Interested in Buying a Big Cat?
How much is that "kitty" in the window?
See the cub petting video that got more than 17,000,000 views:
If you are thinking it might be really cool to have a big cat as a pet, take a few minutes to consider the costs. But first, check out the slideshow to see what it means to the cat. Most people think the cost of the cat is a big expense, but that is just the beginning. (Although keep in mind that statistics show that 98% of the exotic animals bought as pets die in the first 2 years.)
We Currently Host Over 40 Cats Due to Big Cat Owners No Longer Able to Properly Care for their Cats
We have 40+ cats representing 10 species and more than a quarter of a century of experience in caring for them so our estimates can be trusted as pretty accurate, if not conservative. It is cheaper by the pound for us to buy 17,000 pounds of meat at a time than for you to buy a week's worth for one cat. People have done it for less, but the cat suffers from nutritional deficiencies or physical and psychological impairment due to lack of space and opportunity to be a cat. If you think these figures are high, just try and cut corners and see how huge your medical and subsequent bills will be.
Purchasing an Exotic Kitten Costs Are Extremely High
Exotic cats range in price from a $900.00 Bobcat to a $7500.00 tiger cub. Most of the mid-size cats, like Servals and Caracals, cost $1700.00 to $2800.00 and Ocelots can run as high as $15,000.00. The more rare the cat, the higher the price. Even though it may be a cute and cuddly cub right now, within the year they will reach almost their full size and will be spraying (no matter how young you neuter him or spay her) so you must have some things ready when the cat comes home.
Veterinarians Are Difficult to Find and Visits Can Be Up to $20,000 Per Visit
You will have to have a veterinarian on call who has already agreed to take care of your wild cat. There are not very many with experience and fewer still who will want to deal with the liability of having their staff exposed to your big cat, not to mention their regular clientele. You will have to have a stainless steel squeeze cage that is capable of holding your cat at its max weight. We've had tigers who weighed in excess of 800 pounds and was 12 feet from nose to tip of tail. A small squeeze cage will cost you 1,250.00 used and you could easily spend $20,000.00 for one big enough for a lion or leopard. You will need a forklift to move a tiger and they rent for $500.00 per day with an operator. Even our vets, who do nothing but cats, and have done ours for many years, will not bring a big cat into their office unless it is already confined to the squeeze cage.
How will you transport your cat to the vet for all of its yearly vaccinations, check-ups, and boo-boos? Even a little cat, in its squeeze cage isn't going to fit into your compact car. You will need a van and it has to be in tip-top shape because being stranded on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere, or worse yet, traffic, with a freaked out wild cat in the heat, rain or snow is a nightmare of extreme proportion. Been there, done that, and bought the $38,000.00 van to keep it from ever happening again. If you are dealing in small to mid-size cats you might find a dependable minivan for $25,000.00. You can't rely on borrowing one because believe me when a cat needs emergency veterinary treatment it is always at the most inconvenient times.
Housing Big Cats Like Tigers and Lions is Very Costly
Most states have cage requirements of varying standards. In some states, you must have no less than 5 acres if you want to own a big cat. Acreage, where I live, is $100,000.00 per acre, but a lot of rural places near you may be as low as $10,000.00 per acre. Most states and federal guidelines require then that you have an 8-foot perimeter fence which on 5 acres can easily run $8000.00. You are not allowed to use this outside wall as any part of your cage, so your cage will be another $5,500.00 for a small to mid-size cat, like a lynx to $10,000.00 for a lion, leopard or tiger.
You will need a roof to prevent escapes so consider in your design how you will support it. These are just your first year, start-up costs. You will never be able to move with your big cat because the Captive Wildlife Safety Act prohibits moving big exotic pet cats across state lines. Many progressive states are banning the practice of keeping wild cats captive and you could be investing tens of thousands of dollars and then when your pet dies you cannot buy another one.
Basic Health Expenses for Big Cats will Cost Thousands a Year
Some costs keep reoccurring every year. Good food and vitamins for a mid-size cat will run you $7500.00 per year and for a big cat closer to $10,000.00 per year. You have to be able to defrost it for them every day and 15 pounds of bleeding meat in your kitchen every day is a health hazard unto itself. If your cat just gets it's annual shots and doesn't need any emergency care your vet bill will be about $127.00 to $250.00 depending on the size of the cat. They have to be vaccinated every year for rabies and all the regular cat diseases. Worming your cat every month, if you do it yourself will cost $145.00 to $160.00 and flea prevention costs $320.00 to $450.00 per year per cat depending on size. You will have to learn a new trick every month for fleas and wormings as the cats hate both and can smell you coming a mile off.
Permits for Exotic Big Cats Are Difficult to Obtain and... Expensive!
You will need state and federal permits and if you have never dealt with these governmental agencies you are in for a lifetime of headaches and heartbreaks that just won't stop. None of them want to deal with "pet people" and they will do everything in their power to make you wish you had never brought home that little bundle of joy. You have to pay for the privilege and these licenses and dues can run you well over $200.00 per year. If you don't keep your permits up to date they can confiscate your cat and kill it.
These agencies will often require you to carry liability insurance and that can run you $1000.00 to $15,000.00 per year depending on your safety record. Most homeowner's insurance policies will cancel you if they find out you have an exotic animal and many states are purposely reporting your permit status to the public to make it easier for your insurance carrier to find out. If you have a mortgage on your home, you have to have insurance and may not be able to get it, which means you could be foreclosed.
Some things are fun, like buying toys for your exotic cat, but you can't buy them stuff on the racks because they will destroy and eat it, and then you've got some major medical bills. Our big cats like an indestructible ball that weighs 125 pounds and costs $250.00 including shipping. The smaller cats can get along with a $50.00 ball, but that is just one ball and they need lots of things to keep them entertained.
All wild cats, neutered or not, male or female, will spray bucket loads of urine all over everything they wish to claim as theirs (including you) because this is how nature has taught them to guard territory.
Having worked with 150+ cats, representing 23 species for 40+ years I can assure you that there is no way to prevent this behavior. Anyone who tells you otherwise doesn't have a mature cat on their hands yet. The reason I mention it here is that the urine is very caustic and will destroy their cage walls in a very short period of time, so you will be constantly rebuilding. You don't even want to know what it does to the sheet rock walls of your house or to wood. Those trips to the vet will leave your car smelling like a sewer and nothing will get that smell out.
Consider also that nature has hard-wired exotic cats in such a way that once they are mature they no longer feel any love for their mother and if they run into her in the wild will kill her for the territory. Even if you raised them with all of the love and nurturing that their natural mother would provide (and she would die to protect them) they will not feel love, nor respect for you as the parent when they are full grown. Thousands of years of instincts tell them that you are competition and that their survival depends on them being solitary.
This is the most frequent email we get from exotic cat owners: "Hey, I'm really in over my head here! I got this thing as an infant. I bottle-raised it. Everything was great. But I can no longer handle this cat. I cannot housebreak it. It tries to attack people. I just don't know what to do with it.'" This was an actual quote about a serval, but we have had hundreds of similar letters about every kind of exotic cat, including hybrid cats.
To sum it all up, you can expect to invest almost $25,000.00 your first year into owning a small to midsize wild cat and your annual expenses will cost you around $7500.00. If you want the big cat experience, the setup cost is over $100,000.00 and the annual care is over $10,000.00 IF you have no emergencies and no one gets hurt and sues you for millions of dollars. Everything has a price and this is the price of doing right by the animal. Are you really prepared?
Read what happens to all of the animals who don't work out as pets HERE.
Find out how many people are mauled or killed by their precious wild cat "pets" at https://bigcatrescue.org/big-cat-attacks/
Find out what the leading cause of big cat abuse is here: https://bigcatrescue.org/cubs
Real letters from real exotic pet owners:
Hi: I have two male servals, the oldest male who is five urinates and sprays all over the house (although he will use the litter box as well) What do you recommend to remove the smell of cat urine from my home, we have removed all the carpets and now have wood and ceramic tile, but the place smells horrible, I have tried soapy bleach, ammonia, and an enzyme product but cannot find anything that gets rid of the small. The house looks spotless all the time, but just reeks. Can you help me out? I love my cats and never get rid of them for this reason, but I would like to cut down on the stifling odors. Thank you Cheryl
Thinking about a hybrid cat, like a Bengal Cat or Savannah Cat instead? See what real hybrid cat owners say about it.
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