Large exotic cat on the loose near Victoria is third African serval to escape on Vancouver Island this week
Another serval has escaped from its owner on Vancouver Island, this time in a community north of Victoria.
Sylvia Lammers says her large African cat briefly got loose from her Brentwood Bay home on Sunday night and then escaped again the following morning.
"She learned how to open the back door," Lammers said. "Initially this happened on Sunday and we got her back fairly quickly. We thought it was our error that we left the door open, not realizing that she had figured it out."
Lammers says she was able to lure the cat, named Cassia, back with treats. "Basically, I put prawns in a bag on a string and that's how I got her."
But the following morning, the three-year-old exotic feline escaped again while Lammers was at work.
The Brentwood Bay woman says her neighbour reportedly saw the animal around 10 a.m. Monday but Lammers has been scouring the area unsuccessfully since.
"She camouflages so well in this habitat," Lammers said.
DOMESTIC CAT KILLED BY SERVALS
Cassia is the third serval to escape on Vancouver Island in recent days after a pair of the animals got loose in Qualicum Beach, B.C., on Sunday. One of the pair is now back in the care of its owners and the other remains on the loose Thursday.
According to the BC SPCA, one or both of the escaped servals in Qualicum Beach was involved in the killing of a neighbour's domestic cat.
The agency says that servals are not listed in provincial regulations controlling animals from other countries, so they can be legally owned in some B.C. municipalities.
Lammers says that while domestic servals have different needs than most housecats, they are not the wild animals many people have made them out to be.
"They are domesticated," Lammers said. "It's not like she's been pulled from the tundra. She has many generations been raised – her ancestors – in domestic situations."
Lammers says she rescued Cassia from someone who was ill-equipped to care for the cat when it was six months old.
The Capital Regional District's animal control office told CTV News on Thursday it had not received any calls about the escaped cat in Brentwood Bay.
"My gut is that she isn't on the run and she's just hunkered down somewhere," Lammers said. "We've created a little scent trail for her. We've put out her litter pads at the end of our driveway in hopes that she will catch the scent and find her way back."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Calgary police shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers dealt with a distraught individual. The incident lasted almost 20 hours.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.