Here’s the incredible story about the rescue and rehabilitation of Lucky, a wild palm civet.
Thank you very much, So Eileen, for sharing it!
Here’s the story:
My mum found Lucky lying unconscious by the roadside opposite our home. We suspected it as due to electrocution from the electric pole that had caused him to fall off to the ground. He was still breathing at the time we found him. Unfortunately, his mum (we believe) was found dead with the body still hanging by the wires from the electric pole.
At the very beginning, we were not sure what he was. We thought he was a wild cat so we bought him to our regular vet for emergency treatment. Then the vet told us he is a wild civet, which they don’t treat. They referred us to an exotic vet located behind Zoo Negara in KL who treats wildlife animals and exotic pets. We rushed the unconscious civet whom we named Lucky to the exotic vet on the same night. Upon checking, the vet told us that he had suffered nerve damage as the result of the electrocution and injuries to his neck and all the way down to his hind legs. He might not be able to walk in the near future and was given 3 days of survival chance by the Vet.
We decided not to give up on Lucky. We found him for a reason. I decided to search on YouTube for exercises that I can do for Lucky to regain his mobility again. Thanks to YouTube, I managed to find few videos on physiotherapy and exercises that one can do at home daily for paralysed dogs and cats. Took the initiative to learn from those videos and applid it to Lucky 3 times a day. He gained full consciousness after 2 days of care but he was not able to eat and drink on his own.
I did research online about wild civets. Learned that it’s common for them to live inside the rooftop of housing areas in Malaysia. They usually invade housing rooftops to give birth to their offspring and care for them until they are mature enough to hunt and live out in nature. They are wildlife that only come out and are active by night time. They sleep or hibernate most during day time. It is hard to notice them as they only roam by night time and they walk alone or as a couple and hardly in a pack. Their main diet include local fruits like banana, papaya, mango, rambutan, red apples, grapes, dokong or duku langsat and wild durian that naturally fall from trees. They also eat raw whole eggs from chicken to rodents and small snakes in the wild.
After studying and learning more about Lucky, we incorporated these daily fruits into his diet.
After he regained consciousness, he was not able to move at all and was paralysed in the whole body, he could only blink blinking his eyes. We had to blend all the fruits into liquid and bottle feed every 3 to 4 hours or so. He was so skinny at the time we found him and according to the vet, it’s like he had not been eating for more than 1 week in the wild. Perhaps that was why he was roaming around the housing area at night searching for food and got himself electrocuted by accident. Poor thing, trying to survive where his own habitat had been invaded by increased development and their natural food source had been disrupted.
I continued the physiotherapy I learned from YouTube and my sister and I searched and asked for other exotic vets or vets that provide physiotherapy that could help Lucky in his recovery process too and to help him to at least walk or eat on his own again. No respond from all of the vets that we contacted. We were not aware of the existence of Jabatan Perhilitan at the time too. Finally, Asia Paws responded. Dr Susanna said she could help us and Lucky and we did a first assessment of Lucky’s condition through a video call. She was honest with us and told us she has no experience with a wildlife and she had no idea what a civet is. But she is dedicated and committed to help Lucky and us towards his recovery. She did her own study and research on wild civet and shared with us that it is similar but not exactly the same treatment that applies in treating cats using acupuncture points. She was willing to give Lucky a try and she was committed to helping us heal him too.
I started off with reiki energy healing channeled through by Daniel, a Reiki Healer and Practitioner. Had 3 sessions for Lucky. At the beginning, Daniel could not ‘read him through’ as he was in total shock at what had happened to Lucky. Dr Susanna shared that most of the victims that survived electrocution or lighting strike will experience memory loss and loss of cognitive function to a certain degree. Daniel was so patient and compassionate towards Lucky and he spent more time in channelling through reiki energy healing towards Lucky.
In the second session, Daniel was able to tap and tune in to Lucky. It was a good experience as we had never worked with a rescued wildlife before. Even he could not communicate directly with Lucky during the reiki session but he managed to first calm Lucky downe energetically and emotionally so that Lucky was aware that we were only trying to help him get well again and we meant no harm. After the third reiki session, we noticed that Lucky was much more comfortable and relaxed as we took care of his needs and his physical therapy. Lucky became tame like our pets. He trsuted us and our bond grew stronger day by day. But he is very wary with strangers, especially people not from our family members.
When he is more relaxed, emotionally calm and open energetically towards us, we decided to blend in accupuncture to assist in his recovery.
We brought Lucky for accupuncture at Asia Paws once a week. I continued to give Lucky daily physiotherapy massage as well. On the third accupuncture session with Dr Susanna, Lucky seemed to show so much progress already. He could walk again at a slow pace. He could climb a little and it looked like his nerves were starting to heal little by little. Lucky made very good progress by the 7th accupuncture session and we had to stop his accupuncture session as he was very alert of his surroundings by then. He could walk at a steadier pace too and his reflexes were much stronger and it was impossible for us to bring him over again for future treatments. He was very alert of strangers and we were worried that he could be triggered in an unfamiliar environment and this might lead to aggressive behavior as there are other animals and their owners who visit AsiaPaws for treatments.
My mum and sister were bitten by Lucky on the finger while trying to hold him while having his accupuncture too. On the positive side, Dr Susanna said we should celebrate with a bottle of champagne as this response shows that Lucky is recovering very well as his body is responding and reacting to pain and his nerves are regaining “consciousness” again. Very good news to hear and we had to stop from then on.
After Lucky 7th and final accupuncture session, he seemed to be doing well at our home. He could eat and drink on his own now. His vision was still blurry and not 100% healed, but he could walk on his own again, not wobbly like he used to be. His heart Chi grew stronger day by day and his reflexes were improving too. Lucky was prescribed homeopathy remedies by Dr Susanna on repairing and healing his vision and for his nerve regeneration. He was on Astaxanthin supplement daily to help him recover from the post traumatic accident, supplementing his accupuncture treatment.
Slowly but surely, Lucky was on the right path of his healing and recovery journey.
He was with us for 8 months before he was surrendered to Malaysian Wildlife Conservation Centre in Sungkai Perak. (We were faced with the hardest decision at the time but we know we needed to do what was right for Lucky. I intuitively know it was time for us to release him back into the wild. Daniel communicated with him and that was Lucky’s exact thought).
The team there will further reassess Lucky’s condition to see if he can be released back to the wild (his true home) safe and sound. If that is not the case, he will spend his life in a safe enclosed area covered in mini jungle in the Conservation Centre itself.
We can only pray that Lucky is happy and healthy always wherever he is. No visitors are allowed to visit the Wildlife Censervation Centre in Sungkai and we will not receive any follow-up calls on how Lucky is doing once surrender is done. That is how things operate at the centre.
But I did not give up that easily. I engaged with an Animal Communicator, Nicole Elizabeth, based in Australia in Dec 2022. Nicole delivered the message that Lucky is very well and alive, he found himself a “wife” at the Conservation Centre. It was heartwarming to know that Lucky, the rescued wild civet has returned home, to Mother Earth, a place where he truly belongs.
That is the tale of our rescued wild civet named Lucky.
And indeed, what a lucky little musang Lucky truly is!
This was Day 2 after his rescue, his legs started to respond and vibrate for couple of seconds right after physiotherapy for 10 minutes with guided videos I found on youtube.
Lucky’s walking attempts after 3 acupuncture sessions with Dr. Susanna.

Lucky relaxing and at ease with our presence after reiki healing sessions.