Zachariah, along with Holiday, three other tigers, and one cougar, came to us in December of 2019 from a private owner in Calvert, Texas. At the time, we only had room for two cats so we teamed up with Tigers In America to find safe homes for Trace, Amira, Sassy (three tigers), and Cassidy (cougar.)
If Zachariah looks a bit different from an average tiger, good eye, he is! He is a liger which is a crossbreed between a male lion and a female tiger. Ligers only occur in captivity and are often accompanied with health and personality concerns, contrary to popular belief that mixing the species produces a stronger animal. When Zachariah arrived, we observed that his back legs would give out causing his back to droop and him to wobble and stumble when he walked. He also had trouble biting and holding on to food in his mouth, often dropping it on the ground. He would then attempt to pick it up from the ground with his teeth, potentially causing further damage to his mouth and teeth. Due to these odd behaviors and our knowledge of his Liger lineage, we decided to take Zachariah in for a full body and brain MRI. We found several issues with his back, hips, and some abnormalities in his brain. All of these medical issues are consistent with and common in Ligers.
We brought Zachariah home after his MRI and with consults from veterinary neurologists and our staff veterinarian we started him on a modified diet and medications as well as conducted the necessary follow-ups and provided lots of room to run and play. Within weeks we observed Zachariah’s mobility improve. He opened up and showed us just how much of a playful, curious, oversized goof ball he is. He enjoys spending his time playing with his toys, strolling in his playground, and sitting poolside. But don’t let that fool you, He gets the zoomies playing in his in-ground pool, batting the pool toys around, and climbing up the waterfall. His new favorite past-time is his old/new next door neighbor, Tabatha. He enjoys playing with her through the fence and exchanging sweet chuffs. We are blessed and lucky to be able to care for this sweet boy!
