Saving Chester

As I finished feeding tonight and was about to shut the barn door I noticed a big black and white cat sitting at the bottom of a tree looking upward into the branches. I looked closer and there was Chester sitting on a branch. I approached the tree and saw that Chester was stuck. He was meowing and kept gingerly placing a paw on one branch and then another. I called up to him and he started to walk out onto one of the longer limbs. He paused and turned back to the trunk.

The three railed vinyl fencing that encompasses the pasture sits directly under the tree. I figured if I climbed up onto the second rail I could just reach the branch Chester was on and pull it slightly. He could then reach my arm and I could grab him.

What I did not factor into the equation is that it had been raining all day. The rails of the fence were wet and slippery. My boots had muck on them and I was pretty well bundled up in car harts and a sweat shirt. I climbed up quickly and then the sensation of falling hit me. I slammed my arm into the top rail and landed in half on my stomach with my head and arms on one side of the fence and my legs and feet on the other. As I lifted myself off of the fence, Chester skidded down the tree and raced up to the barn. So much for my effort to help him. I should have had complete confidence that a cat can climb up and tree and get himself down!

Tulip...Did he chase Chester up the tree??