Cleo Cat Tra the serval at Big Cat Rescue

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CLEO-CAT-TRA

Female Serval

DOB 8/11/1997

DOD 2/25/2014

Cleo arrived at Big Cat Rescue when her former owners no longer wanted her. People almost always discover within the first year or two that exotic cats don’t make good pets. Cleo is smaller than most of our servals. She also has very dark brown eyes. Most servals have golden colored eyes. Cleo has a very sweet disposition and loves extra attention.

Most of our servals were rescued from people who got them as pets and were not prepared for the fact that male or female, altered or not, they all spray buckets of urine when they become adults. Some were being sold at auction where taxidermists would buy them and club them to death in the parking lot, but a few were born here in the early days when we were ignorant of the truth and were being told by the breeders and dealers that these cats should be bred for “conservation.” Once we learned that there are NO captive breeding programs that actually contribute to conservation in the wild we began neutering and spaying our cats in the mid 1990’s.  Knowing what we do about the intelligence and magnificence of these creatures we do not believe that exotic cats should be bred for lives in cages. Read more about our Evolution of Thought HERE

 

 

Cleo around the 15 minute mark.

Tribute to Cleo-Cat-Tra Serval

Big Cat Education
Apr 13, 2014
Miss Cleo was such a pretty little thing. She used to be my operant cat. And she was the first cat to pee on me, right down my arm. I will miss her waiting to tear into the enrichment I was bringing.
Lynda Licht
Feb 28, 2014
Cleo you were just the shy, quiet serval in the middle of the serval maze, but I always had a real soft spot for you. I would always find you hiding out amongst the ferns. I loved how your shyness faded at dinnertime and you would always pop your head out of your lockout. I am glad I had a chance to see your sweet face one last time and receive a little hiss. RIP love.