Feb 3 2017

Big Cat Updates

Her name is Nova! Thank you everyone who suggested such great names for the most recent bobcat kitten to be rescued for rehab back to the wild. See the 415 suggestions

Nova means new in Latin (appropriate since she will be the first in the new rehab cages). It also means chases butterflies in Hopi (Native American).

Moses is recovering quite well from his recent dental surgery.

Angie is sure enjoying not having those mats.

The Picky Boys

Hoover, Joseph, TJ, and Cameron we taken food multiple times. They ate pretty well all seemed full and content even though they did not eat as much as we wanted them to.

Zeus: Took his eye drops today but he didn’t want much to eat today. Keepers made several attempts. Zeus is 20 years old and has old age related problems He is old and frail, but always happy. He moves pretty slow and does not have much vision, but he chuffs all the time and just always seems happy and content. Go to BigCatRescue.org/zeus/ to see what surgeries he has had.

PLEASE NOTE: Weights recorded here daily are taken from individual observations that are generated by our internal website. Keepers try to feed these cats throughout the day, so any amount you see here at any given time will NOT reflect the cats’ complete consumption throughout the day. Those tallies are monitored closely by the vet team.

Keeper Fun Photo

Keeper Regina having a discussion with Nikita

Reise is really enjoying her time in the FunCation enclosure!! ~Keeper Afton

Facebook Live Video Replays

VIDEO: Handing out evening meds to the big cats

Evening meds w/ Karma taking care of Zeus Tiger, Moses Bobcat and checking in on Nabisco and Mrs. Claws. Nabisco does an amazing stunt that scares me half to death. Anasazi contemplates peeing on Carole,

VIDEO: Cameron and Zabu Streamed Live on Explore.org’s Facebook page 2/2/2017

VIDEO: Big Cat Rescue went live on The Dodo

Keisha, Jade, Armani, JoJo, Sabre, Diablo, Sassy Caracal, Aspen Echo, Mac, and Joseph.

Announcing Facebook Live Winner

Each day that Carole does a Facebook Live video she asks a question and someone who answers it correctly wins a prize. So, go to Facebook and Like our Facebook Page and choose to get notifications of our live videos. Then participate in the contests, join in conversations in the comments area, too. Be sure to book mark BigCatRescue.org/win which is where you will post your answer to qualify for a future prize if you are the first one to get the correct answer.

2/2/2017 Contest

Question: Nabisco came here with five other cats from South Dakota. Name one of the other bobcats that arrived with Nabisco.

Winner: Genesis Taylor

Answer: Any one of these names would be correct: Smalls, Dryden, or Kewlona

Winner’s Chosen Prize: Hoodie – Pull-Over Text Tiger Graphic

Black long sleeved tee hoodie features a unique combination of words, phrases, and tiger facts that make up the image of a tiger face. Hoodie is thin like a tee. Big Cat Rescue Tampa Florida appears below image.

New Rehab Bobcat Kitten

VIDEO: 2/1/2017
Here’s a video Shaqwna took in the morning on 2/1 of the new rehab bobcat kitten. She does a little of everything, climb, snack, look at the camera, wrestle with the toy Bu! Enjoy!

VIDEO: 2/2/2017 Dinner & Play Time

VIDEO: Tiny sleepy baby bobcat

NOTE to Viewers: Helping us win the Valspar PGA Charity Tournament Contest prize money of up to $65,000 will help us rescue, rehab, and release orphaned and injured wild bobcats. I know you are all probably really tied of seeing the posts about that contest. For that I do apologize. However, this funding is really important. We cannot win that contest without each of you helping.

If you want to help us save and release more bobcats can you PURR-lease make it a daily habit to ask at least one friend to vote for the cats? It will really help. VoteCats.com

Valspar Tournament Contest Update

As of 4:30 PM, February 2, 2017 the cats had 12,213 votes at VoteCats.com

With YOUR HELP, the cats can win up to $65,000!!

Please Note: To win at the end of the overall contest the cats will still need several thousand more votes. The goal has been to try to get at least 500 votes per day.

Summary: We NEED ALL of YOU actively sharing and asking others to vote for the cats. We cannot do this without YOUR HELP!

This is a really great way to help the cats financially without it costing you a single penny.

Ideas for What You Can DO

ONE: Share one of these photos frequently on your social media pages and a PURR-sonal note From YOU asking your friends and family to help you help the cats by voting for Big Cat Rescue at VoteCats.com

TWO: Share this video frequently, add your own text specifically asking your friends to vote for Big Cat Rescue.

Link for Facebook and other social media pages: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aagoRRz5BtE
Embed code for webpages and blogs: <iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/aagoRRz5BtE” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>

THREE: Do you belong to any clubs or organizations? Do you work in an office or other setting with multiple co-workers? Ask a friend there to help you organize a VoteCats.com “drive” to get all of your club members / co-workers to help you help us by voting for Big Cat Rescue at VoteCats.com

FOUR: Do you have a blog or website? Do you know a friend who has a blog or website? Add the photos or the video above and challenge your viewers to vote and to share them as well.

FIVE: Make it a goal to ask even just one friend each day to vote for the cats.

Again, we cannot accomplish this huge goal for the cats without YOUR daily help!

BigCatTV.com Videos

VIDEO: Tigers Go For A Swim In 360

Cole & Marmalade Mews Letter

YAY!!! My Cole & Marmalade Mews Letter arrived!! HAPPY DANCE!! It was packed full of fun info, cute photos, funny videos, and more.

Did YOU get one? No, well you sure missed something fun!

If you didn’t get one, here is an online version of it: Cole & Marmalade Feb 2017 Mews Letter

Captioned Photo To Share On Social Sites

When you post these photos on your social media pages you are actually helping us because the URL on the photo helps people find us on the internet.

Valentine’s Day Is Coming

If there is someone special on your Valentine’s Day shopping list, check out the cats’ online gift shop for some roaring fun gifts that is sure to bring a HAPPY CHUFF to your friends’ faces.

Canvas Paw Print – Moses Bobcat

12″ x 12″ This canvas print featuring paw prints created by Moses, the bobcat is sure to make a statement in any space. Paw prints are actual size. It’s hand-stretched on a poly-cotton blend canvas with a matte finish coating. Canvas is fade-resistant with a matte finish coating. NOTE: A complimentary photo download of Moses the bobcat is included with the purchase of this item. After checkout you will receive a link to download this photo.

Mouse Pad – Photo Collage

Big Cat Rescue photo collage mouse pad features resident wild cats Ginger the serval, Cameron the lion, Orion the cougar, Jumanji the black leopard, Genie the sand cat, Max the bobcat, TJ the tiger, and Sundari the leopard and the BCR logo.

Shirt – Hoover Rescue Photo

Available in XS to 2XL – The purchase of this apparel helped to rescue Hoover the tiger as well as provide a great home to countless big cats. Read Hoover the tiger’s story here: http://bigcatrescue.org/hoover/ A comfortable and lightweight 100% Polyester t-shirt, made of a fine count yarn for a super silky feel. This American Apparel t-shirt is made in America, sweatshop free.

Big Cat Facts – Leopards

The leopard is the smallest member of the 4 “great cats”

The leopard can adapt to almost any type of habitat that provides it with sufficient food and cover, which excludes only the interior of large deserts.

In captivity, leopards have lived over 20 years, as compared to 10 – 11 in the wild.

Leopards are solitary cats, and use the same methods as the other cats for defining their territory: scent marking, feces, and scratch marks. It has a variety of vocalizations including grunting, growling, hissing and meowing. One of their most recognized sounds is their distance call which sounds something like someone sawing wood.

Leopards are very opportunistic animals and have an extremely flexible diet. They will consume protein in almost any form, from beetles up to antelopes twice its own weight. It readily eats carrion, and caches sizeable kills in trees, returning nightly to feed on them. Their main diet consists of over 30 different species including: medium sized antelopes (reedbuck, impala, Tommy’s gazelles) and the young of larger species (topi, hartebeest, wildebeest, zebra) as the primary food sources, with hares, birds and small carnivores rounding out the list. They have even been known to include the occasional baboon in their diet.

Meet the Leopards of Big Cat Rescue

Volunteers = SUPER HEROES

Keeper Promotions

We recently made out Keeper Training available online so that ALL OF YOU could enjoy taking the lessons as well. YOU can take our keeper training at ZooCollege.com All of the cat care here is done by dedicated people who give their time because they love these cats with all their hearts. To achieve these promotions they not only take additional online classes but also have to work with other certified keepers to get their promotions.

Please join us in congratulating the following;

Kathryn S has been promoted to Master Keeper
Sarah D has been promoted to Senior Keeper
Andrew M and Melanie M have been promoted to Keeper
Amber L has been promoted to Level 3 Intern
Megan L has been promoted to Level 2 Intern

True Heroes!!!

It takes a lot of people to do what we do here at the sanctuary. The cats have been blessed with the most amazing volunteer and intern crews around!!

December 2016, eighty-six (86) volunteers a.k.a. “Keeper Heroes” contributed 3,348 hours.
December 2016, interns a.k.a. “Angels In Blue” contributed 1,406 hours.

Question for Viewers: Do you want to see things like this?

Big Cat Challenge

Can you name all the tigers that live at Big Cat Rescue?

You can answer in the comments below or send an email to lawanna.mitchell@bigcatrescue.org

ALL participants will get an 8×10 hi-res digital photo of Gabrielle with her ball. All participants’ names will go in a hat and one name will be drawn from hat and will get a downloadable sponsor kit for Zabu.