Salty the Cat - Lucky To Be Alive

You could say Salty is one lucky dog.

In reality, Salty is a year-and-a-half old white cat that came close to using one of his proverbial nine lives.

But thanks to a concerted effort by Riverside neighbors rallying to get help - for both the feline and his distraught owner, Salty is back in the warm confines of Martha Santora's home.

Unfortunately, that trip back home took some frigid, snowy and precarious turns.

The saga all began very inoccuously last Saturday morning - Oct. 29. As she does every morning, Mrs. Santora fed Salty and let him out to explore the neighborhood. "I had to go out and run an errand. I was a little worried because he wasn't sitting on the back porch like he usually does when I come back. When he wasn’t around, I was wondering what was happening," she recalled.

Unbeknowst to Mrs. Santora, as enveloped Greenwich and the rest of Connecticut, her beloved cat was literally - up a tree. It was a neighbor's 80-foot tall Norway maple. But she didn't learn of it until Halloween - two days later. It was Halloween night when a neighbor - Beth Hrnciar was told by a treat-or-treater that a white cat was hovering on a branch of a nearby tree.

She checked out the youngster's story and sure enough, saw the cat. She said she called the fire department and she was told that the department couldn't provide assistance - aside from the fact they were busy with calls for downed power lines and trees, and other storm-related emergencies that continued through Wednesday.

So Hrnciar, an unabashed animal lover who's been involved with cat and dog rescues and adoptions for several years, told a friend about the dilemma. And here is where that old saw "a friend, of a friend, of a friend" comes into play.

Hrnciar's related the dilemma to a friend who works with Lisa Errickson of Greenwich. When Errickson heard the story from the mutual friend, she contacted her boyfriend Mike Helupka, another Greenwich native, who owns a . Given all of the storm damage cleanup work, Helupka was able to finally make his way to the Riverside neighborhood of Thornhill Road about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Helupka said he donned his tree-climbing equipment - those special belts, spiked boots and harnesses - and climbed up the towering Norway maple in the neighbor's backyard. Given the location, he couldn't use his tree-trimming truck with the cherry-picker bucket that place tree-workers high into the air.

"I climbed the tree," Helupka said. "He appeared to me to be in shock. He was shivering, meowing … he clung to my sweatshirt, but he was so weak that he put up very little resistance," Helupka recalled. "I put the cat in the large canvas duffle bag and lowered it down with a rope. Beth (Hrnciar) took the cat and took it the neighbor’s house."

Helupka seemed rather modest about being the cat's rescuer. "I wished I could've done it sooner if I had known. I have a couple cats of my own and felt bad about it. But it kind of worked out well."

Hours after the pair were reunited, Mrs. Santora said, "I just gave him fresh water … a can Fancy Feast. Of course he ate that up very nicely. He’s kind of lazy right now and trying to get his act together. I'm just going to let him chill out and just relax and get acquainted with the house again."

She added, "He's been up the tree since Saturday … I don’t know whether a dog chased him or the weather, with it snowing so badly … he must have gotten spooked and ran up the tree." Irregardless of what prompted Salty to climb the tree, he amazingly survived 4 1/2 days in his perch.

Mrs. Santora said she was going to wait a day or two before bringing Salty to the vet for a checkup. Having an appetite, wanting to perch on her lap with a blanket, and not having any visible signs of distress, she decided to wait on that vet visit. "He's been so traumatized. I can't bring him into the vet's office, with dogs barking."

Mrs. Santora, who rescued Salty via the Adopt-a-Dog pet rescue agency, said that although she didn't have the opportunity to personally meet Helupka to thank him, she said, "God bless him."

And this was the second time Salty has been rescued. Mrs. Santora adopted him as a kitten, through just a year ago.

Helupka said that despite his busy tree-trimming business, he'd be glad to help anyone if they find themselves in similiar situation.