January 18 2018

Big Cat Updates

SUMMARY:  Keeper notes & photos.  Valentine's Day Brick Special.  Reise goes home from the spa.  Noel, rehab bobcat.  Babycakes, Narla, Foster Kitten wishlist & more.

Devin Saari's Coordinator Report for Wednesday, 1/17/2018

Great day, today, lots of volunteers to help feed, clean, and get tours done.

We had two private tours today, three high school educational tours, and three 3pm tours!

The lockout on the "example cage" was spray painted to match the rest of the cage.

Romina finished food prep after lunch

The cats all ate very well today!

The snack cats loved their PM snacks

Enrichment and operant sign offs were completed

Interns that needed classes got their classes today.

That's all for today!

-Devin

Cats do eat more during cooler weather.

Noel has another 6 weeks inside the small cage.  She is not happy about being confined but to give those broken bones time to heal she needs to be confined.  If they do not heal properly it could hurt her chances of being released back into the wild.

Jamie found a release site for Cooper.  A wild bobcat has to be released back into the same county they were rescued in.  A release site has to be a minimum of 40 acres, have shelter, water, lots of prey, and away from highways and humans.

For Teuci we are still looking for a place in Hillsborough County.  If you know anyone who owns land that would give purrmission, please email us at info@bigcatrescue.org

Carole was updating cat records for the new year and after the January cat birthdays, there are 21 cats at Big Cat Rescue that are over the age of 20.

It is still too cold in the Kitten Cabana for the kittens so that are staying at home in the Intern Houses until it warms up a bit.  Saturday my be warm enough.

Facebook Video Replays

Reise has been getting antsy in the recovery hospital so it is time for her to go back outside. That will make this 23 year old cougar happy. When she was a cub someone gave her a bad declaw job. Because of that her claws grow back in all different directions, including into her paw pads. She was recently taken into the hospital to have her nails trimmed and have some mats removed. Old cats cannot groom themselves as well as they did when they were younger. Mats can pull on their skin and be uncomfortable so we wanted to help her by removed the mats for her.

When she was waking up Dr. Justin felt it was too chilly outside for her. He was worried about her not being able to regulate her own body temperature after being sedated. She didn't mind being inside for a day or two but she is getting restless. Since it has warmed up outside again she is being returned to her outside cage suite.

Keepers, Afton & Steve, fixed her den all up for her. She will be nice and cozy.

Watch Reise be released back outside and see her checking out her space to make sure no one bothered her stuff.

Learn more about Reise at https://BigCatRescue.org/reise/

Valentine's Day Brick's

Limited Time Special: Purr-chase a Pave the Way Heart brick for Valentine's Day and Receive a Second One!

What's more romantic than a permanent reminder of your love for someone human or furry? Two reminders!

Now through February 4th, order one of our Pave the Way bricks with a laser engraved heart on it and wording of your choice for $200 (4 x 8 inch brick) or $350 (8 x 8 inch brick) and receive a second identical brick! These costs are just $50 more than what we usually charge to order just one brick. The first brick will be installed along the path to Big Cat Rescue's Trading Post Gift Shop and a second identical brick will be shipped to you! Orders must be placed by February 4th to ensure delivery by Valentine's Day.

Order here:
https://big-cat-rescue.myshopify.com/products/valentines-day-special-pave-the-way-brick

Bobcat Rehab - Noel

Big cat friend, Celeste Moore, snapped this adorable photo of rehab bobcat, Noel, sleeping peacefully now that her cone has been removed.

She has to remain confined for another 6 weeks, at least so her broken bones can heal properly without re-injuring them.  Her future freedom depends on it.

Will You Share It?

Tomorrow is Friday.  Will you use YouTube's Share feature to share one of Keeper Afton's FAQ Friday videos?  Let's give Afton a welcome back from her vacation by having a flood of FAQ Friday videos shared tomorrow.

Here is the link to the Playlist of Afton's FAQ Friday videos.  You can either share this link or you can go to the link and pick one of the videos to share.  ?list=PLsmHBgbkKIERF329LJz1exgD09Z8XNlMr

Did You Know?

Did you know that sharing our YouTube videos helps the cats, and the sanctuary, in several ways?

• It spreads the word about big cat issues.
• Introduces more people to the cats and the sanctuary.
• Encourages YouTube to show our videos more in their suggested list.
• Just sharing and watching our videos raises funds for the sanctuary.

Our Two YouTube Channels

1. BigCatTV.com is our main YouTube channel where Keeper Afton posts our shorter videos like Enrichment, FAQ Friday videos, mission related educational videos etc.
2. YouTube.com/DailyBigCat this is our secondary channel.  We post our Facebook live video replays there as well as other behind the scenes longer unedited videos.

Keeper Corner

Keeper Afton: This is the look Ares the cougar has when he sees Narla in my office window. I think he sees an afternoon snack! Uh-Oh!

Keeper Afton: Babycakes is just so darn cute!!

Because it is still chilly outside and Babycakes is so very old her is till being housed inside the recovery hospital to keep him warm. Genets are nocturnal and we do not want this old boy wandering around his big enclosures at night when it is this cold.

Keeper Afton: Narla is very happy that mommy is back from vacation!

Hellooooooo from Joseph Lion
Photo by Keeper MaryLou Geis

Sweet Zucari Serval waiting patiently for his treats.
Photo by Keeper MaryLou Geis

"Good Morning!" from beautiful Dryden!
Photo by Keeper MaryLou Geis

Gabrielle lounging in her water tub. What a happy silly girl!
Photo by Keeper MaryLou Geis

Foster Kittens

Keeper Karma gave me a list of items needed for the kittens.

As always, kitten safe, new toys
Fleece beds
Polar fleece blankets
Disposeable litter boxes
Feed and water bowls that clip to the side of cages
Feed and water bowls (free standing) made of metal or glass
Calorie Booster or Nutrical

Not as fun, but still important -

3 ml luer slip syringes
3 ml luer lock syringes
22 gauge needles

If anyone is interested in providing something from this list, you can have them sent to Karma and the foster kittens at:

Big Cat Rescue
12802 Easy Street
Tampa, Florida 33625

If you choose to purr-chase items on Smile.Amazon.com and choose Big Cat Rescue, Corp. as your chosen charity, Amazon will donate .5% of your purchase price to the big cats here, at no extra cost to you.

News & Articles

ONE: The rusty-spotted cat is the world's smallest (and most adorable) big cat READ ARTICLE

Remember to choose BigCatRescue.org/smile and Big Cat Rescue as your charity so that Amazon will donate .5 percent of your shopping dollars to the cats AT NO COST TO YOU!!!