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Vote for Big Cat Rescue to win $1,000,000.00

Vote to Save Tigers:  Help Big Cat Rescue win $1,000,000.00 to save tigers!  JP Morgan Chase is enlisting Facebook users to vote for which small and local non profits (under 10 mil budget) will receive donations totaling $5 million. The eligible charity receiving the most votes will be awarded $1 million, the top five runners-up will receive $100,000 each and the 100 finalists, including the top winners, will be awarded $25,000 each. Help Big Cat Rescue win and you will be saving tigers in captivity and enabling the work we do to save tigers in the wild as members of the International Tiger Coalition.

Vote Big Cat Rescue America's Favorite Shelter: A free way to help Big Cat Rescue win $10,000 is to vote for us in America's Favorite Animal Shelter contest, sponsored by Care2 and Adopt-a-Pet.com.  It is a chance for animal lovers everywhere to raise awareness of the need to adopt shelter and rescue animals while helping Big Cat Rescue win a much-needed donation. You can only vote once. http://bit.ly/15FUl8

Bobcat Hit By 3 Cars Recovering at Big Cat Rescue:  October 30, 2009 at 4:00 Dr. Deborah L. Sullivan of the Suncoast Veterinary Care Center called Big Cat Rescue reporting that a good Samaritan had retrieved a bobcat who had been hit on SR 54 and tied the cat in the back of his truck and drove him to the first Veterinary Clinic he saw. Upon arrival the bobcat leaped from the truck but was stunned enough from the impact that Dr. Sullivan and Dr. Shreeve were able to hand inject him with a sedative as he was conscious enough to strike out.

He had been hit by a car, which stunned him to the point that he was just sitting in the middle of the road shaking his head.  Gathering all of the strength and will at his command he tried to weave off the pavement when he was struck by a second car that flipped him into the path of a third oncoming vehicle, according to eye witness reports.

The vets rushed him into X-ray to see if there were any broken limbs or spinal injuries. Blood seemed to be flowing from his mouth, which would indicate severe internal injuries, but it turned out to be from a gaping wound under his chin. Satisfied that he was probably just suffering from shock and a concussion Dr. Sullivan set out to find a rehabber who would actually enable this cat to go back to the wild rather than trying to make a pet or a prop out of him.

The bobcat was a beautiful 23 lb. male and appeared to be about a year and a half old to two years old judging by his size, his magnificent teeth and his otherwise virtually un tattered appearance. He was probably just now being pushed out of his mother's territory and thus crossing six lanes of traffic to do it. Big Cat Rescue Rehabber and President, Jamie Veronica and CEO Carole Baskin mused as to if he could be Hope's long lost brother. It was only two miles away that Hope was found as a tiny kitten dropped alongside a road about a year and a half ago. Jamie had suspected then that a mother bobcat had been moving her brood and had somehow dropped Hope and that is why she searched so long for her to try and reunite the two, but never heard her call to the baby and finally gave up.

The bobcat was still sleeping peacefully from the sedation so Big Cat Rescuers decided to swing by their own Vet's office to have blood work done. It looked like this male would be fine to set free after a few days of recuperation, but he would need to be tested for FIV (the feline version of aids) before doing so to insure the safety of the resident population of bobcats. While there, Dr. Addler filled in for Dr. Liz Wynn and stitched up a couple of his wounds and X-rayed his head. It is amazing that a cat could take such a hard blow from a moving car and not just be crushed inside that sleek, furred skin. The X-rays showed no fractures and his blood test came back negative for FIV so all was looking good for him.

It was 7 PM on the eve of the night tour at Big Cat Rescue so there were plenty of hands on deck to help unload him into the cat hospital and get him set up in the squeeze cage before he woke up. This will enable his caregivers to give injectable antibiotics, if he doesn't eat food with pills in it, and give him fluids if he can't or won't drink on his own. Jamie Veronica checked in on the bobcat at 9 PM and he was sleeping upon arrival, but then sat up when he heard her. She moved her hand quietly from side to side and he was able to follow it with eyes that glowed golden even more hauntingly than the jack-o-lanterns in the parking lot noting "He seems to respond to sound as well."

The next day the Volunteer team readied the rehab cage, where Hope used to live, so that the bobcat dubbed Dante can have a few days to gather his wits about him and recover from the impact and the trauma. He will them be set free to find his path in life. Thanks to surveillance cameras Jamie Veronica can track his progress. "Right now it takes him several minutes to cross the cage as he can only take a few steps, sit down and catch his breath, and then another few steps, but he was able to jump up onto his den so we are hopeful that he will have a full recovery," said Big Cat Rescue's licensed rehabber.

You can help support rescues like this and provide the medical care needed in such emergencies here: http://www.bigcatrescue.org/donate.htm

Videos about Hope the Bobcat's rehab and release here: http://www.bigcatrescue.org/video/00280.htm

Serval Rescue!  An African Serval was limping along in the Arizona desert until she collapsed alongside a road.  She had almost completely given up the will to live. She was probably a pet or perhaps used in the hybrid breeding scheme that has become all the rage where Servals are bred to domestic house cats to produce Savannah Cat hybrids. The domestic cats are often killed in the process. The kittens sell for thousands of dollars, but when they mature they typically spray and bite and make awful pets. The hybrids are usually discarded by the time they are two or three years old.

This Serval was obviously abandoned and was placed by authorities at the Tucson Wildlife Center, a non-profit sanctuary dedicated to native wildlife. Lisa Bates-Lininger the founding president of the Tucson Wildlife Center said, "She was dehydrated and tired and just ready to give up. She may have died last night, but luckily we got her in. We got her emergency treatment, fluids for shock, and she's also missing a rear leg."

Despite 18 media posts including TV news in Tucson and a post on Craig's list looking for the owner no one admits to having abandoned this Serval to die in the desert.  Thanks to some very generous supporters the serval was flown to her new permanent home at Big Cat Rescue where she is recovering well.  Servals can live into their late teens and proper care is thousands of dollars each year. Her new 1,200 square foot Cat-a-tat had to be specially modified to accommodate her three legged hopping. It seems that she only recently lost her leg as she has a very difficult time keeping her balance.  We are writing vets in the Tucson area to find out if any of them know what tragedy caused her to lose a limb and to see if there is any way to prosecute those who exposed her to such danger. 

See a video of her here:  http://bit.ly/45ou2u  Help support her by paying $1.00 per entry to give her a new name:  http://bit.ly/4esBNC

CFC Participant? Generous donations through the CFC program have become one of our major sources of funding. Our CFC number is 10766. On behalf of the cats, sincere thanks to the many Federal employees who have helped us provide the best possible home for the cats by donating through this program.

Big Cat Times Magazine!  Check out the most recent issue of The Big Cat Times in this online magazine format HERE

November Issue of AdvoCat:  The latest edition of the AdvoCat, our monthly E-zine is HERE

Thanksgiving Fun:  Find lots of free and fun things to do for Halloween at bigcatfun.com/thanksgiving.html

Win an Animal Lover's Dream Vacation: If you love animals, you have got to see this fabulous trip HERE

Follow us on Twitter and see what is happening moment by moment at Big Cat Rescue and in the world of lions, tigers, bobcats and other exotic wildcats. @BigCatRescue

 

Big Cat Credit Card

You can give more without spending more by turning your everyday spending into meaningful donations with a customized Big Cat Rescue Capital One credit card.  Share your passion and donate to Big Cat Rescue with your everyday purchases. We've partnered with Capital One® Card Lab Connect to bring you our newest fundraising program, which helps us earn money doing what you do every day! Just carry one of our custom credit cards (it comes with a competitive rate and no annual fee), and 1% of purchases made with the card will be donated to Big Cat Rescue.

We'll also receive a $25 bonus donation when you make your first purchase. And not only will you be donating to the cats with each purchase you make, you'll be helping to spread the word when people see your wildly unique card, designed specifically for Big Cat Rescue.  Three custom cards are currently available featuring Cameron the lion, Cheetaro the leopard, and Shere Khan & China Doll the tigers!  What a great way to share the cats' stories every time you pull out your credit card.  Tell others too by downloading Credit Card Flyer

Sharing your passion and your support is easy and automatic. Apply today! 

https://www.cardlabconnect.com/Big Cat Rescue

 

 

Video of the Week

 

Check out more than 300 big cat videos HERE

 

 

Our Mission

Big Cat Rescue, a non profit educational sanctuary, is devoted to rescuing and providing a permanent home for exotic (i.e. wild, not domestic) cats who have been abused, abandoned, bred to be pets, retired from performing acts, or saved from being slaughtered for fur coats, and to educating the public about these animals and the issues facing them in captivity and in the wild. 

The sanctuary is home to the most diverse population of exotic cats in the world, with 16 species and subspecies of wild cat represented among more than 100 residents.  These include tigers, lions, liger, leopards, cougars, bobcats, lynx, ocelots, servals, caracals and others, many of whom are threatened, endangered, or now extinct in the wild.

 

If you like what Big Cat Rescue is doing to save the cats, please help us out here:

Big Cat Rescue is an educational sanctuary and a home for more than 100 big cats  12802 Easy St. Tampa, FL 33625 813.920.4130 Info@BigCatRescue.org