Our Cages
Below are the new cage designs Vernon Stairs implemented. They are constructed of 6 gauge, galvanized, welded wire panels, twelve feet high, with roofs and are all in excess of 600 square feet and most in excess of 1000 square feet. They all have safety entrances and are designed to shut off one half of the cage at a time so that the volunteers can safely clean one side with the cat locked out and then shift the cat to the other side to clean the remainder.
They all incorporate feed
boxes with built in water dishes in which the cats can be shut to
medicate, vaccinate or the whole unit can be removed as a transport cage
to go to the vet 
or
to evacuate in a hurricane. The water dishes are elevated to keep
the cats from relieving themselves in the drinking water (as they will
do).
See transport box at right:
Each cage has a sprinkler system and an underground, plastic den. The den is easy to clean and insulated against the elements. Each cage is heavily landscaped and has logs, trees, toys and perches to give the cat's a feeling of safety.
This is one of our
leopard cages and it is over 1200 square feet of floor space and is over twenty feet high as it
encircles this tree. (Notice the silhouette of the black leopard,
Jumanji in the center branches) This cage is typical of our leopard and
cougar cages and includes all of the features outlined above. You
can see the wire in the distant back ground and the white door to his
feeding area. This photo was taken from safely outside the cage,
but due to the four by four openings the shot can look as though you
were inside.
The cage at right
is the Snow Leopard cage when it was being built and includes a freezer
box den that is air-conditioned and cleverly disguised as
snowy rock covered ledges. The cats can lay in the cool of their
dens and look out at passerby's. The curvature of the wire makes
posts and support beam unnecessary once the cage is completed and
enables the viewer to focus on the animal and not on the cage.
Across the top you can see the wire supports used to bridge the 20 feet
spanning the roofs. Note the full size ladder in the background to
get a feel for the size of the cage. The rockwork is concrete over
metal lathe. In some cages the rockwork has waterfalls,
dripping down into fish filled ponds.
Many of our Cat-A-Tats include ponds and waterfalls. All of our many
tigers have pools, ponds and waterfalls as do our 
Fishing
Cats.
With a donation of $7,500.00, earmarked for cage construction, you can have a sign placed on the cage telling the world that you helped build the Cat-A-Tat. This is great advertising for your business or corporation and greatly helps these magnificent cats.
| By Species | State Requirements | Our Cages |
| Lions and Tigers | 240 square feet | 1200- 136,000 sf |
| Leopards and Cougars | 200 square feet | 1200 square feet |
| Lesser cats (Lynx, etc.) | 72 square feet | 900 square feet |
| Small cats (Jungle cats, etc.) | 36 square feet | 600 square feet |
USDA only requires that the cage be large enough for
the animal to stand up and turn 
around in and a lot
of states use the USDA standard rather than set standards of their own.
When you visit the zoo and see those magnificent million dollar
enclosures, what you don't see are all the animals in tiny, off exhibit
cages. If animals must live in captivity, the least we can do is
make them comfortable.
At right: Malachi, the Clouded Leopard in his tree.
Cage Improvements HERE
This was the pitch: We want to thank you for taking the time and doing the right thing for the animals. Big Cat Rescue will award the Captive Wild Animal Protector's Award to the person who submits the most signed letters with all of the above information included. Your entries will be checked by a real person to ensure that they were actually signed by real people. We must be able to verify the authenticity of the letters and the addresses of the writer and the approriate representative with address included (so that we know it went to the right person) for the letter to qualify. Letters should be individualized and not form letters and not in petition format. Send the original to the appropriate Federal Representative of the House and Senate and a copy to Big Cat Rescue.
For every original letter statistics show that it is the equivalent of 200 phone calls to a representative. This is a very important set of bills to pass and we have a very short time frame to let our representatives know how important this new law would be to concerned Americans.
The Award will include the Big Cat Expedition for two and a $5000.00 grant to Big Cat Rescue for the animal enrichment or enhancement program of your choosing. The grant will recognize you as the person who made it possible and could include any number of enhancements that you deem most important. If you think the cats need more toys, then they will get $5000.00 in toys. If you think that the Education Center needs $5000.00 to reach more children, then we will spend it there. The opportunities are limitless.
Our volunteers and staff are eligible for this award as well and they talk to a lot of animal supporters so the competition will be fierce. Everyone who submits 20 qualifying letters will get a Free Big Cat Rescue T-shirt. (Send your shirt size with your submission.) The deadline is March 1, 2005.
This was the result: Kim and Dr. Don Vierling won with 221 letters and Julie Hanan came in second place with 121 friends who wrote letters to their legislators! Kim and Dr. Don will be using their winnings to help Enya get a hurricane shelter den like all the other big cats.
Julie's Story: In winning this award, my plan has been to use the grant money to improve the life of two leopards I've come to know who currently live in the far rear portion of Big Cat Rescue. The funds would be used to significantly expand both Adonnis and Bagheera's cat-a-tats to include several of the surrounding trees that would provide shade, shelter, and a place for them to climb and play. A tower type enclosure would also be constructed for them around one of the nearby oak trees.
Adonnis is a very active leopard who loves to run, especially when he tries to run full speed at you as you're walking around his enclosure doing daily cleaning chores. He needs the added space just to be able to stretch those legs of his and use up some of that pent up energy. Bagheera, on the other hand, needs a place to climb and rest. Since we've put the small log leaning on her enclosure, I've found her up there clawing away at it and other times on the ground upside down under it rubbing her face all over it. Such a simple addition and yet she already has shown how much she appreciates it! I can't wait to provide both of them with trees, logs, greenery and safe, comfortable, watertight dens to enrich their day-to-day existence. I can see what a positive difference their cage expansion will be since they have shown how much they enjoy the few simple things we've done already. Once we've doubled their space and now that Adonnis has been neutered, we will be able to reintroduce them to life together in one large cat-a-tat. Hopefully, they will be able to live together as they once did in the past. I'm so happy to be able to accomplish this for them!
5/18/05 Update: Several additions have now been completed on their cat-a-tat including one that goes all the way up into a big oak tree. The volunteers have planted lots of ferns and grasses and installed a lot of logs and things for the busy cats to do. This project will be completed in the next week and then on to Enya's project funded by the hard work of Kim and Dr. Don Vierling. See this new slideshow.