It is unknown how she got into such a horrific condition, but Aasha was very ill when Vicki Keahy, founder of Texas’ In-Sync Exotics Wildlife Rescue and Educational Center, found her. Since she weighed no more than 30 pounds, she had obvious signs of malnutrition, which should be the weigh on a 3-month-old pup, but she was almost nine.
Really worried about Aasha’s extreme health, Vicky tried to figure out what happened to her. “I asked how a nine-month-old tiger could be so small,” she told The Dodo.
It turns out that the poor little tiger was part of a traveling circus. And because she was kept in a cage with a larger animal, she was not allowed to eat. What’s more, she had a skin infection called ringworm, but without proper care, it only made it worse. So Vicky decided to take Aasha and take care of her. As a result, she was taken to an isolated area at In-Sync Exotics, Dodo reported.
“Aasha’s bald spots covered most of her body and her skin was dry [with] cracked, darken areas and bleeding,”,” said Vicky. “Every day, twice a day, I came in to give Aasha medication and spend some time with her. I knew I was going to have to handle her for her to recover.
And after only a few weeks of proper treatment, the things never looked better for the wild kitten. “After eight weeks of treatment you can see little bits of fuzz growing back to [what used to be] bald spots,” concerned Vicky said.
However, it took almost 8 months for Aasha to make an amazing recovery. “In eight months she looks like a real tiger, and it is time to see how she will react to other tigers,” Vicky also said. And right now, she’s unrecognizable!