Pepsi, and his sisters Ukaidi and Athena, are three of the ten tigers and three cougars who all came from Van, Texas. They are the youngest of the group, only three years old when they came to live with us, so they 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. Their former home was bare concrete, with no bedding, and no toys of any kind.
Pepsi and his sisters, Athena and Ukaidi, are some of the less human-imprinted cats. While some of our cats beg for human attention and company, these three usually do not. That isn’t to say that they don’t trust us or have bonds with their favorite humans, it just looks a little different than some of our more overtly friendly cats. Pepsi is the friendliest of the three and will occasionally ask for affection and give his chuffs freely.
Pepsi is also the only one of the three that doesn’t take himself or life too seriously. He enjoys every moment just as it comes and makes room for the next one. Pepsi thoroughly enjoys his Wednesday and Sunday night bones and is often separated from his sisters because his love for bones exceeds his love for his sisters. Pepsi enjoys playing in the pool all throughout the year, especially after irritating one of his sisters. After all the playing and irritation, as often with sibling, the interaction ends with all three of the “kids” napping quietly, huddled in the back of the den. Pepsi truly enjoys spending time with his sisters, whether it is chasing across the playground or simply sitting together and staring into space. His greatest enrichment, even more so than ‘Obsession’ cologne from human provided enrichment, is his sisters.
That’s not to say his sisters don’t say “leave me alone.” When the girls have clearly put up their “no entry to boys” board during sister time, Pepsi enjoys playing with the toys in his pool and splashing around as well as “watching” his neighboring cats closely. He also enjoys making the volunteers and keepers cry with his playful, boarder line stubborn behavior, especially during dinner. He enjoys making everyone beg and wait for him to get out of the pool or off the den to come eat. Most nights the feeders end up having to do the “booty shake” dance to get him to cooperate. It is a true spectacle to behold at our feeding or bone tours. We are glad that this trio found a safe home with us.
