Blaze is a male cougar who arrived at the sanctuary at the start of 2016. He and his brother Aspen were estimated to be about 5 months old when they were captured in Washington by authorities.
Tragically, their mother was apparently killed by a Washington property owner on January 4th after she attacked a goat. Since they could not be rehabbed and released, we agreed to accept them here at the sanctuary.
Blaze had his intake exam and was neutered, since we do not allow breeding. He weighed 35 pounds, much bigger than his smaller brother Aspen who only weighed 25 pounds. Blaze is already asserting himself as the more dominant of the two. He was also the kitten it took wildlife officers four extra days to trap!
Read the unique way Blaze got his name https://www.wildcatsanctuary.org/how-are-the-cats-named-at-the-wildcat-sanctuary/
Later that year, we introduced Aspen and Blaze to the two other orphaned cougar cubs we’d taken in. They formed their own family unit also, just like “The 5 Wild” group of orphans we have here, too. Now, we refer to Aspen, Blaze, Snow and Storm as “The 4 Wild.”
Blaze As An Adult
Blaze had his intake exam and was neutered, since we do not allow breeding. He weighed 35 pounds, much bigger than his smaller brother Aspen who only weighed 25 pounds. Blaze is already asserting himself as the more dominant of the two. He was also the kitten it took wildlife officers four extra days to trap!
As adults, Blaze is still the bolder and more assertive of the two. He’s extremely curious and quite the busy body when it comes to checking out what neighbors and caretakers are up to.
In 2022, The Peter Emily International Veterinary Dental Foundation was able to fly their dentist to Minnesota to address several of our cats’ dental issues.
Blaze had been showing signs of problems with one of his canine teeth. The plan had been to do a root canal on that tooth. We like to avoid extractions of canines whenever possible.
When Blaze was sedated and radiographs were taken, we found the tooth was not viable, so a root canal wasn’t possible. Instead, it had to be extracted. Now, Blaze has an Elvis lip look so it’s easy to tell him from brother Aspen.
Blaze and Aspen both love our snowy season. Being cougars from Washington state, cold weather is definitely in their blood.
We’ve seen them grow into strong, healthy, confident cougars – just as their mother would have wanted.
How You Can Help
Rescuing orphaned wild cats is such an expensive commitment since it means 20+ years of care. That’s why our sponsorship program is so important in helping provide the best life possible for those we’re able to rescue.
Thank you for considering becoming Blaze’s sponsor parent or even giving a one time donation toward his care. You’ll see buttons at the top of this page to help. It makes such a difference for him!
