Cheryl Tuller

Cha-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 ❤️

On May 17th,2018 we lost Chirpy, our oldest serval. Having cared for him over 17 years he was a part of the fabric that made WCR so special. The memories that come to mind take me back to the beginning when we had so much to learn and Chirpy was one of our teachers.

In 2001 we got a call from a woman who was moving to Texas and wanted to place all of her wildcats with us. We said yes, took them and scrambled to make it work. Four servals, two Siberian lynx, and a very cranky old bobcat. Chirpy was one of the servals, along with a mate, Wild Thing, who was said to be sterile, Savannah and Simba, Chirpy’s mother and father, Tank and Tasha, Siberian lynx who were purchased from a fur farm, and Old Man Bear, defanged, declawed and a force to be reckoned with.

Chirpy was three years old, brave, bold and gorgeous with stunning blue eyes that he had inherited from his mother Savannah. Wild Thing was a shy sweet girl who worshiped him. Together for the previous two years, she surprised us a month later with a baby. (First lesson learned, even if we were told a cat was sterile, always spay and neuter). That kitten was Sadie and she lived at the sanctuary her entire life until losing her to cancer in September of 2015. Chirpy and Wild Thing were together until June of 2006 when she was diagnosed with FIP and passed away. Chirpy took everything in stride, he was a calm, even-tempered cat that loved to play with feather toys and anything he could chase and swat.

When Cha-Cha, another of our servals came Chirpy became his best friend and a few years later when Uche arrived he joined the boys. Losing any of our rescues is heartbreaking and losing one that was part of the original group is a difficult reminder that many of the wildcats are seniors and there is more heartbreak to come. It’s been a difficult year for WCR and to lose Chirpy who has been with us since the beginning has been particularly tough.

I’ll miss him chirping and talking letting me know all was right in his world. Seventeen years was not enough and he takes a huge part of my heart with him. Safe travels beautiful boy, it was an honor to be part of your life and to share that time together 😢

Duma – in Memory

While we understand loss is something that is inevitable in rescue work, losing wildcats that should be able to live long healthy lives is crushing. Yesterday at Compass Clinic Duma had his third vet visit in a month. The first visit happened when the keepers noticed he wasn’t eating and after two days, we took him in for an exam. Dr. Connolly opened up the clinic on the only day it was closed so she could see him.

The visit went from just an exam and x-rays to emergency surgery 😔The X-rays showed a mass in his abdomen that had to be removed and she found a piece of ball and plant material. The paperwork we received with him in December talked about his propensity to eat things he shouldn’t and when Dr. Connolly opened him up she went through the original scar from previous surgery. Her conclusion was that the ball had probably been in his stomach for months.

Surgery went well and after two weeks he just didn’t seem himself so he went back to the clinic. New X-rays showed irritated intestines but his bloodwork was good and there was nothing blocking his intestines. He got new medication and he was fine, eating and acting normal until a few days ago. The keepers noticed he wasn’t eating again and on that third morning he was at the clinic. Blood Work was through the roof showing a raging infection and x-rays revealed he had blocked again with grass and plant matter 😔 After an ultrasound showed that his intestinal wall was thickened, Dr. Connolly was planning to do another surgery and removed the tissue that was compromised and the blockage. Sadly when she pulled fluid from his stomach to test he was already septic. I made the heartbreaking decision to let him go 😢

Losing him after only a few months is crushing especially since he was only seven years old. But life as a pet for six years didn’t do him any favors. The loss of Duma reminds us that we can’t save them all no matter how hard we try and that realization is tough to face. I wish we could have given him the life he deserved but in the end, wishing and all the medical intervention provided didn’t help.

Duma is now free of pain but it doesn’t change the fact that these incredible animals should NEVER be owned as pets. His previous life set him up for failure and we are left with the guilt of losing him 😢 Rest easy sweet boy we would have loved to care for you an entire lifetime but it wasn’t meant to be 😔

Duma’s History

Duma, serval came to WCR December 2018 and is approximately 6 years old.  He was originally owned by a veterinarian who declawed him and tried to keep him in his house. He called In-Sync Exotics a sanctuary in Texas in October 2019 and wanted him gone. They were happy to take him but found he couldn’t live with other cats. They contacted us because we had enclosures that he didn’t have to share. 

When he arrived he was literally jumping off the walls he was so frightened. He’s still very afraid but we are working diligently to help him become more relaxed. It’s hard to imagine what trauma occurred in his previous life that made him so fearful, but we are determined that with patience, love, and compassion he will come around and realize that he will never be hurt again.