The front deck sits about twelve feet off the ground, and is accessible only through the upstairs doors. There’s no ladder or stairs. There is only one other way down, and only one of our cats has ever learned to go down that 6x6 supporting post. Many go up and find themselves stranded, but only one comes down.

Are you ready, Urchin? (No kidding, I asked him this, and he said yes.)

Cats have three things against them when it comes to climbing down from an ill chosen position. Their claws are hooked only for going up, nimbly at least, so they can’t climb down headfirst. They have excellent depth perception, which means a height is pretty intimidating. And since they have to come down butt first, they can’t see where they’re going, which doubles the tension.

This is the hardest part - taking that first step. Would you care to dive headfirst into a descent that is ten times longer than your body - fifty or sixty feet? I didn’t think so. The left paw is going to grab hold of the horizontal beam, while the right paw maintains a hold on the floor of the deck. Unfortunately I just missed that split second when Urchin swings himself 180 degrees around. Oh - did you miss that part too? The boy grabbed hold and swung his body around while holding on with only one paw, the right one, as far as I could tell.

I believe the left photo caught the tail end of it, though. At that point he’s hanging on by his right paw only, although the hind feet are coming into play.

And then there must be the initial transfer of the two front paws from the floor of the deck and the horizontal beam to the post, and that’s a bit tricky, but not as hard as the first step.



Smooth sailing from this point on. Note the audience.



Elapsed time, less than ten seconds, which is excellent for both of us!