Safe travels, beautiful girl – December 13 2019
On Tuesday of this week, we lost Tamika, one of the servals at WildCat Ridge Sanctuary. She seemed off for about a week but still eating so we scheduled a vet exam on Friday. She got a physical, meds, fluids and an enema. She still seemed sluggish so Tuesday we took her into Compass Vet to have an ultrasound and X-rays done. Sadly we found that her liver was hard, filled with fibroid tumors and her gall bladder was ruptured. We had no choice other than to let her go 😢 It’s never easy to lose one of our rescues and especially tough when it’s unexpected. We never get the opportunity to really prepare for it and the fact that she was only twelve years old makes losing her even more sad.
Tamika came with her brother Safari in 2016. Their original paperwork showed they were sold as F1 Savannahs, which of course was not true. They were both nine years old when they came to us and they were very bonded. Tamika was the brave one of the two and she was the boss, no question! Safari was as laid back and calm as Tamika was in your face, letting us know she didn’t suffer fools lightly. She was very clear that we were only good for one thing and that was bringing food. She was very protective of Safari even though he didn’t need protecting, it was her job and she took it seriously!
Now, we’re left knowing that Safari is missing her and it’s so sad, having lived their entire lives together. We are hopeful that we’ll be able to provide him with another companion in the future, but Tamika leaves huge paws to fill 🐾 Tamika you are truly wild now, no longer earthbound, but free from the confines of captivity and we will never forget your fierce spirit and sass, safe travel little girl . . . 😢
