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Tiger Cub Undergoes CT Scans At Long Island Clinic

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Dec 5, 2007 10:34 am US/Eastern

Tiger Cub Undergoes CT Scans At Long Island Clinic

Stunning Photos Show Tiny Cat Receiving Emergency Treatment

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FARMINGDALE, N.Y. (CBS) ― A 12-week-old Siberian tiger from a zoo in Ohio has been receiving care at a Long Island clinic for a disorder so severe that just a few days ago, she was almost put to sleep.

CBS 2 and WCBSTV.COM has obtained the incredible images of the cub undergoing treatment, including MRIs and CT scans at the New York Veterinarian Specialty Center in Farmingdale.

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"Simba was showing a profound loss of balance. She kept listing off to the side and her head was tilted," Dr. Arnold Lesser tells CBS 2. "The biggest worry was that if she had an infection in the brain or a tumor in the brain, there might have been nothing we could do to help the tiger."

Simba was flown to the clinic to receive the crucial medical attention she needs, courtesy of Larry Wallach, often referred to as "Tiger Man."


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"You pray that you can make the cat better, that the doctors you believe in can do the job," Wallach says.

CBS 2 first featured Wallach back in August. An eccentric of sorts, Wallach has for 20 years taken in unwanted, abandoned, or sick lions, tigers, and bears, among others, and looking after them in his own special way.

"Very carefully," he jokes.

Wallach is a former SPCA wildlife officer and a successful businessman, which allows him to indulge his passion for caring for needy animals.

Simba's care includes plenty of blood work along with the CT scans and other delicate procedures that will cost thousands of dollars in advanced medical care to diagnose the tiger's troubles.


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It's money Wallach is paying out of his own pocket.

"It's worth it. Look at it. It's worth it," he says.

After all the tests on Tuesday, it turns out the prognosis for Simba is now good. Her problem, doctors say, isn't a tumor.

"Inner ear infection. Thank God, isn't that great?" Wallach says.

And so doctors say the infection can be easily treated, and Simba could be back home in Ohio just in time for Christmas.

CBS 2's Scott Rapoport contributed to this report.

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