Matty
February 7, 2018

Every loss at the Sanctuary is difficult, but when it's a sudden and unexpected loss, the pain cuts a little deeper.

We never thought we'd be saying good-bye to active 14-year-old Matty the cougar so soon. 14 might be considered geriatric, but is very young for our residents. They often live close to 20 years or beyond.

Matty left us due to acute renal failure just like her parent's Mia and Max did a few years ago.

Within just 3 days, she was a happy, healthy girl...and then she was gone. There's a big hole in all our hearts right now and still some disbelief.

If you met Matty, you know why. She was one of our most active cats at the sanctuary. She never missed a moment to play with the '5 Wild' along the fence line, play hide and stalk from the tall grass with her caregivers, and then pop up purring as loud as could be.

It was rare to see her sitting still or just basking in the sun - she liked to be on the move and in the middle of all the sanctuary happenings.

As calm and cool as tiger Zeus and cougar Max were, Matty was just the opposite. She was a party animal! Full of energy and life. Taking on every piece of enrichment she was given - and she always won. Jumping to the tallest perch before launching off and on to her next adventure.

Matty's Arrival

She came to us in 2008 with several other cats when the Catskill Game Farm in New York closed. But boy, does it seem like just yesterday. 12 years later and she hadn't aged a bit, at least on the outside.

She remained in good spirits even after the passing of her parents. Nothing seemed to get Matty down.

I'm happy she didn't have more than a few bad days on this earth, but her loss does take our breath away. In rescue, we're always providing comfort care to our elder residents and those that just can't beat the odds of the health problems they have from their past.

So we can sometimes feel cats like Matty were cheated a little. And so were we. We didn't know her time was coming so soon.

Thank you for all the wonderful support. It really does help us through these tough times. I know you're hurting just like we are. And I know you'll also be alongside us to welcome another cat in need after we grieve.

Matty, you left us too fast! But then again, you were never a cat who moved slowly. We enjoyed every day and every moment with you.

Thank you Matty for always being such a happy and energetic presence here at the Sanctuary.

The other side is very lucky to have you!

With over 110 wild cats now calling The Wildcat Sanctuary home, something we have to think about every single day is raising money to be able to rescue and care for them. When it can cost as much as $10,000 each year just to care for one big cat, you can see why fundraising is a vital part of the work we do. Your contribution to The Wildcat Sanctuary goes straight to work helping save lives of wild cats in need -- both at the Sanctuary and through outreach and rescue programs all across the country. Please consider donating at http://www.wildcatsanctuary.org/

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