Big Cat Supplies
Here is a list of suppliers that we have found to deliver quality products for large, exotic felines. Check with them directly for pricing and availability.
Insurance
 |
| Buy Big Cat Hat, Shirt or Tee |
The number one question we are asked about running this facility is where do we get insurance coverage. We pay $2,250.00 per year and have a $50,000.00 deductible (based on no claims and the fact that we don't take animals out of their cages). The only carrier we have been able to find is: Kalmanson Insurance P.O. Box 940008 Maitland, FL 32794-0008 mkalmanson@worldnet.att.net (407) 645-5000 fax (407) 645-2810.
A-Z listings
Air and Water
Clean air and pure water are the most important investment we can make in our health and that of our animals. We needed a system that would provide the cleanest possible water without adding chlorine, chemicals and salt. The air systems are used in our hospital and indoor areas. We found EcoQuest to be affordable and superior to any other air and water filtration system. You can learn more about their products at http://verybesthomebasedbiz.com/ or you can order the products directly from us at Air and Water.
Arizona Mist (cage misters that use less than 1 gallon per hour)
600 South 56th Street
Chandler, AZ 85226
480-507-6478
Cat Food
Big Cat Rescue Uses Natural Balance Carnivore Diet
Big Cat Rescue feeds our 500 pounds of food per day and we use Natural Balance Carnivore Diet because it is the best and the cats LOVE it.
The Carnivore 15 Formula was developed, researched and tested by leading zoo animal keepers, nutritionists, and veterinarians. This fresh-frozen beef diet is made from high quality beef processed in a HACCP compliant California State inspected plant under stringent sanitary conditions. Natural Balance ® Zoo Carnivore Diet 15 contains a zoo animal vitamin-mineral premix, which includes vitamin E, niacin, vitamin A and taurine - particularly important nutrients to felidae. The diet is nutritionally complete and needs no additional supplementation; it meets all NRC and AAFCO requirements for felids and canids, and does not contain meat by-products or grains such as corn, wheat, rice or barley. Non-meat ingredients conform to the feed standards defined by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO).
Please call for further information at 1 (800) 829-4493 or email: zoovet@naturalbalanceinc.com
Visit them online at: http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/zoological/carnivore15.html
Conference Calls for Free
If you are managing volunteers or your board of directors you may often need to conference call. Do it for free here: www.skype.com
Donor Contact
Your donors want to know what you are doing. We send out a quarterly newletter called The Big Cat Times to more than 35,000 of our supporters, but snail mail is slow and costly. We have been very excited with the results of publishing a monthly E-Zine. The personalized customer service and the wide variety of templates and tracking options sets Constant Contact apart from the competition.
Sign up for a free trial at: http://www.constantcontact.com/index.jsp?cc=dsrb or contact Roving Software
1601 Trapelo Road, Suite 246
Waltham, MA 02451
866-697-3872
781-472-8100 ext. 658
Flea Control
Advantage by Bayer is the best and we use it on all of our cats for flea control. Ask for literature at 5101 Speaker Road Kansas City, KS 66106 913 631-4800
For all natural alternatives to pesticides, check out www.earthanimal.com
Fundraisers
Don't stress a cat out by dragging it all over the country side. Use a fabulous Big Cat Mascot Costume that can safely pose for pictures and still attract the crowds to your display. This is a fun and humane alternative to a live animal ambassador. See examples of "Mascot Matt" Brady's work online at www.mascot.org/east.html or E-mail mascot@fast.net
Check out Big Cat Rescue's Fundraising Tip of the Day.
Gifts
Most animal facilities rely heavily on their gift shop to support their cause. So do we.
Aspire Attire (a donor and creator of the hats above) will provide logo hats, tees, and more, all at 10 % off his regular wholesale prices to Big Cat Rescue functions. Minimum orders apply. Contact Bruce Wallin bwallin@tampabay.rr.com 13942 W. Hillsborough Av. Tampa, FL 33635 813.792.7679
Noel offers great prices, superior quality and personalized gifts such as key chains, magnets, snow globes, etc. You can see samples of their work in our on line gift shop P.O. Box 2487 Lake Havasu City, AZ 86405 toll free 888-716-7330 or 520 505-4580 fax 520 505-5127 noel@ctaz.com
Disposable Cameras are nice to have on hand for guests and these are themed for wild animals at Sierra Sales and Marketing 428 Claymont Drive Ballwin, MO 63011 877 277-9344 fax 636 227-8677 sierra_sales@msn.com
Hunter Littlefield Publishing will wholesale costume jewelry and weight loss books for your house or office parties up to full scale trade shows. Just contact the author, Herb Hamilton and tell him you are raising money for Big Cat Rescue. mrhh@verizon.net 813.931.3039 8910 N. Dale Mabry Highway Suite 10 Tampa, FL 33614 MissionPossibleWeighLoss.com
The Mountain Hand Dyed Tee Shirts can be ordered at 1 800 545-9684 18 Water Street Marlborough, NH 03455 fax 603 876-3858 phone 603 876-3600
Jim Morris Environmental Shirt Company P.O. Box 18270 Boulder, CO 80308-1270 800 788-5411 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Tee Shirts Some of our most popular T shirts come from Visual Eyes at Think Ink 3 Chalet Drive Crystal Lake, IL 60014-7324 800 560-7887 fax 815 459-5238 thinkink@mc.net
Photos by Jamie Veronica. For the finest in big cat photography, our very own Jamie Veronica captures the essence of the big cat spirit. Check out Photos.
Medications
The best product we have ever found for treating topical wounds is Kiss Kare. It is a clear, odorless, tasteless spray (or gel) that can be sprayed in the eyes to sooth them, on the face for abrasions and anywhere on the cat that needs a liquid bandage. Because it is so soothing the cats don't object to it, even when you spray them in the face. It is non toxic and I have used it to heal my sore throat and to treat from the slightest to the most dangerous of open wounds. It allows the wound to continue to breath which speeds up the body's own healing system while keeping the wound protected from bacteria.
The newspapers recently touted it as the end to cavities. By spraying in on the teeth every day it is said to create a plaque barrier. The scientist who developed this product and his family are long time supporters of Big Cat Rescue. We do not make anything from the sale of this product, but would be remiss to not tell you about the most used item in our medicine chest. We have been using it for many years and never encountered unwanted side effects. You can read all about it at their website: http://www.kiss-cote.com
For all natural remedies check out www.earthanimal.com
Pet Supply Companies that we use
We order bowls, beds, dry food, bedding, toys, dens and lots of other cool stuff from Central Pet Supply. Check them out at http://centralpets.com
For all kinds of natural, healthy products for your animals check out www.earthanimal.com
Point of Sale Hardware, Software and Support
In order to apply for most grants, BCR needs audited financial statements, which are being done right now. But, one of the prerequisites for the audit was better tracking of sales in our gift shop. To do that, we needed a "point of sale", or "POS", system, i.e. the kind of computer you see in most retail locations that can scan a bar code to track sales and inventory and print out a customer receipt. While the software and computer were within our budget, we lacked the technical expertise to install and maintain such a system, and did not have funds to pay for those services.
Then Bill Grant, owner of POSabilities, Inc., came to our rescue. POSabilities is a Tampa area company specializing in POS systems. He, along with his head of sales, Brian Steffen and technical guru Julian Meyers, guided us to an affordable software solution, arranged a favorable price on the software and hardware, and then generously donated the time of Julian and Jason Reopelle to help us get it all set up and maintain it.
In addition to the generosity, their service has been incredible. They guided us through the entire setup process, including helping get our inventory entered and correct. They gave us our staff training on how to use the system in simple, understandable language that got us up and running in just a few hours. And in the first few days when we needed to work out some kinks in the system, they were incredibly attentive both by phone and with on site visits. The system is already having a tremendous impact. It has significantly speeded up the sales process for visitors, which they appreciate, and is increasing our sales by preventing us from running out of popular items since we now have a real time inventory.
We cannot thank Bill and his staff enough, and would HIGHLY recommend them to any retail business owners seeking a RELIABLE vendor for Point of Sale needs. The phone number is 727-524-0767.
Below is a photo of the POSabilities team and their families with China Doll, the Bengal Tiger, on a recent company excursion to visit the cats they have helped so much through their generous donation:
Printing Services
Florida Wholesale Printing will give you better-than-wholesale prices if you are printing something to promote Humane USA, just contact Tim Poe 813-933-7746 tim@flaprint.com 1717 E Busch Blvd. Suite 1001 Tampa, Florida 33612 FX: 813-933-7738 http://flaprint.com/
Signs
Use every opportunity to educate the public with personalized signs that give the cats name, breed, and stats. Every thing from a small cage sign to full size banners, magnetic signs and street signs can be customized just for you by Bart at Sign Design. Contact him at 813 995-0573 3251 Parkway Boulevard Land O Lakes, FL 33625 sgndsn@aol.com
For commercial grade signs, all of ours come from Sentry Signs. Ask for Jodi at jodi@sentry.cc 5398 Bloomfield Blvd. Lakeland, FL 33810 (863) 815-1390
Toys
Boomer Balls/ Exotic Division P.O. Box 83 Grayslake, IL 60030 847 546-6125 fax 847 546-6185 These are the 6" to 31" hard plastic balls that you see in our cat photos. The 31 inch Planet Ball is the only toy on the market that we have found safe for Tigers.
For smaller cat toys, beds, scratching posts and a myriad of supplies, we rely on Central Pet Supply at 11316 N. 46th Street Tampa, FL 33617 813 889-7161. You must be able to order in large quantities to qualify as a buyer.
Training Manuals
We are happy to supply you with all of the training manuals, classes and tests that we use to educate the world's greatest group of staff and volunteers. Digital versions by email are free. Hard copies are available at cost. Keeper Training.
Tranquilization
Telinject has a full line of dart guns, blow pipes, rifles and accessories for the safe capture and tranquilization of all breeds. 9316 Soledad Canyon Road, Saugus, CA 91350 661 268-0915 800 468-5111 fax 661 268-1105 www.Telinject.com
Safe Capture Tranquilization Training Seminars are considered the very best. Write for a schedule P.O. Box 206 Mt. Horeb, WI 53572 608 767-3071 fax 608 437-5287 www.SafeCapture.com
Got a great cat product that you think should be listed here? Let us know about it.
|
Can you guess if this fur is tiger, lion, leopard, jaguar, or which big cat?
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |