At WildCat Haven Sanctuary in Sherwood, 63 wildcats ranging from cougars and caracals to tigers and lynx live out their lives in relative peace.
Included in that menagerie are 11 hybrid cats, the offspring of a domestic feline and a wildcat. Many wind up at the sanctuary as a last resort, a result of owners who are drawn to their exotic beauty without understanding what their care entails.
?They?re gorgeous animals,? says executive director Cheryl Tuller, who co-founded the sanctuary with her husband, Michael. ?Some people feel they want to have part of the wild in their home.?
What are hybrids?
The Bengal, the result of cross-breeding a domestic cat with an Asian leopard cat, is one of the more popular hybrids. (The breed?s name originates from the leopard cat?s scientific name, Prionailurus bengalensis).
Other common hybrids include the Chausie, a jungle cat-domestic cross, and the Savannah, a domestic cat and African serval mix.
The first few filial generations of hybrids are known as the ?foundation? generations. The offspring of an actual wild Asian leopard cat and a domestic cat, for instance, would be called an F1 Bengal. The lower the number, the closer its bloodline is to a true wildcat.
Hybrids are considered legal in the state, although new permits are no longer issued for the wildcats needed to produce F1 generations.
Tuller is all too familiar with the call of the wild.
In 1996, she responded to a newspaper ad for a bobcat hybrid. Turns out, that cute ?hybrid? was an actual bobcat.
Tuller began to volunteer at a wildlife sanctuary, and applied everything she learned when she and her husband opened the sanctuary in 2001. BoBo, that little bobcat that changed their lives, still calls the place home.
The sanctuary does not buy, breed or sell the animals and is not open to the public. It?s the only accredited wildcat sanctuary in the state.
Now the Tullers are devoted to caring for cats from all over the country. Many of those cats, especially the early generations, still retain ?wild? traits that owners are sometimes ill-prepared to handle.
?The number one issue that people surrender their hybrids for is inappropriate urination,? Tuller says. ?They spray - males and females, whether they?re fixed or not.?
For Southwest Portland resident Teresa Sullivan, that?s a small price to pay for the joy that her two Bengals give to her.
?That?s the only challenge,? she says of their tendency to mark the walls and floor. ?Other than that, they?re very well-behaved.?
The owner of Mango African Safaris was initially drawn to Bengals for their reputation as intelligent, felines possessing a vivacious personality and a ?wild style.?
?Her cats, Junior and Hazel, live up to their reputation. They make for lively, funny family companions.
The Bengals, which often love water, enjoy splashing through sprinklers in the summer. Junior, her 7-year-old male cat, is a ?jester? who performs acrobatic feats in pursuit of a fishing-pole toy.
Hybrids need to be occupied; it?s one of the most important things you can do as an owner to keep them happy.
?They need something to keep their minds interested so they don?t become destructive,? says Kristi Brooks, operations manager at Cat Adoption Team in Sherwood.
?If they?re bored, they might start scratching where shouldn?t be scratching or going places where you don?t want them to go.?
The shelter doesn?t take in many hybrids, but the few it does take in ? usually Bengals ? typically draw lots of inquiries.
Adoption counselors carefully screen for cat-savvy owners who could provide sufficient enrichment, such as plenty of active playtime, tall scratching posts, and battery- or motion-activated toys.
?If someone wants an exotic cat that acts like a Persian, they?re barking up the wrong tree,? says Savannah breeder Kathy Wilson of Kianga Savannahs in Dallas. ?If they want a Savannah and expect it to be meek and mellow and quiet, then no. It?s not going to work.?
Savannahs usually weigh around 30 pounds and are very high-energy cats that love to run and play. They?re curious and ?extremely inquisitive, even more than most cats,? Wilson says.
Some people think that early-generation Savannahs are wild and unmanageable, but Wilson ? who bottle-feeds her Savannah kittens - says that?s usually only true if the cat wasn?t sufficiently socialized as a kitten.
She acknowledges that the cats typically don?t do well around children because they don?t like being picked up, and ?some will bite or scratch to make their point,? Wilson says.
She screens buyers and will refuse to sell if she doesn?t think it will be a good fit; Wilson says she?ll also take a cat back if an owner needs to surrender it.
Aside from failing to provide them with adequate enrichment, owners also don?t always provide them with adequate health care that they need.
?A lot of the problems come with husbandry,? says Dr. Steve Milner of Milner Veterinary Hospital?in Oregon City, who treats some of the sanctuary cats.
Many of them have been declawed, a very painful procedure that puts them at risk for arthritis, he says. Others are malnourished because owners fail to provide them with the specialized diet they require.
The hybrids are at risk of contracting many of the same diseases as domestic cats, including feline infectious peritonitis, a fatal viral disease that can be spread from breeding environments.
Hybrids are also susceptible to irritable bowel disease, luxating patella, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and progressive retinal atrophy.
Despite their popularity, Tuller laments the fact that people will pay thousands of dollars for a specially bred hybrid, while so many domestic cats languish in shelters.
?There?s no question that they?re beautiful," Tuller says, "but to me, every cat is beautiful.?
For more information:?WildCat Haven Sanctuary: wildcathaven.org; 503-625-0812
WildCat Haven Sanctuary is currently located on an 8-acre site in Sherwood, but co-founders Cheryl and Michael Tuller hope to move to an 82-acre site in Scotts Mills this summer to provide a larger space for the cats. The nonprofit sanctuary must raise at least $125,000 in order to move. From now until July 1, Portland philanthropist Howard Hedinger will match donations at 100 percent.
Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/pets/index.ssf/2013/05/pet_talk_wildcat_haven_a_sanct.html
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