Big Cat Rescue is Rescuing 2 Caracals and a Serval!
Can We Count on Your Help For Their Transport Costs, Surgeries and Lifetime Care?
We can’t share all of the details with you quite yet, but we will soon be rescuing 3 cats from Ohio and bringing them to their forever home at our sanctuary!
The cats were owned by a hybrid breeder in Ohio who willingly surrendered 2 caracals and 1 serval to the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) when the agency discovered she owned the cats in violation of Ohio law.
We will be rescuing a pair of 6-year-old caracals named Cyrus (male) and Chaos (female) – oh boy, wonder if her name reflects her feisty purrsonality? Our keepers can’t wait to find out!
When ODA approached Carole about taking the cats and mentioned that two of them were caracals, she caught her breath and her thoughts immediately turned to our beautiful Sassy caracal, who recently passed in March 2017, and her lifelong companion Rusty caracal, who passed last September. It almost seems like Sassy and Rusty are up in heaven orchestrating our rescue of this new pair of caracals and helping them find their way to Big Cat Rescue so that these beautiful caracals can live out their lives in peace here too.
And the young serval who is coming is 2-year-old Zucari. He’s practically still a kitten and will be the youngest serval at the sanctuary. We can’t wait to meet this boy!
All 3 cats will need to be spayed/neutered once they arrive. And we won’t know until our vets examine them if they have any other health issues that will need to be addressed. Our keepers are busy spiffing up spacious enclosures for these precious new cats and we will share more news and photographs as soon as they are on their way to Tampa!
If you want to be an integral, important part of rescuing Cyrus, Chaos and Zucari, we would be very grateful to receive your donations toward the cost of their transport, surgeries and lifetime care at our sanctuary. It is your donations that allow us to continue to be able to immediately say YES when we are asked to save exotic cats in need! THANK YOU!
PLEASE DONATE HERE:
https://salsa4.salsalabs.com/o/51389/p/salsa/donation/common/public/?donate_page_KEY=10097
BigCatRescue.biz
Big Cat Updates
Coordinator Lauren’s Report for Monday 5/29/2017
We had a great day today and got a lot done.
Mac and Tiger Lily went to see the vet. Whilst they were out of their enclosures we went in and cleaned them up, top soiled and grass seeded. An extra water bowl was also added to Tiger Lilly’s section without the lockout. They are both now back outside. The recovery hospital was cleaned.
The empty cage by the kitten cabana had top soil added. One bubble was grass seeded, the other two bubbles still need to be done.
The empty cage in front on Zimba on the tour path had more grass seeded added. Keepers will water all of these enclosures well each morning.
The corner on the outside of Aspen’s front bubble, closest to the tour path, was raked, and the palm fronds trimmed so we can see her better in her den.
Andi Bobcat went back out to her enclosure.
Facebook Live Video Replays
Watch Little Dove while Carole talks about Tiger Lilly and more. Carole talks about the Tiger Lake project, enclosures for Tiger Lilly, Banshee, and Mac. See Gale and the interns bring Tiger Lilly home. Get a peek at Seth in his cave den, keepers, Gale, and interns take Mac home.
People Often Ask
We should probably add a section called Dumb Things Our Detractors Say. The latest was someone on a Facebook LIVE feed accusing us of selling opportunities to pet the cats while sedated. This lie was originated by someone who pimps out tiger cubs as his way of trying to make people think we are just as bad as he is. That tells you he knows that pimping out cats for petting that way is bad, but does it anyway. At any rate, for any who may be new here and not know any better, we don’t touch the cats here and we don’t offer touching, sedated or otherwise, to people for pay.
Whenever a cat has to be sedated; and we don’t take that lightly, as it’s very dangerous, we send out an email to our volunteers a few days before. If they have named the particular cat as their favorite cat on their volunteer records, and never gotten the chance to help with a medical procedure, they qualify to be picked to help. Depending on the size of the cat, we pick between one and four people to help carry the cat, do any grooming that needs doing, to help take temps, give sub q fluids and everything else that goes along with getting as much done as possible during the exam. They are volunteering their time, so if there is time, we make paw print paintings, using children’s non toxic finger paints, to give them as a reward for all they do here as volunteers. Of course they can touch the cat while he/she is sleeping, but only when it is not in the vet’s way.
Keeper Corner
Mac’s favorite keeper, Matt, stayed with him quite a while yesterday making sure he was okay.
Keeper Matt: Mac had to have another bad tooth removed this morning. He is coming out of anethesia right now.
Matt stayed with Mac quite a while after his procedure. As long as Matt was near, Mac was calm.
Keeper Merdith Pennino: Kitten cuddler. It’s who I am ? There are 3 that will be available for adoption from the Humane Society of Tampa Bay when they’re big enough ?
Keeper Matt: Mickey gets some catnip.
Projects
One Tiger Lilly’s enclosure doors had to be replaced and the team had it all done while she was in the hospital. They also added fresh dirt and bedding in her big den which is Tiger Lilly’s favorite den.
Banshee’s big den got some alterations. Because Banshee is so very old and has began sleeping more in her big den that den needed some major alterations so that when Banshee is in there sleeping keepers can take a look without disturbing.
Carole finished the video about the Tiger Lake Cat Walk Project, see it below.
Everyone is working furiously on getting enclosures ready for the new cats that will arrive soon.
YouTube.com/DailyBigCat
On April 30, 2017 we decided our Cat Walk just had to be replaced. It had served us well for over 20 years but wasn’t wide enough to accommodate wheel chairs so we hadn’t been able to incorporate the best view in the sanctuary on our regular tours.
We decided to rebuild it wider, stronger and using stainless steel wire so that it would never rust. Watch 3 weeks of work in this 32 minute video.
CatRescue.biz
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
Viewer Pix
Viewer Robin: Afternoon Tiger Soak
Cooking Big Cat Style
The NEW Cookbook “Cooking Big Cat Style – Grilling & BBQ” is expected to be ready around Father’s Day.
LAST CHANCE to get YOUR recipes, tips & hints in for this book is CATurday June 3rd! There is room for just a few more!
As with the other Cooking Big Cat Style books there will be LOTS of photos or the cats, especially the boys!!
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
