Kirkland Vet Donates Laparascopic Cougar Spay to Cougar Mountain Zoo

Last month, Seattle Veterinary Specialists (SVS) of Kirkland donated their expertise and services to spay a 125–pound cougar named Tika.  The procedure was performed in July at the Animal Health Center at the Cougar Mountain Zoo, where Tika and her brother and sister are on exhibit.

The zoo waited until Tika went through her first "season" before having her spayed. The zoo does not breed, but instead has all of their animals spayed and neutered, according to zoo Manager Robyn Barfoot.

Tika, now 2 years old, was a unique case as she was diagnosed with Persistent Right Aortic Arch--a heart vessel condition that prevented her from swallowing solid food--when she was 3 months old. 

Dr. Michael Mison of SVS was able to modify and correct the complication at the time. Mison, along with the Dr. Stephen Stockdale of SVS and the zoo’s veterinary team, were among those who performed Tika’s spaying procedure.  The laparoscopic surgery involved small incisions and the use of images on monitors to guide the doctors throughout the procedure.

“Doing surgeries in wild animals requires as much organization and precision as possible, to make it efficient and minimize surgical time and complications,” said Mison. 

Both doctors commented that overall, the procedure went well.

“We were definitely out of our element,” said Stockdale. “Normally, we are in a sophisticated surgical suite with every instrument imaginable at our fingertips. In this situation we had to prepare and bring everything in to the zoo.”

Barfoot said the procedure involved weeks worth of coordination time. Logistics about anesthesia, transportation of Tika and where to do the procedure needed to be worked out.

The operation was just over two hours long, and Tika’s recovery process went very smoothly. Barfoot said that she bounced back quickly, both emotionally as well as physically.

“She was a rock star.  We brought her back and let her recover in her bedroom; she woke up and started playing in the hay and started purring,” said Barfoot. 

Barfoot has known and worked with Tika at Cougar Mountain since she was 11 days old. Although Tika was the smallest of her siblings, she progressed at a faster rate than her brother and sister while growing up, according to Barfoot. Tika was the first to open her eyes and to walk, and she is described as the “hunter” among them.  Of the three cougars at Cougar Mountain, Tika is the only one to have successfully hunted while there. At 7 months old, she captured a robin.

The cougar exhibit is always open when the zoo is open. At 2:30 p.m. every day there is a cougar enrichment and mini-lecture presentation. Handlers hide small pieces of steak around the cage while Tika and her siblings are off exhibit. When released, visitors are able to watch the cougars search for their food.

The Cougar Mountain Zoo is open Wednesday through Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. for general admission.  Mondays and Tuesdays are for private tours and events.  Admission is $12.50 per person; $9 for children ages 2-12.  For more information on Tika or other animals on exhibit, visit http://www.cougarmountainzoo.org.

Editor's note: Jasmine Healy is a student in the University of Washington Department of Communication News Laboratory.)