Big Cats as pets????


RDNKHNTR77

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i was looking at some websites that sell exotic animals(particularly big cats) to people as pets. they have to be registered and there is a ton of restrictions and laws as to size of pen, # of acres owned, etc. What is everyones take on this? I would say that if ur properly certified and obey all laws and take care of the animal and can afford it(app. $3000 a yr for a smaller cat and like $10000 for something like a lion) that it would be a cool thing to have. Especially since these animals r prolly gonna end up in a zoo or some place like that and would prolly be happier not being looked at by hundreds of people every day.

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Re: Big Cats as pets????

My take on it is they shouldn't be sold as pets nor become them. These animals are not domesticated. That takes 1000's of years of specific breeding to turn an animal domesticated like how our housecat and dogs are. Though you may see some people owning these supposed friendly big cats who can interact with them just fine these animals are always very unstabled and unpredictable. They may see you as a friend one minute but change their mind the next and see you as prey at any time. Even the best trained big cats have this risk. It cannot be tamed nor trained out of them. They are cute and cuddly when little, but when these animals sexually mature they become a completely different animal. They start challenging their own owners for territory and dominance, they scent mark everything (think a housecat scent marking smells bad? try a lion or tiger doing it to everything you own), and they become possessive over their things (food, food bowls, bed, toys, territory, etc.). They also are not very good pets to be letting your friends or family hang around as big cats normally will bond with one person in the household and everyone else becomes fair game to being seen as prey or enemy by the animal. The animals also when kept away from others of their kind in a human setting not allowed to be wild like they are born to be eventually either become depressed (animals can become depressed just like humans) or develop mental disorders and become very dangerous to their owners. I say let big cat ownership up to the professionals who took years or training learning how to properly take care of these animals to the best of their abilities in captivity such as santuarys. Owning big cats as pet is not a hobby it's a lifestyle and you will have to spend most of your hours each day taking care of this animals so be prepared to give up your luxories in life to dedicate to this animal or otherwise do not buy them as pets. Ask a sanctuary for these animals or a true big cat owner who's done it successfully for years how many hours a day they spend taking care of their cats and how their life revolves around the big cat instead of the big cat revolving around their life. [ LINK ]

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