The following is a first-hand account from KSAT reporter Tim Gerber after a curious cat got tangled up in his Christmas lights
We’ve all seen videos of animals trapped in difficult situations, whether it’s a skunk with a plastic bottle stuck on its head or a deer with its antlers tangled up with something that requires human intervention to free them.
Last night, I came face to face with a curious cat that got all tangled up in my neighbor’s Christmas lights.
I was just heading out for my evening walk in the park with my dog when my neighbor called me over to their yard.
“Hey Tim, you ever see this happen?” the neighbor asked.
To my surprise, there was a young cat that had gotten himself all twisted up in their net lights that go around their shrubs.
This poor cat was really stuck and it was really scared. It was jumping, twisting, hissing and clawing anytime my neighbors tried to get it free.
I gave them some suggestions on what to do and went on my walk.
When I returned home the cat was nowhere to be found so I assumed they had freed it.
A short time later a young man knocked on our door and asked, “Did you know there’s a cat in your yard that is trapped in some Christmas lights?”
I immediately went outside with the teenager who was trying to free the cat.
I grabbed some thick gloves I use for stoking my BBQ pit fire and a pair of scissors and started clipping the cords that were tightly wrapped around the cat’s neck and body.
The little guy was so scared and would not calm down to let me help. That’s when I called in reinforcements.
We were hosting our neighborhood HOA board meeting at our house that night and one of the board members, Daniel Buchheit, happens to be a San Antonio firefighter.
I went inside and interrupted the meeting telling Daniel, “I need a fireman out here.”
Without hesitation, Buchheit donned my BBQ gloves and went to work on the tangled web of lights.
The cat calmed down for the first time and let the firefighter do his work. Within a few minutes, the kitty was free and took off under a fence.
Minutes later, an Animal Care Services van pulled up. My neighbor had called them when they were unable to free the cat.
I had a good chuckle with the ACS worker when she asked, “Were you able to save the Christmas lights?”
Even though the cat looked fine running off into the night I was still worried about it. My concerns were alleviated this morning when I saw the cat prowling around the neighborhood.
I’m not sure who the cat belongs to or if it’s a stray but I hope he learned a lesson and will stay away from Christmas lights in the future.
I’d hate for it to end up like that cat in “Christmas Vacation.”
You can watch the video of the rescue in the video player at the top of this article.