Stories

These are some of the stories of the cats that we have rescued and you'll see why they needed rescuing so bad...

Sheba (cougar) Sheba came to us in 2007 from a man who had rescued her from his niece. He did not want a cougar for a pet but knew if he did not take her from his niece, Sheba would have suffered and died. He contacted us shortly after Sheba started to recover from severe malnutrition and abuse. She had been starved to the point where all her bones were showing and had been used as pellet gun target practice. Since she has gotten here she has become one of the most friendly cougars at the refuge. You wouldn't expect this knowing her upbringing, but you can always count on Sheba for some love. She will lay there all day if you continued to love on her and runs to the fence everytime you walk by. If you call her name she talks back, purrs as soon as you touch her and rubs up against the fencing for more. Lucky (lioness) Lucky was rescued in 2001 from a warehouse in Texas. She had been kept in this warehouse with no sunlight and poor nutrition all her life. Because she had never been exposed to sunlight, her eyes never developed correctly and she is blind. She has a lot of bone deformities so she is very unstable on her feet. She also has some neurological damage because her equilibrium is off. She has been though all sorts of testing and medication but nothing conclusive has come from it. She is a very happy cat now. Her quality of life despite her deformities, is great. She roars and snarls just like the rest of them at feeding time, so loud so that you can feel it in your chest. And she meanders out into her habitat to sunbathe and play with her ball. Vada (black leopard)  Vada came from a police officer in Montana. The officer bought him thinking it would make him more intimidating to have a leopard in his cruiser. Vada didn't like it and injured the police man. The mans response was to take pliers to Vada's canine teeth and snap them off. Vada came to Turpentine creek with exposed nerve endings, rotting teeth, no canines and very skinny due to not wanting to eat because of the pain. Some dentists in Arkansas donated 13,000 worth of resources and gave Vada a whole new set of teeth. So now he can eat happily with his new metal teeth. He is quite an old cat, but its so fulfilling to see him in his element, sun bathing in the tall grass. He is a very friendly cat despite his beginnings. You can almost read the contentment on his face.  Tsavo (lion) Tsavo is a very sweet lion. He was originally a circus lion and was deemed not ‘mean enough’ and was given to Predator world. Tsavo endured a lot during the period when the circus workers thought they could make him more aggressive. He was rescued from the Predator World Zoo, which is primarily a facility for aqautic life and decided that the best thing for all of their large carnivors was to have TCWR assume responsibility for all of them. We rescued seven big cats, a bear and a coatimundi from Predator world. Regardless of Tsavo’s difficult upbringing, he a very sweet, playful and charismatic lion. His favorite thing is scent enrichment, especially cheap perfume. He smashes his face against whatever I've sprayed it on. If it his 50 lb ball, he will pick it up and roll onto his back and bear hug it. He a very sweet natured lion, one of the only lions I feel comfortable petting.  Hercules(tiger) Hercules is the cutest thing ever. Probably one of the most aggressive cats here but I don't blame him. He was bought from a breeder in Texas and lived with a private owner in Edinburgh, Texas until he was two years old. While he was living with the private owner, he was house in a cage 4’ wide by 6’ long by 4’ high with a plywood bottom. He was never able to stand up in his cage which caused his bones to develop incorrectly and prevented his muscles from ever developing as well. When he got to TCWR he was so crippled he could barely move around since his hips could not support his weight, but since he has had space to stretch his legs for fifteen years he has become much more active. He has full mobility now except for a slight limp in his hind legs. When I go walking by his habitat I usually wait for him because he likes to walk with you but it takes him some time to get up and make it over to you. He is very aggressive at feeding time but thats like all of the cats. He isn't the type to want pets and lovin' but he is a social tiger and likes to follow you around and check out whats going on. Some more stories  to come!