Hi Im New with big and small cats alike

DogAndBigCatMomma · Member Joined: 03 Mar 2008 Posts: 28

As I said in my intro my husband and I run a small Big Cat sanctuary. At times it is trying and sometimes I think we're insane for doing this. But we are giving abused and neglected big cats a new chance at life. We are lucky enough of have the property and resources we do so we can do what we do for these cats. I would like to stress these cats are NOT PETS!! They are rescues from people who tried to make them pets and failed. I don't have any way of posting pics as of right now. But give me a couple weeks and I will have pics of everyone to share . Until then here is a bit about each of our cats.

First the little Big Cats LOL.

Bobcats

Archemedes- 6 year old male Bob. Archie as he is affectionately known was kept illegally in a basement of a drug house for his first 3 years of life. He was his owners attempt at looking tough. Its a sad life for animal but especially a beautiful wild creature to live in a dark cold basement. Archie was also abused and neglected left to starve to make him meaner. Eventually Archie was removed from that terrible place and transferred to our sanctuary. Though he has been here three years he is still not a fan of people but he really likes the other Bobs and also likes to watch the Servals. Archemedes is allowed to dislike us he is allowed to avoid our touch. He is not aggressive he is just wary. If he likes any human it would be our 14 year old daughter Tru he loves to watch her and has even come close enough for her to almost touch.

Highway- 2 year old male. Highway was confiscated when his owner was pulled over for speeding on the highway and the police found his owner had two little Bobcat cubs not even a week old in car and was planning to sell them. We were contacted and two both cubs. Unfortunately Highways little sister Freeway did not make it . Highway spent the first portion of his cub-hood living in our home with us and the dogs. He then alittle before his second birthday was moved to his enclosure with Trinity permanently. He is the doll baby of the bobs though we did our best to raise him to know he's a Bobcat and not a dog. He loves cuddles though and definately a lover.

Trinity- 3 year old female. Trinity like Highway we raised from a cub. She was actually handed over to us by her original owner. She had gotten Trinity thinking she would make a cute pet. But came to find our Bobcats airn't house cats and are stronger and airn't for the weak. She came to us at 6 months old and she has always been a spitfire and sassy pants. She is our prankster and our diva. She likes human companionship but is also independent and prone to tantrums when she doesent get her way. She is Highways "big sister" and bestfriend. Right now they share an inclosure but I would like them to join Archie and Groovey in the bigger enclosure in time. I just want to make sure Archie won't feel the need to attack Highway lol.

Groovey- 3 year old female who is our newest addition. We got her a year ago from a raid. She like Archie wasent raised in the kindest of homest and was beaten often and has the scarrs on her face to prove it. But unlike Archie for whatever reason Groovey still likes and is interested in people. She is reactive to loud voices and quick movements though. And if scared bad enough she will defend herself. She has bonded with all the Bobs and we are hoping she will be the key to help intergrate the younger Bobs in with Archie who she has under her spell. We are also hoping Groovey will help break down those walls of Archies a bit. Just to make feeding and vet exams a bit less stressful

Clouded Leopards

First of I have to say we got these two Clouded Leopards from a underground raid where they were being sold for their coats and pets. They were brought to as four week old cubs. Now here is a bit about their personalities as sisters. They are both 4 years old.

Chaos- Lol I think her name should give it away. Chaos is our zoomer like any Clouded Leopard she is amazing at climbing tree's. But she literally runs up and around from tree to tree in their enclosure. She is spazzy and will tag you if your not on your toes. She loves to play with balls and sticks and is interested in everything and everyone around her. She's my husbands favorite cat lol.

Carina- Her name means cute in Italian which fits. I have always loved Clouded Leopards. They have in my opinion the cutest faces of all the big cats. And she was so soft spirited and sweet compared to her hyper active sister as a cub it just fit. Though she is the sweeter of the girls Carina is boss and will put Chaos in her place quickly. She is a bit more wary of people she is sweetest with me but doesent like sudden movement or loud sounds. She is sensitive and also one of the less aggressive cats on the property. But she's not cuddly.

Caracal

Buddy-5 year old Buddy is our only Caracal and he is unique as they come. My son often refers to him as "The Alien" because of his big pointed narrow black ears. A Caracal is a African desert cat though they can live about anywhere. They are known for their jumping abilities and they are extremely smart. Which is why I suppose people want them as pets. Because man years ago they were trained for bird hunting and catching and so it makes them seem like good pets. But like any wild cat they are not meant to be pets and are unpredictable. Thats what happened with Buddies original owners. Buddy ended up biting his owner pretty severly and because she was always afraid of him after that he ran the place. She was afraid to call anyone about him because she owned him illegally. But eventually got our number and we agreed to take Buddy.

Buddy is not a bad cat dangerous yes but all our cats are dangerous. But Buddy is not bad he was just bored living in a little apartment Living off a improper diet and no exercise he was being built up to be a problem. Buddy came to us over weight and had no understanding of living in an enclosure. Lets just say when he came he had a rhinestone collar around his neck . We have had Buddy for two years now and he is now a wild cat again. He eats raw meat and as plenty of room to run and playmates as well. Though someday I would like to find him a friend to live in his enclosure with him. I doubt it will be anouther Caracal.

Oh and by the way. Since Buddy has been here he has never shown aggression or has ever bitten anyone.

Servals

Unfortunatly Servals have become the new big fad in pet owners. People by Serval cubs finding them adorable and bring them home thinking they would be no different than a house cat. Not so a Serval is a wild animal and it breaks my heart to see so many of them in bad homes. Okay now about our Servals.

Arizona- 9 year old female Serval. Arizona is actually from anouther big cat rescue. Her story was she was imported here as a breeding cat for some scum bag breeder who was selling the cubs as pets. Arizona was poorly socialized and they took her cubs away from her too early every time. Which left Arizona was sever emotional distress and like Buddy she attacked her owner one day after he taunted her. When she was put up for sale the original rescue got her and worked with her for three years. Though she was emotionally scarred and just all around messed up they got her to come to trust people again. Unfortunately they rescue went broke and had to rehome most of their cats including Arizona and our two large leopards. We offered to take the three of them knowing we had the money and room to care for them. They came and checked out our place and loved our enclosures. Arizona was then transferred to our sanctuary and has been here for four years. She isn't like the other two. She is not goofy and clown like but more reserved. I do love her though.

Cash- 3 year old male. Cash is Skittles brother they came to us as cubs around the same time Trinity came to us. Lol just call us Cub Care! Cash and Skittles were turned over to us when they were 4 months old. They like Trinity were also turned over by their owner who was moving and could not take them with him. He also said he had bought them to simply save them from a worse home. I beleived him as he said he was happy they would be in a natural enviroment and not kept as pets. Cash is our charmer he likes to "flirt" when the volunteers come to the enclosure fence. He loves human attention and loves to wrestle and bounce around. And though like most Servals he likes to sleep all day he will wake up when he hears a human near by and bound to the fence. Cash loves people alittle too much.

Skittles- 3 year old female. Skittles is Cash's sister and often his bully. Skittles like Cash can be sweet and fun loving but she is also in charge and she likes to show it. She often likes to challenge older Arizona. Arizona though forgives her and really she allows Skittles to be in charge. Though Servals live alone in the wild our Servals live in a large enclosure together. Big enough they can each have their own space but they also enjoy each others company. Unlike Cash Skittles loves her beauty rest and can usually be invisible in the tall grass in their enclosure sleeping sweetly. She is the queen of playing with her food and hunting small prey when given the chance. She will come up for pets but she isn't as into humans as much as her brother. She is one of my favorite cats.

Now for the

Big Cats

Snow Leopard

Skynyrd- 5 year old male. I guess Skynyrd could have been lumped in with the smaller big cats but he's still a bit bigger than all of them. Not by much but a bit. So im just lumping him in with the big guys lol. Skynyrd came with Arizona from the rescue that couldn't keep them do to money problems. Skynyrd came to us at a year old he was for sale as a cub on the black market. I am unsure what the reasoning was though I can only assume for his pelt. Though Skynyrd is sweet and likes to come to his enclosure fence when people around he is NOT one to be cuddled or truly pet. He has a temper and is very dangerous as his mood can change on a dime. He has a large enclosure to himself and he likes it that way. People are always attracted to him but that doesent mean he wants the attention. He is known to get angry at times and charge the fence. We call those his grumpy days and those are the days when only my husband can be near him.

Black Leopard

Anasazi- 6 year old male. Anasazi came to us with Arizona and Skynyrd and he is the least friendly of all our big cats. Though he has come a long way since he first came here he is the wildest of our bunch. He wants nothing to do with anyone unless they are feeding him. He is known to charge the fence often but other times he is more than happy to sleep in a tree all day. He is by far our most beautiful cat and is just all around handsome. My daughter loves to study him for her art class. He is known as the grump as he never seems to be in a nice mood. But we all love our big grump because he's being what a black leopard should be.

Cougar

Cowboy- 1 year old male. Last but not least is our newest over all big cat addition Cowboy. Cowboy is your typical puma a big dangerous doofus. We have had Cowboy since he was two months old. He came from a raid where he was being kept illegally in a suburban home. And so he came here and we have done our best to raise him as a Cougar. He is our first but we have done well like. Like all Cubs he has spent all of his cubhood in the house/nursery with us and the dogs. He also now spends his days in a small run enclosure and eventually will spends days and nights out there. By summer we plan to move him into his much larger permanent enclosure. He's a sweet old boy who likes attention and loves a good swim or game of soccer he also loves to climb. He is a big fan of the bigger dogs who he can wrestle with. But he also listens when they put him in his place.

And finally our house cats lol.

Demon- black long haired male who just showed up one day. He's named after his shocking yellow eyes and intense stare. He is really a big sweetie and belongs to my 17 year old son.

Smudge- a male brown tabby Norwegian Forest cat our only cat we ever got from a breeder. Smudge was anniversery gift from my husband not for our wedding anniversery but for the sanctuary's LOL.

Dance- female gray tabby who we got three years ago for my 14 year old daughter Tru. The cat only likes her lol and everyone else is to be cut into ribbons if they get too close.

Tiger- Orange male tabby who we got a year ago for my 10 year old daughter Hope. Tiger is also known as Garfield as he is large, fat, and loves to sleep 24/7. I must admit though he does great with a 10 year old girl playing dress up with him!

Well thats all about our cats. Like I said please do not be fooled these animals are NOT PETS. And when I am able to post pictures you will be able to tell this by their enclosures. Like I said before I should have pics to share in a couple weeks!!!

Mary_NH · Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 6:02 pm Post subject:

one question....can I come live at your house?
I foster Siamese cats and have had one that had to go live in a sancuary due to her attack behavior....but oh I would love to visit your place

Chessmind · Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 6:45 pm Post subject:

Hello and welcome to Auspet. Wow! We have never had a poster like you. Can't wait to see your pics. Such a good thing you are doing. Your the best

Bente · Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 6:55 pm Post subject:

Hi, and welcome to the cat forum Very Happy

I'm just going to repeat what Mary said: can I come live at your house? lol Mr. Green

It was really interesting reading about your sanctuary, and your animals. Sounds like you're doing a great job. Can't wait to see pics Very Happy

HDrydr · Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 7:58 pm Post subject:

All I can say is WOW!! Mr. Green

that is amazing what you are doing that is great!! I can't wait to see your pictures!! That would be very interesting to visit your place. I feel the same that everyone has been saying. WOW....
Welcome to the board!! Surprised

DogAndBigCatMomma · Member Joined: 03 Mar 2008 Posts: 28

Thanks so much everyone for the warm welcome.

It really is a great life. Tiring and tough some days but also extremely rewarding. Nothing like walking out into your "backyard" and seeing a black leopard hehe. I am living my dream as I always wanted to rescue big cats. Though I wish there was no need for my sanctuary I am thankful to be able to have this experience. And to have the money and means to live this dream as well.

Lol to those of you who want to visit. Come on over i'll put you to work LOL.

Mary_NH · Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 11:16 pm Post subject:

what state are u in?

Chezza · Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 11:51 pm Post subject:

Welcome aboard Surprised

Thats wonderful, and Yea, WOWSERS!!! Laughing

Cant wait to see some piccies.. Surprised

DogAndBigCatMomma · Member Joined: 03 Mar 2008 Posts: 28

We live in Oregon

HDrydr · Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 12:33 am Post subject:

Never been there but heard Oregon is beautiful..... Even more Beautiful with you helping out our other big cats..... Surprised