The Keeper Tour at Big Cat Rescue

On Saturday, I went to Big Cat Rescue in Tampa for the Keeper Tour. Big Cat Rescue is a sanctuary for exotic cats who have been abused, orphaned, rescued from fur farms or simply abandoned because their owners didn’t understand the realities of owning a large cat as a “pet”. Each cat at BCR has a story. There is Nikita the lioness who was used as a guard in a drug house and was found chained in the basement. Hoover the tiger was the sole big cat survivor of an illegal zoo in Peru. Moses the bobcat was four weeks old and almost dead when someone dumped him in front of BCR’s gates. Kricket the serval was raised as a house cat until her owners divorced and decided they didn’t have time for her anymore. At Big Cat Rescue, these cats are given a chance to live out the rest of the lives in peace.

I’ve been to BCR twice for the Day Tour but this was my first time taking the Keeper Tour. On this 2-hour tour I got to witness some of inner workings of the sanctuary, such as how the keepers use enrichment and operant conditioning with the cats. Our tour group was made up of eleven guests and two guides - keeper Alyssa and intern Dylan who acted as a “back up”, making sure the group stayed together and answering questions when Alyssa needed to focus on interacting safely with the cats.

We started the tour by making enrichment treats. First we filled small bags with spices like nutmeg, oregano, pumpkin pie spice and even catnip which we rolled up so they would fit through the enclosure screens. We also sprayed cardboard tubes with different perfumes to see which scents the cats liked best. Wisely, Alyssa had us spray the tubes last because it got fume-y pretty quickly inside the small room. (If you have a perfume sensitivity, you could step outside for this part.) Then we walked through the 67-acre property as Alyssa handed out our enrichment treats to the cats. Since BCR is a sanctuary, not a zoo where animals are on display or trained to perform for entertainment, the cats themselves chose whether or not to come over and check out their treats. If you have a domestic cat at home, you know cats will do what they want. :-)  In a way, this makes the tours at BCR more interesting because you don’t know which cats you are going to see. You could go on the same tour multiple times and see different cats each time. Some cats decided they would rather keep their distance or take a nap. Other cats loved the treats and played with or rolled around on their spice bags.

Alyssa also had a cooler full of small pieces of meat which she used to demonstrate operant conditioning. The keepers use positive reinforcement (clickers and food) to teach the cats critical behaviors such as sitting or standing so their paws or belly can be observed for health checks. When a cat followed a command from Alyssa, she would put a piece of meat on the end of a long stick to pass to the cat through the enclosure.

Over the course of two hours, we saw bobcats, servals, cougars, leopards and a jaguar, lions and several tigers. The markings and colors of the tigers were magnificent, and I loved the big ears and curious faces of the servals. But I think my favorites were the cougars. Reise, who is 23 years old and obviously suffering from arthritis, still came out to play with her enrichment treat. And Orion, one of three siblings whose mother was killed by a hunter when they were cubs, mewed happily when he spotted one of his favorite staff members. So sweet.

Big Cat Rescue’s mission has two parts - to provide the best care possible for their cats and also to end the abuse of big cats so that sanctuaries will not be needed in the future. They believe that wild cats are meant to stay in the wild and they actively support legislation to end private ownership of exotic cats. You can be a voice for cats too. Here are some ways you can help:

1. Take a tour at Big Cat Rescue and learn about the issues that exotic cats face.    
2. Sponsor a cat through the BCR’s adoption program.  All donations go directly to the care and feeding of the cats.
3. Sign up for Amazon Smile and have 0.5% of your purchases donated to BCR.
4. Call your congressman and ask him or her to support the Big Cat Public Safety Act to ban private ownership and breeding except by licensed and qualified facilities. (For more information, click here.)

Thurston

Bailey playing with her enrichment treat

Operant conditioning

a sleepy serval

Alyssa with Reise

Manny, one of BCR's newest residents

Armani has her eyes on the prize

Orion

Priya says hello

Dutchess

Travel tips: Besides the Keeper Tour, Big Cat Rescue also offers a Day Tour, a Feeding Tour and a Kid’s Tour (for groups with children under age 10). All tours are guided, and tickets must be purchased in advance. See https://bigcatrescue.org for details.

my little cat rescue