On Tuesday 4 November, we noticed that Nicki was limping and while it was nothing serious, we decided to ask our local veterinarian, Dr Peter Rogers, to have a look. He decided that it would be best if we take her in to get x-rays the following day.
On Wednesday morning, we carefully placed the young cheetah in a crate and transported her to the veterinary hospital where she would receive her x-rays. Nicki really did not enjoy the journey, and was not afraid to be very vocal about her displeasure! However, the team tried their best to soothe her. After being weighed (she is a full 12kg now!), the cheetah was sedated and moved to the theater where she was placed on the x-ray machine.

Luckily, Dr Rogers didn’t see anything amiss on the x-rays that would cause the limp. It was decided that we would monitor Nicki closely and treat her with Petcam, an anti-inflammatory for the next few days.
Once she began to wake up, Nicki was placed in her transportation crate, and taken back home. She was very happy (if not somewhat unsteady) to rejoin her sisters in the creche.
We are certain that the sweet little cheetah will be feeling much better in no time!