EUREKA SPRINGS, Ark. — The Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge (TCWR) in Eureka Springs rescued an African serval cat named Tigger with "multiple medical issues" after he was confiscated in Mississippi.
The rescue was just half the battle as the team now gears up for a surgery that could mean life or death for the six-month-old cat.
According to Facebook posts from the park, the daring rescue began on March 6 when Tanya Smith, the president and founder of Turpentine Creek, got a call about the cat from a veterinarian in Mississippi. Joined by Scott Smith, the vice president of Turpentine Creek, the two raced to pick up the serval.
TCWR said Tigger was confiscated from a private owner by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and delivered to the Joe Ann Ward Internal Medicine Critical Care Center at Mississippi State University.
After making it back safely with Tigger the following day, a medical examination was conducted, and the cat was deemed to be in poor health.
Turpentine Creek first shared that Tigger, who is only five or six months old, is facing bone fractures in his ribs and legs, a crushed pelvis, severe metabolic bone disease, a hernia, muscle atrophy, and he's extremely underweight.
Cheryl King, the Marketing Director at Turpentine Creek, said the biggest issue Tigger is facing is the hernia, which is believed to be trauma-induced and could be life-threatening if not addressed soon.
After more medical exams, Tigger's health is in a more precarious place than previously thought.
While TCWR originally believed that Tigger was expected to fully recover, the new exams reveal that surgery is needed soon and the procedure could have a bleak outcome.
An update the group shared with 5NEWS says that Tigger is set to undergo the potentially life-threatening surgery on the morning of March 13.
King said there is a "very high likelihood that Tigger won't come through this surgery."
"It is truly a tragic and preventable situation had he received proper care earlier," King said. "As it is, he has likely had the hernia now for 3 to 4 weeks, and with his gut in his chest cavity for that length of time... well, it's not good."
"We may find too many adhesions and be unable to fix him during the surgery, but we won't know much until the surgery," King added.
Turpentine Creek said many of the issues Tigger is dealing with are a result of improper care and diet, highlighting the larger problem of big cat and exotic pet ownership in the United States.
"Pretty much everything mentioned so far was all human-induced. Improper diet led to the metabolic bone disease," King said. "Because of this, the bones become extremely brittle, and numerous fractures occur, especially in the weight-bearing limbs and the pelvis. And then, due to these fractures, we get secondary conditions like chronic constipation and osteoarthritis."
King notes there is a serval cat problem in the U.S. because people don't understand that the cats aren't good pets, and that they weren't meant for the climate.
"There is quite a serval problem in America. People have been led to believe that they make great pets, and they do not," King said. "They may be successful hunters but ill-equipped to live in our climate. Servals come from Africa and live in the African Savanna. They cannot survive our cold winters. Here at TCWR, our servals are provided heated buildings to shelter in on cold days. They may still venture outside but always have access to a heated environment. Owner abandonment in the wild is a cruel death sentence when winter arrives."
Tigger will be the park's 15th serval.
"We have 14 other servals. Before December of 2023, we had 9 servals here at TCWR that came from a mixture of private owner relinquishment, abandonment, and confiscation situations. Then, in December 2023, we welcomed another five from Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, Florida, and Tigger will bring our total to 15," King said.
Turpentine Creek said Tigger was likely taken from his mother too soon.
"A serval this young was clearly taken from his mother too soon. Kittens are usually weaned at 5 months, independent between 6-8 months, but stay near mom for a year in the wild. During those first 5 months, they are nursing and getting vital nutrients from mom's milk. Depriving cubs of mom's milk results in Metabolic Bone Disease— a condition where the bones are extremely brittle and thin and break easily. Simply picking them up can result in a leg or rib fracture," King said.
TCWR said servals are extremely inquisitive and active and are known to escape their owners, even learning to open doors.
"Once they get out, they can be very hard to recapture," King said, adding that they mark their territory as much as 17 to 20 times an hour.
More than anything, servals are known for their hunting skills.
"They are one of the most successful hunters in the cat kingdom. 50-80% of their attempts result in success. They can take a bird out of flight, leaping 12 feet into the air," King said. "Servals need an all-meat, bone-in diet. They are obligate carnivores. We have rescued servals that were living on a subsistence of cat food and were very malnourished as a result. You cannot feed a serval cat food."
Turpentine Creek says that now, the park must foot the bill for both the travel expenses related to the rescue and the treatment that Tigger must undergo to get better.
King said immediate medical costs will be high due to the needed surgeries and dental extractions.
"Life-long care will also be needed in the form of medical attention. Sadly, though, this all depends on the findings during his first surgery scheduled for this Wednesday," King said.
Watch 5NEWS on YouTube.
Download the 5NEWS app on your smartphone:
Stream 5NEWS 24/7 on the 5+ app: How to watch the 5+ app on your streaming device
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com and detail which story you're referring to.