MOST veterinary surgeons would admit that admitting a cat for neutering is pretty much a matter of routine. However, for a vet in Ogden, Utah, USA, one cat that was brought to his surgery last month proved to be a little unusual to say the least!

According to a story in the Utah Standard Examiner, vet Greg Johnston of the Johnston Animal Hospital, was in for a surprise after one of his clients (Karen Goeckect) left her cat at his surgery for neutering. It turns out that ‘Sasa’, the cat in question, is no mere domestic pet - she is a Lynx! Sasa, at 16 weeks, was ‘the size of a large house cat, but had black-tufted ears, thick, lanky legs and oversized feet with half-inch claws’.

However, vet Greg was not fooled. He said: “After working Fish and Game and spending 40 years as a veterinarian, I knew what I was dealing with”. The operation did not go ahead as Johnston said that if he had operated on the animal, he could have incurred a $10,000 fine for altering an endangered species. In the vet’s opinion, when Sasa reaches her full size of 30 to 40 pounds, she will post a danger to people and pets. “This cat would have always been in charge. The family would have been pretty much hostages to it”.

Before her owner arrived at the clinic to collect Sasa, she bit Johnston’s hand when he tried to pick her up, drawing blood through his leather glove. She spent several hours pacing in her pen, tearing the pen’s newspaper flooring to shreds, and emitting shrieks reminiscent of a rabbit or a baby pig.

Sasa is good-natured, people-friendly, and has never seriously bitten or scratched anyone, Goeckect said. At the Johnston clinic, she cradled the cat in her arms, held it next to her face and kissed its head. “She’s not afraid of humans. She’ll come right up and sit on your lap”.
According to Division of Wildlife Resources Conservation Officer, Kip King, Lynx are listed as “threatened” on the Endangered Species List and can only be kept by zoos or pelt farms in Utah. However, in Idaho, Lynx can be kept as pets, if owners have a health certificate and an Idaho import licence. Sasa’s owner said she bought her for $2,000 from a breeder in Minnesota, and that she planned to raise the animal at her home in Idaho. However, Karen Goeckect listed a Garden City, Utah address on the vet’s billing sheet, despite saying that she lives in southern Idaho, near the border.

The Division of Wildlife Resources allowed Sasa to go home, albeit temporarily, to be quarantined for at least ten days whilst rabies checks (due to her biting and scratching the vet) are done. Mr King said there is no way Goeckect can keep the Lynx, and it will eventually be placed in a zoo or a rescue facility. In addition, Goeckect may be subject to several charges, Mr King said, ranging from unlawful possession of wildlife with no permit, which can carry a fine of up to $1,000, to wanton destruction of protected wildlife, a third-degree felony with fines up to $20,000.

He added that he only encounters two or three cases of wild animals being kept as pets each year. Normally, Mr King said, owners of illegal pets are not able to keep them hidden for long. “It’s hard to keep these things a secret”, King said. “People who have these king of animals usually like to show them off to friends, but friends talk. They don’t stick around too long”.