Most people think of domesticated breeds when they think of adopting a cat, not wild ones. Despite the fact that lions, pumas, tigers, and cheetahs are all members of the same cat family, they cannot be tamed. They share some of the treats with tamed felines, but no one wants to take them home because of their size and wild nature.
At the very least, not everyone. A Bronx homeowner didn’t mind bringing home a puma that had been rescued from his apartment by the NYPD and the Humane Society of the United States.
The owners immediately reported the issue as soon as they discovered the 11-month-old cougar was unfit to dwell in a Bronx apartment. He readily relinquished the cat and accompanied her throughout the relocation. Sasha, a puma, was transferred to the Bronx Zoo and subsequently to the Turpentine Creek wildlife refuge in Arkansas, which caters for abandoned animals.
The NYPD did not provide any further information. The situation is now being investigated, and the reasons for adopting such a huge cat remain unknown. While exotic pets in apartments are unusual, this isn’t the first time a large cat has been taken from a New York residence.
A male adult tiger was taken from a Harlem apartment in 2003, and a year later, a baby was assaulted by his father’s pet leopard. Animal rights groups are doing all they can to persuade the government to approve legislation prohibiting the trade in exotic pets, but nothing has come of it so far.
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