Our EXOTIC furbabies

I'll guess that Rowdie is a Bengal Tiger.
No matter what he is I can't wait to see pictures of him.

Originally Posted by Graciecat

I'll guess that Rowdie is a Bengal Tiger.
No matter what he is I can't wait to see pictures of him.

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Eagerly awaiting pics!

I'd list every possible bread I could think of if it's get me a Carmelo kiss!

Can't wait to see more pics. Enjoy your visit with all those beautiful animals John!

I went to visit Carmelo and the whole gang at the wildcat sanctuary today.
My friends Jane, Becca, Sam & Jessica all went up. It was really a wonderful day. The weather was perfect. Low humidity and about 85 degrees. I'm a northern girl so I don't like it to be to hot, but with the heat lately I was very happy with the temp.
I took lots of pictures of the domestic cats and exotics. You can see them here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/oddbodki...ctuary06202007

I wish I had gotten to meet you and your wife, John, but it was a great day anyways and Carmelo was very welcoming and silly.
Beja was one of my favorites too. She's so goofy! She'll come over and hiss and growl at you, then roll around on her back. She reminds me of the moody female house cat that wants to sound so intimidating, but really just wants her belly rubbed.

It was a real treat to see Mouse again too. Bear has already gone to his forever home, but Mouse is so cute and playful! And so big!!!
I did not get to meet Carol as she was at the doctor with her Mom. Perhaps the next trip up.

Devlyn

You got to meet Carmelo? We're all so jealous!

Yes I sure did. The funny thing is I had already planned to go up to the wildcat sanctuary to visit as my friend's daughter works there. It was a huge coincidence to "meet" John on here in the process. The internet is cool.
I really wish I had gotten to see John interact with Carmelo. He's such a sweet boy, and yes I saw spots on his legs in some of the pics lol!
John, I heard that Bejah nipped at you a bit. Are you doing ok? And how was your visit?
Jess told us about the visit to see Rowdie and that she got to pet him. Man! If only we had been able to go up on Thursday!

Devlyn

Originally Posted by gemlady

You got to meet Carmelo? We're all so jealous!

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OK, it is Saturday night, and I have been on this thread for 3+ hours reading the ENTIRE thing!! It is truly amazing that you are able to interact with these gorgeous cats. I have always dreamed of being able to hug, or play with a big cat. Like others on here, I am living that through you now.

If you decide to make calendars or something, maybe they will allow you to put up some sort of thread on here to sell them. I would buy one!

Good luck with the property search!!

Originally Posted by Devlyn

I really wish I had gotten to see John interact with Carmelo. He's such a sweet boy, and yes I saw spots on his legs in some of the pics lol!
John, I heard that Bejah nipped at you a bit. Are you doing ok? And how was your visit?
Jess told us about the visit to see Rowdie and that she got to pet him. Man! If only we had been able to go up on Thursday!

Devlyn

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Well Devlyn, since you saw spots, my wife will say Carmelo is still a cub I am gald that you had a good time. As for Bejah nipping me, I will explain this in detail. Lets just put it this way, it wasn't just a nip Yes, I am ok and I will live But, I tell everyone that I always wanted a tattoo, so now I have one on my had Oh and I have one on my back, courtesy of Montana. Did I every explain that one? Hmmm, I will have to tell that story too I guess. As for Rowdie, he is awesome and I have oh so many pictures to share.

I'd list every possible bread I could think of if it's get me a Carmelo kiss!

Can't wait to see more pics. Enjoy your visit with all those beautiful animals John

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Well, you can come and get a Carmelo kiss anytime you like, as long as I am there
Well, it is almost 1am and I have to get up for work in a little over 3 hours. I just got home about 2 hours ago. I had to spend some time with our domestics and the bobcats before I go to sleep or should I say, take a nap

Need a picture fix! More pics!

Originally Posted by Arielrain

Need a picture fix! More pics!

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Oh, I have lots of pictures of Rowdy, I will post them as soon as I can. No new pictures of my kids however....sorry

We're looking forward to see the new pics!! I also hope that you are doing well too and that your hand heals very quickly! (also would love to hear the storys on both of those tattoos! )

Originally Posted by SillyJilly

We're looking forward to see the new pics!! I also hope that you are doing well too and that your hand heals very quickly! (also would love to hear the storys on both of those tattoos!

)

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My hand is doing ok....I should take pictures As for the tattoos, they are not real tatoos, but permanent marks left by certain feline friends of mine

Kitty tattoos The joy of working with cats, especially big cats

I'm hoping hoping hoping Rowdie is a Bengal Tiger - can't wait to see pics!!!!

Thanks as always for keeping us up to date with your crew.

And Devlyn - I'm soooooo jealous!!!! How gorgeous is Kisa - what a sweetheart!!!

Originally Posted by sarahp

Kitty tattoos

The joy of working with cats, especially big cats

I'm hoping hoping hoping Rowdie is a Bengal Tiger - can't wait to see pics!!!!

Thanks as always for keeping us up to date with your crew.

And Devlyn - I'm soooooo jealous!!!! How gorgeous is Kisa - what a sweetheart!!!

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Yes, these big cats sure can give you some good tattoos Rowdy is a Bengal Tiger, I guess I gave to many hints So all who had the right answer get a nice Carmelo kiss

wow What beautiful animals...

Originally Posted by AmberThe Bobcat

My hand is doing ok....I should take pictures

As for the tattoos, they are not real tatoos, but permanent marks left by certain feline friends of mine

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Yeah I figured that much but am glad that your hand is doing ok. Keep the healing up!

Originally Posted by SillyJilly

Yeah I figured that much but am glad that your hand is doing ok. Keep the healing up!

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It still hurts, but it is ok. What happened was this. Since it has been very dry these past 2 months, we are having a major fly problem at the sanctuary. This is due to a chicken farm, that is just a few miles away from the facility. This chicken farm has some EPA violations as well. Since it has been very dry, these flies are biting a lot. They bite to get moisture and I have been bitten a lot. Well, the cats are getting these same flies biting them and they are biting the cats ears really bad (Mainly the cougars for some reason, especially Carmelo, Bejah and Shawnee) We have an ointment to put on their ears that helps heal and prevent the flies from biting. Poor Bejah was getting bitten so bad on her ears, that they were bleeding. So we had to put this oinment on her ears and I chose to do it, because Bejah really likes me. I don't know if this oinment stings or not, it doesn't burn or sting on my hand, but when I rubbed it on Bejah's ear, as soon as I hit the area that was bleeding, she turned and grabbed my hand and held on. After about 10 seconds, she let go. Now, this is not her fault. It had to be done to help her ears and this is something you have to be willing to accept, if you are going to care for these cats. We were hoping to find a spray on remedy, but had no luck so far. I am going to try a long swab to apply the ointment to her ears. If it rains, it should help control this fly problem too. So, this is how it happened. It wasn't because Bejah is mean or vicious, her ears are being bitten by these annoying flies, something that has me irritated as well.

Awwwwww poor Cougars!!!!

That makes sense now! Bejah, despite all her growly/hissyness, didn't seem vicious to me. I've had the same thing happen with horses. I was petting one by a fence at my friend's pasture when all of a sudden he whipped his head around taking me full force in the chest and planting me on my ass. I was 9 or 10 at the time. I had a bruise the size of a dinner plate on my chest for weeks. A fly was biting him and apparently it hurt because he was a very gentle horse.
I noticed that Carmelo had a patch of bugs on his back. It was so gross and I brushed them away but they just came back. I got bit a few times myself on the ankles. Poor Bejah, that must have been pretty painful for her to react like that.

I hope you're doing well now John. Get any stitches?

Devlyn

Originally Posted by Devlyn

A fly was biting him and apparently it hurt because he was a very gentle horse.
I noticed that Carmelo had a patch of bugs on his back. It was so gross and I brushed them away but they just came back. I got bit a few times myself on the ankles. Poor Bejah, that must have been pretty painful for her to react like that.

I hope you're doing well now John. Get any stitches?

Devlyn

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Those flies do hurt when they bite and I feel so bad for them. Those bugs on Carmelo's back were those flies, but they don't seem to be able to bite through his fur on his back. The ears do have some fur, but it is very thin and short, so the flies can bite them there. Carmelo likes to sleep in the grass in the shade, instead of his den box and the flies were biting his feet too If you ever meet Carol, ask her how much she loves them flies. You should hear some of the things she says when they bite her We also put out some fly bate traps by the enclosures and the perimeter of the property. I hope this helps as well.
No, I didn't need any stitches. It was mainly 2 deep puncture wounds. We cleaned them very well and washed them out with chlorhexadine solution. (Carol had fun with this. She took a syringe, without a needle, filled with chlorhexdine and injected it into the wound, until it came out the other side. As Carol stated, this was going to hurt me more than it did her and I agree )