March 22 2017

Big Cat Updates

Ariel caught a squirrel.  Keepers tried to rescue the poor little thing, but sadly they could not.  Ariel was quite happy but keepers were heartbroken for the little squirrel.

WOOHOO!!  TJ ate a good breakfast!  He ate 5 pounds of turkey and red meat.  I do not yet have the numbers of what he ate for lunch and of course he will get dinner as well.  Hoping he eats a lot more today.

Cameron ate a small breakfast; hopefully he ate more at lunch and will eat more at dinner time, too.  Cameron will be 17 later this year.  He has the lion’s version of Lou Gehrig’s disease.  When he first came here back in 2004 we had hoped he could live a long normal life but weren’t sure he’d be make it as long as he has.  We count every day we have this precious lion a blessing.  Days like today, when he doesn’t want to eat much, his keepers fret and worry and discuss ways to get him to eat more.

Zippity Do Dah!  Happy Dance!! Joseph ate 6.4 pounds at breakfast this morning.  I do not yet have the amount he ate for lunch, and of course dinner time is not here yet.  Joseph is 18 and will be 19 this summer.  This old lion has been through so much in his lifetime.  He is a real survivor.  We know his years are growing shorter and cherish each day he is here.  Keepers work so lovingly to keep this old boy eating.

Hoover didn’t want much breakfast and ate only 3 pounds.  Keepers have taken him food more times since then but I don’t have those numbers, yet.

Keepers are working with Nirvana.  She refused her breakfast and preferred to stay in the den on the heating pad.  Keepers will be very diligent working with her today.  Nirvana is 22 years old and will be 23 in June.  She has  a mind of her own and very definite opinions.  However, keepers will work with her today to get her to eat.

Pharaoh is not too sure he appreciates the keepers adding a powder supplement to his ground meat.  He ate it, but slowly.  If I remember correctly he will be 18 next month.  He has been pretty healthy but his age is starting to creep up on him, too.

Yesterday, on the Facebook Live feed someone asked me to look up how much Zeus ate yesterday because he wasn’t very hungry.   Yesterday, he ate almost 8 pounds of red meat, chicken, and pork. In looking through the past few days of keeper logs and the observation sheets, it looks like over the past few days he has been ranging between 7 lbs. on the lowest days to almost 13 lbs. on other days – averaging about 9-12 lbs. per day.  He is of course offered more than that but when he decides he is done you cannot force him to eat more.  Zeus is almost 21 years old and when cats reach that age, they call the shots on what they want to eat and how much they want to eat at one time. Since he no longer eats much at once, he is always offered multiple smaller meals each day to ensure he eats as much as possible.   This morning for breakfast he ate almost 5 pounds.  I have not heard yet how much he ate for lunch and of course it is not dinner time yet.

When animals, including humans, get old we lose muscle mass.  Our skin sags, our bones protrude and our gait slows.  We lose our teeth and our appetites.  The same thing happens with these old cats.  Our keepers work tirelessly getting the picky old cats to eat.  We purchase all kinds of meats and keepers cut the meat in different sizes, we try to do whatever it takes to get them to eat.

  Facebook Live Video Replays

VIDEO:  Walkabout With Carole

Priya tiger, Ares, Orion, Artemis, Andy, Priya, Gabrielle, Kali, the Texas Tigers, and more

Carole talks about ligers & white tigers and more.

We will be Live on The Dodo at 5:00 EST today.  

Hop on over and help us answer questions for newcomers.

VIDEO:  Andy Tiger’s Big YAWN & Contest Question

 Facebook Live Contest 3/21/2017

Question:  Are tigers native to Africa?

Answer:   No / False

Winner:   Teresa Lang

 Rescue Team is On the Road

The Big Cat Rescue Team is ON THE ROAD to RESCUE CATS!

In order to protect our team from the evil people who use and abuse exotic cats, we can’t tell you anything about the rescue yet, except that it is under way.

Can we count on YOU to help us fund this current rescue (March 2017)  and provide the new cats with the lifetime care they deserve? This is your chance to REALLY make a difference in the lives of these precious wild cats!

We will post photos, videos and the complete story as soon as the cats are out of harm’s way.

THANK YOU!

CLICK HERE to donate to help with the expenses for this rescue.

 Big Cat Gift Shop – BigCatRescue.biz

Wyeth is ready and will be returned to the wild at the end of March.

Wyeth Tees are here!

Show your love and support for Wyeth the bobcat and the BCR Bobcat Rehab Program with one of these great tees available in 3 styles; Classic, Women’s, and Up to 5XL https://big-cat-rescue.myshopify.com/search?q=wyeth

 Always Amazed

I am always amazed at how volunteers, viewers, interns, & guests come together, no matter what the issue is.  This note was in my email box this morning.  You guys do so much for the cats, both big things and small things that really make a difference.  Note from Honey, our gift shop manager says, ” Thank you so much for helping to provide free boxes to ship items to our supporters.  However, we now have plenty of boxes for the time being.  We will put out an ask for more when we need them.  Please DO NOT bring us boxes at this time.  You guys have overwhelmed us currently, but that means you are eager to help and we appreciate that.  Thank you for all that you do for our cats and our customers.”

We went from not having boxes to mail things or boxes for the cats to play with to being buried under boxes. When there is a need you guys always come through in a big way for the cats.  All of us here at BCR want to say, “THANK YOU, THANK YOU for always being there for the cats, for believing in our mission, and for taking this journey with us.  You guys are always there for us. THANK YOU, for sharing the good times, the bad times, the happy times, and the sad times.  YOU have no idea how much your support and encouragement mean to all of us.  We could NOT do this without all of you!!

Oh, by the way, the volunteers and interns have really been enjoying the coffee, tea, and snacks.  It sure has been a real treat for them!!  Keeper Brittany M is going to be sending in photos, soon.

 Keeper Corner

WOOHOO!!!!!!  Keepers Honey, Brittany M, Mark M, and Denny M, & some others have agreed to do a Keeper Spotlight in the near future!!!  Keeper Brittany is going to get some snap shots of the Keeper Cafe for us, too.  So stay tuned for some upcoming fun.

I feel like having a “Biscuit” kind of day.  We’ll start with Mrs. Claws.  ~Keeper Afton

Mrs Claws (a.k.a. Missy) trying to get Nabisco to play with her.  ~Keeper Afton

CUTENESS OVERLOAD!!!!  Can Nabisco get any cuter?  ~Keeper Afton

Nabisco says, “Tag, you’re it.”  ~Keeper Afton

I have a very busy week ahead of me, but I do it with love for the big cats!!  (Anasazi Bobcat)  ~Keeper Afton

 CatRescue.biz now has POINTS

Earn points to get free stuff!!

This is the store that Carole setup to help support legislative efforts.  To THANK ALL OF YOU who have purr-chased from this store Carole has setup a point system. So when you purr-chase items in this store you can earn points and then later trade those points in for merchandise.

 Viewer Pix

Viewer Tammya:  Two squirrels peeking in on Nikita.

Hint: Click on the photo to make it larger, then look in the upper left corner. This is funny!  Thank you Tammya for taking the time to snap this and share it with us.

Viewer Scotti Cohn:  My photos taken using web cam at http://explore.org/live-cams/player/big-cat-rescue-tiger-lake

“I can haz nappings in forest.” ~ Seth Tiger

You can read more about Seth Tiger here: http://bigcatrescue.org/seth/

 Viewer Videos From Explore.org/bigcatrescue

There are some GREAT videos recorded by viewers at explore.org/bigcatrescue that you will really enjoy watching.

Niki and the brave squirrels, March 22

Seth waking up in the jungle

Handsome TJ

Keisha eating some breakfast

Peekaboo!

Here is a list of YouTube channels that feature videos of the cats here:

• 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
• A Heart For Nikita https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSxAXUTh29XWQw35acpU1Ag

 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