Sweet dreams precious boy – March 12 2020
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 ❤️
Cha-Cha's Transfer Document
