Read the AdvoCat

Be an AdvoCat

Put Your Claws into the Cause.

Cats know there is nothing like sinking their claws into something trying to escapetheir grasp. You too, can experience satisfaction by sinking your claws into an issue so it won't elude us.

What's the issue you ask? The plight of the big cats and their treatment and conservation. Yes, we have a beautiful sanctuary housing well cared-for animals.but there are around a 100 each year that we can not help. They are turned away due to lack of space and funding. Why? Because there are many throwaways from roadside zoos and private owners and auctions who have no place to go. The country is flooded with these stories. We must stop the problem and not just patch it.

This is where you come in. One voice is strong but can you imagine all our supporters mobilizing over the important issues as they arise? We can write letters, spread the word and change legislation and most importantly minds. Also, we don't plan on reporting just the challenging issues. We love to fill our newsletter with rescues, victories, breakthroughs, coming events and parties, new tour offerings, and more, so you can feel a part of our team.

Can we count on you to be an AdvoCat?

We will respect your time.  We’ll send you a brief bulletin once or twice a month to keep you up to date on practical action steps you can take. If you are interested in joining the AdvoCat Program and receiving e-mail bulletins on how you can help just sign up here. We will then be in touch with you.

We truly appreciate when one of our supporters goes the extra mile to think of ways that they can promote our sanctuary. We hear countless stories of people of all ages and how they’ve spread the word. Read below for a story of one of our own volunteers and how he turned a little bit of his time into a wonderful benefit to Big Cat Rescue. What might you be able to do with a little bit of your time? Contact me at AdvoCat@BigCatRescue.org

“I was sitting at the computer one night surfing the web.  I typed "Big Cat Rescue" into Google to see if anything interesting came up.  The first two results were from our website.  The one directly below those piqued my curiosity.  The Google result showed a little quote from a site in which someone was asking about the night tours at big cat rescue.

When I clicked on the link to the site, I discovered that I would have to register to gain access.  After registering, the link brought me to a website called www.thedibb.co.uk .  This site was created for people who live in the UK to discuss all things Disney.  As I am sure you know, Walt Disney is immensely popular with the British and many come to the US on a yearly basis.  And after doing the Disney thing to death, many are looking for something new.  The post that pulled me into the site was under the heading "Beyond the Parks" which talks about non-Disney and Universal things to do while in Florida .

Fortunately, the girl that had posted had done so recently, so I was able to give her a response.  In answering her question, I wrote that I was a volunteer at the sanctuary and if anyone else had question to feel free to ask.  There was a huge response by people that love animals.  Most never knew we existed and were excited about visiting.  Several said that they were going to change their plans so they could stop by BCR and said it was a "must see".  Many of the readers went to our website, which really got them excited.  One lady said:  "I've just seen the web-site for the very first time!! I'm a big cat lover & will change my itinerary to make sure we visit in August!! Some touching stories in the slide show - will make a point of adopting a cat whilst there!!"

These are some of the responses I got recently:

Every time I responded, I made sure to include info that they could use.  Since most of these posters have families, I posted all the different age restrictions for our tours.  In another post, I talked up the Expedition.  Although most gave relatively short responses, I took the opportunity to write as much as I could without sounding like an advertisement.  The people on the board were very friendly and welcoming.  For them it was nice to be able to hear from someone who actually works at the sanctuary.  One of the forum's monitors started a second thread welcoming me as a new member of the board.  This exposed me to people that missed the first thread. 

So, I quickly found myself checking both threads on a daily basis.  For the first few days, the response was incredible.  But after a few days, there wasn't much going on.  I have continued to monitor the boards so I can answer questions about BCR and Florida in general.  Quite a few of the posters are going to be visiting BCR over the next 6 months.  I told them to get in touch with me via the board so I can hopefully be their tour guide.  If people keep writing to me on the forum, the BCR topic will stay towards the top of the list and will get noticed more. It only takes a few minutes each day to check.  I look over the listing of the various threads and look for something interesting.

It really takes so little time to monitor a site once you have found a good one.  Again, the key is not to blatantly advertise or SPAM these sites.  If you do, you will be unwelcome.  All I did is answer some questions for people and mention our sanctuary, and I received a tremendous response.  I am looking forward to meeting those from the forum who plan on visiting the sanctuary.  Hopefully, they will have a great time and will tell all the others on the board when they return home.   This could snowball and really get the word out.

Matt says, Our website is a huge tool in getting people motivated to visit us. I constantly refer people to the site for more information. This should be a great resource for spreading the word about our sanctuary.”

What might you be able to do by poking around the internet or mentioning our site to your friends ?

In addition to joining our Ezine mail list you can also sign up below to get daily email alerts about anything and everything that happens in the world of big cats by joining our Big Cat Rescue Volunteer's Yahoo Group.

Big Cat Rescue is an educational sanctuary and a home for more than 100 big cats  12802 Easy St. Tampa, FL 33625 813.920.4130 Info@BigCatRescue.org