Fur Farm Survivors

Zeus

Zeus

Male Siberian Lynx

5/1/97 – 4/14/16

Rescued 6/24/97

Zeus the Siberian Lynx at Big Cat RescueZeus was rescued from a fur farm.

He and Apollo, another fur farm survivor, share a large habitat. Although, you would not normally find two adult male Lynxes living together in the wild, in captivity this is actually a form of enrichment, if they have been raised together.

They play together, groom each other, stalk ducks together and even sleep curled up next to each other. They have a habit of puffing air out of their noses when agitated, especially at feeding time. This behavior has earned them the nickname of “The Hufflepuffs.”

Big Cat Rescue started in 1992 with the rescue of a single bobcat, named Windsong, which led to rescuing 56 bobcats and lynx the next year from a fur farm.  More than 100 exotic cats were rescued from being turned into fur coats under the agreement that Big Cat Rescue would pay top dollar for every cat if the fur farmers would stop breeding cats for their fur.

To our knowledge, there are no fur farms in the U.S. that still raise cats for fur.

 

 

 

 

 

Big Cat Rescue has already bought out every U.S. fur farm known to us and we would like to do the same with the Canadian ones. We determined, however, that in order to purchase the cats remaining at the known Canadian farm, and build barely adequate caging for them, it would have cost over $95,000. back in 1997.  Since then we have determined that we cannot rescue our way out of this problem and are devoting time and energy to changing laws to protect the animals.

Visit www.CatLaws.com to help.

 

On April 14, 2016 Dr Justin Boorstein came out to see Zeus, as he had been reported for being unsteady.  He appears to have suffered a seizure, possibly from a blood clot, and died on the table during the efforts to save his life.  His heart wall was thickened and may have been the cause of the blood clot.

Tributes to Zeus Siberian Lynx

 

Unknown
Apr 16, 2016
You were the first cat I fed, a handsome boy, and I will always remember you

Sharon Dower
Apr 15, 2016
It hurts so much to know I will never see you again. You & Apollo taught all of us at BCR so much. You will be missed, especially when we hand out blood sicles. Your favorite!! Don’t worry, we will all keep an eye on Apollo and make sure he doesn’t miss you so much. Be at peace.

Becky Gagliardo
Apr 15, 2016
I will miss you handsome boy, you had that wild spirit right up to the end and never let any of us forget that you were no tame pussycat.

Marie Schoubert
Apr 15, 2016
Zeus, please remember what I told you, I will always look for a sign from you. I will always love you. Between you and Abob, you sure took a BIG piece of my heart with you… But my heart is still big enough for the rest of us down here… It’s just in a lot of pain right now… Give me a sign you are happy now… and rest in peace my love!!! We’ll take very good care of Apollo, you know that ?

Desmond. Fowles
Apr 15, 2016
You were one of the first cats that I realised were really wild and scary. You were like tha,t as it should be right up to the end. We will all miss you Zeus. Rest in peace.

Sharon Henry
Apr 15, 2016
And so here we are again…broken hearted. Run free and wild sweet boy.

BethAnn Bluder
Apr 15, 2016
Meredith and I used to do Operant with these two wild and crazy guys every Monday. I had fond memories, and loved them both.

Regina Rinaldi
Apr 15, 2016
Oh one of the Hufflepuffs is gone. It won’t be the same without you. I remember as a red shirt you would scare me. You were one of the first cats I ever fed, and you taught me to always be careful when feeding. You knew unconditional love, and you knew we all loved you. Run free and sleep well beloved Zeus.

More Memorials at https://bigcatrescue.org/category/memorials/

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