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Mix cat food, the only one cats ask for
by name. With 65 acres and almost 100
residents, feeding time at Big Cat
rescue's a full-scale operation. We feed
out approximately 2,000 pounds of meat
every week. The sanctuary is split into
four separate feeding routes: front,
center, back, and out back. So, this is
our food prep area where the process
begins every single day of the year, and
this is how we do it.
Interns begin prepping all the feeding
routes and diets for the cats at around
noon each day, and it takes several hours.
Working from the feeding sheets, which
list all of the cats on the property,
they know exactly how much food to
designate to each feeding route, which
cats get different portion sizes, and if
there's any special diets that need to
be made up for the cats that have any
issues, such as being unable to process
fur and bone, or soft food diets for
older cats are at minimal teeth. Our menu
consists of a carnivore diet with added
nutrients and minerals, beef, and chicken.
We also feed out whole prey twice a
week, which is a great way to include all
the nutrient-rich organs and bones in
our cat's diet.
Plus, it enriches their lives, stimulating
many natural behaviors while they're in
captivity. The last thing we do is
prepare different quantities of a joint
supplement for the feeding routes. Since
many of our cats are elderly with
mobility issues, we want to make them as
comfortable as possible during their
retirement in Florida.
Once food prep is complete, keepers
then close our lock outs for our tigers,
lions, clawed leopards, and Cougars plus a
few of our smaller cats that are just a
little too enthusiastic at dinner time.
We also separate any cats that become
aggressive with one another, or steal
food from the other cat. This is a
lockout; as you can see, it's a
smaller addition on the side of their
enclosure. All the cats have at least one
lockout where they can find fresh water
24/7, and it's also where we feed them
every day. As their name implies, we
simply lower the doors before feeding
time, locking the cats out of that space,
so when the feeders arrive later on they
can safely place the food on the slab
without the cat being there, then open it
up and let the cat in. Feeding time is
the most important part of the day to
observe the cats. In the mornings, we
clean the enclosures and can often get a
good look at them, but sometimes they're
sleeping in the middle of the enclosures
or they're hidden amongst the
vegetation. So when they're in the
lockouts, we can observe them up close
from every angle. With the diets prepped
and the lockouts down, all we have to do,
now, is feed about a hundred exotic cats.
Feeders are assigned to each route, and
then we load up and head out. The sound
of the food carts approaching is like
ringing the dinner bell at Big Cat
Rescue and this is without a doubt the
favorite time of day for the cats.
All four routes have a laminated sheet
they work from, to see exactly what each
cat is to be fed on that particular day,
and cats on special diets are
highlighted. Then the joint supplement is
mixed into the carnivore diet before
feeding out to the cats. All of our
keepers are trained to observe the cats
at feeding time. We can watch them as
they walk up to their lockouts,
to make sure they're not limping or
anything like that, and then make sure we
get a good look at them all over once
they're eating in the lockout. If we do
observe anything wrong with a particular
cat, such as limping, any external
injuries, such as a cut or swelling.
They could be struggling to eat their
food. Maybe, they're not even interested
in their food. We can call the route
leader over to our location so they can
observe them, too. If possible, we video
or take photos of the animals, so we have
a reference and we can share them with
our vets, as well. Then, those images and
videos are kept on file for future use.
On average, it takes around an hour or so
to feed the entire sanctuary. At the end
of each route, the senior keepers read
out all the names of the cats to make
sure they've all been fed, and nobody's
been missed.
Then, once the feeders are back at food
prep, they can log any observations
online so the staff and vets can see if
there's any more cats that need to be
observed.
We, then, bag up and label any remaining
food, check the sheet and take out food
for the following day, clean all the
feeding buckets, wipe down and sanitize
the food carts, and sweep and mop food prep.
[Music] EDITED-AP-DQ