Apopka, Florida - An eight-year-old animal in Florida is a big golden cat that boasts the genetics of both a tiger and a lion. Unfortunately, this chimera has lots of genetic health issues.

When this big cat-hybrid was just nine weeks old, he was transported from Illinois to the Care Foundation in Apopka, Florida. Animal rescuers raised him with a bottle.

This chimera is a so-called "liger"– i.e., half tiger, half lion – just like his mother.

His father is a purebred lion, according to his rescuers.

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He is the only one of his kind in Florida. He's such a rarity that his keepers call him the "unicorn of the big cats."

This "big boy" looks more like a lion than a tiger, and as a reel from his caregivers shows, he loves to cuddle and boop his keepers with his nose.

He celebrated his eighth birthday last September and weighs an impressive 800 pounds!

Being a chimera isn't easy: this animal suffers from a myriad of different health problems.

"He has very bad allergies at times which require medication, as well as a bit of vitamin deficiency, which we work on daily," the Care Foundation wrote on Facebook.

When he was a kitten, he had to have an eyelid lift because his eyelashes were rubbing against his eyeball. Years later, his keepers now think the cat has cataracts.

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Because he was raised by humans, the liger has some strange habits. He only eats when his keeper serves his food on a tray.

They described that cat as a "very headstrong, very spoiled liger."

Despite the animal's difficulties, his caregivers love him just the same: "I can't convey how blessed I am to have this relationship with him. It's a mutual love, understanding, & respect."