Big Cat Updates
You know what this means! Watch for photos and LIVE streams from the road as these new caracals and serval make their way to Tampa.
Meet the three new cats: Cyrus, Chaos, and Zucari! They are on their way to relative freedom at Big Cat Rescue right now!
Chaos and Cyrus Caracal are 6 years old and were being illegally used for hybrid breeding at a cattery in Ohio before being seized by the state.
Zucari is 2 years old and was being illegally used for hybrid breeding at a cattery in Ohio before being seized by the state
With your help they will enjoy a huge new Cat-a-Tats and receive lifelong care! Please help by donating safely online here: https://salsa4.salsalabs.com/
First glimpses of the new cats!! Update from ON The Road!!
HEADS UP!!
Be ready to RISE & SHINE early tomorrow!!
We will go LIVE on FACEBOOK with their arrival probably around 7 or 8 am tomorrow morning! Be ready to rise and shine and meet these three new cats! Our Facebook page is facebook.com/bigcatrescue
Big Cat Updates
Mickey was shifted over into the side nest to Sassy Cougar so we could shift Aspen out of her enclosure for a deep cleaning.
Aspen Echo Cougar has shifted to the enclosure beyond the long tunnel, next to Mickey, so that we can clean her den, do some raking, etc.
Moses and Bailey Bobcats are locked out of one of their sections so we can do some repairs and updating on one of their sections.
Ginger Serval has moved back to her enclosure next door to Frosty Serval. Needless to say, Frosty is quite pleased to have his entertaining neighbor back.
Banshee’s cage work has been finished so all section opened back up so LET THE MARKING begin!
Andi Bobcat is sure happy to be back outside. Now that her enclosure, foliage, and toys have been thoroughly marked she is back to just hanging out and relaxing.
BigCatRescue.biz
YOUR PURR-chases in this store help care for the cats here at Big Cat Rescue.
Look cool this summer in this Rhinestone Snow Leopard Jeweled Tank
Beautiful black ribbed tank features a snow leopard face in multi-colored rhinestones on front. Shown beneath the snow leopard in silver rhinestones are the words ” Big Cat Rescue”. Scoop neck tank is made from 100% combed, ring spun cotton. Remember to choose a size: S, M, L, XL & XXL
Facebook Live Video Replays
Divinity Bobcat has swollen elbows, so the vets came in to draw blood and do Xrays. http://explore.org/live-cams/player/big-cat-rescue-windsong-memorial-cat-hospital She’s 22. http://bigcatrescue.org/divinity/
Divinity Bobcat has swollen elbows, so the vets came in to draw blood and do Xrays. http://explore.org/live-cams/player/big-cat-rescue-windsong-memorial-cat-hospital
Seth Tiger Swimming at Tiger Lake at Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, FL
Even when it’s raining, kittens need some fresh air and room to run. The Kitten Cabana has a room attached via a pet door, if the weather gets too bad. Watch to see if the kittens care about a little rain at http://explore.org/live-cams/player/big-cat-rescue-kitten-cabana
Evening Meds Walkabout
Find all of the live web cams at: BigCatCams.com
BigCatTV.com
In 2015, Afton did a video each month featuring just the cats who had birthdays during that month. Here is the June Birthdays video from June 2015. Thought you might enjoy it.
Note to Viewers: Remember, this page is for you so if you don’t want to see things being posted, SPEAK UP. If there is something you wan to see more of, SPEAK UP!
Note to Viewers: If you see a video you like, and you want to help the cats by sharing the video:
- Click the video’s play button
- Hover your mouse over the video as it plays
- Look in the lower right corner
- You will see “YouTube”
- Click on that little bitty “YouTube” and it will take you to the video on YouTube.
- Once there, look below the video and click on the text link called “Share”
- That will open icons for various social media pages like Twitter etc.
- Click on the icon for the one you wan to share the video to.
- Follow what the screen form there tell you to do.
Every time you share our YouTube videos and your friends and family watch them you are truly helping pass along our message and you are also raising funds for the cats. If you have ever wanted to donate but couldn’t sharing our YouTube videos actually helps raise money for the cats.
CatRescue.biz
Can’t wait to meet the new 2 year old Serval Zucari? Wear these to keep him close to your heart.
Serval Cat Antique Stud Earrings
Projects
Some of you ask about projects. This was a letter Carole wrote to her brother Chuck:
There are so many little projects that need doing around the sanctuary and it would be great if volunteers could do some of them with you so they learn life skills they will need when they go out on their own; especially if they are going to build sanctuaries from scratch.
I think if you announced the days and times you were going to lead such a project, you could get people to sign up for it, just like Jamie has people apply to her to be selected for medical procedures. Or maybe Gale could create a calendar event for it.
It’s stuff that might be totally boring to you, but an 18 year old has probably never changed a lightbulb, or patched a hole in a wall, or changed the filter in a mower (do they have filters?) See why we need this?
Just off the top of my head, there are a lot of non emergency things that are just way over due to get done:
Food Prep:
Half the lights don’t work
There’s a hole in the bathroom that needs to be patched and screw holes that need to be patched
The cooler door looks wretched and needs paint
Cages:
Lots of cages need scraping and painting
Teaching them how to mix and apply concrete patches would be great
Showing them how to build a door and install it might help them understand why you can’t jerk it to the top
West Boensch Cat Hospital:
Lots of drywall work that was started but never finished
Could probably use wall covering, like shower board, on side walls to make cleaning easier
Windsong Memorial Hospital:
Upstairs someone took apart the trim around the window and it’s been laying there for over a year along with the tool used to pull it up
Keeper Cafe:
Needs ceiling fans installed outside and electricity run across the roof for them
Needs screen room built
Needs flooring inside
New Gift Shop:
All of the plumbing, toilet and sink installation is stuff they could put to use later in life, if they had a clue what to do
Laying tile isn’t hard and I would think they could make that go a lot quicker if they were being supervised by someone who knows tile (Chuck or Victor)
Jamie said building a carport w/ Victor was pretty easy, so seems like they could be involved in putting the porch on the Gift Shop, caging in the visitor areas and closing in the Be The Cat space.
Dead Trees:
Anyone who was here in the old days learned how to use Brick and Rope to pull down a tree as it was cut.
I know Chuck has been teaching them about how to safely use the chipper.
Barricades:
The one thing I hate about the way this place looks is the barricades. At the very least they can be straightened up. A better solution for barricades would really make me happy, but I don’t know what that would be.
Keeper Corner
Keeper MaryLou caught some cute shots Joseph and Cameron and their views of RAIN!
Joseph seems to be saying, “It’s Raining!!!!! EW – I’m Wet!!!
Cameron: “ZABU, Get out of the rain!”
Zabu: “I Like Rain!”
Cameron: “UGH! Note Me!!”
Viewer Pix
Viewer Silver: Welcoming the new rescues to their forever home at BCR
Viewer Eglantine: Kittens from http://explore.org/live-cams/player/big-cat-rescue-kitten-cabana#disqus_thread
I thought we would do something different in this section today. I ran across these on YouTube on Viewer Robin’s public YouTube page. They are videos from her recent private tours here.
Robin’s Private Tour
About Tours
We offer a variety or tours you can choose from. Go to BigCatRescue.org/tickets/ and click on the various tours to see their description and how they differ.
The 1.5 hours walking Day Tour is a great one to start with because it is larger group tour and moves along at a steady pace so you see as many of the cats as possible. This tour gives you a great overall look at the cats, what we do, and why we do it.
My PURR-sonal ALL TIME Favorite tour is the Keeper Tour. On the keeper tour guests work with a senior or master keeper to make enrichment goodies for the cats. They walk around the sanctuary in a very small group with that keeper to see the cats be given the goodies they helped make. This tour is slower paced and more personalized than the Day Tour.
My PURR-sonal second favorite tour is the Private Tour. On that tour it is JUST YOU and the tour guide. Yep, you have the tour guide all to yourself for the whole tour. YOU get to choose which cats to see and when to move on to the next cat. If you want to take more serious photos this tour or the Photo tour are your best choices because you have more time to wait and focus to get the best show where on the group tours you have to keep up with the group.
Children under ten can attend the special Kids Tour or the Private Tour. See excerpts from a Kids Tour in this video:
Tour Rules
There are a few tour rules that must be followed. Knowing what they are prior to heading out on your tour will make the tour more enjoyable for everyone.
People Often Ask
People Often Ask: What happens to the cats when they die? What is the Memorial Wall? Many of you frequently ask what happens to the big cats after they pass away. These videos explain what happens.
What is the Memorial Wall? (56 second video)
What happenes when the cats dies? (2 minutes)
Note to Viewers who help answer questions on social media: Since this is a question that comes up frequently, today, Carole made a new page to answer this question. Check it out at: BigCatRescue.org/cemetery/ You will notice that again she used a website link that is easy to remember so that when YOU see someone ask this question YOU can easily find the answer. It is simply out website BigCatRescueorg and add the word cemetery between slashes like this /cemetery/ making the who link BigCatRescue.org/cemetery/
Viewer Videos From Explore.org/bigcatrescue
AMAZING Closeup of KITTEN ACTION
Nova moves around so much that the CamOp has to move the cam a lot so it’s kinda jerky. Keeping up with that wild child keeps the camopps on their toes.
NOVA, the Wild Child!!!!!
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
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
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
