Genie

GENIE Female Sand Cat

DOB 7/27/00

Arrived at Big Cat Rescue  10/23/00

Pat Quillen of S.O.S. Care sent five Sand Cats to Big Cat Rescue on October 23, 2000. They were born to Pebbles and Papoose who were the offspring of wild caught Sand Cats sent here during Desert Storm for their protection. Most of the known origin Sand Cats in the U.S. are from these imported Founders who produced well at S.O.S. Care.

They have been sent here as genetic back up and will not be bred at Big Cat Rescue unless their offspring with cats unrelated to this group can be returned to the wild. We will not breed for life in cages.

Sand cats are small desert dwelling cats native to northern Africa and the Middle East. They are frequent victims of the illegal pet trade and during the Gulf War their livelyhood and habitats were greatly affected. In an effort to preserve the species, the Saudi government sent eight of these cats to S.O.S. Care, a California-based international cat-conservation organization.

Genie and four littermates, descendents of the original group, were sent to Big Cat Rescue as a genetic back-up in case of disaster at S.O.S. Care. Genie lives in a large enclosure with thick foliage. She is quite shy and the plants in her Cat.a.tat provide lots of spaces for her to conceal herself. Genie also loves to sleep inside her elevated dens, which are merely window flower boxes, that are hung on the walls of her enclosure. Keepers can tell when she is in one of these dens because her tail will be peeking out over the top of the pot.