July 1 2017

Big Cat Updates

Thanks to Christina P., Lauren Elizabeth L., Matthew B. and Dianna K. you can keep up with the cats’ birthdays by subscribing to this calendar.  Just click the + Google icon at the lower right and add it to your own google calendar.

This will be very helpful to all of us at Big Cat Rescue.  If you enjoy having every cat’s special day right at your finger tips, be sure to let the calendar creators know in the comments at the bottom of the page.

You might notice that a lot of the cats have the birthday of Jan 1, or the first of a month.  Many cats come to us with sketchy, if any records, so the standard practice in the industry is:

• If you know the year for sure, take an educated guess at the month and assign to the first. (We do that for the most part, but did give extra credit to Earth Day)
• If you don’t even know the year, then guess and make it the first day of that year.

When I say guess, it is based on the vet’s assessment of the condition of the cat’s teeth, eyes, blood work, X-rays and overall health.

Afton’s Coordinator Report for Friday, June 30, 2017

Project people worked hard today! The sections of Joseph’s enclosure closest to the barn were cleaned up. All of that strip in outback was mowed and weed eated all the way to the tree by the statue. The area behind tiger row was finished being weed eated, as well as, behind Max and Mary Ann all the way down to the tigers.

Shade cloth was hung above the the two lockout of the Texas tigers that are across from each other and always in the sun. Shade cloth was also put up on the new “lockout” section of the FunCation where Reise is being fed.

Upcoming Weekend Projects:

Please clean up the other half of Joseph’s enclosure. The tunnel is already shut, poled, clipped, and locked. All you may need is for Carole to unlock the actual enclosure. Be sure in his back section that the saw grass is dug up 3 ft from the cage wire all of the way around. Shake as much of the dirt off to fill the holes. You may need to bring in dirt buckets to fill any holes from removing the grass as we had to in the other section. Please also remove the grass around his pond. That should be enough room for him to get around in there.

Tiger island can also be weed eated. Gale bought a new lawn mower and another weed eater today.

Picky cats ended up all doing pretty good today.

Other than that, have a great weekend!

BigCatRescue.biz

SHIRT – TIGER POOP EXTRA DARK STOUT BREWED DAILY: This funny tee is olive green. The front left chest features a glass of stout with tiger graphic and the words “Big Cat Rescue Florida”. The back features a gag beer label with tiger graphic and the following text; Tiger Poop – Distinct Aroma – Big Cat Rescue Tampa Florida – Tastes Like Crap! – Brewed Daily with All Natural Ingredients – 16 oz. Bottle – Warm & Refreshing – Extra Dark Stout.

Shirt Front

Shirt Back

Closeup of shirt back

Facebook Live Video Replays

Morning Walkabout:  Mickey Update, Circus Tiger update, and more

Meet Nikita Lioness, 500 pounds of frisky. Watch more at http://explore.org/bigcatrescue

Tigers swim and play in their own lakeside habitat at Big Cat Rescue. Watch more at http://explore.org/tigerlake

Keeper Corner

Keeper Desmond Fowles: Cheetaro has his own use for perfume tube enrichment. As a foot rest.???

Keeper Brittanny Mira (June 28): The many faces of sleepy Orion… I was trying to convince him to shift bubbles for breakfast… he was making so many silly noises and faces lol It’s always an adventure separating the cubs for food!

SMILE:  Note sure whose photo this is or when it was taken but I thought you all would get a smile out of seeing it.   I just LOVE these two!!!!!!

Clearly a costume party of some sort, or maybe this is how they are planning to dress during their trip to Brazil.

Keeper Afton:  Housekeeping came and cleaned up half of Joseph’s enclosure. He’s not very happy people came into his house!

Keeper Afton, yesterday: Bill is already begging me at 7 AM!

People Often Ask

How can I help if I don’t have any extra money?

If you shop on Amazon, you can help at no cost to you.  Just go to the link below, sign up for Smile and choose Big Cat Rescue as your charity.  Then, bookmark Smile.Amazon.com so that every time you shop Amazon, part of what you spend comes to the cats AT NO ADDITIONAL COST TO YOU!!!

Because of so many of you signing up, it’s bringing in over $3,500 a month to feed the lions and tigers AND yesterday Amazon highlighted Big Cat Rescue to people who were looking for a charity to choose.

Amazon is also highlighting us during Amazon Prime Day and is using Big Cat Rescue as a test project in a new Thank You program they are rolling out.  More on that when it goes live.

 Foster Kitten Program

Viewer Wild Endlicher

 Viewer Videos From Explore.org/bigcatrescue

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
• Janie M https://www.youtube.com/user/donutgirl100
• Jaime T: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsY_oF0NhXc5OS8CcTaUi2A/videos

Big Cat Challenge

Send grass!  http://www1.zoysiafarms.com/

Hi, Big Cat Rescue,

I just watched a video where Carole was talking about outsourcing the mowing at the Sanctuary. I have a solution to your lawn mowing problem, it’s a special hybrid grass seed that only grows to 3 to 4 inches, so it doesn’t need to be mowed. I know it would be quite a bit of work to get rid of the old sod and replant with the no mow grass seed but you would reap the benefits forever after that. Below is a brief description and link….You can also just do a Google search for no mow grass seed to see different options and prices.

No-Mow Grass is 50/50 blend of bent grass and short alpine fescue. It grows to be only seven to 10 centimeters (three to four inches). Even better, it does just fine in poor soil. Because it does grow slowly, you can give your lawn a manicured appearance by using the highest mower setting and cutting it once a month. It’s also perfect for high traffic areas. You’ll still need to do some weed control but that depends on how pristine you want your lawn.

It survives harsh winters but you may need some snow cover to prevent freeze drying. Home owners in the warmer, southern climates will enjoy zoysia grass. This warm-season grass is native to China, Japan and parts of Southeast Asia. Famous for its vivid green and soft texture, it’s a particularly hardy grass that thrives in blistering heat but can also handle the winter cold.

It doesn’t require much mowing because it grows sideways, sending out runners rather than growing tall. Its vigorous root system means it never needs to be watered and it will choke out crabgrass and other weeds. Zoysia Farm Nurseries created Amazoy®, which is a network of plugs that can be put into new or existing lawns that will be well established in two seasons. A lawn that you don’t need to mow, water, fertilize, aerate or weed — what more could you ask for?

http://www.greenlivingonline.com/article/unchain-yourself-lawnmower-no-cut-grasses

Thank You,  Lisa H.

  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

 Cole & Marmalade’s Corner

From CatMan Chris:  MEOW!! … Thanks so much to everyone who recruited Cole & Marmalade on the Castle Cats game! Together we helped raise $6700 for Big Cat Rescue to help care for their residents and with their mission!  🙂

You can download Castle Cats (iOS and Android) here: onelink.to/y8cecg

#gamesforcharity #bigcatrescue

 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