As Cocaine Bear is currently in theaters, a “Cocaine Cat” found in a Cincinnati neighborhood with cocaine in its system was released from animal care and is recovering at the Cincinnati Zoo.
The serval named Amiry, is an exotic cat native to Africa. Servals can grow to three times the size of an ordinary cat, weighing in at 20-40 pounds.
It is illegal to own servals in Ohio, said Ray Anderson, a spokesperson with Cincinnati Animal CARE.
The CAC, Hamilton County’s animal control services provider, said the dog wardens were alerted to reports of a leopard spotted in a tree in Oakley on January 28.
Once they found Amiry, they brought him over to their facility, where the staff at the CAC were treating his broken leg and called in a big cat expert whose specialty was to handle animals of bigger sizes and various species.
After the CAC conducted its DNA test to confirm Amiry was a serval, they also performed a toxicology test. They confirmed he was positive for cocaine exposure.
Amiry’s care lasted 36 hours at the CAC before he transferred to the Cincinnati Zoo, where there are more resources to care for Amiry’s full rehabilitation.
As of this week, Amiry is now part of the Cat Ambassador Program at the Cincinnati Zoo.
Members of the CAP team will keep an eye on his progress before allowing him to run, jump, and engage in other activities that might impair healing. They are concentrating on helping him acclimate to a new environment and his new care team.