It is just a "zoo" around here in the months leading up to the Fur Ball, but with that behind us we are taking deep sighs of relief and luxuriating in all the good things we have going on at Big Cat Rescue thanks to supporters like you!Every year we say to ourselves that it is going to be the last Fur Ball because of all of the time and energy that goes into throwing a party of this magnitude, but after it is over, and everyone is still raving for months about how much fun they had, we give in and do it again.There has to be an easier way to raise the money and awareness necessary to keep our cats in catnip and "cat chow" so in the months ahead we will be trying a few new things to see if we can count on your help in ways that enable us to focus on the most important work of ending the trade.Stay tuned as we mastermind with the best in the business to do our job better than ever before! If you have some great tips and tricks; let us know.A good way to do that is to stalk us on https://twitter.com/bigcatrescue or join more than 26,000 of our facebook fans.
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Fur Ball Better Than Ever
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In just about every way we can think of the Fur Ball was better than ever before. 650 attendees raved about it being the most fun they have had at a fundraiser. The food was superb, the decor was dramatic, the music was rockin', the drum circle was packed, the silent auction had people hovering over most items for the final bid, the live auction trips were so popular than most of the trips sold two and three times, the booze was free and flowing all night, the wishlist items were sponsored, the video was a tear jerker, the costumes were outrageous and the mechanics of the night were smooth and seamless. Thanks to all our sponsors and supporters this event netted about $80k for the cats. To see what you missed, or to see photos and videos from the Fur Ball keep checking back at https://www.BigCatRescue.org/FurBall.htmBig Cat Bargains left over from the Fur Ball are now available online! When items don't sell at the Fur Ball we mark them down; way, way down because we can't store them until next year. Here is your chance for some great deals:https://www.bigcatrescue.biz/ There are a dozen great new offerings here now and 50 more will be added over the next few days.
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PetSmart Takes a Stand Against Abuse
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Dade City’s Wild Things acquired a white tiger cub from G.W. Exotics, a notorious Oklahoma breeder, that they are marketing to the hilt in order to make money off her as quickly as possible. To accomplish that they dragged her into PetSmart to drum up some business.Almost 900 advocates responded to our alert and wrote to PetSmart demanding an end to displays of exotics like this, knowing the bad message it sends. We’re very pleased to share that PetSmart listened and immediately responded positively.According to corporate spokesperson Margie Wojciechowski at the Phoenix, AZ headquarters, she confirmed she had just come from a meeting and the company has “reinforced with our managers that no exotic pets are allowed on store premises. There will be no live display of exotic animals for events.”Get the rest of the story here: https://ow.ly/2RVMHHelp end the trade in tigers here:https://www.capwiz.com/bigcatrescue/issues/alert/?alertid=18701526&type=ML
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Big Cat Health Updates
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Usually the score is Bobcats 1 : Snakes 0 but last week when a black racer dared take a short cut through the bobcats' cage he ended up in a fight to the death with Selena the bobcat. That seems to be the forensic evidence anyway; dead snake and small scratches across the lens of Selena's left eye.The three tiny scratches across her eye weren't even visible until Dr. Wynn stained the eye and took a look with a fluorescent light. Just to be sure, she did blood work, a fecal exam, dental x-rays and an sonogram of the area behind her eye to see if there were a mass that was causing her eye to protrude. As of today she is back with her bobcat clan.Two Toes the bobcat had a heart attack and died very suddenly. Heroic efforts were exerted to revive her but she was on her way to where ever good bobcats go and after seeing the light, she wasn't coming back. Her after death exam showed her to be suffering from heart failure and even if she had made it in to Dr. Wynn's clinic for diagnostics, the only option would have been euthanasia.She was "only" 15 but that is the equivalent of being a 90 year old person. Despite being so old, she was glossy coated, shiny eyed and never backed down from being independent and defiant; the things I love most about bobcats. We are accustomed to our cats living far beyond the norm because of the excellent care you make possible for them, and we will miss her greatly, but she is finally free.Takoma the bobcat, who was rescued in the same group of Fur Farm cats as Two Toes and Selena, is still battling liver disease. His condition continues to worsen, but for now he is letting us give him subQ fluids several times a week and that seems to keep him going. I've never seen a cat hop right into the squeeze cage to have a needle poked into them for fluids, but so far Takoma does. We will give him every opportunity for an extended life, as long as he is finding joy in it. When the time comes that he makes it clear he is ready to go, then we will honor his final request.Missouri the cougar was taken in yesterday for a urinary tract infection so she will be on antibiotics and in the onsite West-Boensch Cat Hospital for a few days. (Writing that was a whole lot easier than actually catching a cougar and taking her to the vet.)
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Halloween Games, Goodies, and Freebies
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Here are some of our big cat Halloween Games, Goodies and Freebies for your family to enjoy.Your can get free Halloween crafts for the crafting members of your family.Download free Halloween desktop wallpapers, free Halloween screensavers, free Halloween games to play online and offline.There are even free Halloween party games and party packs for you to download and print. It is our hope that you will enjoy this free Halloween stuff and pass the link to Big Cat Rescue's main web site on to your friends.Get all the freebies here: https://bigcatfun.com/halloween.html
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Some Grrrreat Videos to Share & Enjoy
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Associated Press asked if we had any video of Bella the tiger painting the piece of art that was being auctioned on eBay. The reporter said they have major clients in India who are just captivated by her work and AP ran an international story about Bella's artistic talents. It created a media frenzy!They included "Courtesy of BigCatRescue.org" on the story. Here is the video called Tigers Love to Paint: https://www.youtube.com/user/BigCatRescue#p/u/7/F-fq2zQzqfoTony the Truck Stop Tiger video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gc00OiNh5w Sign his petition here: https://ow.ly/2RVWEHow big cats recycle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-AuE7S4JuYSee the tigers of Big Cat Rescue promote the Year of the Tigerhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-TTlIKM-tQIf you like our videos be sure to subscribe to them on iTunes and give us a nice rating there so that others can find us too! Carry us in your pocket on your iPhone or iPad.https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/big-cat-rescue/id284875889
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CBS Interviews Carole Baskin
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Josh Knauer of CBS Radio interviews Carole Baskin, CEO of Big Cat Rescue in September of 2010. This is a 30 minute interview about the plight that faces captive big cats and how the legal trade in exotics provides a cover for illegal activities. The interview aired on 9 stations in October 2010.In the interview Carole Baskin demonstrates how little oversight there is by governmental agencies by stating that even though she houses more than 100 big cats the state of FL had not done a full inspection since 2004. Two days later the FWC inspected but found the facility to be in tip top shape and no citations issued. This comes right after another excellent USDA inspection on Sept. 29, 2010.https://bigcatrescue.org/video/00380.htm
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Big Cat Credit Cards Just in Time for Holiday Shopping
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You can give more without spending more by turning your everyday spending into meaningful donations with a customized Big Cat Rescue Capital One credit card. Share your passion and donate to Big Cat Rescue with your everyday purchases. We've partnered with Capital One® Card Lab Connect to bring you our newest fundraising program, which helps us earn money doing what you do every day! Just carry one of our custom credit cards (it comes with a competitive rate and no annual fee), and 1% of purchases made with the card will be donated to Big Cat Rescue.Not only will you be donating to the cats with each purchase you make, you'll be helping to spread the word when people see your wildly unique card, designed specifically for Big Cat Rescue. Three custom cards are currently available featuring Cameron the lion, Cheetaro the leopard, and Shere Khan & China Doll the tigers! What a great way to share the cats' stories every time you pull out your credit card. Tell others too by downloading Credit Card FlyerSharing your passion and your support is easy and automatic. Apply today!https://www.cardlabconnect.com/Big Cat Rescue
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Leopard in Le Louvre Museum
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Frederique Lavergne is a French painter whose artistic focus revolves around that of animals and nature. Her artistic creations are currently being displayed at art galleries in the USA, UK, Ireland and France.Frederique was born into a world inhabited by horses and sketches of fashion. Before learning to speak, she learned to draw and the picture became her language. Frederique always begins a painting with the eyes, as she believes they are the most beautiful expression of a deep connection and an opportunity for humans to learn a lot about themselves.It began to disturb Frederique in realizing that by selling her big cat portrait’s she was indirectly “profiting” at the expense of animals that were being bred for the fur industry as well as others that might soon become extinct in the wild.Frederique reached out in support the sanctuary’s efforts with a desire to contribute to an organization whose mission is focused on the welfare of animals and the preservation of their native habitat. She chose Sabre, one of the sanctuary’s Black Leopard’s as a model for a magnificent painting that will be displayed as part of an upcoming exhibition at the Le Louvre in Paris, France called “Art Shopping”.This exhibition is being held on October 23rd – 24th at the Carrousel du Louvre, a historic portion of one of the world’s greatest museums. Frederique is kindly donating a portion of the proceeds of the sale of this masterpiece in support of the magnificent animals that call Big Cat Rescue home.To learn more about Frederique and view a sampling of her artistic work, please visit:https://www.frederiquelavergne.com/felins.html
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Get the Jump on Holiday Giving
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Take advantage of Big Cat Luxe Gifts holiday promotion to benefit Big Cat Rescue.10% off all items from now until Dec 24th, 2010 – use as often as you like.Go to www.BigCatLuxeGifts.com and enter code # BCLG10 at checkout.Thank you for supporting Big Cat Rescue with gifts for friends and family!
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Vote Fur Us to Win $10,000
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Vote for us at www.theanimalrescuesite.com and we could win $10,000 to help big cats in need. The grand prize is a $10,000 grant, and they will be awarding many other grants to rescue groups with the most votes.Think how many big cats we could help for $10,000!Help us win! All you have to do is click to help rescued animals, and then vote in The Animal Rescue Site $100,000 Shelter+ Challenge. Both of these actions are absolutely free! You can vote once a day, every day, from September 20th through December 19th, 2010. Every time you vote, or tell a friend to vote, you are making a huge difference for us. Vote today!Visit: www.theanimalrescuesite.com Type in Big Cat Rescue and Tampa to find us.
