Tiger, cheetah and leopard all fall ill in medical mystery at UK zoo

Three big cats underwent specialist scans to investigate a persistent and unexplained medical problem.

A tiger, a cheetah and a clouded leopard at the Big Cat Sanctuary in Kent are suffering from hitherto undiagnosed “mobility problems”.

On Monday vets used a specialist mobile CT scan to investigate the cause of their ailment.

Patients include Luca, a four-year-old Amur tiger; Django, a ten-year-old mainland clouded leopard; and Mo, a four-year-old South African cheetah.

Each of the cats was tranquilized in their own enclosure by a veterinarian from the International Zoo Veterinary Group before being transported to the mobile centre.

Luca was photographed with his paws stretched out in front of him and his eyes closed in preparation for the high-resolution scans.

Briony Smith, curator of The Big Cat Sanctuary, said: “Ensuring the comfort and safety of our cats is always our top priority and bringing the mobile CT unit here has enabled us to achieve this goal smoothly and efficiently.

“The important partnership between The Big Cat Sanctuary, our expert vets Elliot Simpson-Brown and Valerie Freeman, and Burgess Diagnostics has been vital in taking this important next step towards understanding and resolving Luca, Django and Mo’s mobility issues.”

Following their scans, the three were transported back to their living quarters, while still under sedation, where the anesthesia was reversed and they were monitored as they woke up.

The temple says the scans will now be analyzed by expert veterinary radiographers and will report their findings in about two weeks.

“The whole day was a wonderful demonstration of collaborative animal welfare,” Ms Smith said.