While it does not qualify as high drama, the episode displays the compassion of people working together. What began as a casual hike last Sunday afternoon for six people along the Middlefork Savanna Trails in Lake Forest eventually became an impromptu rescue mission involving four cats in a tree.
The tuxedo-patterned kittens were easily visible in a tree, next to the trailhead’s parking lot, adjacent to the historic Elawa Farm site. The scene gathered its share of attention.
“I wasn’t working and just meeting friends for coffee when this all happened on a sightline from the market area,” said Karen McGowan, Elawa Farm’s community partnership manager. “This was horrible, and how do we get them down. Thank heavens, people were worried and willing to stop, and help get them down.”
The first three hikers, including Dr. John Kyncl, a physician, and David Forrest, a mechanic, determined that the frigid wind temperatures could result in hypothermia. McGowan was able to contact the site’s assistant farm manager, Georgia DeSilva, to bring a ladder and a carrier she uses to transport ducks and chickens.
“I wanted to assess the situation and see how I could help,” Kyncl said. “We figured they were in the tree for a reason, maybe predators, so leaving them to come down on their own was not a good option.”
Forrest climbed the ladder and was able to retrieve two of the kittens. Both were immediately sheltered from the cold. The remaining two were out of reach and had moved to higher branches.
Nearby residents, Adam Mancuso and his wife, saw the activity while walking down the trail. Mancuso joined in, climbing the tree and corralling another kitten.
“We couldn’t get the last kitten because he was so far out of reach,” said Mancuso. “It was my opinion they were abandoned…why you find a family of four kittens in a tree. They didn’t seem feral. It was really a unique moment, all these people, and we didn’t know each other, and everyone came together to save these animals.”
All agreed that much more could not be done. That was until Mancuso remembered his friend, Mark Robbins, a former Navy SEAL. He had also recently retired from the Lake County Sheriff’s Department. He made the call.
“It was one of those circumstances where you don’t expect to get a call about, late in the evening,” said Robins. “It’s almost like the beginning of a joke. My son overheard the conversation, and he was immediately all in to try and help.
While waiting, Kyncl and another hiker transported the three kittens to a safe place.
“All scenarios were dire; this was an awesome community effort to help animals,” said Kyncl. “I’m proud of my community in weathering the cold, the high winds, and approaching darkness.”
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Robins soon arrived with a pole, two fishing nets, and a longer ladder. The mission was accomplished, as his son, Matthew, warmed the small feline by cradling it.
The nearly four-hour task was completed. By the next day, all four kittens were adopted and by the people that rescued them.
“The folks there were just incredible, and wonderful, to have that solidarity over the four kittens,” said McGowan. “This was a case of no kitty left behind.”