Athena, and her siblings Pepsi and Ukaidi, are three of the ten tigers who came from Van, Texas. We also rescued 3 cougars from the facility. The three tigers are the youngest of the group of 10, only three years old when they came to live with us, so they lovingly became known as “the kids.”
The Van cats came in three separate groups. The three cougars arrived January 14th, seven of the tigers arrived February 4th, and the remaining three tigers came home February 5th, 2014. All thirteen cats were re-homed as part of an agreement between In-Sync Exotics and the Caruth C Byrd Wildlife Foundation, which were re-homing their carnivores.
The Van cats ranged in ages three to eighteen, and some were more human imprinted than others. The ‘kids’ were less human imprinted and required anesthesia during relocation. As scary as anesthesia is, sometimes relocation without anesthesia can be harder on apex predators.
As mentioned before, Athena and her siblings are some of the less human-imprinted cats. Their former home was bare concrete, with no bedding, and no toys of any kind. The lack of enrichment along with decreased human contact at a young age lead to their more aloof and detached nature. While some of our cats beg for human attention and company, these three usually do not prefer the company of humans, rather themselves and other cats.
That isn’t to say that they don’t trust us or have bonds with their favorite humans, it just looks and feels a little different than some of our more overtly friendly cats. They require you to earn their love. Athena is more friendly towards those who have cultivated a close bond with her, or if you have treats! She loves lounging on her playground and can often be found basking in the sun or lounging on top of the waterfall of her in-ground pool.
We had the good fortune of rescuing and caring for Cypress, the mother of the “kids”, Jafar, and Cincinnati. Cypress was a geriatric cat when she arrived at In-Sync, but lived 4 happy years, to the age of 21! Although she never lived with the ‘kids’, she lived close enough to keep an eye on them.
The Kids are mischievous and playful. They love to poke each other’s buttons, and then 5 minutes later will sleep in one cuddle puddle. Athena loves ‘attacking’ the large toys that float around in her pool and keeping close tabs on her neighboring tigers. We are glad that this trio found a safe home with us.
