PITTSBURG, Kan. (KSNF) — For one cat in southeast Kansas, climbing to new heights was a bad idea. However, this black cat had some luck on his side, thanks to a woman and her love for all animals.
As the director of Nature Reach at Pittsburg State University (PSU), Delia Lister has been working with animals for more than three decades.
“We have about fifty different animals in the program,” said Lister.
One animal she doesn’t typically work with is the domestic house cat — but that would all change.
On the morning of December 19, one of Lister’s students at PSU called and alerted her to a cat stuck in an unusual and very dangerous spot.
“This cat situation was a bit new; we’re use to looking for birds on power poles, you know, hawks or owls,” said Lister.
Instead of a bird, she found a young, black cat in need of rescue. Lister said she knew exactly who to call for help.
“Luckily, I have a good working relationship with Evergy. They’ve sponsored a lot of (our) programs and built our raptor cages for us, and so they very kindly brought a bucket truck out,” said Lister.
(Photo courtesy: Delia Lister)
Armed with a tote and a blanket, a single Evergy Electric Utility employee attempted the rescue.
“The wires are live, right, so he was hoping the cat would jump in the box and it did, pretty easily, and it came down and I covered it with a towel and got it in a pet carrier pretty quick. Then I took it up to my house to make sure it was okay,” said Lister.
Besides having an empty stomach, the cat was in good shape, and very friendly. Within hours of the rescue, Lister called up a friend who was looking to adopt.
“She picked up the phone right away and she said, ‘well, let me think about it,’ said Lister. “Within thirty minutes it was, ‘oh, okay I’ll take him,” she said while laughing.
(Photo courtesy: Delia Lister)
The cat not only has a new home, but a new name.
“His name is Ranger because he ran up a power pole like a Power Ranger,” Lister said laughingly.
Now in a much better situation, “Ranger” is lucky to have been found by someone with a love for all wildlife.
“We care about wildlife here, but we also care about people’s pets, and all animals, so it was a good feeling to get an animal in a home pretty quickly that needed it,” said Lister.
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