Pet Serval Rescued

A pet Serval was confined to a tiny, two room apartment for the past 10 years. She was housed with a domestic cat, presumably for the purpose of breeding Savannah Cats which can fetch as much as $26,000. Her life was about as boring as can be imagined since she had to be kept secreted away from the world, but all of that was about to change.

Her owner was so ill that she needed intensive hospital care, but having no relatives and no one she could turn to, it was up to the authorities to have her Baker acted for her own good. Imagine the hysteria involved in being so incapable of making your own decisions that the police and paramedics had to be called to carry you to the hospital.

It was worrisome for the authorities as well because this woman's neighbors all whispered that she kept a lion in that apartment. The lion turned out to be a Serval, but none the less, it left animal control in a strained situation. It is not expected that the owner will live and county law there gives Animal Control ownership and custody of animals who are not claimed within 10 days. They knew that it would be torturous to take a wild cat into a shelter full of barking dogs. They didn't know who to call about placing a wild cat.

On the one hand, they found the cat in a house and originally thought that maybe they should seek out an exotic pet owner to take the cat, but as they interviewed candidates it became clear that no one had the cat's best interest at heart, but rather were just looking for the novelty of owning an exotic pet. They investigated some exotic animal sanctuaries, but were dismayed by the over crowded cages full of pacing animals.

They asked a local vet for advice and he found Big Cat Rescue. After researching our facility and doing an interview with Big Cat staff, they knew that Big Cat Rescue was the purr=fect place for this Serval to go. The thought of this Serval having her own Cat-a-tat, her own den, her own trees and shrubs and grass and all of the wonder of the little creatures that she will be able to see and sniff and chase�it was just as good as it gets if you have to be held captive. (Being captive bred and born, she could never be returned to the wilds of Africa.) This Serval had been through enough and they wanted a place that was stable, reputable and that would provide a permanent home.

This is where you come in.

The cost of transporting her to Big Cat Rescue is roughly $450. A Cat-a-tat for her will cost $1,500 and her ongoing care, for food, toys, vitamins, vaccines and vet care is roughly $500. per year. Your help now makes it possible for her to have a forever home.

If you have been following us in the AdvoCat you know that Cloe the Snow Leopard just had a very expensive procedure done to save her life. Veterinarians, Liz Wynn, Allyson Berent, Chick Weisse, and Haven Bade from the Animal Medical Center in NYC, and Demetrius Bagley MD donated their time and Bay Area Renal Stone Center donated the equipment but Big Cat Rescue had to pay for airfare, car rentals, food and lodging for the vets and that bill just came to $2,614.78.

Your ongoing donations make it possible for us to race to the rescue of cats like this Serval and Cloe the Snow Leopard. We can't do it without you. Please donate now and put in the notes section that it is for the Serval rescue, or for Cloe the Snow Leopard. Thank you from the 100+ big cats who are counting on you.