Sabrina the tiger rescued by TWS

Sabrina Update:

Sabrina has come a long way in the last month at TWS. She seems much more relaxed with her caregivers and even took meat from the tongs of Keeper Alicia. This may seem like little progress, but after a decade in the rescue field, we know it is a huge step.

After all Sabrina has been through, it is our job to rebuild her trust and sense of security. We are so thankful for all of your patience and support knowing that we have had limited photos to show of Sabrina since we haven't wanted to do anything that would set her back. We are happy to share with you these new photos of this amazing girl. We have faith that each day will get better and better.

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Sabrina's Rescue:

After 48 grueling hours of loading, driving and unloading, Sabrina is finally safe at The Wildcat Sanctuary. Saving Sabrina was definitely a group effort between several sanctuaries, animal lovers and donors. Her story would have not had such a happy ending without all of you!!  We are so thankful for your support.

You can see photos of the rescue here.

Sabrina has a very long road to recovery both physically and emotionally. Her fear aggression of humans causes her a high amount of stress as well as wounds from hurting herself. But we know she will settle in and begin to trust again. We saw this miraculous transformation with several cats like Lilly, Titan, Shazam and Liberty.  But it will take time.

It has been confirmed that Sabrina is a 12-year-old Sumatran/Bengal cross. She is approximately 100 lbs. underweight and has minor scratches and wounds. Her vision isn't perfect but she sees more than we initially thought. Her bloodwork came back good. She is eating and drinking well and we are confident she will become a happy and peaceful tiger.

Her neighbor, Baby Jenga the bobcat, is very curious about the new arrival. Usually, bobcats would be afraid of such a vocal, large new neighbor, but not Baby.  Baby has loved tigers ever since the first time he set his eyes on Meme. So he has been on top of his perch excited to see her. So far Sabrina has not returned the gesture, but Baby is very patient. And so are all of us at TWS.

Thank you to everyone who changed Sabrina's life forever!! We will continue to provide updates on Sabrina as we build and move her to a free-roaming habitat with a tiger pool fit for a queen.

Please continue to donate to Sabrina's rescue. Her journey is not yet complete.

You can donate today via our website and put "For Sabrina" in the comments section.

Or donate via MNGive.org where we don’t have to pay any credit card processing fees.

You can also mail a check to:

The Wildcat Sanctuary, PO Box 314, Sandstone MN 55072

A very special thank you to Pride Rock Wildlife Refuge and Peace River Refuge & Ranch for all their dedication to helping these tigers.

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Original Story:

Sabrina, a 12-year-old, tiger was just clinging to life when authorities found her and two other tigers a few days ago. Her owner was found dead after 10 days. The tigers had gone much longer without food and much water they baked in the 95 degree temperature in Texas.

When authorities arrived they thought their only option was to shoot the tigers since Sabrina's 10 x 10 concrete pen door was open. Sabrina was suffering from severe dehydration and malnutrition.

Authorities allowed her to be put in a travel trailer.  The Wildcat Sanctuary cannot turn Sabrina away. But we must raise enough funds for transportation to Texas, a temporary quarantine pen and funding to modify a current enclosure to fit the needs of a tiger.  This will cost $35,000, not to mention her lifetime care.  Can you please help us save Sabrina?  We don’t have much time and plan to leave as soon as possible.

Sadly, Sabrina is not alone. Her offspring Roy and Tonyy were also found but were still alert even though they are approximately 100 lbs. underweight.  Peace River Refuge in Florida is working on taking these two tigers in.  See the video of Roy and Tonyy. And thank you to Pride Rock Sanctuary who has intervened and temporarily moved Sabrina to their Sanctuary until we can pick her up.

These tigers deserve a second chance and we cannot do it without your help. We wouldn't ask if it wasn't necessary!

Please donate today via our website and put "For Sabrina" in the comments section.

Or donate via MNGive.org where we don't have to pay any credit card processing fees.

You can also mail a check to:

The Wildcat Sanctuary, PO Box 314, Sandstone MN 55072

Every dollar will help greatly!

Thank you to Gary & JoAnn Fink and The Mahley Family Foundation who have already made a contribution to this rescue.

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June 2010 Keeper Blog

Summer has come about one month early here at TWS so staff and volunteers have had their hands full with mowing, putting up shade cloths and planting greenery in enclosures.  With the warm weather we have also been able to open up Titan's Tiger Splash for the season. Titan and Lilly love their pool and waterfall. They spend hours splashing and chasing each other in and out of the pool. It is so wonderful to see those two having such a great time. 

Thanks to a couple of group volunteer days, the last two cougar enclosures are about half way finished. The keepers will be working on building a cave for Castle and Vista's new enclosure and a waterfall for Raja and Liberty's new enclosure. We are also excited to have four new interns starting the beginning of June. We should have those enclosures done in no time. Our interns play a huge role in helping build habitats, maintaining the grounds and of course assisting in animal husbandry. They will be here for three months and will also complete a project to enrich the cat’s lives.

Thanks to our generous donors, we were able to build Leisha a brand new double decker perch with a hammock. The tallest part is just short of seven feet tall. She likes to be up there and spy on her neighbors and of course see when the keepers will bring her food. We also revamped perches for three of our hybrid habitats. They all love lounging in their hammocks and sunning themselves on their decks.

With Cougar Cove well on it’s way to completion we decided it was time to introduce Andre and Donoma, two wild born cougars. They have been living next to each other for a couple of months and liked to talk to each other and play through the fence. They have had a couple of play dates now and although Andre thinks he is the boss over larger Donoma, we think they will get along just fine. Especially once they move to their new 25,000 square foot habitat. We also hope to introduce Carlo, Noah and Langley, the cougar cubs from Wyoming to both Andre and Donoma, however, they still have a lot of growing to do. Until next month, thank your for all of your wonderful support.

To keep the cats purring and chuffing please donate today.

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