Cat Updates

Will Bobcat is not eating well.  He has neurological problems so he ends up on the observation sheet for even the slightest change.  His keepers are pretty over protective of him.  He is a very special boy and keepers will be taking him different foods many times today.  He does not like any kind of change.  Any time there are any changes in Will's life he retreats into his den to pout, sometimes for a couple of days which because of his neurological problems just worries us to pieces.  When this happens keepers go to great lengths to coax him out.

Seth is locked in the roofed section because of the incoming storm.  He is not pleased about being locked out of the vacation enclosure.  Keepers have given him Enrichment goodies to distract him but he is not terribly interested in them.

Frosty:  See the Storm Prep video in the Facebook Live Video section below to see Frosty lounging around then jumping up to take off running to chase a bird.  Thank you to everyone who followed Frosty during his recent health scare.  As you can see he has recovered nicely.

Nikita Lioness is locked in her roofed area because of the incoming storm.  Her roofed area is multiple enclosures connected by doors and tunnels. Her entire roofed area is about 3,000 sq ft. that does not count the additional open space in her open aired enclosure.  You can see her some of her roofed area on the nest cam at:

Priya:  Here is a video from Afton showing how well Priya has recovered from her emergency surgery.

  Facebook Live Videos

VIDEO:  1/21/2017

Evening Meds at Big Cat Rescue w/ Angie. Please vote for us at BigCatRescue.org/contest (contest is only open to US and Canada, sorry. We don't make the rules) VoteCats.com Please ask your friends to vote, too.

VIDEO:  1/22/2017 

If you watch no other video today, please watch this one.  You will see a lot of cats and it is a very informative video.

Storm prep at Big Cat Rescue and daily contest at BigCatRescue.org/win

Carole talks about:  leopard spots, the incoming storm, cage design details that helps keep the cats safe during storms, other hurricane and storm preparation, dart gun practice, lockout design, weathering storms in place vs moving cats, Jade and Armani, Big Cat Public Safety Act, Our history, the early mistakes we made, the lessons we learned from those mistakes, Priya, PGA Valspar Contest and why we need YOUR help with it, Babycakes, and more.

Some of the cats in this walkabout video are: Sabre, Frosty, Ginger, Gabrielle, Priya, Nikita, Babycakes, Moses & Bailey, Nabisco & Mrs. Claws, Will & Anasazie, King Tut, Seth, and Joseph.

 Cat Facts:

A black Leopard still has black spots, you can see them when the sun shines on them just right.   If you were shave a black leopard those spots are actually on the skin.  Thus the phrase, "A leopard cannot change their spots."  Keeper Regina's photo shows that quite well.

 (Important) Did You Know?

Can you remember what you thought 17 years ago?  Think back to April 1999.  The Internet was new and Big Cat Rescue had just launched a presence there.  Part of our mission in launching that site was to educate people about why exotic cats shouldn't be bred for life in cages.

Prior to the Internet, we didn't know any better.  We believed the people who were breeding big cats when they said it was necessary to save them from extinction.  We never bred lions or tigers.  Our first kitten was born in 1994 and we stopped breeding in 1997.  Pharaoh Serval was an accident in April of 1999 because we thought his father had been fixed during the flurry of neuters we did in 1997.
Even though we learned from our mistakes and stopped breeding, the bad guys, who are STILL breeding big cats, try to discredit us by saying that we hide our history and evolution.  Like most of what they say, that's a lie, and today's Facebook LIVE question was asking where the best page on our site is to let them know that you know better.
This was the winning page URL:  http://bigcatrescue.org/about/our-evolution/
These are the cats who were born at Big Cat Rescue who are still living today and we have really been conflicted about what to say about them.

We openly admit that we bred smaller cats for a very short period of time, but we don't go on and on about the cats being born here on their bio pages, or on our tours, because we don't ever want to give someone the impression that it's OK to breed wild cats for life in cages.
It's not!

It's always been our concern that someone would read or hear that a cat was born here and the only thing they would take away from the entire text is the notion that if Big Cat Rescue bred cats then it must be OK.

It's not!

Requesting YOUR Input

So, maybe you can help us out.  How can we phrase it on their bio page so that people know they were born here, but don't leave with the impression that it's OK to breed cats for life in prison?  I'm sure some of you are much better wordsmiths than I am.  You can post your suggestions in the comments below.
The above Facebook Live Video has a section in it discussing this issue.

Carole's update in email to LaWanna on 1/24/17

So, today I went through the list of cats from Jan 22 update to make it clear the cats who were born here said so and why.

All of them already did, except for Running Bear and Little White Dove, who had the paragraph saying,

Most of our bobcats were rescued from fur farms where they were being raised to slaughter for their fur. Some were being sold at auction where taxidermists would buy them and club them to death in the parking lot, but a few, like Little White Dove, were born here in the early days when we were ignorant of the truth and were being told by the breeders and dealers that these cats should be bred for "conservation." Once we learned that there are NO captive breeding programs that actually contribute to conservation in the wild we began neutering and spaying our cats in the mid 1990's. Knowing what we do about the intelligence and magnificence of these creatures we do not believe that exotic cats should be bred for lives in cages. Read more about our Evolution of Thought HERE

I just added the like Little White Dove, and like Running Bear, to further clarify. On Frosty's page it was implied that he was born here, where it talked about him being Tonga and Pharaoh's sire, but I made it clearer.  Apparently we had been clearly saying these cats were born here for years, based on the last updates to the pages, so I don't know why the bad guys are still saying we hid the truth, other than the fact that the truth is irrelevant to them.

 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.

1/21/2017 Contest

Question:  How did Nirvana end up at Big Cat Rescue. just a short summary.

Winner: Kathleen

Answer:  Nirvana came to Big Cat Rescue from a broker on 7/27/94. He had left her at the vet’s office for dead because she was so dehydrated.

How to Find the Answer:  Go to  BigCatRescue.org/catbio/ and click on Nirvana's name to get to her story.

Winner's Chosen Prize:  "I Heart Big Cats" Women's Scoop Shirt, black

I Heart the Big Cats at Big Cat Rescue tee features actual paw prints from TJ, Zabu, and Hoover the tigers, Jumanji the leopard, Aspen the cougar, Kewlona, Smalls, and Mrs. Claws the bobcats, Zimba, Pharaoh, and Nala the servals, Canyon the sand cat, Nirvana the ocelot, Jojo the hybrid. (Sadly, Jumanji, and Canyon have passed away.)

A heavy cotton, classic fit ladies scoop neck t-shirt. 100% cotton jersey, pre-shrunk, near-capped sleeves, mid-scoop neck, ½ rib double needle collar, missy contoured silhouette with side seam. This women's fit tee runs slightly small, if you want a looser fit we recommend ordering a size larger or check the size chart below to ensure your preferred fit.

 Big Cat Challenge

Will you continue to help the big cats win the Valspar contest?

PLEASE VOTE  for Big Cat Rescue & Help Our Rehab Bobcats!!

The 2017 Valspar PGA TOUR Volunteer Challenge contest is underway and we would love for you to vote for Big Cat Rescue! Thanks to all of your votes in this contest last year, Big Cat Rescue won over $50,000!

You can only vote ONCE, so PLEASE ask everyone you know to vote as well. Contest is open for residents of the U.S. and Canada only. 

How To Vote:

Step 1 – Vote here:  VoteCats.com

Step 2 – Select Big Cat Rescue / Robert McGivney and VOTE!

Step 3 – VERY IMPORTANT!!

Your vote will not count unless you click on the Validation Email you receive! It will look like this:

PLEASE, Share, Share, Share!  Share with everyone you know.

Since everyone can vote ONLY ONCE it will really be helpful if you will ask get your friends and family to vote as well.

Thank you for your support of our sanctuary and our cats!!

Afton's Video about this important contest that you can share.

VIDEO:  How to Help the Cats for FREE

This is very short video that Afton has put together, we hope you will not only watch it but share share share it.  Below the video are both the link and the embed code to share it on YOUR social media pages like Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Here are the links you can use to post this video on your social media pages.  We need all the shares you can give.  Since everyone can vote only once instead of once daily we need everyone to share this video or share the link VoteCats.com as often as they can between now and March 11th.

LINK for social media posts:  https://www.facebook.com/bigcatrescue/videos/10154128254936957/

EMBED CODE for websites or blogs:  <iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fbigcatrescue%2Fvideos%2F10154128254936957%2F&show_text=0&width=560" width="560" height="315" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe>

 Keeper Fun Notes

CamOp Nancy got this pic of her cat Teddy playing on the computer screen with the toy I was playing with Luke & Lea with - so funny!  ~Keeper Sherry

 2017 Big Cat Calendar - Back in Stock

Don't Miss Out - Get yours today at : http://big-cat-rescue.myshopify.com/products/calendar-big-cat-rescue

13-month glossy color calendar features the big cats who call Big Cat Rescue home. Each month you will enjoy a fabulous big cat image to go wild over! Only a limited number will be printed, so to ensure you receive your 2017 Big Cat Rescue calendar, order it today! The calendar is approximately 8.5" x 11" when closed, 17" x 11" when fully open.

3D Hologram Bookmark $3.00 each

Ultra cool bookmark features a hologram image of a black jaguar and Incan temple on the front and 6in/15 cm ruler on the back.  Image appears to jump of the card with three dimensional splendor. Gold Big Cat Rescue logo on the bottom of the image.  Bookmark is 2.25" x 6"

Click on the bookmark you like to go to that item in the gift shop to learn more about it and to see a better photo of it.

 Quick Link Reminders

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