Month: December 2018

18
Dec
2018
Boss Hybrid (2020)

Boss Hybrid (2020)

Safe travels sweet boy, things aren’t the same without you here…

Boss

Boss

Putting each loss we suffer into words has happened too many times and it breaks my heart to let you know we lost Boss Man 😢 An emergency vet visit showed severe gastroenteritis caused by a foreign body. Somewhere between the evacuation and coming home Boss had ingested something that he couldn’t pass. We still aren’t clear exactly what it was but possibly a toy that he had been playing with. Cats are such stoic creatures that by the time he was acting sick, it was too late 😢

In running a sanctuary we aren’t supposed to have favorites, but Boss was definitely one of mine. He was bold and loud, full of himself and a complete character. His original owner contacted me in 2009 to tell me he had an F1 Chausie (Jungle Cat(Felis chaus)/Domestic cat cross) that he had bought and now at a year old was too much to handle and wanted him gone. We learned that Boss had Microphalmia, a hereditary condition where one of the eyes don’t develop. That made him even more endearing to us. He had the most unique sound and made me laugh hearing it. I would talk to him trying to get him to answer to the point that I annoyed him and he’d let me know!
It seems so quiet out in Hybrid Haven without him and I still can’t believe he’s gone. I miss his voice and his pushy character and there will never be another cat like him. He was a special boy and gone too soon. Safe travels Boss, things aren’t the same without you here 😢


Boss’ Story

Boss is an F1 Chausie, which is a hybrid cat created by breeding an Asian Jungle Cat (Felis chaus) with a domestic cat. Boss came to us from a private owner in California in 2009 who found our website. The following is what he wrote: “We need a new home for our Chausie cat. We bought him from a breeder and realized that we can’t provide a proper home for such a wild animal. We are shocked that these cats are sold as pets.”

We agreed to take him and made arrangements to fly him to the sanctuary. Boss was born with Microphthalmia, which means he is blind in one eye that is much smaller than normal. This condition happens when the mother cat carries Feline herpes virus and the kittens contract it in the womb. A simple test can be done to determine whether a female is a carrier of this, but, sadly, breeders are more concerned about selling and making money than about the health of the kittens they sell.

Boss, is a high energy cat, he can be timid or pushy, depending on his mood, but we find him endearing since he’s a special needs boy. He is very vocal with a wonderful rawk sound that makes us laugh every time we hear him!

Posted by Cheryl Tuller in Hybrids, Memorials
18
Dec
2018
Cole Bengal (2020)

Cole Bengal (2020)

We will miss you, sweet guy – October 2020

Cole

Cole

In October 2020, our sweet Cole has lost his battle with renal failure. 😢  At fourteen years old we had been watching his health as it has been a concern for us over the past year. He was slowing down and despite medication and vet visits there was not much change. 😞  His quality of life had gotten much worse and we made the difficult decision to let him go. 😢  Sadly his history was not that unusual from most stories we hear.

In 2016 a local shelter contacted us about a Bengal that had been surrendered and asked if we could make room. His owner had left him at his vet to be euthanized. 😡

According to his owner, Cole had destroyed $20,000 worth of leather furniture. 🙂  At ten years old, he had been on Prozac and all sorts of medication to try to prevent spraying and nothing worked. We did a complete workup and found he had a heart murmur, and pins in both back hips, showing he had surgery at some time in the past. We can only imagine the life this cat has had, so of course, we had to say yes.”

Cole was one of the sweetest cats who always looked a bit confused but loved the attention. He lived in his own world and on his own time, napping, hanging out with the other cats, spraying where-ever and whenever he wanted and we adored him ❤️

It’s never easy to lose a resident especially at this age, but his life at WildCat Ridge was lived on his own terms and we’re grateful for the time we had. Safe travels beautiful boy, we miss hearing you talk, telling us about your day. 😔

Posted by Cheryl Tuller in Hybrids, Memorials
18
Dec
2018
Max Hybrid (2019)

Max Hybrid (2019)

Safe travels, Max – June 18, 2019

Max

June, 18th, 2019 WildCat Ridge Sanctuary suffered another loss this week as we helped Max move on to his next journey. Max was an F-2 Jungle Bob, which is a hybrid cat created by breeding a Chausie Cat with a Pixiebob cat. He had been purchased by a private owner in a small New York apartment who wanted a more exotic looking cat. After living with him for four years without being able to even get close to him, we were called. Max came to us in 2014 and was completely feral. And in all the years that he lived at the sanctuary he never warmed up to people but did love his friends like Sarge and some of the other hybrid cats.

Over the past few months, we noticed that he was losing weight and took him in for tests. Nothing stood out other than his potassium was low. He was very elusive so we treated him on a large crate until his medication was done making sure he was eating. As a cat that often hid he was very hard to monitor.
Yesterday we caught a glimpse of him and noticed he was very thin. When we caught him he was also dehydrated. I rushed him into Compass Vet to see Dr. Connolly and when she knocked him out his stomach seemed distended. She pulled a sample of the fluid and it was all blood. We didn’t wake him up. The necropsy found his kidneys were hemorrhaging and his liver had some odd masses covering it.

Such a sad thing to lose an animal that wasn’t able to live a full life, but now finally he’s free as he never was before. Please, please educate yourself and your friends that hybrid cats are NOT pets and most end up living a miserable existence. They are caught between two worlds neither of which they are suited for. We tried to give him the best life we could but in the end, we couldn’t save him. Safe travels Max, we will miss your wild spirit 😢

Posted by Cheryl Tuller in Hybrids, Memorials
02
Dec
2018
Tosh Bengal (2022)

Tosh Bengal (2022)

Safe journey little Tosh – October 2022

ToshWe are heartbroken to share that Tosh has lost his fight with Cancer 😢 Tosh was an eight-year-old F1 Bengal who came to us in 2013 after being dumped at a rehab facility in Scottsdale Arizona. They reached out to us and we were happy to take him. Never a big cat, his size belied his fierce determination and spirit. He came with a chip on his shoulder and wanted nothing to do with us but with time we won him over with lots of love, food, and toys.

Tosh was very independent and never let the other cats push him around. When Little Leo arrived in 2017 as a 2 lb. kitten, Tosh became his surrogate ‘mother’ until Leo was big enough to go outside with the other cats. This past year he was diagnosed with cancer and despite all the intense care and medication, it became obvious that his time was limited.

Over these past few months, he came inside where he would lay in my arms, keeping me company while I worked. Spending that time I reflected on our journey together and wished his life could have been different. Tosh was never cut out to be a ‘pet’ but I’m grateful that his life with us allowed him the freedom to do and be as wild as he wanted. Safe journey little Tosh, you will always be part of my sweetest memories…

Posted by Stefanie Kraus in Hybrids, Memorials
01
Dec
2018
Cody Cougar (2020)

Cody Cougar (2020)

Good-bye, dear Cody – December 2020

Cody

Cody

As much as we’d hoped to get 2020 behind us without any more loss, it just wasn’t meant to be. After sharing his life for over 16 years we had to say good-bye to Cody last week. We knew he had a heart condition that we were treating him for but what ultimately took him from us was renal disease. 😢

He had a few days where he wasn’t eating as well as he should and Dr. Connolly at Compass Vet Clinic asked us to bring him in. When she ran his bloodwork she found he was in severe kidney failure and the kindest thing we could do was help him on to his next journey. It was unexpected and broke all of our hearts. 💔

Cody came to us from a roadside zoo in Ohio that was closing down. At the time Leo was about 6 months old and having Cody to grow up with was something that we were grateful for. They bonded from that first moment and their friendship never wavered. Cody was the serious one who was a bit cross-eyed and followed Leo everywhere he went. They played together, napped together, and relied on each other over the years forming a relationship that was good for both of them.

Cody was also the most vocal of the wildcats. He had a very loud squawk you could hear from any part of the Sanctuary. Where Leo was mostly chirps and purrs, Cody was the exact opposite and always had something to say. 🙂

It’s sad to think we won’t ever hear that silly yell that was so special and endearing. Knowing he’s free of any pain and constraints helps ease the sorrow but we know that Leo misses him as well. Safe travels sweet boy, it’s heartbreakingly quiet here without you. 💔

Posted by Cheryl Tuller in Memorials
01
Dec
2018
Carrie Caracal (2019)

Carrie Caracal (2019)

Hearts are Broken – February 22, 2019

Carrie

Carrie

As our friends and followers know we have tried everything to help with the pain Carrie has because of the horrible declaw she had as a young cat. As one of WildCat Ridge Sanctuary’s veterinarians, Dr. Jennifer Conrad of The Paw Project (https://pawproject.org) got in touch with one of her colleagues. They have been involved in a trial study for a new pain medication that has been shown to be very effective in dogs and cats. She has been working with him in conjunction with The Paw Project. We set up an appointment for Friday, February 22nd to have the procedure done at Compass Veterinary Clinic.

With the amazing team of Dr. Conrad, Dr. Connolly and Dr. Lipanovich we were very hopeful this would help Carrie. However, as much as we would love to say that Carrie’s procedure went well, sadly it did not. Everything went by the book but when she was reversed after the procedure, as she was waking up she suddenly crashed. Dr. Conrad and Dr. Connolly immediately went into overdrive, got her intubated and worked over an hour doing everything possible to bring her back but in the end, it was too late.

Carrie was sixteen years old and in severe pain every day. I made the choice to see if we could make a difference for her and with the amazing doctors on hand we were all hopeful that this would provide a quality of life she didn’t have. We are all reeling from the loss but through the tears and grief I know she is no longer in pain and that brings a very small amount of comfort if there is any comfort to be found.

Caring for this special girl for over eight years has been a true joy, she was such a special cat and our hearts are all broken losing her. We will do a necropsy to determine what exactly happened but as an older caracal, there could be many reasons. Losing any of our precious rescues is mind-numbing but Carrie will always hold a special place in so many hearts. The time we share with them is far too short, and it’s gut-wrenching having to say good-bye feeling like I failed her 😢 Love you Carrie girl, nothing will be the be same without you ❤

 

Carrie’s History

Carrie, a caracal, came from Wild Animal Orphanage in Texas. Due to poor management and dishonest directors, the facility was shut down. We were contacted to see if we could make room for their small cats.

Carrie and Sebastian, a serval, arrived via Alaska Airlines in 2010 and made the trip unscathed. They both came out of their crates like they had lived here their whole lives. Both cats came infested with fleas and we found Carrie was four-paw declawed. She is a fun girl and very social but we see residual trauma from the declaw that she endured. She is also allergic to hay and straw so is the only wildcat that has fir shavings in her den box. She is on a pain management program and allergy medication but in spite of that, she is a happy cat and has made everyone fall in love because of her wonderful spirit.

Posted by Cheryl Tuller in Caracals, Memorials
01
Dec
2018
Cha-Cha Serval (2020)

Cha-Cha Serval (2020)

Sweet dreams precious boy – March 12 2020

Cha-ChaCha-Cha was the oldest serval at WildCat Ridge Sanctuary. Back in 2018, a routine exam found he had advanced kidney disease but he was eating and doing well so we were determined to give him as much time as he wanted. Heartbreakingly, yesterday at Compass Vet Clinic we found it was time to give him his freedom 😢

Cha-Cha was born in 1998 and owned by a private owner in Oregon. In 2003 his owner attempted to take him with her out of the country and falsified his paperwork to say that he was a Savannah Cat. The Portland Airport authorities stopped her saying that he was a ‘bobcat’ and they wouldn’t let her take him. She surrendered him to the Oregon Humane Society and specifically told them if they couldn’t find a private home to euthanize him and left for her flight. Instead, OHS contacted us and asked if we could take him and of course, we said yes. It was such a surreal moment seeing him in that kennel between two barking dogs and terrified 😳

Cha-Cha was overweight, four paw declawed and traumatized. We put him on a diet and eventually introduced him to Chirpy another serval at the Sanctuary and they became best friends. When Uche (serval) came in 2008 he was introduced to Chirpy and Cha-Cha and the three musketeers were created. They lived together for many years and we often found Cha-Cha cuddled with both of them on the hammock they shared.

He was never comfortable with people but allowed us to care for him. He was always front and center for breakfast and loved his enrichment. Cha-Cha was a great hunter despite being declawed and any bird that took a chance coming in the enclosure was fair game then he would guard his prize from the other servals who didn’t dare try to take it away 🙂

As time goes by and we lose more and more of the wildcats that we’ve cared for over these many years it’s bittersweet reliving the memories and wishing we could have had more time. Caring for them has been such an honor and Cha-Cha holds a very special place in all of our hearts. I’d like to believe that there’s an afterlife because I’m sure that Chirpy would be there to welcome him with open paws. Sweet dreams precious boy ❤️

Cha-Cha's Transfer Document

Cha-Cha's Transfer Document
Posted by Cheryl Tuller in Memorials, Servals