Update: Midnight has been adopted! Her gloomy past behind her, this free-spirited gal has now been renamed Indie. Her new family reports that she is relishing the safe, comfortable indoor life and that she acts like she has known her canine sister, River, who is also a PETA rescue, for years. Indie has discovered catnip, and she is so photogenic that her new family has started an all-Indie scrapbook. If you are interested in adopting a PETA rescue, e-mail us at Adopt@peta.org.

Originally posted September 20:

Midnight the cat had been trapped in a tree for 10 terrifying days. Her owners couldn't be bothered to lift a finger to help her. She had likely been frightened up the tree and didn't know how to get back down, which should have been apparent after the first few hours. A concerned construction worker reported the stranded, distressed cat to PETA.

Seeing as the people responsible for her seemed not to care one bit, one of our Community Animal Project fieldworkers climbed about 35 feet up the tree, secured Midnight in her arms, and made the slow, careful descent. After 10 days without food or water, Midnight was lucky to be alive and was shaken and severely dehydrated, but once on the ground, the grateful cat began to purr. Her owners never allowed Midnight inside and had no plans to do so now, even after her brush with death, but they agreed to allow the fieldworker to find her a new home where she would be safe indoors.

Now Midnight is settling in at PETA's Norfolk, Virginia, headquarters and is waiting patiently for the right adoptive family. She will be microchipped and spayed before adoption. If you are ready to make a lifetime commitment and give Midnight the safe, loving home that every cat deserves, please e-mail Adopt@peta.org.

Employees at a Kentucky dentist's office were reattaching vent covers when meowing was heard under the building. A passerby then called PETA for advice.

A pretty black-and-white cat had apparently darted inside an open vent while the covers were off, but then was unable to get back out. We were able to secure the release of the cat and convinced the caller, who planned to adopt the cat, to first take her to a shelter to be scanned for a microchip. Sure enough, the cat, named Minnie, had been lost for six long weeks, and her guardian was desperately searching for her.

Minnie was lucky she was discovered before she starved to death or was seriously injured in the ventilation system and that the people who found her were kindhearted. Other cats who are let outside unattended aren't always so lucky. Outdoor cats are often abused by cruel people, hit by cars, poisoned, attacked by other animals, or stolen and sold for use in experiments or as bait for dogfights. Don't learn the hard way—keep cats safely inside, as Minnie's grateful guardian assures us she will do from now on.

Written by Michelle Sherrow