OLD TOWN, Idaho — A cat is in need of a good home. All you need is
$20,000, 10 pounds a meat a day and space, lots of it.
Inside Newport feed and pet, past the rabbits, raccoon and lizards
you’ll find Lilly.
“She’s very friendly, very playful,” said David Vanderholm.
She just so happens to be a 350 pound Bengal Tiger. Vanderholm rescued
the cat from a poacher nine years ago.
“She’s an oversized kitty cat, she’s big, she’s awesome,” said Lynda
Taylor, one of Lilly’s biggest fans.
Lilly has called Newport Feed and Pet home ever since she was rescued.
“Over the last year, we’ve had her on and off and we have received
quite a few complaints,” said Vanderholm.
The biggest complaint? Neighbors are worried about the size of her
pen. They say it’s too small, but David says vets have recommended the
pen to be this size because she’s been diagnosed with FIV, a form of
HIV in animals.
“We were cautioned by vets if we kept her activity a little bit lower
that it should stay in remission, so far it has,” said Vanderholm.
Despite the explanation, the complaints have become to many and too
much.
“We decided to go ahead and put her up for sale and give people the
opportunity to kind of put their money where their mouth has been for
the last number of years,” said David.
The asking price? $20,000, but money alone won’t be enough to take
Lilly home.
“First of all they’d have to agree that nothing is ever going to
happen to her,” said Vanderholm. “Never euthanize, not going to sell
her to a taxidermist.”
And while some would like her to go to a sanctuary, David says it’s
not an option because she doesn’t have experience around other tigers.
While the complaints have made Lilly a sore spot in Old Town, she’s
also the reason why so many people stop by the store.
“Just to see one this close up is totally awesome,” said Taylor, who
visits Lilly at least once a week.
Taylor has mixed emotions about the for sale sign now posted on
Lilly’s pen.
“Hopefully she’ll be able to get in a bigger, more natural
atmosphere,” she said.
—
For the cats,
Carole Baskin, CEO of Big Cat Rescue
an Educational Sanctuary home
to more than 100 big cats
12802 Easy Street Tampa, FL 33625
813.493.4564 fax 885.4457
http://www.BigCatRescue.org
SaveTheBigCats@gmail.com
Sign our petition to protect tigers from being farmed here:
http://capwiz.com/bigcatrescue/issues/alert/?alertid=9952801&type=CU
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