Memorials

25
Mar
2023
Azreal Cheetah (2020)

Azreal Cheetah (2020)

Farewell sweet boy – 2020

Azreal

In the summer of 2019 we were thrilled to announce our first-ever Cheetah resident, Azreal. He was part of the Survival Species Program and came from Texas. When it came time for him to retire at nine years old, we were excited to provide him with a forever home. He was a beautiful boy, very laid back, and seemed to be doing well. However one morning he didn’t want to eat. On the second day our vet team came out, pulled blood, urine, gave fluids, treated with cerenia, omeprazole, convenia, famotidine and did an ultrsound to see why he wasn’t eating. Nothing showed up with the ultrasound, so they woke him up and we waited to hear back about his bloodwork. We checked on him every two hours and at 3am I found him gone 🙁 A necropsy showed chronic gastritis and esophagitis and he had passed from septic shock.

Losing him was completely unexpected and we’re still trying to deal with it. Bringing him to WildCat Ridge Sanctuary was a very long process and we were so excited to be able to care for him. Everyone involved assured us that sometimes these things happen and we never find the reason why, but it gutted us. We wanted to thank all the folks who worked so hard to get him here, he was a wonderful boy and to lose him has been one of the hardest things we’ve had to face.

Posted by Stefanie Kraus in Cheetahs, Memorials
12
Jul
2020
Sam Serval (2020)

Sam Serval (2020)

Safe travels beautiful boy – June 2020

Sam

Sam

It’s been said bad things happen in threes 😔 Losing our residents is always painful but three in the last month have been very hard to process. Sadly, we lost Sam, another one of the servals at WildCat Ridge Sanctuary 😢

Sam had been showing signs of renal failure over the past year and we were monitoring it. He’d been in for an exam this past April, however last week when we took him in again to see Dr. Connolly at Compass Vet Clinic the change was so dramatic that we had no choice but to let him go. He was eighteen years old and had been with us since 2011 😢

Sam was a beautiful boy who originally came from a woman who had purchased him to use as a breeder. He was declawed on all four feet and lived in a 200 square foot cage. That was his life for nine years until his owner contacted us. She was in failing health and could no longer care for him. We made arrangements immediately to go pick him up. Sam was a very sweet and social cat who was one of the most talkative servals. He lived with Rasta and I know she misses him as much as we do.

The thought of never hearing him talk to us again is so sad but knowing that he’s no longer in pain eases the sadness at least a little. Safe travels beautiful boy, we miss you very much and thinking about you will always make us smile through the tears 😢

Posted by Cheryl Tuller in Memorials, Servals
10
Jul
2020
Morocco Serval (2020)

Morocco Serval (2020)

Safe travels beautiful boy – June 2020

MoroccoOnce again we have to share the sad news that we lost one of our precious wildcats 😔
Morocco, a thirteen-year-old serval had been slowing down and becoming less mobile over the past few months, and with only three legs, it was a big concern. We increased his medication but when that didn’t make much difference we scheduled a visit to Compass Vet Clinic. Dr. Connolly did an exam and when we saw the X-rays it showed debilitating arthritis on all three legs. There was nothing more we could do for his pain so we made the tough decision not to wake him up.

We picked up Morocco and his sister from a private owner in Nevada. They were approximately two years old and had been sold from a roadside zoo. When the new owner went to pick the cats up they were already in crates and when she got home and let them out she saw that Morocco had a broken back leg 😡

Upset, she contacted the Zoo director and he said it would heal on its own. When we picked them up two years later in 2009 Morocco had never had any type of vet care and his leg had healed four inches shorter than the other. We scheduled orthopedic surgery as soon as we got back and despite the difficult surgery and a long tough recovery, we managed to save his leg. He was doing great until four years later when he snapped his Achilles’s tendon and we had to amputate it. However this time the recovery was much easier and he could run and play on three legs with no problem.

He and his sister Tanzi lived together the entire time at WildCat Ridge Sanctuary and Morocco let her run the show. They were very bonded and spent most of their time playing and napping together. We know that Tanzi feels the loss even more than we do, but as time goes by, we hope she will adjust. Morocco was such a calm, quiet boy, who enjoyed boxes, different scents for enrichment, and living his life with Tanzi. Although it was the right thing to do, we’re still so sad to have lost him. Safe travels beautiful boy, we miss you so much and will take good care of Tanzi for you ❤️

Posted by Cheryl Tuller in Memorials, Servals
04
Jul
2020
Jett Serval (2020)

Jett Serval (2020)

Farewell, sweet Jett – June 2020

Jett

Jett

Every loss is difficult and heartbreaking, made even more so when it’s unexpected. I’m so sad to share that we lost sweet Jett, one of the newest servals to come to WildCat Ridge Sanctuary. Jett wasn’t eating very well so after two days we did an exam, gave him fluids, medication and brought him inside to watch. He perked up the next morning had a great breakfast and we thought we were on the road to recovery. The following day he crashed and despite doing all we could we had to let him go.

It happened so quickly and out of the blue that we’re still reeling from it. A necropsy showed a bacterial infection that had gone into his bloodstream. Jett was a young serval and to lose him after such a short period of time is so difficult to come to peace with.

Safe travels sweet boy, your time with us was much too short.

Posted by Cheryl Tuller in Memorials, Servals
05
May
2019
Bailey Rae Bobcat (2020)

Bailey Rae Bobcat (2020)

Run wild and free, beautiful girl – March 9 2020

Bailey RaeWith 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. 🙏😢

Posted by Cheryl Tuller in Bobcats, Memorials
04
May
2019
Tasha Lynx (2018)

Tasha Lynx (2018)

Safe travels, beautiful Tasha – July 4 2018

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 ❤️

Posted by Cheryl Tuller in Lynx, Memorials
01
Jan
2019
Caden Cougar (2018)

Caden Cougar (2018)

Farewell, Dearest Caden – March 2018

Caden

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.

Posted by Cheryl Tuller in Cougars, 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
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