With so many of our residents older, losing them is inevitable but it doesn’t make it any less painful. On Monday we lost Bailey Rae, she was nineteen years old 😔 Bailey Rae came to WCR in 2003. Originally purchased as a ‘pet,’ the owners had her declawed and defanged to make her ‘safer.’ And because none of that mutilation worked she was given up.
When we first saw Bailey Rae, she was in a dog harness that the owners had put on when she was younger but was now too small and we were faced with getting it off. She was so fierce, I’ll never forget how hard it was to net her and cut it off, but we did finally manage. She absolutely hated people and let us know every chance she got and although she was a small bobcat there was never any question that this girl could and would do damage.
In 2013 she tore her Achilles tendon and the only option was to amputate her leg, but that didn’t stop her one bit. She lived for many years with Simba, another bobcat and they were the best of friends. When we lost Simba in 2018 we worried that she would be ok, but of course, because she was Bailey Rae, she was. She went on to share an enclosure with Josie and then Cleo. This past year she started slowing down so we kept a very close eye on her providing pain medication for her arthritis and appetite stimulants to get her to eat but these last few weeks we saw a significant change. On Monday we took her into Compass Vet Clinic and X-rays showed a tumor in her stomach as well as in her nasal passages and lung.
We made the difficult decision not to wake her up. Bailey Rae was with us for so many years it seems unreal that she won’t be out waiting for her breakfast and growling when we got too close She was tough, resilient and never let us forget she was a wildcat. As much as we’ll miss her, knowing that she’s finally free of the captive life she was born into gives us some comfort. Good girl Bailey Rae you were one of a kind and we’ll never forget you or the lessons you shared. 🙏😢
This has been a tough year . . . On July 4th we helped Tasha move on to her new journey 😢
She’d been slowing down over the past few years but in the last weeks even though her spirit was the same her body was getting weaker and weaker. She was such a proud cat knowing she was struggling we made the decision to let her go.
Tasha was three years old when she came to us in 2001. Her owner was moving to Texas and instead of selling her animals she asked if we would give them a home. We took in Tasha, a Siberian Lynx and her companion Tank, four servals and an old bobcat. Over the years we have lost them all except Tasha. And now she’s gone. Things seem very empty at the sanctuary, an era is over and that chapter has closed 😔
Tasha was always in control. Even from the beginning she let us know she was wild and make no mistake about it. We treated her with the respect she demanded and even as she got older she didn’t compromise her convictions, she was the queen of all around her. Having her as part of the Sanctuary for over seventeen years and losing her is something we struggle with, but giving her the freedom she was never able to have gives us some peace of mind. We will miss hearing her calls in the morning that was so much a part of the Sanctuary. Safe travels Tasha, we will carry your spirit in our hearts forever ❤️
On Tuesday, April 2nd the team at OSU’s Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine which included Dr. Ron Mandsager, Dr. Katy Townsend and lots more staff whose names I can’t remember, did a complete exam on Shirley. They drew blood, did a physical exam, pulled urine, did a CT Scan and ultrasound as well as the staff from the Cardiology Department coming down to monitor her heart.
Caden – in Memory
We lost the battle for Caden on March 12th, 2018. Dr. Lipanovich came out to the Sanctuary and helped ease Caden’s soul into his next journey. Writing about it brings tears and floods of memories spanning the years we had with him. He came to us as a small kitten, emaciated and sick. Our worst fears were realized when the vet diagnosed him with Panleukopenia. We provided supportive care around the clock for Caden and even with the odds stacked against him, we wouldn’t give up the fight. We took turns staying with him, caring for him, and praying. And our prayers were answered, he beat the disease despite the odds against him. We had pulled off a miracle but had no idea that there would be more challenges.
As we watched him play we noticed more and more that he was having trouble walking and would often lose his balance. As much as I was hoping it was nothing, I couldn’t ignore what was happening and made the decision to have an MRI done. The extensive exam found that the disease had left him with neurologic damage and he would always have trouble walking. We were devastated by the news but our commitment to him never wavered. We were determined to give him the best life possible. As he got older we saw him adjust to his issues. When he was walking he was still wobbly but when he ran using that gorgeous cougar tail as a rudder you would have never known he was different.
He grew into his huge paws and was the largest cougar at the Sanctuary, even bigger than Kennewick. Very inquisitive he would stop and smell everything he saw. Watching this huge cougar walking around sniffing the leaves on the trees just made us smile.
Caden was such a big healthy boy we never imagined that kidney disease would take him from us. Over the past two months, we have done everything we could to save him, but in the end, we lost the fight. It’s hard to find the words to describe how much Caden meant to us and how we are trying to imagine life without him. He taught us so much about overcoming adversity and living life to the fullest with any self-pity or regret. He came into our lives for a reason and we are all the better for it. He leaves behind broken hearts but so many special memories. Safe travels Caden, we miss you more than words can say.
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
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!
