Every year, hundreds of big cat breeds find homes in cat rescues. It starts out simple; a person decides that they want to own a big cat, such as a tiger or mountain lion or some other exotic wildcat breed. This person buys the cat either legally or, more often than not, through the black market. At first, the cuddly little cub is a pleasure to have. The cub is small and easy to handle. But small cats grow into big cats with big claws, big teeth and big appetites.

Big cats end up in rescue operations when the owners find themselves unable to handle their “pet” any longer. The owner might abandon the animal, thinking that wilderness instincts will help it survive. The owner may simply choose to neglect the big cats needs or cage it in living quarters too small. Sometimes the feline harms a human by attacking. Authorities step in and try to help the situation, but many times, big cats need to be put down. If they are lucky, the cat might find a home at a rescue shelter.

A zoo is not an option. Many times, this is where the trade started. Unscrupulous zoos breed big cats in captivity to increase attendance at the zoo because the public enjoys seeing new babies. When the felines are grown, the public loses interest, and the zoo can’t support the larger cat. The animal is sold off to private brokers who then turn around and sell the animals to the public. Anyone might end up with the feline. Even worse, that owner might try to breed the cat to have another cub or to sell cubs to his friends. When this happens, the cycle begins all over again.

More: continue here

Quickly bookmark The Big Cat Breeds And Rescue Shelters at:                                                

This entry was posted on Monday, May 21st, 2007 at 5:18 am and is filed under Pets & Animals. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.