Today, we are letting the head peep tell the story of how she two-timed us big time. And by big time, we mean she two-timed us with big cats!
I recently had the opportunity to tour Big Cat Rescue. They now function as a rescue sanctuary, and their property is a collection of “catitats”, mostly large, oval enclosures, linked with tunnels so that the cats have choices of areas to go. All of the cats have den areas, trees to climb, and if appropriate for their species, tall grasses and other foliage to hide in.
One of the things that a lot of cat lovers will notice in my photos is that all but one where I got a shot of a fairly distant cat have bars in front of the cats. Big Cat Rescue is a no-contact facility, and even their staff have no contact with the cats except for blood draws through the side of a lockout cage or while the cats are under sedation for more extensive care.
We toured the property, and one of the senior keepers talked about the cats. What struck me about her stories about the histories of the various cats was how many of the cats were given up for the same kinds of reasons that we hear of domestic cats surrendered to animal shelters: divorce, people moving to locations they can’t keep that kind of pet, not using litter/spraying, even being too expensive to keep. They have cats who were brought to vets for care and abandoned there, and even one who was brought to them for boarding and the owner never returned. How can anyone familiar with domestic cat rescue not see the similarity to the reasons for surrenders?
Additionally, they have rescued cats from failed zoos, retired circus performers, and even an unknown hybrid guessed to be similar to a F1 Savannah Cat who was unexpectedly trapped on Feral Cat Day a few years ago and was more than a local animal control knew what to do with.
Walking through Big Cat Rescue, of course it was a little sad to see these cats in enclosures rather than in the jungle or on the savannah. But captive-bred, these cats don’t have the instincts they need to go out and hunt for themselves. Many of them were declawed by their previous owners or suffer from ailments brought on my poor nutrition or inadequate vet care before they arrived at Big Cat Rescue. Many others are seniors, suffering from age-related ailments like cataracts and arthritis that we see in our own domestic cats as they age. These things make it impossible for the cats to safely fend for themselves. But at a sanctuary, they are safe and cared for by the staff and a small army of volunteers.
While Big Cat Rescue has only a handful of full time employees, they get a lot of their help through their volunteer program. I met senior keepers who had been volunteering there 11 and 12 years, respectively, and they obviously viewed each of the cats with both affection and a great deal of respect.
Part of our tour was getting to watch operant conditioning of the big cats, which is a fancy word for training. The cats are taught to present paws, stand up, and open their mouths. They aren’t asked to do tricks like roll over or play dead. The behaviors they learn are to help it to be easier to check on their health daily. The big cats get raw meat treats on the end of a stick for responding to the hand signal since the facility is completely hands-off with the big cats.
The sanctuary also has a thriving internship program. One intern I talked to had an Environmental Sciences degree and was going into his tenth month of internship. In addition to helping care for all of the big cats, the interns also care for little ones. A partnership with the local animal control has the interns of Big Cat Rescue caring for neonatal kittens until they are an adoptable age, then they return, fully socialized, for adoption.
During our tour, the keeper distributed enrichment items like cardboard tubes full of spices and catnip for the cats. Yes, big cats like catnip too! One of the surprising things that was a big hit with some of the cats was the cut off top of a pineapple.
I also stayed for the feeding tour, which gave a lot of insight into the staggering cost of feeding a big cat. It was also really touching to see the keepers taking extra time with some of their senior cats to make sure they ate their whole meals. It reminded me of feeding time with my own senior cats over the years.
The whole experience of visiting Big Cat Rescue was much more thought-provoking than I had expected. While the tour and the sanctuary carries a strong message of not trying to keep big cats as house pets and opposing the breeding and trade in big cats, that wasn’t what struck me most. What I noticed most was how similar the issues of big cat rescue are to domestic cat rescue. The primary difference is that people are breeding big cats for profit, while little cats in the community breed on their own. The result is the same: too many cats for the number of knowledgeable homes able to take them in. I’m glad that there are sanctuaries for big cats the way that there are a handful of sanctuaries for some less-adoptable domestic cats. Neither may be the ideal home for them, but it’s good to know that someone who loves them and cares for their needs.
If you are ever in the area, it’s a fascinating place to visit, both through the lens of cat rescue as a whole and as an opportunity to see how they care for rescued big cats.
This is a wonderful post. I’ve always wanted to visit a big cat sanctuary and see how they live when they’re not constantly on display as they are at a zoo. I think it’s just as well they don’t let people handle the cats. It’s safer for both the visitors and the cats, I would think.
Do they ever get young cats that need to be handled, like lion kittens, for instance?
That’s a good question! They are a registered wildlife rehab center and have in the past taken in cubs whose mother was killed. There was a news story that brought BCR to national attention a few years ago about their successfully getting a domestic cat who just weaned a litter to nurse bobcat cubs so they wouldn’t have to be handled. When hoping to reintroduce cubs into the wild, not handling them is important to prevent their being domesticated.
I find it especially shocking that humans would try to keep these beautiful animals as pets and then mutilate them by declawing them and asking them to live in unnatural situations. How sad. I’m glad that Big Cat Rescue is there to help my big brothers and sisters when bad things happen to them.
what a great post and amazing pictures. I would love to go to a big cat sanctuary one day
Very interesting. Reminds us of a wolf sanctuary in Washington state called Wolf Haven. Savannah, Sage, Mom L and Dad P were not aware that some people were actually dumb enough to try and keep big cats as pets (but then some do the same with wolves so why not). We will put Big Cat Rescue on our list of places to support.
We are totally with Summer on this one.
WHAT AN ABSOLUTELY AMAZING POST AND PICTURES. BRAVO FOR SUCH EXCELLENT SHOTS. WE FELT LIKE WE WERE THERE.
WE HAVE A BIG CAT RESCUE ABOUT 50 MILES FROM US. MY PEEPS HAVE BEEN ONCE THEY WERE IN AWE OF THE GREATNESS OF THESE CREATURES AND HOW THEY DISPLAYED THEIR INNER KITTENS.
HUGS MADI OUR BFFF
it’s true. Cats are cat. They all deserve love and a good home, even if the home should technically be the wild. I can’t understand the declawing. So sad, all around. Some people are just so stupid when it comes to nature. THey think they can control it and then, when they realize they can’t, the just get rid of it. :/
What a wonderful experience to get to tour such a facility! The Woman is so jealous!
you are so lucky to have visited the facility. while my mom loves cats, she’s a bit scared of the big variety.
We have a local facility that takes in big cats in need of rescue. It is astonishing that anyone would think ANY of those cats could be kept as pets.
guys….we is still knot gettin a notice when ya haza new post; we haz signed up again N still nothin…we popped by two day just coz… N now de food serviss gurl iz veree glad we did..her be… MEGA GEL UZ …we loves BCC…did yur mom get ta see Joseph? he was crazed silly in de “angry burds” video they made ♥
She didn’t get to see Joseph. He’s one of their biggest YouTube stars, but he doesn’t like strangers. Like all of their cats who are distressed by visitors, he and the cats he was rescued with from the same facility are in an enclosure that is away from being disturbed by tours. But she did hear him. You can hear him everywhere on the property when he roars!
(We’ll post to your blog comments about the email thing to be sure you see our response, but we are sad that our email provider is being so difficult!)
We love those big cats! Our Dad had the opportunity a while back to go to Africa to work with big cats, but he couldn’t be gone for 6 whole weeks.
Sparkle has often posted aabout how similar big cats are to us. Cool that you saw first hand.
holy bast! we are furry amazed to see our big cousins so close up. blessins onna head of them beans what takes such good care of them. fanks so much for lettin’ us see this wunnerful place up close wif a cat’s-eye viewpoint!
What a great trip! And what a great education your post is! We saw feeding time at a zoo once and it was an eye opener to see the big cats and their dinner. It’s a shame people don’t have the sense to realize big cats make bad pets, how much care a big cat needs, and how dangerous they will be when full grown.
That is so cool! interesting post! we ditto Summer’s comment. Plus, we understand zoos and organizations that breed big cats for conservation purposes, but anybuddy else…sheesh, what are people thinking?!?
Pip, Smidgen, Minnie, Hollie
What a wonderful, wonderful place and that goes for the people that work and volunteer there and take such good care of these beautiful cats. I can’t believe people keep them as pets and then of course do a horrible job at it.
I would love to see it! It’s a comment on us humans that we see even these magnificent cats as property to be disposed of.
On a happier note, Sweet Pea loves pineapple tops, too…it must be a Feline THANG!
Oh my gosh, what a wonderful opportunity to get to do this. Mom is jealous. Thank you so much for sharing your visit with the rest of us. These large cats are so stunning. XO, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo
What a neat experience! I would love to be able to visit a Big Cat Rescue like this. I had never thought of big cats having the same problems as small domesticated cats – being surrendered for similar reasons. It’s weird to think about, but troubling all the same. I’m glad to know that there are organizations like this out there who are working to help these cats in need. Thank you for sharing about your experience.
we missed this yesterday but what a great post…. we follow them on facebook and love what they do…but what a shame it is necessary