 | A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject.(February 2019) |
The Exotic Feline Rescue Center (EFRC) is a wildlife preserve for exotic felines in the United States established in 1991 and located in Center Point, Indiana.
The EFRC is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization and the second-largest big cat rescue in the United States, spanning over 200 acres (0.81 km2). [1] [2] Abused, disabled, and otherwise homeless wild cats such as Lions, tigers, leopards, servals, pumas, bobcats, Canada lynx, ocelots, Geoffroy's cat, and an Asian leopard cat have taken refuge in this organization. [3] [4] An on-site clinic provides veterinary care and education on big cats to the public. The EFRC does not buy, sell, or breed animals. [5] [2]
The EFRC is the focus of several books published by Indiana University Press, including Saving the Big Cats (2006) [6] and Tales From the Exotic Feline Rescue Center (2016). [7]
The EFRC was featured in the 2009 movie The Tiger Next Door [8] and was the subject of a TV documentary in the same year. [9]
Over a two-year period (2008-2009), Dr. Susan Linville at the Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior (CISAB) [10] and Dr. Helena Sioni at the Institute for Pheromone Research, both located at Indiana University, [11] conducted a research project with lions, tigers, cougars, and leopards at the EFRC to study rubbing behavior and the potential deposition of pheromones during the activity. [12]
In 2009, a research project was conducted by several veterinarians from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, College of Veterinary Medicine. [13] Under the direction of Dr. Stuart Clark-Price, immobilization and anesthesia methods for tigers were assessed in order to optimize protocols and improve animal safety during anesthesia. During these procedures, veterinary ophthalmologists gathered routine measurements on the tigers' eyes to establish normal parameters for this species. Collected information was to be used to improve current therapies and establish a basis for the treatment of eye diseases in tigers. Dental examinations were also performed by The Peter Emily International Veterinary Dental Foundation [14] to determine the current condition of each tiger’s teeth and the potential need for future dental care. Any needed dental treatments were performed by board-certified veterinary dentists free of charge. Other information, including normal blood values and anti-body levels of different diseases were evaluated to improve the care of these tigers and to enhance global care for the species.[ citation needed ]
The EFRC offers internships for college students and credit is offered for students at Indiana University through the Center for Integrative Study of Animal Behavior. [15]
On June 21, 2013, a tiger mauled a caretaker who was cleaning its cage, biting her head during the attack. The unidentified 21-year-old woman was airlifted to Wishard Memorial Hospital and was in critical but non-life-threatening condition. [16] As a result of the incident, the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration conducted an inspection and, in November 2013, fined the center $56,000 for "knowing" violations and $13,000 for "serious" violations, including dangerous conditions likely to cause death or physical harm to employees. [17] Three days after the incident, Ann Marie Houser, an animal care inspector from the USDA, visited the center to investigate. Houser noticed an issue with the enclosure door, a gap measuring 4 to 6 inches, which the facility benefactor, Taft, had attempted to fix with the use of a piece of rebar, a reinforcing bar. It was Houser's finding that this repair prohibited the cage from functioning properly in an emergency. [18]
The cat, also referred to as the domestic cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the domestication of the cat occurred in the Near East around 7500 BC. It is commonly kept as a pet and farm cat, but also ranges freely as a feral cat avoiding human contact. Valued by humans for companionship and its ability to kill vermin, the cat's retractable claws are adapted to killing small prey such as mice and rats. It has a strong, flexible body, quick reflexes, and sharp teeth, and its night vision and sense of smell are well developed. It is a social species, but a solitary hunter and a crepuscular predator. Cat communication includes vocalizations—including meowing, purring, trilling, hissing, growling, and grunting—as well as body language. It can hear sounds too faint or too high in frequency for human ears, such as those made by small mammals. It secretes and perceives pheromones.
The Bengal cat is a breed of hybrid cat created from crossing of an Asian leopard cat with domestic cats, especially the spotted Egyptian Mau. It is then usually bred with a breed that demonstrates a friendlier personality, because after breeding a domesticated cat with a wildcat, its friendly personality may not manifest in the kitten. The breed's name derives from the leopard cat's taxonomic name.
Onychectomy, popularly known as declawing, is an operation to remove an animal's claws surgically by means of the amputation of all or part of the distal phalanges, or end bones, of the animal's toes. Because the claw develops from germinal tissue within the third phalanx, amputation of the bone is necessary to fully remove the claw. The terms onychectomy and declawing imply mere claw removal, but a more appropriate description would be phalangectomy, excision of toe bone.
Cerebellar hypoplasia (CH) is a neurological condition in which the cerebellum is smaller than usual or not completely developed. It has been reported in many animal species.
Veterinary surgery is surgery performed on non-human animals by veterinarians, whereby the procedures fall into three broad categories: orthopaedics, soft tissue surgery, and neurosurgery. Advanced surgical procedures such as joint replacement, fracture repair, stabilization of cranial cruciate ligament deficiency, oncologic (cancer) surgery, herniated disc treatment, complicated gastrointestinal or urogenital procedures, kidney transplant, skin grafts, complicated wound management, and minimally invasive procedures are performed by veterinary surgeons. Most general practice veterinarians perform routine surgeries such as neuters and minor mass excisions; some also perform additional procedures.
Cats communicate for a variety of reasons, including to show happiness, express anger, solicit attention, and observe potential prey. Additionally, they collaborate, play, and share resources. When cats communicate with humans, they do so to get what they need or want, such as food, water, attention, or play. As such, cat communication methods have been significantly altered by domestication. Studies have shown that domestic cats tend to meow much more than feral cats. They rarely meow to communicate with fellow cats or other animals. Cats can socialize with each other and are known to form "social ladders," where a dominant cat is leading a few lesser cats. This is common in multi-cat households.
Aging in cats is the process by which cats change over the course of their natural lifespans. The average lifespan of a domestic cat may range from 13 to 20 years. As cats senesce, they undergo predictable changes in health and behavior. Dental disease and loss of olfaction are common as cats age, affecting eating habits. Arthritis and sarcopenia are also common in older cats. How a cat's health is affected by aging may be managed through modifications in a cat's diet, accessibility adjustments, and cognitive stimulation.
Growling is a low, guttural vocalization produced by animals as an aggressive warning but can also be found in other contexts such as playful behaviors or mating. Different animals will use growling in specific contexts as a form of communication. In humans, low or dull rumbling noises may also be emitted when they are discontent with something or they are angry, although this human sound is often termed "groaning" & "grunting".
Carolina Tiger Rescue is a nonprofit wildcat sanctuary in Pittsboro, North Carolina, that offers public tours and field trips and is home to rescued tigers, lions, cougars, leopards, caracals, servals, bobcats and other wild animals. Over 20,000 visitors come to the sanctuary each year for guided tours, field trips, summer camps, volunteering and corporate work groups. Their mission is saving and protecting wild cats in captivity and in the wild. They work toward a day when wild cats are living in their native habitat and are not exploited by humans. Carolina Tiger Rescue is Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS) and USDA accredited. The Executive Director is Kris Marino.
Leslie A. Lyons is an American geneticist. She is a professor of comparative medicine and the director of the Feline Genetics and Comparative Medicine Laboratory at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine. Lyons is one of the world’s foremost experts in feline genetics. Her work has advanced the understanding of the feline genome, highlighting its similarity to the human genome and its potential in precision medicine, which she frequently emphasizes while advocating for the use of cats as model organisms in genetic research.
A cat pheromone is a chemical molecule, or compound, that is used by cats and other felids for communication. These pheromones are produced and detected specifically by the body systems of cats and evoke certain behavioural responses.
Veterinary anesthesia is a specialization in the veterinary medicine field dedicated to the proper administration of anesthetic agents to non-human animals to control their consciousness during procedures. A veterinarian or a Registered Veterinary Technician administers these drugs to minimize stress, destructive behavior, and the threat of injury to both the patient and the doctor. The duration of the anesthesia process goes from the time before an animal leaves for the visit to the time after the animal reaches home after the visit, meaning it includes care from both the owner and the veterinary staff. Generally, anesthesia is used for a wider range of circumstances in animals than in people not only due to their inability to cooperate with certain diagnostic or therapeutic procedures, but also due to their species, breed, size, and corresponding anatomy. Veterinary anesthesia includes anesthesia of the major species: dogs, cats, horses, cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs, as well as all other animals requiring veterinary care such as birds, pocket pets, and wildlife.
The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals-Angell Animal Medical Center (MSPCA-Angell) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with its main headquarters on South Huntington Avenue in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1868, and is the second-oldest humane society in the United States. "MSPCA-Angell" was adopted as the society's identity in 2003, and indicates the names of its two closely related predecessor organizations: Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and Angell Animal Medical Center. The organization provides direct care to thousands of homeless, injured, and abused animals each year, and provides animal adoption, a veterinary hospital, advocacy, and humane law enforcement.
The Tiger Next Door is a feature-length 2009 documentary film directed and produced by Camilla Calamandrei.
The Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park, alternatively known as the G.W. Zoo, Tiger King Park and formerly the Garold Wayne Exotic Animal Memorial Park, was an animal park displaying predominantly tigers and other big cats in Wynnewood, Oklahoma, United States. The park garnered substantial public attention due to the 2020 Netflix documentary series Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, which focused on park founder and owner Joe Exotic.
Big Cat Rescue Corp., also known as BCR and previously known as Wildlife on Easy Street, Inc., operates an animal sanctuary in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States, which rescues and houses exotic cats, and rehabilitates injured or orphaned native wild cats. It was founded by Don Lewis and Carole Baskin in 1995.
The Persian cat, also known as the Persian Longhair, is a long-haired breed of cat characterised by a round face and short muzzle. The first documented ancestors of Persian cats might have been imported into Italy from Khorasan as early as around 1620, however, this has not been proven. Instead, there is stronger evidence for a longhaired cat breed being exported from Iran/Persia from the 19th century onwards. Persian cats have been widely recognised by the North-West European cat fancy since the 19th century, and after World War II by breeders from North America, Australia and New Zealand. Some cat fancier organisations' breed standards subsume the Himalayan and Exotic Shorthair as variants of this breed, while others generally treat them as separate breeds.
Oral health can be difficult for pet owners and veterinary teams to manage in cats, particularly for pets whose owners are not committed to regular tooth brushing and/or dental treats. Oral disease is common among cats, and may lead to other health issues such as bacterial infections of major organs including the heart, kidneys and liver. When pet owners are aware of the benefits of supporting good oral health in cats, this substantially improves positive outcomes. Dietary selection, along with at-home-dental-hygiene care, allows cat owners to influence the oral status of their pets.
Feline corneal sequestrum is the development of dark areas of dead tissue in the cornea of domestic cats. This disease is painful to the cat, although it develops slowly over a longer period of time. Cats will usually demonstrate teary eye(s), squinting or closing of the eye(s), and covering of the third eyelid.
Carole Ann Baskin is the CEO of Big Cat Rescue, a non-profit animal sanctuary. She has attracted the attention of local, national and international media outlets to the plight of captive big cats.
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