Big Cat Rescue offers lots of beautiful photos of our exotic cats.
Give us your first name and email address and we will email you a link to a FREE 8 x 10 tiger photo you can download right now. We never sell, share or trade your contact info.
Choose a Species
Two Cougars Need Your Help
When Freddy and Sassy's owner died that left no one to take care of these aging cougars (12 and 14.) It is a 15 hour drive and we could use your help in covering the cost of the transport for three people to drive up and back, the vet care they may need upon arrival and cage enhancements and toys upon their arrival. Every little bit helps so please donate HERE.
Domestic Cat Rescues Baby Bobcats!
With a gun in one hand and a sack of bobcat kittens in the other, an Alabama hunter proudly plopped the newborns down on the counter and asked the veterinary assistant to raise them up for him so he could give them to his kids as pets.
The vet tech was stunned, but quickly recomposed herself to tell the hunter she would do it for him so as to rescue the babies from such an awful fate. She immediately began scouring the Internet for an expert in rehab and release. When she called Carole Baskin of Big Cat Rescue it was agreed that the kittens would come to Florida, be raised for re-release back to the wild and the paperwork began.
It took three days to secure the Florida import permit and time was of the essence. The only kitten formula available to the clinic was one that often causes serious dehydration in bobcat kittens. The second more critical factor was that their eyes would be opening any day and if they were to ever live free it was imperative that they not bond to humans. They never make good pets, but the bonding that takes place during the nursing stage could make them fearless of people and that would get them into trouble as adults.
While Big Cat Rescue President and resident Rehabber, Jamie Veronica, hit the road to begin a 24 hour road trip to rescue the baby bobcats, Big Cat Rescue put out a call to all of the Tampa animal based charities and on all of their social networks that they needed a nursing mother cat who had kittens of her own. Jack Talman of FosteringIsCool.com found a mother cat but her kittens were too old and she was going into heat so there was concern that she may not have milk nor interest for new babies.
Big Cat Rescuer, Merrill Kramer, called on Rick Chaboudy, CEO of Suncoast Animal League in Palm Harbor, FL and he said he thought he had a good candidate. Her name was Bobbi because of her half tail and she had given birth to 6 kittens of her own and then adopted two more. He found foster parents for all but two of the kittens and brought Bobbi and her brood over to see what she thought of diversifying her family.
Introductions like these can be very scary because the mother cat can be overly protective of her own kittens and fatally strike out at the new comers. President, Jamie Veronica, has had a considerable amount of experience in this area though and had taken every precaution to make sure it went as well as it possibly could. Bobbi turned out to be a dream come true for three little orphaned bobcats though. She immediately pulled them in close to nurse and began to bathe them. The little bobcat babies were so startled that they hissed at her!
She ignored their resistance and just kept on loving on them. Once they figured out that this strange smelling "bobcat" mom had the real deal to offer at her breasts, they were in love too.
You can follow their progress on our facebook fan page here: http://bit.ly/6zlAgy and on http://twitter.com/bigcatrescue
See photos of them on our FlickR site.
See the press they have been getting, including CNN, AOL, The Today Show, TV Guide, ABC, FOX, NBC and more on our FlickR site.
See video of them on YouTube here:
Animal Lover's Dream Vacation Giveaway
You and a guest could win 4 Days/ 3 Nights at the Sirata Beach Resort, a St. Pete Beach front Hotel, Airfare, Big Cat Rescue Keeper Tour, Dolphin Watch Cruise, and more! Print flier HERE
Your Keeper Tour includes walking the 45 acre sanctuary and meeting many of the 100+ exotic cats who call Big Cat Rescue home. Most were formerly bred to be coats, seized by police, abandoned or abused. You will be allowed to help our Keepers make treats to hand out and will be witness to the feeding of the great cats.
Spend time with the Founder on a private tour. See more species of cats all in one place than you probably even knew existed. 15 species of wild cat currently have a forever home at the sanctuary.
Random drawing on March 15th, 2011 determines winner. Must book your vacation within one year of winning. Vacation dates good on week days only. Some substitutions may apply in case of venues being unavailable, but will be comparable. We want this to be the experience of your life so that you will be telling everyone about your Animal Lover's Dream Vacation!
Or mail your name, address, email and mobile phone number to Big Cat Rescue 12802 Easy Street Tampa, FL 33625 813.920.4130 fax 813.885.4457 Mark your entry: Dream Vacation.
Restrictions:
Limit one entry per valid U.S. cell phone number.
Void where prohibited.
Must be 18 years old to win.
Airfare limited to the continental U.S., no weekends and some black out dates apply.
Winner will be notified via their cell phone
Video of the Week
Check out more than 300 big cat videos HERE
CFC Participant? Generous donations through the CFC program have become one of our major sources of funding. Our CFC number is 10766. On behalf of the cats, sincere thanks to the many Federal employees who have helped us provide the best possible home for the cats by donating through this program.
Big Cat Times Magazine! Check out the most recent issue of The Big Cat Times in this online magazine format HERE
December Issue of AdvoCat: The latest edition of the AdvoCat, our monthly E-zine is HERE
Win an Animal Lover's Dream Vacation: If you love animals, you have got to see this fabulous trip HERE
Follow us on Twitter and see what is happening moment by moment at Big Cat Rescue and in the world of lions, tigers, bobcats and other exotic wildcats. @BigCatRescue
Other Ways You Can Help Today
Big Cat Credit Card
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 Flyer
Sharing your passion and your support is easy and automatic. Apply today!
https://www.cardlabconnect.com/Big Cat Rescue
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Text $5 From Your Phone
To donate $5 that will appear on your cell phone bill, put 20222 in the TO line and the word Tiger in the body of the text message. You will receive a text message back asking to confirm your donation. Or you can type your cell number into the box below to have a $5 donation added to your phone bill.
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A one-time donation of $5 will be added to your mobile phone bill or deducted from your prepaid balance. Messaging & Data Rates May Apply. All charges are billed by and payable to your mobile service provider. Service is available on most carriers. Donations are collected for the benefit of the “Big Cat Rescue” by the Mobile Giving Foundation and subject to the terms found at www.hmgf.org/t. You can unsubscribe at any time by replying STOP to short code “20222”; Reply HELP to “20222” for help.