big cats and things

i'm marcus, and i'm kind of obsessed with tigers.

[tessgarman]

[tessgarman]

[sdzoo]

Like other larger cats, snow leopards hiss, growl, moan, and yowl, but they do not roar. (video by Mike Wilson)

[panthxra]

& what really gets my goat is that the girl who responded with "I let my kitties CHOOSE inside or outside" literally claims she worked for the carnivore section at a zoo and therefore she should have NO EXCUSE to be that ignorant about outside cats. What a joke. Unfortunately, I see a lot of "educated" people out there with this stand point and it drives me nuts that they won't budge even after an in depth conversation.

I SAW THAT TOO and i was like ... Holy Shit how do you not know about conservation and welfare and basic animal care when you work with animals esp similar animals at a good zoo (chester zoo is good) lmfao?? god

[panthxra]

outdoor cat owners think critically and keep your buffoonery out of my notifications challenge

[realoutdoorcats]

[mostlyvoidpartiallydragons]

Speaking as someone whose parents and family members still refuse to be persuaded to keep their cats inside, if your cat dies as a result of being allowed to roam freely, whether hit by a car or killed by another animal or disease or whatever, that’s 100% on you. The owner of the cat is responsible for the death of that animal as surely as if they killed it themselves because it was completely preventable. This makes people upset to hear, but you can’t claim to love something in one breath and then completely abandon them to the many dangers of the world in the next. If you love your pet you do everything in your power to keep it safe.

[carsons-critters-deactivated202]

We need to keep saying “what happens to an outdoor cat is 110% the owners fault” until owners realize this. That person who hit the cat probably already felt horrible and if they couldn’t stop, they couldn’t stop. They didn’t mean “I was too busy, I couldn’t care to stop” they were literally saying “they could not physically stop the car in time to not hit the cat”. It was never their fault, and it wasn’t the cat’s either because they don’t know any better. It’s 110% the owners fault and I’m going to keep saying it until every horrible cat owner puts there cat back inside where it belongs.

Also think about your kids if you don’t care for the cat. How do you think that 9 year old, who didn’t know outdoor cats were bad, felt? They had no idea this would happen because of their ignorant parents. Their parents ended a life and damaged their child’s. This is a traumatizing event for a young child. And it’s so unfair for everyone involved… Except the parent obviously.

Just keep your damn cat inside or do an actual humane thing and just don’t fucking get one.

[boytoydiviision]

K all of this makes sense, but cats are meant to roam and play. You SHOULD let your cat outside, at least into the backyard if you feel safer that way, so they can get the excersize they need to live a happy life. Also, this play time ensures that the cat’s extra energy burns (mostly) off and they won’t destroy your belongings because they’re just so. bored. that they scratch things. Train it to walk on a leash if you have to, but let your cats outside.

[catsindoors]

Although contained outdoor time or walks on a leash are good enrichment they’re not a necessity, cats can thrive without ever being allowed outside in any capacity.

If your cat is bored and destructive inside it’s because you are not engaging in enough interactive play to keep them entertained, it’s because you are not providing them with enough environmental enrichment to meet their needs.

[catsindoors]

I should be going to sleep but I’m a sucker so I’m going to break this down instead.

Cats require exercise, this is integral to both their physical and emotional wellbeing. Permitting them unrestricted outdoor access can absolutely meet their exercise needs, but it is not safe to do so, and as their caregivers we must balance their health and their happiness instead of choosing one over the other.

The reason there’s this misconception of indoor cats being bored and depressed, which can lead to inactivity and weight gain, or destructive is because cat owners do not play with their cats enough.

Only 64% of the owners in this study played with their cats twice a day, of that a meager 25% reported 10 minute play sessions. It was also reported that the cats with 5 minute play sessions displayed fewer behavioral problems than those with 1 minute play sessions.

Engage your cat! There’s this huge misconception that cats are low maintenance pets, they’re aloof and independent and they’ll take care of themselves and that’s not true! They need more from than to leave out some toys and scoop their box.

Jane Ehrlich, from the cat division of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants, recommends multiple 20 minute sessions of real interactive play each day. A key term here is real, behaviorist Pam-Johnson Bennett has an article on proper interactive play with cats, it’s important to be involved and to let them complete the sequence of the kill.

Environmental enrichment matters too! Outdoors your cat doesn’t just get exercise stalking prey [or running from loose dogs, fighting other cats, etc] you’ll often see them climbing trees, atop of fences, and so on.

They need this indoors too! A study at the Waltham Research Center found that after being provided with vertical territory unfriendly behavior increased when the vertical territory was removed, this may be a huge contributor to the problems some experience when trying to bring free-roaming cats indoors for good.

“”Not everyone can do this!”” Interactive play and environmental enrichment are the minimum standards of care for a cat, if you’re unable to meet the bare minimum standards of care for an animal you should not have that pet. You are not owed a cat, you are not entitled to one, if you’re unable to adequately provide for a cat than do not have a cat.

There are people who work full-time jobs, who work multiple jobs, who attend school, who live with mental and/or physical disabilities, who live in small apartments, who have a low income, etc. and are still able to meet their cats needs. I know because many of my followers fall into one, or more, of the aforementioned categories.

Cats are a menace to the environment. This pertains to the persons tags, the damage domestic cats do to the environment is so well documented I can’t believe people still try to deny it. Them again, there are still people who deny climate change, so I guess it isn’t too suprising.

There’s not only the issue of mortality due to predation, but cat saliva is full of pathogens that birds, reptiles, and rodents are sensitive to. Even if a captured prey-item is alert and unharmed to the untrained eye they may still die later as a result of being exposed to these pathogens, as a result of the stress of being predated upon, or as a result of internal trauma that can’t be detected without being seen by a wildlife veterinarian.

The mere presence of free-roaming cats is also known to have sub-lethal effects on bird populations, resulting in parents visiting the nest less frequently reducing the amount of feeding juveniles receive and leaving them exposed to other predators.

You’ll often hear outdoor cat proponents claim it’s feral cats that are an ecological disaster, not their beloved Fluffy, but I’ve broken down before how owned free-roaming cats are far from blameless.

[theawkwarddiabetic-blog]

Ok the first couple of responses to this post really wound me up. I have always owned cats and they have always been outside cats. My mum then bought a pedigree and wanted to keep him in just in case he was taken, even though she lives in a really quiet area. After we had him neutured he was going crazy, climbing curtains, breaking things, attacking everything in sight, so eventually we let him out and honestly he loves it. He is never in. He will be out for 4/5 hours, come in for food and to see us and then is straight back out. He’s happy outside. I own 2 cats myself and we have a male and a female. Our male was feral and caught when he was 5 weeks old as part of a trap, neuter, release programme. He was then deamed friendly enough to be rehomed rather than released back to his colony after being castrated. We kept them in until they were 1+ but all that time he used to sit by the window and cry to be let out. He LOVES being outside and needs constant entertainment which the outside can give him, chasing things, climbing, even socialising with other cats. On the other hand our female cat HATES the outside and would 100% want to be an indoor cat. All she does is sleep and eat and goes out to poop and then runs back in. I let my cats choose where they want to be. Do not tell me cats are supposed to be indoors because cats are the best combination of domesticated & wild. If anything happened to my cats I would be distraught, however accidents happen. This post is basically telling people to keep their cats hostage “just in case”. I could get hit by a car, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t go outside. Cats need the enrichment, exercise, socialisation, exposure and sense overload that comes with being outside. We can’t provide that for them in a house. My male cat loves other cats and spending time with them but my female hates him and just wants to be left alone so he doesn’t get that social enrichment indoors. Cats are very individual.

[panthxra]

"best combination of domesticated and wild" theyre 10000 (that is ten THOUSAND) years removed from the wild lmfao theyre domesticated and dont belong outside at all unless on a leash. also great to know you dont give a fuck about your local wildlife lmfao

hold their cats HOSTAGE LMFAO god youre an absolute fucking idiot if through this whole longass post where op literally Broke It Down for you you somehow felt the need to still defend outdoor cats

also thats a HORRIBLE comparison bc you know how to navigate the road and to look both ways and to take precautions to lower your chances of being hit. i dont care how smart you think your cat is, it, on the other hand, does not know how to navigate roads and cars and thus has a higher chance of getting hit. please think critically lmfao if not for yourself then for the sake of your cats

if your cat isnt getting the enrichment and care it needs inside youre a bad cat owner and you shouldnt have one

[realoutdoorcats]

[mostlyvoidpartiallydragons]

Speaking as someone whose parents and family members still refuse to be persuaded to keep their cats inside, if your cat dies as a result of being allowed to roam freely, whether hit by a car or killed by another animal or disease or whatever, that’s 100% on you. The owner of the cat is responsible for the death of that animal as surely as if they killed it themselves because it was completely preventable. This makes people upset to hear, but you can’t claim to love something in one breath and then completely abandon them to the many dangers of the world in the next. If you love your pet you do everything in your power to keep it safe.

[carsons-critters-deactivated202]

We need to keep saying “what happens to an outdoor cat is 110% the owners fault” until owners realize this. That person who hit the cat probably already felt horrible and if they couldn’t stop, they couldn’t stop. They didn’t mean “I was too busy, I couldn’t care to stop” they were literally saying “they could not physically stop the car in time to not hit the cat”. It was never their fault, and it wasn’t the cat’s either because they don’t know any better. It’s 110% the owners fault and I’m going to keep saying it until every horrible cat owner puts there cat back inside where it belongs.

Also think about your kids if you don’t care for the cat. How do you think that 9 year old, who didn’t know outdoor cats were bad, felt? They had no idea this would happen because of their ignorant parents. Their parents ended a life and damaged their child’s. This is a traumatizing event for a young child. And it’s so unfair for everyone involved… Except the parent obviously.

Just keep your damn cat inside or do an actual humane thing and just don’t fucking get one.

[boytoydiviision]

K all of this makes sense, but cats are meant to roam and play. You SHOULD let your cat outside, at least into the backyard if you feel safer that way, so they can get the excersize they need to live a happy life. Also, this play time ensures that the cat’s extra energy burns (mostly) off and they won’t destroy your belongings because they’re just so. bored. that they scratch things. Train it to walk on a leash if you have to, but let your cats outside.

[catsindoors]

Although contained outdoor time or walks on a leash are good enrichment they’re not a necessity, cats can thrive without ever being allowed outside in any capacity.

If your cat is bored and destructive inside it’s because you are not engaging in enough interactive play to keep them entertained, it’s because you are not providing them with enough environmental enrichment to meet their needs.

[catsindoors]

I should be going to sleep but I’m a sucker so I’m going to break this down instead.

Cats require exercise, this is integral to both their physical and emotional wellbeing. Permitting them unrestricted outdoor access can absolutely meet their exercise needs, but it is not safe to do so, and as their caregivers we must balance their health and their happiness instead of choosing one over the other.

The reason there’s this misconception of indoor cats being bored and depressed, which can lead to inactivity and weight gain, or destructive is because cat owners do not play with their cats enough.

Only 64% of the owners in this study played with their cats twice a day, of that a meager 25% reported 10 minute play sessions. It was also reported that the cats with 5 minute play sessions displayed fewer behavioral problems than those with 1 minute play sessions.

Engage your cat! There’s this huge misconception that cats are low maintenance pets, they’re aloof and independent and they’ll take care of themselves and that’s not true! They need more from than to leave out some toys and scoop their box.

Jane Ehrlich, from the cat division of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants, recommends multiple 20 minute sessions of real interactive play each day. A key term here is real, behaviorist Pam-Johnson Bennett has an article on proper interactive play with cats, it’s important to be involved and to let them complete the sequence of the kill.

Environmental enrichment matters too! Outdoors your cat doesn’t just get exercise stalking prey [or running from loose dogs, fighting other cats, etc] you’ll often see them climbing trees, atop of fences, and so on.

They need this indoors too! A study at the Waltham Research Center found that after being provided with vertical territory unfriendly behavior increased when the vertical territory was removed, this may be a huge contributor to the problems some experience when trying to bring free-roaming cats indoors for good.

“”Not everyone can do this!”” Interactive play and environmental enrichment are the minimum standards of care for a cat, if you’re unable to meet the bare minimum standards of care for an animal you should not have that pet. You are not owed a cat, you are not entitled to one, if you’re unable to adequately provide for a cat than do not have a cat.

There are people who work full-time jobs, who work multiple jobs, who attend school, who live with mental and/or physical disabilities, who live in small apartments, who have a low income, etc. and are still able to meet their cats needs. I know because many of my followers fall into one, or more, of the aforementioned categories.

Cats are a menace to the environment. This pertains to the persons tags, the damage domestic cats do to the environment is so well documented I can’t believe people still try to deny it. Them again, there are still people who deny climate change, so I guess it isn’t too suprising.

There’s not only the issue of mortality due to predation, but cat saliva is full of pathogens that birds, reptiles, and rodents are sensitive to. Even if a captured prey-item is alert and unharmed to the untrained eye they may still die later as a result of being exposed to these pathogens, as a result of the stress of being predated upon, or as a result of internal trauma that can’t be detected without being seen by a wildlife veterinarian.

The mere presence of free-roaming cats is also known to have sub-lethal effects on bird populations, resulting in parents visiting the nest less frequently reducing the amount of feeding juveniles receive and leaving them exposed to other predators.

You’ll often hear outdoor cat proponents claim it’s feral cats that are an ecological disaster, not their beloved Fluffy, but I’ve broken down before how owned free-roaming cats are far from blameless.

[cats-and-company]

Queen.

[candiikismet]

I always have to reboot this.

[ordinaryredtail]

For anyone wondering, this is amazing enrichment for the animal and a great way to involve guests! The lions aren’t forced to play with the rope if they don’t want to, and these guys (and anyone else who tries this out) have an awesome close up and hands on experience, all without having to come in direct contact with the cat!

[little-miss-mash]

@why-animals-do-the-thing

[why-animals-do-the-thing]

This definitely counts as #actually cute. This video is from the San Antonio Zoo, and the lioness’ name is Axelle. As @ordinaryredtail said above, the tug of war interaction is entirely voluntary on her part.

My guess is that the zoo staff did use some positive reinforcement training to teach her how to pick up and pull on the rope at first, because that’s not necessary something a lion would just do on their own. While it’s also probable that she’s rewarded with something tasty did choosing to engage with the members of the public like this, Axelle wouldn’t be engaging if it was a negative experience for her (there aren’t enough snacks in the world to coerce a lion into doing something they find actively distressing). If she didn’t want to participate, she could just walk away.

Some sanctuary and animal rights groups have taken issue with this interaction because they consider it unethical to ask a lion to engage in any “unnatural behavior” “for the benefit of the public,” calling it exploitation. It is worth keeping in mind, however, that learning and engaging in novel behaviors is hugely enriching for animals in human care, and that lions have no concept of exploitation. As long as the lion is not bothered by the presence or noise of the crowd, is not injured or harmed, and is engaging on an entirely voluntary basis, this sort of thing is entirely ethical. It is far safer than any type of interaction where a member of the public is coming into direct context with a big cat, but still allows people to directly experience the sheer strength of a lion up close.

[superbnature]

Run, Cheetah Run! # II by kawasemi1 http://ift.tt/1rXfmQE

[why-animals-do-the-thing]

This image beautifully illustrates how cheetah use their tails to aid in changing direction and for counterbalance when running at speed.

[blackbackedjackal]

African lion

[end0skeletal]

Indian Jungle Cat by Rajdeep Jadeja

The jungle cat (Felis chaus), also called reed cat and swamp cat, is a medium-sized cat native to the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia and southern China. It inhabits foremost wetlands like swamps with dense vegetation.

[earthlynation-blog]

It Ain’t Necessarily So. Photo by NB Photo Art

[kelptroll]

carnivora

[devinellekurtz]

One day I will have a blep of every creature that can blep. From the LA Zoo today

[devinellekurtz]

[cute-animals-only]

Rescued Pallas’s cat kitten eye colour changed from blue to yellow just before she was two months old. 

[theotherwesley]

I HAVE NEVER BEFORE SEEN A PALLAS CAT IN BABY SIZE

[admirable-mairon]

HELP

[tiger-in-the-flightdeck]

I thought they just manifested fully formed and full of rage

[gamingphotographer]

Oregon Zoo tiger 

[fruitsaladchewits-deactivated20]

Photographer Mattias Klum from National Geographic gets close and personal with a lion.

[bad-vegan-wolves]

“and all of a sudden you feel very small” damn right

[silk-floss]

IT JUST WANTS TO BE LOVED AND SAVED

[fhaun-deactivated]

please, if you are able, do what you can for the asiatic lion. donate, get involved, spread information. there are only about 300 left in the world, and they all live in Gir Forest National Park in India.

the african lion is also estimated to be extinct by 2050 due to habitat loss, sport hunting, and loss of their prey base to the bushmeat trade. these beautiful creatures could be extinct in our lifetime. the next generation may not ever have the chance to see these creatures, there will be no more cute lion vines, there will be no more documentaries, there will be no more zoos or sanctuaries containing lions. there will be no more lions.

if you have any love for nature, any love for animals, any love for life, and if you care at all about the permanent loss of a species, especially one so beautiful and iconic, if you care and if you are able, please donate to help save lions.

The Lion Conservation Fund

The African Wildlife Foundation

The World Wildlife Foundation

[reylo-junkyard]

Not relevant to my blog, but my inner nature lover is calling

[falling-rivers]

Saw someone once posted a review on a book that said lions dont live in India; sad that some people dont even know they exist.