Three Orphaned Cougar Kittens Rescued By Wildcat Sanctuary In Sandstone

SANDSTONE, Minn – Three orphaned cougar kittens are getting a second chance at life. The Wildcat Sanctuary in Sandstone recently rescued those kittens.

In their short lives, the four-month-old cubs have been on a journey.

In January, two of them were found under the deck of a home in Washington state, while the third was captured a day later.

It is unclear what happened to their mother, but the Wildcat Sanctuary was contacted immediately to hopefully give these wild animals a new lease on life.

Without being rescued it is believed they would not have been able to survive the wild alone.

Staff at the Wildcat Sanctuary say this fresh start will help the cougars grow up living “wild at heart.”

“We can never replicate what these animals have in the wild but when they do have to live in captivity we want to give them free-roaming space so they can run and choose to climb or play,” said Executive Director Tammy Thies. “Our goal is to let the wild be wild and when they can’t we want to give the second best thing here at the Wildcat Sanctuary.

All three cubs are seemingly in good health.

The sanctuary invited Fox 21 to get a closer look at the animals during their first exam.

The pack with one girl and two boys may be babies, but they aren’t small in size.

Their weight ranges between 40 and 50 pounds. They will go on to grow to more than 150 pounds.

While the newly rescued cats have only been at the sanctuary for a short time, their different personalities are already showing.

“The female is really bold. The big guy is the most mellow and the young one gets a little stir crazy,” said Thies.

In recent years, there has been an increase in orphaned cougars.

The executive director believes there is one reason for this.

“Since these are apex predators some states won’t allow rehab and release because they are concerned the cats would become problem animals and imprinted on humans and we don’t want a danger for the public,” said Thies.

In most cases, these animals are euthanized, but thanks to the sanctuary these cubs will go on to live a full life as a pack, hopefully for the next twenty years.

The Wildcat Sanctuary is looking for some help to come up with names for these newly rescued baby cougars.

If you would like to be a part of giving them a name, you can submit them on the Wildcat Sanctuary’s Facebook page.