CODY — When a cat's stuck in a tree, call the fire department. When a wandering feline gets itself stuck atop a telephone pole, you call the power company.
Jeff Matthews, an electric lineman with Rocky Mountain Power in Cody, was going about a typical post-Thanksgiving Day when he got the call Friday afternoon. He was needed out on Diamond Basin Road along the Southfork Highway.
“The Park County Sheriff's Department called another lineman that works for us and said that there's a cat on a pole,” he told Cowboy State Daily. “He asked me if I wanted to go see if I could help them out, and I said that wouldn't be a problem.”
What he found was one very scared and stuck black cat sitting on top of the power pole, OK and intact, and because of Matthews, it didn’t have to spend one of its six lives.
“Sometimes, this job gets interesting,” Matthews said.
While it doesn’t happen every day, power linemen will still rescue cats and other critters that get themselves stuck on power poles.
Power Play
Locals driving along Diamond Basin Road around 3 p.m. Friday noticed the black cat precariously perched atop the power pole and called the Park Count Sheriff’s Office. In turn, dispatch delegated the rescue to Rocky Mountain Power because, given the power involved, it would know how best to handle the situation.
The black cat was not pleased with its predicament. Anyone who approached was loudly catcalled despite being powerless to rescue the cat from the pole.
Around 4 p.m., Matthews arrived in his Rocky Mountain Power cherry picker. He also got a barrage of wailing distress calls from the frightened cat as soon as he stepped out of the truck.
Legend says it’s unlucky to have a black cat cross your path, but the unlucky prospects didn’t daunt Matthews. Regardless, the cat seemed to be the victim of its own bad luck and didn’t seem keen to pass it along to its rescuer.
“You ready to come down?” Matthews asked.
The cat’s answer was immediate and loud, with an air of impatience. All pretense of being a cool cat was gone — it was cold, unhappy and had enough of the view.
Rocky Mountain Power electric lineman Jeff Matthews descends with the black cat he rescued from a power pole south of Cody. A cat in gloves catches no mice, but the lineman with a hardhat and safety harness successfully rescued the fraidy cat without incident. (Andrew Rossi, Cowboy State Daily) 
Electric lineman Jeff Matthews prepares to rescue a black cat south of Cody. Unlike a cat on a hot tin roof, this cool cat was eager to get off the cold, blustery power pole. (Andrew Rossi, Cowboy State Daily) 
A few horses in a nearby field were interested in watching a cat get rescued off a power pole Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (Andrew Rossi, Cowboy State Daily)
No Coaxing Necessary
Hardhat and harness on, it took a few seconds for Matthews to reach the top of the power pole in the cherry picker. The cat sensed its rescue was imminent and meowed loudly and more emphatically as Matthews approached.
“Nice view, but not much for conversation,” Matthews said on his ascent. The attempt at humor was not appreciated by the subject of the rescue, but some horses in a nearby pasture watched with great interest.
Having reached the top of the power pole, it didn’t take much effort to coerce the cat into Matthews’ special feline rescue descent module — an empty tool container attached to the bucket of the cherry picker.
“He just crawled right in there,” Matthews said. “Not much coaxing needed.”
Rather than join Matthews in the bucket, the cat wedged itself into the container, still very vocal on the descent.
Upon reaching the bed of Matthews’ truck, the cat remembered that cats always land on their feet. It eased itself out of the tool container, leaped down and scampered off without so much as a parting mewl of thanks.
“It’s almost as if he wanted to come down,” Matthews said.
First Time For Everything
Matthews has been an electric lineman for more than 10 years and rescued the cat with the skills of a seasoned master. Nobody was more surprised than he to get the unique call.
“That’s the only time I’ve ever had to rescue a cat,” he said.
The cat might have come down on its own eventually, but didn’t seem particularly inclined to do so with 20 mph wind gusts and no obvious evacuation route. Without help, the cat might have been blown off by the wind or been snatched by an owl.
While the cat was stuck atop the power pole for several hours, its rescue took less than 10 minutes. It made for a satisfying day as a power lineman, but one Matthews will leave off his resume.
“I don't know that that's one of those things that gets you hired anywhere,” he said. “I’m just glad I could help.”
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
