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.

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.

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."