The Washington State Department of Fish & Wildlife contacted us about some orphaned cougar cubs. We were informed that there was a group of three found together as well as a single kitten. Malice was found wandering alone in an area that had recently had a wildfire and was assumed to be an orphan. They are unable to rehabilitate cougars, and so they called us to see if we would be able to take them. We drove to Washington to bring the litter of three and little Malice home.
Because she was a little older than the other three, Malice was a little nervous when she came to live with us. But, with time, love, and patience, she learned that we meant her no harm. As the older cub she assumed the position as the big sister and adopted the other three cougar cubs as her litter. She protected her “siblings” and was always the first to try new things. After their quarantine period, the kittens were introduced to their outdoor area that had platforms and ramps for them to jump around on and none of the other three would try it until Malice showed them the way.
Malice and the three siblings, Outlaw, Sage, and Scarlet, continue to be very close. They can often all be found in one big “cuddle puddle” on one of their high platforms. They live in one of our newest enclosures which has a very large playground and tons of high ramps and platforms for them to run around on.
She enjoys stalking her “siblings” through the grass and showing them the “hunt.” Malice is particularly close with Outlaw and they are often cuddling, just the two of them. When she is not playing, Malice would rather be eating. She is very food motivated which helps us administer her medication as well as completing small veterinary procedures, i.e. vaccination, that much easier.
Malice has had some struggles with anxiety which we control with medication. You may notice that her tail is shorter than normal. During the bad ice storm in Texas a few years ago, Malice got a little stressed out and started chewing on her tail. For her safety and health, we opted to crop part of her tail so that she wouldn’t do any further damage to herself or develop infections.
