Three wild cats that were being raised as pets escaped from their Los Alamitos home on Saturday, Dec. 15. They were recaptured over the weekend by animal control officers from Long Beach Animal Care Services.
The Long Beach agency has a contract to provide animal control services to Los Alamitos and Seal Beach
ACS Manager Ted Stevens said the last of the three cats was captured at about 10:30 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 16.
“He had actually returned to the residence,” Stevens said.
“He probably got hungry,” Stevens said.
He described the last of the cats as a full grown male. He put the animal’s weight at about 30 pounds.
“He was good sized,” Stevens said.
He said the cats have been shipped to the Exotic Animal Sanctuary, which is located in Phelan, Calif., near Victorville.
“Forever Wild rescues and rehabilitates captive-bred exotic animals, giving them a safe home for the rest of their lives,” according to the sanctuary’s website.
Forever Wild is a private, non-profict animal rescue organization.
Two of the serval cats had already been captured by the time Los Alamitos Police issued a press release about the three cats’ escape from their owner’s Howard Avenue apartment. Fortunately, no humans and no animals were injured during the capture.
Early Sunday evening, Stevens said Long Beach Animal Care Services had officers patrolling the area.
It is illegal to own serval cats in California, according to a written statement issued by Los Alamitos Police Capt. Bruce McAlpine.
“Although these cats were being raised as pets, they, like any animal, can be dangerous if approached,” McAlpine wrote. “These exotic cats are about the size of a medium dog, standing about 2-and-a-half feet tall, with black spots, and resemble a small cheetah.”
Stevens said that a serval cat isn’t a mountain lion. “It’s basically a large cat,” Stevens said.
Stevens said the owner of the illegal pets said they were declawed, but he said that had not been confirmed.
Authorities have not released the name of the owner, who apparently lived on Howard Avenue.
