Apache

Apache was bought at an exotic animal auction in Missouri. They are very common throughout the midwestern U.S. and are also called "Alternative Livestock Auctions". Breeders go to these auction/flea markets to sell their surplus animals. Cats are often bought here as cubs on impulse. The man that bought him realized that he had gotten in over his head and abandoned him at a Nature Center as a cub. They, in turn, took him to a wildlife rehabilitator in Kansas that had the room for a growing, rambunctious baby cougar. They could not, however, keep him throughout adulthood. And he could not be "rehabbed" and released. This is because he was purchased at nine days old and had imprinted on people, and he was also neutered and declawed on all four paws.

He came to us after a 12-hour flight from Kansas, with a layover in Salt Lake City, as a 6-month-old. When we went to pick him up at the airport, there was also live birds on this flight. The cargo employees searched but said that they could not find him in their warehouse. Finally, they let us go in the back and we quickly realized what the problem was. Young cougars chirp like birds (62KB .wav file), sounding like a whistle instead of a meow. It's a form of "aural camouflage" in the wild. They were searching all around his carrier assuming that he was a bird. We looked into the crate expecting to see a very unhappy, traumatized youngster hissing back. But much to our surprise, he was very well-balanced, purring and rubbing the crate.

We quickly realized that Apache is very inbred. His parents must have been related, may have been siblings. Irresponsible breeders will sometimes pair up littermates because they are already bonded. Apache was very slow to learn, was cross-eyed as Clarence the Cross-Eyed Lion, and when his adult teeth came in, his incisors are very crooked. For this reason, Apache can be difficult to handle because he is very unpredictable. Only our Director, Dawn Simas, is allowed to handle him. He became too much for the volunteers after a close call in which the CO2 bottle was needed when he was around 1 1/2 years old.

However, Apache is still trustworthy on a lead outside his enclosure with Dawn (only with backups). Unfamiliar territory makes a cat feel vulnerable and they are more on the defense and generally less aggressive. Within their own ground is when most accidents happen due to over-aggressive playfulness. He is no longer used in our outreach educational program and currently weighs 121 lbs full grown. He loves interaction and attention through the fence and he purrs (70KB .wav file) for the duration of Member Day (when members are allowed to visit the compound). He has been a great ambassador to his wild cousins in many lectures about cougar behavior locally in California, where people are very concerned about the population and interaction with mountain lions. We also use a wonderful article that teaches people what to do around their property to discourage cougars and other wildlife (which is often their prey) from approaching their property, children, and pets.

On two occassions we placed Apache with prospective homes. As always, our adoption agreement states that transfer of ownership is pending follow-up visits by Wild About Cats. The first one fell through due to the owner's health problems. The second one after two weeks, we went for a follow-up and were unhappy with his situation. He was housed in a very small, barren pen with only a dirt floor and small box. He was adjoining an adult tiger pen and this must have initially caused much stress, he'd never seen a tiger before. The new owner repeatedly did not follow our recommendations on diet nor handling. We needed to get a police escort and have our attorney assist us, but we finally retrieved him after a few more weeks. After all he has been through, Apache has bonded with Dawn, so he is now a resident cat here.

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