AdvoCat 2015 01
Happy Valentine's Day 2015
...and AdvoCat MewsLetter
New Store is a Much Better Shopping Experience
Find out why people who are shopping in our new online store are loving it! We've had an online store since the beginning of online stores, but as soon as this one launched last week our sales went through the roof. Check it out to see how much easier it is to find the purr-fect gift for others or yourself and how easy it is to check out. Valentine's Day is just around the corner, so you will want to make sure your order is placed in time for that grrrreat gift to arrive.Give a wild gift this Valentines Day to your sweetheart that will make them roar with gr-r-ratitude!Coupon Code: BIGCATLUV15 is good for 15% off orders totaling $50 or more. Offer valid 1/28/15 - 2/9/15. Offer only good for first 100 customers to use the coupon code.We also have these Valentine's Day products in the shop https://big-cat-rescue.myshopify.com/search?q=valentine
Big Cat Updates
Ariel Bobcat Has Been Approved for Longterm Care
The Florida Wildlife Commission agreed to let Ariel stay at Big Cat Rescue in January 2015. Now we will begin working on gaining her trust and making her a part of our happy wild cat clan. https://bigcatrescue.org/ariel/
Nikita Tiger has Passed On
Nakita Tiger had been on the observation chart since last March for wheezing. For a long time, he only did it when he was super excited at dinner time, but gradually wheezed more with less activity. We have tried everything possible to help him, but nothing has helped.He was too large for any of the local X-ray machines and too sickly to make a 5 hour round trip to Gainesville. As soon as the new X-ray machine was operational and registered he was X-rayed, and blood drawn and Dr. Wynn and Dr. Justin took another look at his laryngeal folds, which were totally paralyzed. His kidneys were completely shot and had the worst kidney stones I have ever seen. His lungs were in very poor shape. He was crippled from his arthritis. He had refused most food for the past 5 days. Euthanasia was clearly the most humane option for him.
Zeus and Keisha Tigers Introduced
Zeus and Keisha are inbred. Zeus was bred to his own mother to produce Keisha. This unhealthy and unnatural inbreeding is unfortunately common among private breeders. They lived next to each other at the awful place in NY that they came from, and have lived next to each other since they arrived here. We noticed that when we separated them to give them each a turn in hte big vacation rotation enclosure, they called back and forth to each other repeatedly across many acres. We decided then that we would neuter Zeus and try to introduce them to live together. That way they can vacation together too. See the photos of this introduction here: https://bigcatrescue.org/tiger-friends/
Alachua Bobcat has Passed On
Alachua Bob was taken to Ehrlich Animal Hospital to see Dr. Wynn. He had been eating very little for the past few days. Blood work showed that he had high elevations in his kidney values, as well as a high white blood cell count which would indicate either infection or cancer. He had ulcers in his mouth caused by renal failure, as well as stomach ulcers. In addition his pelvic canal had healed narrowly from being hit by a car before he first came to BCR and had arthritic changes that were leading to him being very constipated. With all of these factors stacked up against him and the fact that we think he was 27 years old, euthanasia was the kindest option for him. When he arrived here in 2003 he already had the teeth of a very old cat and was nearly blind with cataracts.
Simba Leopard Recovering After Amputation
On the day after Christmas, Simba, our 20 year old leopard, bit off the end of his tail. We didn’t see it happen, but he was fine at 9 am and by 9:30 am he was missing more than 6 inches of his tail. There was no sign of a struggle at any edge of the cage, and there had been keepers in the area, so we were dumbfounded. Find out what happened next: https://bigcatrescue.org/big-cat-mri/See photos of the cats getting K-Laser therapy, loading Simba for the MRI trip, big cats getting Christmas Trees and more here: https://bigcatrescue.org/now-at-big-cat-rescue-new-years-eve-2014/
Sanctuary Updates
Small Cat Vacation Rotation
Thanks to the generosity of so many of you we have raised enough funds to build the small cat vacation rotation enclosure. The issue now is cage design. Current Floriday Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) caging rules require a roof for small cats. However, the FWC is currently reviewing their caging rules and taking public comment and you can help.We believe that the style of cage we built for the large cats would be far more than adequate to contain small cats. The cage is over 14 feet tall with an additional 5 foot cantelever and a one foot drape at the end. It would have the wonderful advantage of letting the small cats see the open sky instead of viewing it through cage wire.The FWC is taking submissions from the public about changes that should be made in Florida's wildlife rules from now until May. We will wait until the new rules are finalized bevore building the new vacation enclosure in hopes that the FWC will approve the style we built for the large cats.
Here is how you can help:
Go to this link https://salsa4.salsalabs.com/o/51389/p/salsa/web/blog/public/?blog_KEY=31 You don't have to be from Florida or even the U.S.
In the body of the message, please add this language:
In addition to ending cub handling, I'd like the FWC to adopt the cage style used at Big Cat Rescue for their Vacation Rotation cage for all species of wild cats. It's almost 15 feet high, with a 5 foot cantilever and then a 1 foot drape from the top peak. All of the materials are 9 gauge wire or stronger.
Windsong Memorial Hospital
Thanks to some AMAZINGLY GENEROUS donors and the many of you who have jumped in to help, Big Cat Rescue has completed the exterior of the Windsong Memorial Cat Hospital. The power is ON and the new X-ray machine is up and running. There have been many expensive additions to this onsite clinic such as a new tiger size operating table, new cabinetry, new autoclave and leopard print lead aprons to protect our technicians. Just the lead lined sheetrock for insulating the X-ray room ran us close to $2,000. It's been a very expensive undertaking, but has already proved to be worth the money and effort. See images here: https://bigcatrescue.org/now-at-big-cat-rescue-jan-10-2015/
Participation in ZIMS
From 2001 - 2009 Big Cat Rescue participated in the International Species Information System, but they raised their rates that year to a level we just could not afford. After a recent price reduction we were able to rejoin this year. This allows us to collaborate with zoos all over the world and share our medical findings and learn from others.
Check Out Some Funny Cat Videos Since Last Issue
https://youtu.be/XRGXhZcuymk?list=UUcftblae5aEnraa34d1FPQg
Free Valentine's Day Goodies
We are working to move all of our great resources from our old site to the new one, so pardon our dust.Check out these free Valentine's Day cards to email, or download and print and our many Valentine's Day games, puzzles and fun things to do at these two links:https://chatbigcats.com/category/holiday-goodies/st-valentines-day/ANDhttps://bigcatfun.com/valentines.html
4,500 People Have Made the Pledge. Have You?
Make a New Year’s PLEDGE to Never Go to the Circus!!
If you love lions and tigers and elephants, please make it your New Year’s Resolution for 2015 to NEVER go to a circus that has wild animals!The circus makes big cats and elephants do unnatural tricks like jumping through rings of fire or balancing on balls. We believe the animals perform because they are afraid of the circus trainers, who use painful bull hooks, electric prods and whips. Tigers and lions should not live in tiny circus cages with barely any room to move. And elephants should not be tied up with ropes and chains so short they can’t even walk.Big Cat Rescue would like to see ONE MILLION kids and adults pledge to live CIRCUS FREE!! We promise to make sure the politicians in Washington know that all of us who LOVE wild animals want the circus to stop exploiting them! Big cats and elephants belong in the wild…not in circus cages and wagons.And if you visit Big Cat Rescue, we will give you a FREE GIFT for making the pledge to go CIRCUS FREE!!PLEDGE TO BE CIRCUS FREE HERE: www.NoCircusKids.com
Top Shocking Incidents of Big Cat Exploitation – January 2015
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 contact one or more of the offenders below to politely express your concern. Together we can be the voice for the voiceless...together we can make a difference. If you learn of exotic cats or cubs being exploited in your area, please contact Susan Bass at Susan.Bass@BigCatRescue.org.
No 1. The A&E Network has a new program called Wild Transport. Two of the episodes feature animals owned by the notorious Kevin Antle at his TIGERS “preserve” in Myrtle Beach, SC. One episode is billed as the transport of two full-grown tigers and two tiger cubs from a facility in South Florida to Antle’s facility in Myrtle Beach. For those who don’t know, we believe Antle uses and exploits dozens of cubs each year with his “pay to play” scheme, charging visitors to hold and play with cubs. The Humane Society of the United States describes Antle as “a sort of kingpin of the exotic animal trading world” so it’s not surprising that he is involved with transporting big cats across state lines for the sake of television ratings. We don’t believe the A&E Network should be promoting and publicizing Antle using his big cats and cubs as entertainment and for profit.Please help us educate A&E by contacting A&E’s CEO/President Nancy Dubuc at nancy.dubuc@aetn.com and 212.210.1400.
No. 2 Swiss watch maker TAG Heuer’s new advertising campaign features model Cara Delevingne holding and posing with a lion cub. There is also video of the model with a full-grown lion and of a dozen photographers shooting pictures of the lion cub with their bright lights. It is irresponsible for TAG Heuer to use cubs in their attempt to look cool to young consumers. Please let TAG Heuer’s Vice President of Communications know that animal lovers do not want to see cubs exploited and will not purchase TAG Heuer merchandise unless the campaign is pulled.Email TAG Heuer Vice President of Communications Francoise Bezzola at francoise.bezzola@tagheuer.com
No 3 Once again The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon has exploited wild cats as entertainment on the program, despite repeated requests to STOP from numerous animal lovers and animal welfare groups including Big Cat Rescue. Two weeks ago a handler brought this lynx kitten on the show. Please help us continue to politely educate the producers of The Tonight Show that it is not right to use wild cats as entertainment and ask them to ban such practices. You are the only voices this kitten has!Email the producers:Executive Producer Lorne Michaels: lorne.michaels@nbcuni.comProducer Gavin Purcell: gavin.purcell@nbcuni.comProducer Katie Hockmeyer: katie.hockmeyer@nbcuni.com
No. 4 Last week KRCR Channel 7 News in California ran a fluff piece about a “rare breed of big cat” at a local “sanctuary.” What the station and pseudo-sanctuary owner claim is a rare breed is not a breed AT ALL but the result of unnatural breeding between a liger and a tiger. They call the cubs “ti ligers.” The breeding facility owner actually told the reporter “the ti liger will be studied by researchers to find out more about the breed.” HUH?Please help us educate this station that they should do their own research before reporting such drivel as news! We believe the only reason people breed big cats to make ligers and other unnatural big cats is because unenlightened people will pay money to view and touch them. Their article sends the worst possible message that it is ok for people to manipulate big cats for their own use and profit.Read the article here: https://www.krcrtv.com/news/local/rare-breed-of-big-cat-at-sanctuary-in-oroville/30904748Email reporter Danielle Radin at dradin@krcrtv.comEmail News Director Jennifer Scarborough at jscarborough@bontencalifornia.comEmail General Manager Andrew Stewart at astewart@bontencalifornia.com
Reminder of New Tour Times
Big Cat Rescue is making major changes to better focus our energy on saving the most big cats possible. This includes huge changes to our Education Program and Tours, so check out the new tour times and prices here: https://bigcatrescue.org/visit-the-big-cats/ Our goal is to end the trade in exotic cats as pets, props and for their parts. These changes will help us reach that goal along with your continued support. Please share this AdvoCat newsletter with your friends and family. Thank you from Carole and the Cats!
