I visited Big Cat Rescue when I was in Tampa for a vacation. I was amazed when I took the tour. You can see these beautiful creatures in as natural a state as you can get in captivity. The tour was extremely educational and I would suggest it for all age groups. I couldn't help but stare at these amazing creatures and marvel in their beauty and their mannerisms. At one point the guide had to say to me, "we need to be moving along", I was so engrossed. I took many photos and video clips which I enjoy watching. This is a great organization with staff who really care about the big cats. You will love this place.
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We had a great experience visiting you all while we were vacationing in Florida. It s comforting to know that these great animals have a place where they will be well cared for throughout their lives. Our tour guides were knowledgeable and friendly and we appreciate the opportunity to visit your facility! Thank you!
There is ABSOLUTELY NO BASIS in which to get negative reviews for Big Cat Rescue. Those PATHETIC TROLLS can go back underneath the rock they slimed themselves from to make such ignorant and calloused statements. Ignore them - they are little tiny trolls with nothing better to do, no friends or life - instead they attack genuine sites. Sad really. THIS is where these precious cats BELONG. Excellent work done with much effort and compassion... THANK YOU to the staff and volunteers who make these cats feel at home!
Great tour, tour guide was very friendly and informative. The cats were all beautiful and looked healthy, glad to see people working to save animals from terrible people and situations.
Big Cat Rescue is my favorite place to be on the planet! The people are amazing, the atmosphere is amazing, and the cats are given the best care in the world. If you are in Florida, go take a tour of BCR!
Educational and Enjoyable. The tour guides are knowledgeable and friendly. Learned valuable information! Great for the young - definitely a teachable moment.
My family and I visited Big Cat Rescue and I must say you have an amazing facility. Thank you for sharing these beautiful, rescued animals with all of us. Your tour guides are extremely friendly and very knowledgeable about every cat in your sanctuary. We really enjoyed our tour. We will definitely be returning.
Big Cat Rescue is an amazing sanctuary. We did not have to wait long to get in, we had found the time of the tour before and it was great. We stayed in the gift shop for a few minutes then we headed outside to see the big cats. There were so many cats that had had bad lives before coming to Big Cat Rescue, and those cats now lead better lives thanks to Big Cat Rescue. We saw beautiful exotic cats. The cages were big, the cats are well fed. This is a awesome sanctuary that you should donate to and visit!
This place is amazing! The volunteers go out of their way to care for the cats, and they love doing it! I have been there three times, each experience as great as it can be. I'm really excited to come back and visit Hoover (if he's ready for visitors yet)! The people who write bad reviews have nothing better to do, so if anyone is thinking about going and you are reading this review, you should definitely go. All of the money goes to the cats and I can tell that they are very happy where they live! And they are happy to see the visitors!
Wonderful place to spend family time and learn. The staff is very friendly and knowledgeable. A lot of great work here and saving these animals this place is amazing
As much as I have loved Big Cat Rescue ever since I first came across them on YouTube, I promised myself I would not write a review before actually visiting there. Now I finally have and it was a real dream come true.
I took part to Wildcat Walkabout on 1st of October in 2016 as a volunteer. I handed out tickets for the visitors, welcomed them and explained how they could support different projects with their conservation bucks . Before that, on the previous day, I got the pleasure to have a look at the sanctuary itself. I got to meet the cats and all the hard-working interns, volunteers and staff members. Those are the nicest people you ll ever meet, I can assure you. They work tirelessly to make sure the cats are doing well and everything is how it should be. I had long chats with Mrs. Baskin as well and she answered any questions I might have had.
It was amazing to see the Vacation Rotation Enclosure and Small Cat Funcation. Never have I seen such huge enclosures in zoos or animal parks. Their normal enclosures are filled with platforms, dens, pools, trees and grass; all the natural elements to make the cats feel at home. No concrete or pebbles, but pure soil under their paws.
I got to see the food preparation, which greatly impressed me. I already knew each cat has their unique diet, but to see it in person and follow the interns filling the food buckets with such care only enforced my respect for them and their work. I was also impressed by how carefully BCR was planning their event. There were 90 people helping on that day, mostly to make sure no one disturbed the cats or go beyond safety wire. Cats always come first there, no matter which day or event is underway.
I was introduced to intern housing, too. Big Cat Rescue does such fantastic work with how they re doing their very best to be environmentally friendly. They use solar energy, they recycle their waste and they have specific instructions of their recycling policy in each of the trailers. If only every facility/company/business/organization chose to support green values as strongly as Big Cat Rescue does. After studying sustainable development I was prepared to make notes and request things to improve, but I quickly realized there was nothing I could have suggested to be done better. It was already beyond my expectations.
Big Cat Rescue has always been a huge inspiration for me. They ve taught me that even one person can make a BIG difference and that one should never be afraid to speaking up for someone who has no voice to speak for themselves. It s thanks to people at Big Cat Rescue I volunteered in South Africa, took part to Global March Against Canned Hunting and became a vegetarian. Without them I probably still wouldn t have a clue how abusive cub petting is, what tiger farms are and that there are such awful places for animals in the world. They have opened my eyes in every possible way and for that I will always support them and their cause.
I have seen with my very own eyes how things at their facility work and how tirelessly they are all working for a better future for both people and animals. Thank you. I hope to return with my spouse one day in the future. He was greatly disappointed he had to stay at work while I got to experience this piece of heaven.
Absolutely wonderful sanctuary for the cats! All the employees are dedicated to educating people about exotic pets and how to help the cats. The tour is great- you get to see each enclosure and the guide tells you about each cat and their story about how and why they came to Big Cat Rescue. If you are in Tampa you definitely want to stop by and meet the cats of Big Cat Rescue!
For obvious reasons I wish there wasn't a need for a sanctuary like this, but since there is those fabulous cats couldn't have found a better one!!! Kudos to Carol, the staff, volunteers and interns!!!
I took my mother here when I went to visit Tampa. I support Big Cat Rescue and follow their newsletters from CA. It was so exciting to see the place in person. It was a dream sanctuary!! It was especially exciting for my mother who doesn't work with big cats. She had never heard a lion roar or seen many of the species they had there. She had definitely never seen them so close. The enclosures are large and beautiful. You can really tell these cats are well taken care of and loved.
My husband and I did the regular day tour for his birthday. I loved the message/mission of the Big Cat Sanctuary. They are a real sanctuary that acts as a retirement home for abused big cats. Some of the cats were previously kept as pets from the exotic pet trade, some were bred for hopes of domestication, some were from circuses, some were from cub-petting tourist facilities, etc. They educate the guests on the inhumane treatment of big cats in all these situations and more. They don't believe in a life in captivity (<3) and therefor do not breed or sell the cats they get. The cats have the option to hide if they want (which means you don't see stressed pacing like at zoos from being forced in front of people) but we still had great views of nearly every cat. The tour was mature and stress-free because the tour guide leads it and children 10 and under must be on a different tour; I think those are family tours. I loved that they had a huge "vacation enclosure" that the cats take turns in. Their own enclosures are also very nice: large and natural with trees and grasses unlike zoos which often have fake rocks and plants that are only there to appeal to guests visually. All the volunteers and workers love and respect the cats and are very educational and they even mentioned legislation guests could take action on which was empowering. We had a great tour and I would definitely recommend this sanctuary!
Visiting Big Cat Rescue was a great experience. It was interesting learning about the different cats and their stories on how they arrived at the rescue. All the volunteers were very knowledgeable and friendly.
Visited here as part of the Sun Coast Jaguar Club. Our second visit. Had a great tour by an experienced tour guide. Thoroughly enjoyed our visit. Our club supports the great work this establishment does for the big cats. Highly recommend visiting!
What a magnificent sanctuary, home, retirement and loving space for cats and for the rest of us to learn, grow, and change our understanding about saving and preserving the spectacular lives of exotic BIG cats.
Big Cat Sanctuary (BCR) in Tampa, Florida is a serene, well-manicured and purrfectly appointed Big Cat facility that has rescued and continues to rescue cats of all types that have been bought sold traded and or kept to cuddle and touch when they should have been left alone in their own natural sanctuaries in the wild.
Barbara Nicholas, Director of Donor Operations, is one of the passionate and compassionate staff at BCR. We did a private tour with her. We took a Keeper and Feeding tour two days prior with Barbara Ann and Rich who have been there over a decade and with Sue Messineo (sp) whom I will sing praises of as you read on. Barbara Nicholas is knowledgeable, exudes professionalism, and cares deeply for what she does at BCR. One of the things I look for in people who work to assist others whether human or animal is their genuineness. There are so many places and people that put on a front for a cause when in fact, they are full of it. But, Barbara Nicholas is the real deal. We couldn t say enough great things about her private tour that would serve her justice, but suffice it say she is a stellar guide from pre booking to post tour. I like knowing what drives people to do what they do as it builds their credibility with me and without reservation she has my trust as she is dedicated, loving, and inspired.
Sue M, (a coordinator of over 12 years I recall her saying), gave us a Keeper tour you could write a short story about. He tour was beyond fascinating, fun, personalized, heart-felt, heart-warming, tearful which made it all the more endearing and wanting more, like reading a book or watching a show you never want to end. Sue taught us about the enrichments and had us participate in making them for the cats that we saw. Intern Elizabeth is a superstar back up person on the tour for us. Sue s story of why she is at BCR is equally as inspired as Barbara Nicholas story and fits into the overall experience of all who work there and convinced me even more to become more involved with BCR. Sue, thank you for indulging a moment with me about my Bengal kitty Kalilah when you saw her picture . You couldn t have scripted that genuine response and it is appreciated. Sue had so much fantastic personalized information we didn t want it to end.
Barbara Ann, our tour guide for the Feeder tour and Rich (the feeder extraordinaire) have been with BCR a long time. Rich knew a lot about a lot and has a great sense of timing with the cats and takes his role as serious as it should be taken with all due respect to the cats first and foremost. Barbara Ann follows the BCR protocol as all staff did to the letter. I know this as being incredibly important to the functioning of the facility as I had taken the entirety of the Zoo College certificate online course to learn as much as I could about BCR in an effort to educate myself and become more involved with them on a greater scale to help the cats. Barbara Ann loves the cats, and has unique personalized stories of her own about and with each cat as they re all her favorites. I am glad that she was impressed that Jasmine tigress and my husband had a chuffing conversation to beat the band.
One of my favorite people moments was meeting Brittany Mira. How can you not love Brittany? She is everything you hear and more from her daily video feeds. She is dedicated and loving full on and BCR has a gem in her. Wished I could have spent more time with her hearing her stories too.
BCR is a family, it is committed, it is an exemplary sanctuary and I look forward to my return and will continue to support the big cats!
Had an absolute blast on our tour! Ended up going on a very cold day, but the cats didn't care too much! Saw tons of beautiful animals and met some keepers who clearly cared for their charges! 10/10
On my other account, I liked your YouTube Channel, I was so happy that you and your animals went through The Tornado Outbreak of 1/22/17, You guys went through hurricane Irma, and Went through the recent storm we had on thanksgiving, thanks for showing your spirit
First time visiting today and absolutely loved it. I was hesitant for a long time because I don t believe in animal captivity but after my research & asked around I learned they are doing good. It still breaks my heart they had to go what they went through and can never be free now and I couldn t help but get emotional through the tour. Today I visited with Amy & it was my birthday present. Denny was our guide and I loved him! He s wonderful, has been there along time and gave us great educational information. I definitely will be going back because I want to see Priya and I loved Andy Big Cat Rescue really is doing good. Go get educated & your life will change
This was a highly educational experience. Our tour guide, Trevor, was knowledgeable, friendly and clearly passionate about these beautiful and majestic animals. He, along with many others, is a volunteer or intern so you know without a doubt he is there because he wants to be. The experience itself was enjoyable and some of the cats were active but some were also resting. We went to the 3pm tour, but I would recommend the earlier times because you may see more activity. Either way, an eye-opening experience I would recommend.
I like the fact that they save and take care of big cats but I don't feel like they should neuter all of them.... Some of them are endangered...You should let them reproduce a few times and then just send em to the wild if u can't keep the cubs....then u neuter them...
I have followed BCR for many years but yesterday I found myself in the position where I needed their help. My father found an orphaned Bobcat Kitten and I immediately called BCR. Carol answered the phone right away. She was polite and immediately sent a crew out. I was very happy with the interaction from start to finish. BCR truly cares about the animals!
The work these people do is amazing. You feel guilty that the admission price is so low. You want to buy souvenir's and give cash donations to support them. We got rained out and we're given options to get a refund or a pass that never expired.
Today we visited Big Cat Rescue. We must say that our visit was very disappointing! What did we see? Just a few cats during their nap time. Of course you don't want to stress the animals. So don't we.We really love animals and we want to protect and help them everywhere in the world,. So a sanctuary like yours which is depending on donatians should find better ways to present it's work to visitors. For us 38 Dollars is a lot of money and we also have to work hard to be able to come to Florida. There are many places in Florida where tourists get ripped off. Why do you think it should be the same at Big Cat Rescue? The best way to help your cats is to treat your visitors better. If you just want to make a lot of money to help your cats pleas rip off billionaires in the US. They love neither animals nor humans...
I absolutely love this place! I'm so happy to see that a big cat sanctuary like this exists. It made me so sad to hear about the conditions that most of the cats were kept in before they ended up here, but I love that they have a chance to live here and be so much better cared for. I would recommend this place to anyone who loves animals, especially cats!
Amazing! The staff is friendly and knowledgeable, and the cats look well taken care of. They even have a "staycation" enclosure where the big cats get space to run around. You can tell they really care about what they do.
We were highly disappointed. We went for the 12 pm tour. We saw a total of 4 cats. It was raining, and they made excuses as to why we couldn't see other cats. They were rude and very pushy. I felt rushed, and unappreciated. We spent over $100 and the only thing that makes me happy, is maybe the animals will get food from that money. I dont think the cats seemed to happy and one kept pacing back and forth. Save your money.
An amazing experience that you won't forget! Take a tour to see and learn about all the gorgeous cats on site and learn about all the good work this place is doing to help big cats! This is a must go destination when visiting Tampa!
While I am not a cat lover, I so appreciated the amazing animals and their back stories broke my heart! We learned a great deal and the care that was observed and described was incredible. Well worth to cost of the Keeper's Tour.
Omg, fabulous! Guide was so we'll educated! All the cats in plain site, went yesterday, rained at last minute and guides whipped out ponchos! Very thoughtful and educated! Must do!!
Simply the best possible place that you can go for true passion about the well-being of Big Cats and the everyday issues that threaten them. This is a strictly volunteer-run, true sanctuary where it is all about the cats.
I am a huge animal lover. A volunteer at my local animal shelter and a board member of a local animal group. I am so happy that my husband saw the Big Cat Rescue online when we had an extra day in St Petersburg. It was awesome. I recommend it for anyone to see!!!!!!!!!!!
This is a must-visit for big cat lovers and conservationists. We took the basic tour but saw all the cats. Love that they take in all the rescues no other shelter wants and treat the cats with respect and dignity. Experience something special and support a great local cause right here in Tampa Bay.
Sooo awesome!! I highly recommend the zoo keeper tour. We got to make 'cat toys' to bring to them and see them play like kittens. A magical and memorable experience for sure!
We visit the big cat rescue every year and support their amazing cause. They are beautiful and well cared for. Please support their mission to get rid of cub petting!
The place is lovely, the cats are awesome and I truly appreciate the work that the staff there do for those cats on a daily basis. The only reason I am giving this a 3 star is because of the attitude of one particular volunteer who was 'keeping up the rear' of our little tour group recently. I wish she had said her name, because I would post it here. Really, your job is to just make sure we are all not doing something stupid ( most people probably don't mean to) and that we enjoy our $40.00 tour. But instead you were rude and obnoxious toward many of the people in the group - threatening to 'remove them from the park' when they didn't realize the group was moving on from one cat to the next. While I know it's important to keep everyone together, it's equally important that people get to take pictures and enjoy the cats - that's why we are there! The lead tour guide does not wear a microphone, so it's not always possible to hear what's being said among a group of 20 or so folks in an outdoor setting. You really crossed the line when you told one older gentlemen to 'get moving, I've told you three times!" and " I can remove you from the tour' if you keep doing this". Seriously? He is not a 4 year old! Treat people with respect and they will do the same. I know one couple who had thought of buying a brick in memory of their 15 year old cat, was totally turned off by the attitude and actions of this one sardonic and unpleasant woman. If you don't know how to be nice, go do something in the office. I wish I could say I would be back with more friends, but now I"m reluctant to have them treated with such disrespect!
I am about to return to Big Cat Rescue for my 5th visit. I live in Austin Texas now, but visit the sanctuary every time I am back in Tampa. I have donated over $1,000 to the organization.
I cannot let Sharon's misinformation stand... She is absolutely incorrect about many items in her review. Before I get to those specifically, if you want to understand her motivies, just check out her only other review: a 5-star review for a nearby zoo. Her misinformation seems to stem clearly from a conflict of interest
Debunking: (1) "electrified fences" - absolutely untrue, I have personal experience knowing that their cat-a-tat walls are not electrified from touching them myself. The cats also known to rub up against them when tours go by without any ill effect. (2) "cats confined in small areas" - the absolute smallest cat-a-tat they have is 1200 sq ft. Their tigers have a three acre area to prowl. Sadly, what is limiting BCR from being able to give their cats even more room to roam is the huge supply of cats to save from irresponsible people. They recently completed the "vacation enclosure" - a 2.5-acre roof-free area for the cats to rotate through. I know that they would love to give this to each cat they have (since this is the closest to freedom that they can achieve in their semi-domesticated condition). However, they would have to rescue less animals to do so. (3) "sad looks on their faces" - admittedly, I have never been on a feeding tour. Maybe the cats look "sad" when they are about to be fed.... Whatever. Every time I have gone, the cats on the tour route look thrilled to see us. Or, if they are not happy with human visitors, they are out of sight somewhere in their cage! I have never seen a single "sad cat" during my visits. (4) "just feed them normal cat food" - absolutely incorrect. The cats receive high-quality meat 6 days per week, and fast on the 7th day (to try to simulate the periodic dry spells cat would go through naturally in the wild) (5) "most of these cats have.. been declawed" - absolutely incorrect. Go and see the scratch marks the cats leave on their trees (just big scratching posts to them) and you know that this is incorrect. Besides, BCR is a no-touch facility. *No human ever comes in contact with a cat* (except in the rare circumstances when they are tranquilized for medical care purposes). So, what motivation would they declaw the cats? That's right, none. Any cats that are at BCR that are declawed arrived at the facility from their origin of rescue that way.
Please completely ignore Sharon's review and go see how amazing BCR is for yourself. If you find any of Sharon's facts are true, post a 1-star review yourself. But, you won't... I know that you will not be disappointed with BCR and will instead return to add yet-another 5-star review to this exceptional organization.
I attended the Wildcat Walkabout last month and had a wonderful time. The cats have tons of room and seem extremely happy. I was sad that I didn't get to see Joseph the lion but they explained to me that he has anxiety from being used as a photo prop and is uncomfortable with crowds, so then I was very happy that he wasn't on the tour. They clearly care about their cats and work hard to keep them happy and healthy. I felt good spending my money on something that would benefit big cats rather than continue the cycle of keeping them in captivity, like a zoo. I loved everything about it.
Fantastic tour! The facilities were pretty impressive- the cats have their own (very large) enclosures and you can tell they are well taken care of. The guided tour is informative and educational, and I think it's appropriate for most ages. I recommend going on a slightly overcast day, since the cats will be more active. The gift shop is also nice and all proceeds go straight back to caring for the animals. Overall it was a great experience and I would highly recommend going & supporting the rescue efforts.
Great tour. The cats are cared for very well. They have freedom to move and places to hide. They get medical care. The tour lasted over 90 minutes and was well worth it.
Amazing place to visit. The only thing that sucked was the tour guides that follow behind the tour make you feel like you are a kid on a field trip and you will get in trouble if you do something as simple as not keeping up. But other than that seeing those cats up close and personal was the most amazing experience. What they do to help those cats is truly awesome. Edited: I understand completely there needs to be someone to make sure everyone stays together but the guides was not really nice and was rather rude to the ones that leaned over too far or fell behind even the slightest bit. They was not personable at all and when trying to speak with them they pretty much shhhhed us. I am 37 years old and would have loved to not be treated like I was 5 and the guest I was with are in their 50's who even felt like they was be scolded.
I have been saving money for my ticket, but I do make donations for the cats..read the magazines cover to cover..so much info, not only the cats, but health status, rotation, surgeries, world info on the cats, legislation(thank you Charlie Christ and others), BCR works with accredited organizations, such as ADI(Animal Defenders International)..with their help we got Hoover tiger from Peru and looking forward to meeting our 3 new Guatamalan tigers..so much money, effort, love and determination goes into each rescue(seizure from the horrors of their previous lives..such good care of each and every cat(meals, cleaning, enrichment),,cats are.living longer lives(about 10 cats are 20+ years old- this is amazing.
This place is amazing! I learned so much. My husband surprised me with tickets for my birthday, and it was the best birthday!!!! I've always wanted to go but it wasn't until I "liked" them on Facebook that I saw the photos everyday and I was determined to get there. I'm sorry that these beautiful creatures are treated so cruel at times. But, praise God that they are here to dedicate their lives to help. Our tour guide Martin was very knowledgeable and answered all our questions. I definitely want to go back!
This is an amazing shelter for big cats. The tours are small as the aim is to have the animals live as closely to natural wild as possible. It s not a zoo. If the cats come out, they come out. It s important to know that going in to a tour. I was touched by the stories of the cats and the sad ways they were mistreated until they came to big cat rescue.
The Keeper's Tour is outstanding. Babs was a terrific guide. Friendly and informative. Best tour of any kind I've ever been on. Would give more stars if I could.
We've been several times and love it more with each experience. It's always a highlight of our Florida vacations. My twins were about 4 years old the first time and are 16 now. I hope one day they will be bringing their own children..
Awesome place to see and learn about the big cats. Our tour guide was knowledgeable and seemed passionate about preserving and loving these majestic cats. Definitely check it out
What a wonderful place for cats to be rescued from awful situations. I will continue to send $ to help their cause. God bless all the volunteers who work there.
At first I was worried that Big Cat Rescue wasn't a real sanctuary, but when I walked into the check in building all of my worries vanished. The volunteers were nice and our tour guide Taylor was energetic and fun. The cats were fascinating and their stories even more so. I was stunned at how much their message seemed to effect the people in my group and happy to have a Big Cat Rescue pin to add to my collection.
bigcatrescue.org
