Exotic Big Cats for Sale

Exotic Big Cats for Sale - Captive big cat - this is what they look like when they are grown up. Photo by huntingdesigns published under creative commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License

Exotic Big Cats for Sale is quite a popular search term (a keyword). Note the adjective, "exotic". People seek the exotic. This suggests that a fair number of people look to buy a big cat (I guess to keep them as some sort of pet). They must be very rich, have masses of land and know a hell of a lot about keeping big cats (including the law) because if they're not they are in for a shock and it will probably, almost certainly, lead to giving up the cat to a rescue center or something worse, euthanasia. And it doesn't stop there. If there is a demand for big cats someone will supply them. Some suppliers will be less than scrupulous. Irresponsible buyers feed the market and are, in part, responsible for the breeding and death, after a short and possibly miserable life, of a fine creature.




Exotic Big Cats for Sale - Background

The person (I believe the founder) who runs and manages Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, Florida has come to understand over time the true and only way to live with big cats and indeed any wild animal. And for me that is to allow them their own space (and wild big cats need a lot of space, far more in fact than we can now give them), their own life, to allow them to exercise their right to share the planet with us and underpinning this is their right to be respected by us and to allow them their dignity. All this can only be achieved through education at both a profound level and a particular level.

At the more profound level we need to educate ourselves about ourselves. There is a high level of arrogance and ignorance. A sense that we are the top primate and we can do as we please. We cannot. We cannot do as we please because we live with other humans. The rules that ensure that we live in reasonable harmony with other people are extensive. There are far fewer rules telling us how to live with wild animals. As a result we are driven by our own self interest and low level motivators. This goes unchecked and the animals suffer. Worse in fact. In parts of the USA sport hunting is actively encouraged, it seems. Human population levels are growing unabated and little is done to address this. Habitat loss is the biggest danger to wild cats and wild animals. The wild Cougar is a classic example including the doomed Florida Cougar (Panther).

People then actively or passively allow the gradual extermination of wild cats leaving people distanced from them and distanced nature generally. This encourages the market in big cats and people looking for exotic big cats for sale. It is very odd and self destructive. We destroy animals we like. We also need to educate ourselves about the lives and deaths of the wild cats. All are endangered, some critically. The image presented by the zoos and conservationists is I believe misleading. We are heading towards the situation where there will no big wild cats, just captive breed "commercial curiosities".

Anyway turning to the subject matter of this post, Exotic Big Cats for Sale. I am sure the advice of the true experts (people who know big cats and care for them at the same time), will effectively say stop looking for Exotic Big Cats for Sale. For my part this should apply to everyone including zoos (looking long term). Many zoos or reserves keep big cats for commercial reasons (i.e. profit). There is little in the way of conservation going on (but some do good work in picking up the pieces). Have a look at the popular White Siberian Tiger for instance. The white coat is due to a recessive mutated gene. To make this gene's presence visible in a white coat, inbreeding has to take place. Inbreeding gives us the white tiger in captivity but a number of tigers are born with genetic defects as a result. We don't see these animals do we? Just the fluffy and the beautiful. What we see is not how it truly is.

Anyway, what I say will be ignored. So what does it cost to buy and keep Exotic Big Cats for Sale? These figures are my summary from the Big Cat Rescue website. They are merely a guideline as much for me as anyone who might visit this page. It is interesting to see what it might cost. Of course these costs relate to money. There will be a massive investment in time and energy in acting as a zoo keeper. Do you want to be a zoo keeper? One of the biggest single factors in keeping big cats or medium sized wild cats is that they spray urine. This is instinctive and domestic cats that aren't neutered or spayed do the same. Are you ready for a smelly home if you keep a relatively small tamed wild cat such as a Serval?

Some of the figures below can be multiplied several times in respect of some of the bigger cats.


Captive medium sized cat a Bobcat - Photo by huntingdesigns published under creative commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License

Exotic Big Cats for Sale - The Cost

Estimated amounts based on life of a medium-sized wild cat for 2 years in captivity in USA. The amounts are in $ (USD). The land cost is an estimate.

Purchase of tiger cub................................................2,500
Purchase of Bobcat for comparison..........................500
Purchase of Ocelot for comparison......................15,000
Land requirements (legal obligation) for some States are 5 acres for big cats. This figure is obviously very elastic as it depends how generous you'd like to be on space. The more the better for the cat.......50,000
Fencing.................................8,000
Cage (medium-small cat)................2,500
Food (frozen needing defrosting) and vitamins (mid sized cat)................1,460
Vaccinations (min).....................260
Worming (DIY).......................70
Flea treatments (DIY).........240
Federal permits (est.), time a trouble in store...............400
Insurance if you can get it.......................2,000
Toys (entertainment a vital ingredient in a captive space) - estimated..............300
Contingencies estimate..................2000

TOTAL....................................$67,730


Exotic Big Cats for Sale - Relationships

Can wild cats especially the big cats be genuinely friendly towards humans? The general consensus is it is dangerous to be unprotected in the same environment as a big cat. But (and this is based on a layperson's observations) it would seem that if a big cat is raised by a person the cat will remember that person and remain friendly towards him/her. The smaller cats such as the Cheetah (the biggest small cat) have definitely demonstrated the ability to be sociable with humans. Cheetahs have been tamed and trained to hunt for humans in India for example. And I am thinking of a BBC program about the big cats when one of the presenters became very friendly with a truly wild Cheetah.

I have a gut feeling that it is safe to be with the big cats under certain particular conditions the most important of which is that the cat must be fully socialized to humans during the formative months and weeks.

Exotic Big Cats for Sale - My conclusions

We should positively stop thinking of exotic big cats for sale as something we can "own" and possess. This is totally counter to the very existence of these animals. They are born to be free and to share the world with us. Lets stop trading in big cat parts as well. Chinese Medicine must be changed. We need to focus all our money not on caging and possessing these cats but in working out how we can live them while ensuring they live naturally. That above all means addressing some very fundamental issues such as human population growth and our attitudes towards them. And allowing them the space that they need.

Exotic Big Cats for Sale to Bengal tiger facts