An Indian doctor had to part with his big cats after being locked in his basement with them for months because of the war in Ukraine.
When war was declared in Ukraine, Gidikumar Patil, who lives alone, vowed never to leave home without his animals, according to the BBC.
The 42-year-old lived and worked as an orthopedist in a hospital in Svavtove, a small town in the recently annexed Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine.
Mr. Patil, who has been a Ukrainian citizen since 2016, bought his animals from a zoo in the capital Kyiv almost two years ago. The male cat is a 24-month-old Lepjag, the result of a cross between a female jaguar and a male leopard. The female cat is a 14 month old black panther.
Two weeks ago Mr. Patil arrived due to lack of funds and had to cross the Polish border to work and feed his special pets.
The hospital where the doctor worked was recently destroyed by a bomb and Prof. Patil had to seek refuge in a dormitory in Warsaw along with other refugees.
He entrusted the care of the two cats to a local farmer, but internet disruptions prevent him from getting any news.
“Their caretaker tells me that my animals miss me. The Lepjag has not eaten properly for almost a week. The black panther is in a state of confusion. I want to save her and get her out of there, but I really don’t know how,” he told the BBC over the phone from Warsaw.