EUREKA SPRINGS, Ark. — A severely ill African serval cat named Tigger, who was rescued last week by the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge (TCWR) in Eureka Springs, died this morning during surgery.
TCWR told 5NEWS on March 12 that Tigger was set to undergo surgery related to a life-threatening hernia.
"Tigger did not survive the surgery this morning. He was in surgery for two hours. I do not have details yet - the team is heartbroken," Cheryl King, the marketing director at TCWR, said.
"We want Tigger's story to be known. Sadly, ours is his only voice now to make sure his story is known, and perhaps someone will see his story and decide not to get that exotic serval or other exotic pet," King said.
Tigger was rescued last week after TCWR received a call from a veterinarian in Mississippi that 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.
Initial medical examinations revealed that Tigger was facing bone fractures in his ribs and legs, a crushed pelvis, severe metabolic bone disease, a hernia, muscle atrophy, and he was extremely underweight.
While Tigger was initially expected to make a full recovery, more medical exams revealed that his circumstances were more dire than originally thought, and a surgery for his hernia was conducted on the morning of March 13.
King says that the tragedy highlights the importance of responsible pet ownership and the downsides that come with owning exotic pets.
"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."
Many of Tigger's afflictions were believed to be traced back to malnutrition. King says that these situations have happened before.
"The reality is that these kinds of human-induced medical conditions are in no way unique to Tigger. We routinely see cases like this in both big and small exotics as uneducated owners and breeders do not understand the type of nutritional needs that these animals require, or they don't care and don't want to spend the money to feed them properly," King said.
"Most people who decide to breed or own these exotic cats do not do this and it is the animal that suffers and pays for it all. They do not make good pets and should not be owned by private individuals for many reasons, including the human-induced suffering the animal goes through caused by ignorant or uncaring breeders/owners," King added.
More details are expected from TCWR's veterinarian later this week.
TCWR said many of the issues Tigger dealt 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."
King notes that food is a key part of a serval's health, and that many people that keep servals as pets don't know how to care for them properly.
"There is more to feeding an exotic feline than raw muscle meat on a plate," King said. "They are much more sophisticated than that and if they are being hand-raised by people, they should routinely be having calcium and phosphorus blood levels checked to ensure they are developing and growing appropriately."
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