April 28 2017

Big Cat Updates

Things that happened 4/27/2017
The tiger row cats all have access to two cages each.  We have been doing a lot of leaf raking etc back there so the cats have been closed out of some of their cage sections to allow volunteers to work safely.

Diablo now has access to his entire enclosure.  He was closed out of part of his enclosure as volunteers were raking and sprucing up his space.

Part of Frosty's enclosure got raked, he is still locked out of part of his enclosure as there is still one bubble left inside to rake.  He finds it entertaining to watch the volunteers working away.

There are piles of leaves behind JoJo that still need to be picked up.  With this many shade trees for the cats you can only imagine how many hours of raking goes on.

CatRescue.biz

Your cat called and said they would LOVE one of these swimming fish, like those advertised on Facebook.

Facebook Live Video Replays

Short Walkabout With Carole

Jamie Veronica talks about rescues behind the scenes.

Advocacy Matters

Big Cat Rescue has recently been contacted by a number of you concerned about the use of a lion, tiger and leopards in the "Release the Beast" television commercial for Magnum ice cream bars.

Big Cat Rescue reached out to Unilever, which owns the Magnum brand as well as other ice cream brands and consumer products, to educate them. Unilever's External Affairs Director was very polite and receptive to listening to our concerns but stopped short of promising to only use CGI imagery instead of real big cats in their future advertising.

Right now Unilever has no plans to use big cats in the future, so we are NOT asking you to email Unilever at this time. But we -- and you -- will be watching and if they do exploit big cats in the future, we will call them out on it.

Below is the statement we received yesterday from Unilever; it's not perfect and we disagree that American Humane protects wild animals on movie and commercial photo shoots, but at least they are trying to move in the right direction. Thank you to everyone who contacted us!

At Magnum, we believe in the humane and safe treatment of all animals. All production for the campaign has ended and the animals used were treated with care and monitored by independent experts.  During production, qualified animal experts from the American Humane Association were on set at all times to ensure the animals’ care and safety.  While we cannot commit to using 100% computer-generated imagery at this time, we have already incorporated some CGI animals in our ads and we will continue to look at ways to increase the use of CGI in the future.

BigCatTV.com

Seth is currently Big Cat Rescue's youngest tiger. Despite his ankle injury, he really knows how to have a good time!!

BigCatRescue.biz

Last night, both at Family Dinner, and later at the presentation Jamie did to the volunteers, several people were wearing this tee shirt and I was admiring just what a great looking shirt it is:

People Often Ask

Q: Do Former Owners Ask About Their Cats?

A:  We've rescued over 250 cats over the past 25 years.

Back in the 90's Mac Cougar's owner came to visit him once or twice.

Also in the 90's Banshee Bobcat's owner visited him a couple times.

The five servals we rescued from the basement in NY were never visited by their owner, but she's probably called to check on them 4 or 5 times.

We often have follow up calls with agencies or good samaritans who helped us rescue cats, but I don't remember any other owners ever contacting to ask about their cats.

Here is the YouTube link to last night's presentation by Jamie Veronica on what it's really like to rescue big cats:

What Big Cat Rescues Are Really Like:  There is a huge public misconception about the glamour and excitement of rescuing lions and tigers. Find out what it's really like here:

How to Rescue a Big Cat

Give Day Tampa 2017

ROAR:  EARLY DONATIONS FOR GIVE DAY TAMPA BAY HAS BEGUN!

Give Day Tampa Bay is an online giving event in our community taking place May 2. For the first time Give Day Tampa Bay is accepting early donations –beginning TODAY April 18!

Your much-appreciated online donation to Big Cat Rescue from April 18 to May 2 will help us reach our goal of $61,000 for our cats – AND help us win up to $12,000 in cash prizes!

PLUS this year Big Cat Rescue is thrilled to announce that, thanks to an amazing donor, we have a $39,000 match! So, every dollar you donate to our cats between April 18 and May 2 will be matched dollar for dollar up to $39,000.

https://www.razoo.com/story/B9u50f

We will use your generous gifts this year for two very important purposes:

• The first is to purchase and renovate a building to be used as the recovery area for injured rehab bobcats so they can quietly recuperate after surgery. It will have four rooms and can also serve as an overflow recovery area for our other cats. This building will be located near our new state-of-the-art bobcat rehab area and will cost approximately $31,000.

• The second purpose will be to purchase new transport cages for our biggest cats. We desperately need new cages to bring rescued tigers, lions, leopards and cougars to our sanctuary. Our old ones can no longer be repaired after years of wear and tear. We will also use the new cages to transport the big cats within the sanctuary and to/from our Windsong Memorial hospital when they need medical attention. The cost to purchase four new transports is $30,000.

Can our cats count on you again this year to reach our goal of $61,000?

Make your tax-deductible gift of $5 or more to Big Cat Rescue by credit or debit card here:  https://www.razoo.com/story/B9u50f

Thank you for supporting Big Cat Rescue so generously and for making Give Day Tampa Bay such a GRRREAT success for our cats!!

Prefer to send Big Cat Rescue a check rather than donating online? The Give Day Tampa Bay rules say we MUST receive your check at our sanctuary by April 30. Please make your check out to Big Cat Rescue, make sure to write “Give Day Tampa Bay” on the memo line, and mail your donation to Howard Baskin, Big Cat Rescue, 12802 Easy Street, Tampa, FL 33625.

 Viewer Videos From Explore.org/bigcatrescue

Jasper & Josie just being cute :) Apr. 28/17

Jasper & Josie in the lion's mouth :) Apr. 28/17

Here is a list of YouTube channels that feature videos of the cats here:

• Jamie Veronica:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsY6X3rUv8UlIUbrxNeu-Aw
• Susann  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUFOZiTvzKRvj-oVbzdByvg
• Ruxandra https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvCsjKptd1gM9BhfDkGQGNg
• Donna P:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcFbhMc8Sqr-8MreWuYr4Bg
• Shawna https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfl9S-vDPJIgjl8QpM6Aypw
• Cathy S https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6ynHBFLKj0BVnK5jo2gTnw
• Janie M https://www.youtube.com/user/donutgirl100

  WANTED – Graphic Artists

Carole is looking for a graphic artist who really gets what we are all about and would would like to help us with some graphics for shirts.  If that is you or if you know someone like that, please have them email Carole at cat@bigcatrescue.org

 Quick Links

As per viewer suggestions, Quick Links now has it’s very own page http://bigcatrescue.org/quick-links/

Bookmarking it will help you find things quickly.  That will come in handy for:

• Helping us answer questions on social media
• Finding answers to some of Carole’s Facebook Live questions