, hiding her face in her arm.
“I’ll get her,” I say to Todd.
I wait until he circles back around the clinic. Ensley seems distraught.
I take another step up so that I’m level with her face. “Can you not get down?” I ask softly.
She shakes her head.
“Are you afraid of heights?”
“Not until now.” When the tree quivers, she sucks in a breath.
“I can help you.”
She nods.
Crazy woman, going up after a cat in a tree when she’s this afraid.
I take in her position to determine the best way to get her down. If I can get her to let her legs fall, I could probably get her close enough to the ladder that she’ll let go.
But I’m not sure. She’s got a death grip on the limb.
“Ensley, look at me. We’re going to do this together. Okay?”
She nods.
“No one can see us. It’s just us.”
She nods again.
