About Us walkonthewildside.org

Founded by Donna & Mike Verba, WALK ON THE WILDSIDE .ORG is located in MENA, AR. in the heart of 1.5 million acres of National Forest in the middle of the Ouachita Mountains. What better places for the uprooted and unwanted to call home until they pass from this earth.

WALK ON THE WILDSIDE .ORG provides SHELTER AND A PERMANENT HOME FOR UPROOTED EXOTIC FELINE along with quiet place to live out their life in a secure and safe environment.-Through our commitment, and experience, WALK ON THE WILDSIDE .ORG has established a non-profit rescue that will last their lifetime!

My name is Donna and my husbands name is Mike and if someone told me 25 years ago I would be sleeping with Bobcats, and they would be sharing my home, well I would have told the they are out of their minds. But here we are today sharing our home with the uprooted and unwanted, and it didn't end at Bobcats.

30 years ago I worked with a no-kill shelter on the South side of Chicago. Then it wasn't unusual to have 30 domestic cats in my house at one time. Now I'm still going but with a whole new bred of cat. The Exotic Cats have become a part of our life, a very special part, and it all began over 15 years ago, with one lost and abandoned wild bobcat. Her name was Sherabie she was the beginning of a whole new journey and mission in our life. She came to us in need of help, sick and lost. Maybe it was a higher power at work that day, getting us prepared for what lay ahead of us.

Sherabie wildborn and mother raised from then to now, and our newer member Nabacha just after she arrived in Sept. 2004 along with Precious and followed by Baby.

We are a newly established exotic feline rescue; we have come into existence because of the growing need for places like this, and because of one lost abandoned baby bobcat we named Sherabie. There are many shelters for domestics but far to few for the exotic feline.

Sherabie came into our lives when she was around 8 or 10 weeks old, she is the reason we are here today. The first part of her life was spent in the wild being raised by her mother. We found her in our driveway abandoned by her mother, she was frightened and alone. She put up a pretty good fight when you picked her up, but she was afraid and alone. We could not turn our backs on the poor frightened little creature; she needed help to stay alive.

We brought her into our home, she was alone and ill, and we nursed her back to health, in no time flat she was a part of the family, being raised by our domestic Persian. My domestics took to caring for her, cleaning and grooming her, giving back to her some feelings of security, and a mother figure. In a very short time Sherabie had settled in and become part of the family, no longer afraid or alone she was now safe and secure.

As she grew she started having seizures, they became more and more frequent, she would have to be held down during the seizures to keep her from getting hurt. We took her to an exotic feline vet, he ran all kinds of test and did blood work on her. He gave us all kinds of medication to give her, well don't ever try to get a pill down a half grown bobcats throat, it's not going to happen. I did some research and found herbs that would do the same thing as the drugs. I started feeding her the herbs over her food; she ate it with no problem. I continue this for some time, the seizures were happening less and less now. In time they stopped all together, the herbs had worked and she now had her health back.

Until you experience the love they give, and run your hands through the soft thick fur of a Lynx while he purrs in your ears, or have a bobcat clean your face in the middle of the night while you try to sleep, you truly haven’t lived. To find a bobcat curled up at your side stretching and hogging the bed in the middle of the night, or to be woke up from a sound sleep while two bobcats start their play in the wee hours of the morning, hiding under your blanket while the other attacks from above. These are only some of the wonders those who have been truly blessed can experience.

I can open the door of my home and 2 bobcats enter the house from their cage, this is their home too, and when the weather is warm the doors remain open so they can enter and exit at will. There are times I get help at the keyboard as a 35 pound bobcat walks across purring wanting my attention, her backside turned to me so I know it’s her, and then the sandpaper tongue cleans my hands as she purrs. We have been blessed with 3 wild born bobcats, all have given us their trust and love.

Walk on the Wildside came into existence because of our love for one lost, frightened, wild born bobcat, Sherabie, and the love she returned to us. Sherabie rescued us and showed us what is important on this earth, she was a very special girl, Sherabie was the guide to our future, she is the reason we are here today asking for your help to continue our work caring for the uprooted and abused exotics. She came to us over 10 years ago, and since that time more have come, and others are waiting for our help, the need for more cages and money to care for them grows each day. Far too many need help and we will continue to give and care with your support.

Our love for Sherabie has brought us here today, we have now taken things a step further and become a 501-c-3 non-profit sanctuary for Exotic Feline. We started with one cage attached to our home, now there are more. As they say "Build it and they will come." we did and they have.

My husband and I build the cages ourselves, and I am the care giver to our crew. We have no help or volunteers at this time. But as things continue to grow we may need to acquire some extra help in the future.

At the present time we can only afford to give proper care to a handful of cats. We are hoping in time through donations we will be able to build more cages and give homes to more of those in need.

"Walk on the Wildside" is located in the heart of the Ouachita Mountains, surrounded by almost two million acres of National Forest. What better home for these wonders of nature, than to live once again in the mountains and the forests.