Safe travels beautiful boy – May 17th, 2018
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 😢
