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Ramsey was born in the late spring
of 1998 and purchased shortly thereafter by a person who
thought he'd make a cool pet. The man did very little research
on servals and was ill-prepared to take on such a magnificent,
but wild, animal. When attempts to control Ramsey failed, the
man resorted to physical abuse. It's not uncommon for some wild
and exotic animals to be physically abused or neglected simply
because the owner becomes frustrated and overwhelmed from
failing to understand the behavior and needs of the animal. It
is an unexcusable reaction.
As Ramsey grew bigger and failed to
take on the desired attributes of the domestic kitty, as the
owner had fantasized about, he became more and more isolated.
He was kept in a dark basement. The only interaction with his
human was during feeding time or when he was being physically
punished for not behaving the way the man wanted him to. After
3 years of this life, Ramsey made his way to a big cat
sanctuary where he lived for another year. He was well-cared
for, but lacked individual attention and socialization due to
his aggressive disposition and the large number of other
animals there that needed care.
When I met Ramsey he was dubbed the
"meanest cat on the property". This was difficult to believe as
there were countless numbers of lions, cougars and tigers there
also. I was told he hated men and that no one could get near
him, not even women. He lunged at the sides of the cage if
anyone approached. He would flatten his ears and hiss and spit
continuously. His paws would lash out as he swatted the air to
keep people away. I prepared myself to meet this animal and
expected the worst. Yet as I walked up to his cage, he didn't
lunge at me. He hissed and flattened his ears back, but also
brought his nose to the fence to smell my hand. I reached in
and he touched his nose to my hand. The Director of the facility
was quite amazed at Ramsey's behavior towards me. I agreed
to take him back to AFA and work with him, but first I wanted
to go into the cage to be sure he wouldn't attack me. Two big
men stood by with safety gear in case they needed to intervene.
I entered Ramsey's cage and he hissed, but he didn't move. I
slowly sat on the shelf with him. He was not comfortable with
my presence, but tolerated me; so, we loaded him up and brought
him home.
Ramsey was a pistol when he got
settled in at home. He spent every waking moment hissing and
spitting. But I, along with our volunteers, continued to talk
to him and make daily efforts to interact with him. Today we're
able to sometimes touch Ramsey when inside cleaning his cage.
He will play with us if we have a dangly toy. He will hold out
his paw and push us away when he's had enough. He doesn't hiss
very much anymore either! But he does remain very aggressive
when food is present. Still, we all continue to reach out to
him and he slowly makes progress. He has never attacked any of
us, although I've gotten "nipped" when I pushed him a little
too far. Ramsey is far from the "attack cat" I met just over a
year ago. He improves daily!
While he will never be a cuddly pet,
he will live out a quality life here at Animals for Awareness,
where he is loved and well cared for. One of our current
projects is to raise the $1500 needed for his outdoor
enclosure. This is a hefty sum for our small organization!
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