Denali's life began as a privately-owned pet and later rescued from an unaccredited sanctuary. He was originally purchased by a man who claimed to have acquired a litter of Serval kittens from a roadside zoo. As Denali rapidly grew, reaching double the size of a domestic cat, his family soon realized that they could no longer manage him in their home. Consequently, they made the decision to place him at the Spirit of the Hills Sanctuary in South Dakota when he turned one year old.