April 8 2017

Big Cat Updates

Zabu’s food is now being cut up in small piece and given to her in a bowl.

Nabisco and Mrs. Claws are being given an additional section to their enclosure.  It is almost ready.  These busy young bobcats are going to love having the additional space.

Joseph is doing well with his new feeding schedule.

Keepers are working with Hoover trying to retrain him to come in the lockout to eat his meals instead of being fed from the feeding stick 4 or 5 times a day.  He is not a morning eater so we are trying to feed him more in the evenings.  When he was recovering from his surgeries those multiple feedings were a must, but now that he is doing so much better it is time for him to go back to eating in his lockout.  Many of you ask when he will go back to the lakeside enclosure.  He cannot go back to the lakeside enclosure until he starts coming to eat enough in his lockout, consistently.  The lakeside enclosure has a small forest area.  If he does not come to his lockout to eat we could not reach him with a feeding stick.  He is eating quite a bit now and we cannot risk his recovery going backwards by moving him back over there too soon.

Trivia Tidbit:  29 of the cats here are over the age of 20.  Sabre is 25 and Little Dove is 24.

Tribute to Angie Bobcat

1/1/93 – 4/7/17

On Tuesday (4/4/17) Angie was brought in to see Dr. Boorstein because she was refusing to eat. Angie’s kidneys were worse, but the vet wanted to give her one last chance to turn around. She was given fluids and an anti nausea drug to see if she could make one more turn around. Bobcats are the most fierce of the cats and just hate being confined. Angie hated the Cat Hospital and refused to eat, so Keepers thought she might do better, back in her enclosure. Keepers noticed that she was stumbling and no amount of coaxing would get her to eat, so yesterday Dr. Boorstein came by in the afternoon to offer her a peaceful transition to the happy hunting grounds that wait beyond.

I spent some time today, just watching her sleep. As old and arthritic as she was, she still looked so vibrant in every other way. In her dream she was clearly in pursuit of prey and had such a blissful appearance on her face. The only good in saying goodbye to her was that she didn’t have to suffer and linger when her time came. At the age of 24 she had lived twice as long as most bobcats do and we were blessed that she spent the last 19 years with us. Thank you to everyone who loved her and gave her the best life possible.  ~Carole

YOU can post tributes to this precious girl in the comments section of this page: BigCatRescue.org/Angie/

Angie’s owner brought her and two cougars to Big Cat Rescue in 1998 saying that his county had changed their ordinances on keeping wildlife and asked if we would look after them while he moved and built new cages. He never came back. She lived at Big Cat Rescue for the next 19 years and was loved by all who knew her.  Read more of her story and see video on her bio page.

When she was younger, this funny little bobcat would hide in the bushes and then spring up to the side of the cage, right at eye level. The gleam in her eye said, “I got you!” In the wild, she would have roamed and ruled 5 square miles or more, but because she was born in a cage it was not legal, or in her best interest, to set her free. Only cats who are born in the wild can be returned to the wild.

Angie spent her entire life in prison because a foolish person wanted to touch the wild. Please carry her voice out into the world to end the private possession of exotic cats at BigCatAct.com

Angie Bobcats LOVED her daily ‘sicles!  She thoroughly enjoyed her perfume tubes, and spice bags, too.

She enjoyed watching the keepers dump and scrub her water bowl each morning so she could try to re-mark it as soon as they were done refilling it and had walked out of sight.

Angie had her favorite napping spots, too.   Even when she was napping, she kept a good eye on her neighbors and her keepers.  She was a great little supervisor and nothing ever escaped her attention.

She also has a very shy side and loved to hide in the cubby box the Holley’s had added to her platform.

A memorial tribute tee and tank line was created this morning in honor of Angie Bobcat.  See below or go to https://catrescue.myshopify.com/search?type=product&q=angie for more options.

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Call of the Wild Update

This is SO EASY to do!! It takes ONLY a couple minutes, and, it’s FREE to do, too!!  But, it can really make a HUGE DIFFERENCE!!

Have YOU made the Call of the Wild?  BigCatAct.com

What is the Call of the Wild? Scroll down this link to find a section about it: bigcatrescue.org/april-2-2017/

How do I make the Call of the Wild? This link as SUPER EASY step by step instructions:  bigcatrescue.org/april-3-2017/

Galaxy s7 cases, now available

Some of you have asked for Galaxy s7 cases.   Here is the link: https://catrescue.myshopify.com/search?type=product&q=Samsung+Galaxy+s7

Foster Kitten Updates

The new foster kittens have been terribly sick.  The good news is, they are better and will be coming to the Kitten Cabana, probably on April 8th!

These guys had a really nasty bout of feline upper respiratory infection, but thanks to the hard work of our interns, they are much better and ready to come play! Please note – Jasper had a particularly bad eye infection. He is getting better each day and is being treated, but still has a bit of swelling. I didn’t have the heart to deny him coming to the Cabana just because of the way his eyes look, so please know that we are taking care of it. Also a little bald around the edges of his eyes due to all the cleaning. Enjoy them!

Drumroll please……..finally, after several long weeks, welcome to the Kitten Cabana April 8th….

Please welcome Jazzy, Jester, Jordan, Jasper and Josie!

We also have another mom with five four week old kittens, but they are coming down with the nasty upper respiratory, as well. We got them started on medication a bit sooner, so hopefully they won’t get it as bad.  Things like this is often why shelters cannot keep young kittens.

Thanks to YOUR ongoing donations of little, kitten food, laundry soap, towels, blankets, etc the domestic foster kitten program here at the sanctuary has caved over 400 kittens.

Prepare for the dose of cute April 8th at http://explore.org/live-cams/player/big-cat-rescue-kitten-cabana

Live Facebook Video Replays

VIDEO:  Evening Meds with Keeper Lynda

See: Jade and Armani, Reise, and Gabriella being cute.

VIDEO:  Evening Meds Live with The Dodo Impact

See: Hoover, Aspen Echo, Joseph, Tonga, JoJo, Frosty, etc

Tiger Lake Live Cam

Viewer Videos

A typical day in the life of Seth Tiger and Nikita Lioness at BCR Tampa Florida

Cole & Marmalade’s Corner

VIDEO:  House Cats Are Mini Tigers!

A Poem for Mickey Cougar

Rachael Weiss wrote a poem dedicated to Mickey Cougar.  I couldn’t read it without tearing up.  Mickey is such a precious old cougar who has lived through so much and now that he is safe he has such a zeal for life.  Mickey is an inspiration to all of us here at Big Cat Rescue.  Rachael’s poem really touched my heart.  If you do not know Mickey’s story you should check it out.  His page has text, and video.  Mickey’s Story If you want to see a BUNCH of photos of Mickey taken since his arrival at BCR go to this page and scroll down to the Featured Cat of the Day section. http://bigcatrescue.org/april-4-2017/

Heart Invincible

Broken body, tattered soul,
Tiny cage and concrete-floored.
Mickey’s heart invincible
Endless years of pain endured.

Lost in boredom, endless pain,
Watching, waiting, life was grim
While Mickey Cougar hoped in vain
For someone who could rescue him.

Tattered body, broken soul,
Crippled cougar, old and lame.
For Mickey’s heart impregnable,
No one cared and no one came.

Finally the sun shone bright!
Help arrived and took him home!
Mickey’s heart had won one fight,
But many more were still to come.

No one thought his shattered soul
Or crippled legs could be repaired.
But Mickey’s heart unstoppable
Told a different story there.

Mickey dragged himself around,
Playing with his brand new balls.
Joy and love and peace were found
In Big Cat Rescue’s golden halls.

Bruised old body, wounded soul,
Took weeks and months and years to heal.
But Mickey’s heart unbreakable
Never lost its joyful zeal.

Now he runs to snatch his food,
Hides, and pounces, playing games,
Hisses when not in the mood.
But he will never walk the same.

Mickey doesn’t let his past
Fester in his scarred old soul.
Playful, happy, to the last,
Mickey’s heart invincible.

(c) Rachael Weiss 2017

Note To Viewers:  In the comments on this page, please, let Rachael know what YOU THINK of her poem for Mickey.

 Viewer Videos From Explore.org/bigcatrescue

Joseph and his Spy

New Kittens Arrive in the Kitten Cabana

Run Joseph Run

Cameron and Zabu’s last morning of this vacation

Seth sees a racoon and a little ways in the video is a really clear excellent closeup of Seth drinking from the lake.

Funny Nikita

Kitten Playtime

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
• A Heart For Nikita https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSxAXUTh29XWQw35acpU1Ag
• 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