Happy Thanksgiving from Big Cat Rescue

 

Hybrid Cat Rescue

We didn't plan it this way, but on NATIONAL FERAL CAT DAY we were asked to rescue two exotic cat hybrids who had been dumped by their owners and were now starving to death.....The cats had been trapped by Animal Control and no one had claimed them, so the Audubon Society drove them to us to see if they could get a second chance here.One of the cats was a very sweet bengal cat who was adopted by one of our Big Cat Rescuers. The second is an unknown mix, but closely resembles a Jungle Cat. He is not as friendly and because of this he will remain a permanent resident here at the sanctuary. His caregivers have grown quite close to him over the past couple of weeks and have given him the name King Tut. [toc]When Tut arrived he was very underweight and had a wound on one of his feet. His wound was cleaned and sutured by Dr. Wynn and he was neutered. Since he has been under close watch in our onsite cat hospital and is being fed two meals a day as well as lots of yummy treats. Tut has finally been moved outdoors to a large natural enclosure.  

Leopard Cats are Losing their Last Foothold in Taiwan

According to the Forestry Bureau, leopard cats are a class-one endangered animal in Taiwan, with fewer than 1,000 estimated remaining island-wide. Recent news reports in Taiwan have revealed that authorities from Miaoli County have approved a development plan at the expense of expelling hundreds of leopard cats from their natural habitation.

The approved location for building this facility has been previously identified as one of the most concentratedly populated area of leopard cats in Taiwan. Since the start of the project, a few leopard cats have already been found dead on the roadside, likely because they are being forced from their homes as the forest is cleared.

Despite raising concerns regarding the possible extinction of leopard cats, Miaoli County authorities have not shown any intention to halt the building plan.

Please visit this page for more information and to contact the appropriate authorities to voice your concerns regarding the impact of this development plan and the risk of losing leopards cats from this planet forever. https://bigcatrescue.org/2012/save-leopard-cats-in-taiwan

 

Donors Delight Big Cats with Early Holiday Gift

Betty & Carl Schino kicked off the season of giving with a very special treat for Joseph and Sasha the lions and Nikita the tiger. All three of these big cats received a brand new toy thanks to a generous donation from the Schinos. These large cylinder toys are made of thick resin and weigh approximately 60 lbs! Thanks Betty & Carl! If you would like to donate towards an item on our wish list please visit our online gift shop by clicking https://www.bigcatrescue.biz/ 

Seeing Spots - Vet Exam for Leopard

Jade a 15-year-old female leopard who lives at Big Cat Rescue with her sister Armani was recently taken to Ehrlich Animal Hospital to be examined by Dr. Wynn. The reason for her visit was a persistent “hot spot” on her wrist.What is a "hot spot"? A hot spot is an area of skin inflammation and infection. The infection can be superficial or deep. Hot spots are usually caused by licking an area of skin repeatedly in reaction to an allergy, but sometimes there can be another underlying cause such as an injury.During her visit, she was weighed, her teeth examined, and radiographs of her wrist were taken. Jade’s overall health was excellent, aside from being a bit on the heavy side, and the radiographs did not show any injury to the wrist. Biopsies were taken and the area was treated with laser therapy to speed up the healing process.You can help us provide excellent veterinary care for our more than 100 residents by making a tax deductible donation here: https://www.bigcatrescue.biz/  

Vacation Home for Big Cats

Very soon the cats will be going on vacation! How is that even possible? Well, we’ve just received zoning approval to build a huge 2.5 acre enclosure on the Southwest end of our 55-acre property. It’s been our dream for years to be able to construct a special enclosure that can be used to rotate the cats in and out of their permanent enclosures. So once construction is complete, the cats will take turns enjoying two-week vacations in the new surroundings of our Vacation Rotation Enclosure!Mental enrichment is so important for captive wildlife and the cats are no exception. Vacationing in the new enclosure will provide a wide array of environmental enrichment including beautiful scenery, interesting new scents, and tons of trees and foliage. Platforms, jungle gyms, cave dens, and new toys will provide a never-ending source for exploration and enjoyment as well. And who doesn’t like vacationing near the water? The Vacation Rotation Enclosure will also encompass a large pond for the cats to splash and play in!The Vacation Rotation Enclosure will be situated on the tour path and we can not wait for you to see it! We estimate it will take approximately six months to build this new enclosure and above-ground tunnels that will connect it to neighboring tiger and lion enclosures. Stay tuned for photos and videos of the construction as it progresses.The new Vacation Rotation Enclosure will cost approximately $200,000 to build. Making this dream a reality for our cats will be our major fundraising goal for the coming months. To help make all this possible, the Little Family Foundation and Lawrence and Pamela Trissel have joined forces to donate $16,000 and $10,000 respectively into a fund that will match donations to this project 100% for the first $26,000 in donations. So if you are able to donate before the thermometer reaches $26,000 your donation will be doubled! 

Bonnie Raitt Visits Big Cat Rescue

Friday, October 19th was a ROARINGLY exciting day at the sanctuary as Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame) Bonnie Raitt and friends visited for a private tour to meet the magnificent creatures that call Big Cat Rescue home.

Ms. Raitt and friends, including singer/songwriter Maia Sharp, visited the sanctuary after performing to an enthusiastic crowd and critical acclaim at the annual Clearwater Jazz Festival.

As a longtime activist for environmental, peace, social justice andhuman welfare issues around the world, Ms. Raitt is generously lending her assistance in helping the sanctuary promote its educational and legislative efforts.

Following her private tour, Ms. Raitt kindly shared her thoughts regarding her Big Cat Rescue experience: “We were very moved and learned why it is important to support legislation that protects these cats and other exotic animals from businesses that exploit and abuse them for profit.”

For Additional Information: https://www.bonnieraitt.com/ https://maiasharp.com/press.php https://www.lindataylormusic.com/Linda_Taylor_Music/Home.html

  

Turkey Time - Big Cats with Big Appetites

Feed the beastly appetite of our big cats (and little cats too) by donating funds for a turkey, chicken, or hen to be purchased and given to a lucky feline at Big Cat Rescue. Help us to give every cat a special dinner this Thanksgiving. Click HERE to visit our online gift shop to fund a $20 turkey dinner for a big cat (lion or tiger), a $10 chicken dinner for a medium cat (cougar or leopard) or a $5 game hen dinner for a little cat (lynx and smaller).

Top 5 Most Shocking Incidents of Big Cat Exploitation

We hope by sharing a new list with you each month that you will join us in speaking out for the big cats and cubs that are exploited across this country every day. We encourage you to take one small action today and reach out via phone or email to contact the offenders listed below and politely express your concern. Together we can be the voice for the voiceless...together we can make a difference. Please join us in our mission of Caring for Cats & Ending the Trade. No. 1 Discovery United Methodist Church (Richmond, Virginia) has been using big cats as part of their ministry!One of our supporters contacted us about the church’s founder Reverend Jim Lavender and the more than two dozen exotic animals he owns, including a lion and a white tiger. Lavender even travels the country to other churches with his animals, and has done so for over 30 years! What do you think about using these exotic cats as props in the ministry? Should these cats by exploited at the upcoming Harvest Festival on November 11th as well? If you disagree with the use of exotic cats in this manner please let Reverend Lavender know by contacting him directly. Phone: (804) 360-4442, ext 31. Email: drjim7772003@yahoo.com No. 2 Maybelline cosmetics is using an adult leopard, a lion cub AND a white tiger cub in their new television commercial for Colossal Cat Eyes mascara. Please let Frédéric Rozéthe, CEO and President of L’Oreal which owns Maybelline, know that it is NOT ok to exploit big cats to sell beauty products! In a video, the model in the commercial talks about how great she thought it was to film with the cubs. It certainly wasn’t great for the cubs who had to be ripped from their mothers at only a few days of age to be used this way! Phone: (800) 944-0730. Email: https://www.maybelline.com/contact-us Won’t you please also comment on Maybelline’s Facebook page? https://www.facebook.com/maybelline No. 3 Dade City’s Wild Things (Florida) is charging guests $200 to swim with a tiger cub in a swimming pool. The cubs are forced to remain in the pool and swim despite their wails and feeble attempts to claw their way out of the pool. What’s worse is that local and national media continue to cover the cub swimming as a “feel good” story instead of exposing this backyard zoo that breeds and buys cubs to exploit. The Humane Society of the United States, the International Fund for Animal Welfare, the World Wildlife Fund, Born Free and Big Cat Rescue are petitioning USDA to ban public contact like this with big cat cubs, baby bears and non human primates. Please join us and speak out for the cubs by signing and sharing this petition: https://www.thepetitionsite.com/717/030/005/ask-usda-to-ban-tiger-cub-swims-and-other-pay-to-play-schemes/ No. 4 Ray Wiegand’s Nursery and Garden Center (Michigan) held a Harvest Festival every weekend in October that included petting and photo opportunities with a lion cub. It is nonsense to have a lion cub and other exotic animals at a fall festival! Please ask the Wiegand Family to NOT have exotic cats or other animals at their festival next year. Phone: (586) 286-3655. Email: info@wiegandsnursery.com No. 5 Hunger Games actor Liam Hemsworth is the new face of UK-based Bench Clothing and in their latest ad campaign he is seen posing with a lion from Hollywood Animals, which provides “animal rentals for movies, TV and ads.” If you don’t think exotic animals should be forced to perform for entertainment please ask Bench to adopt a No Animals Policy in their advertising. Email them here: info@bench-usa.com If you hear about exotic cats or cubs being exploited in your area, please contact Susan Bass at Susan.Bass@BigCatRescue.org. As always you can keep up with the latest action alerts at CatLaws.com Thank you! 

Nakita Lioness Enclosure Expansion

 https://youtu.be/VAcy7AhQZac  Vote for our video entry in WEDU’s annual Be More Awards If you love what we do be sure to vote for Big Cat Rescue's video in the WEDU "Be More Awards" contest here: https://www.wedu.org/bemore/vote/ Choose the Be More Relevant: Best Use of Video category, then choose Big Cat Rescue. You can vote once a day, every day from now until December 2nd. Thanks!....and be sure to "share" with all of your friends!  

Holiday Shopping Directory

Early Cat Special - 15% Off Entire Online Gift Shop Order Big Cat Rescue Online Gift Shop: Shop in our online Prostore Gift Shop Holiday Cards: Visit https://bigcatfun.com/thanksgiving.html for free Holiday Games, Cards and more ways to celebrate the holiday season. Cat Decor & Jewelry: Elegant cat themed home décor and jewelry selected by award winning designer Barbara Krai through our Luxe Line. https://www.bigcatluxegifts.com/servlet/StoreFront Pet Products: Popular name brand foods and treats for cats and dogs delivered to your door. Discounted prices and a portion of the proceeds from your order benefiting Big Cat Rescue: https://bigcatrescue.org/2012/buy-cat-products-online-to-benefit-charity Magazines: Buy or renew your favorite Magazine Subscriptions at up to 85% off newsstand prices. 40% of your online purchase is donated to BCR. Over 650 popular titles.