On November 24, 2026, two very special Siberian tigers at Cat Tales will celebrate their 19th birthday.
And their story began on a very cold November morning, nearly 19 years ago.
Their mother, Delilah, had arrived at Cat Tales pregnant following a confiscation involving several Siberian tigers. She had experienced an enormous change in her surroundings, and we weren’t sure how she would respond to motherhood.
For the first two weeks, she cared for her four cubs. But when she stopped providing the care they needed, it was time for us to step in.
I remember gathering up those four little tiger cubs, tucking them into one of my carry bags, and hurrying them into the house to get them warm and fed.
Getting them warm was the easy part.
I’d raised Bengal tiger cubs before, and they had taken to bottle-feeding fairly readily. These four Siberians had other ideas.
Friends kept telling me, “Just wait them out.”
Thirty-two hours later, they finally accepted the nipple and began to suckle. Once that happened, we were on our way.
Those four little cubs eventually grew into some very, very large tigers. Over the years, we have said goodbye to two of the siblings, but Koshka and Sestra are still here, each with a personality all their own.
Sestra: The Clever One
Sestra was probably the easiest of the four cubs to work with. She enjoyed participating in training and even liked going for leash walks when she was younger.
But don’t mistake cooperation for predictability.
Sestra has always been spunky, sly, and just enough of a troublemaker to keep everyone paying attention. She’s intelligent, curious, and seems to know exactly what she wants.
I remember one occasion when she simply wouldn’t come out of her kennel.
Apparently, the usual encouragement wasn’t quite enough.
So I told her she was the most beautiful tiger in the entire world.
And at that very moment, she seemed to agree.
“Yes. Yes, I am.”
Out she came.
Whether it was the compliment, the timing, or something entirely different, I’ll never know. But it’s one of those moments that perfectly captures the Sestra I’ve known all these years.
Koshka: The Gentle Giant Who Makes His Own Schedule
Koshka has always been a different sort of tiger.
Big, shy, and perfectly content to nap somewhere away from the public, he’s never seemed particularly interested in being the center of attention.
For many years, his brother Tuga was the more prominent male tiger, and Koshka was content to take a quieter place in the background.
Even after Tuga’s passing, Koshka has remained Koshka.
He likes his den. He enjoys his rest. And sometimes, when it’s time to shift so the keepers can clean, he has absolutely no interest in getting up.
But catch him in the right mood, and he’s a completely different character.
He’s a chuff factory, greeting familiar people with those wonderful breathy tiger vocalizations. He can be an enthusiastic fence rubber, too, showing another side of that enormous, reserved personality.
Koshka reminds us that being quiet doesn’t mean an animal has little to say. Sometimes you just have to give him the opportunity to say it in his own way.
Nineteen Years Later
It’s hard to imagine that the two enormous tigers we know today were once small enough to be gathered into a carry bag on a freezing November morning.
They’ve taught us patience, flexibility, and the importance of recognizing individual personalities.
And they’ve reminded us that rescue is only the beginning of a much longer commitment.
As Koshka and Sestra celebrate their 19th birthday, we celebrate the lives they’ve lived, the personalities they’ve shared with us, and the privilege of caring for them through all these years.
Happy 19th Birthday, Koshka and Sestra!
From four tiny cubs on a cold November morning to two magnificent senior tigers, what a journey it has been.