We provide a caring safe haven to some of God's most beautiful creatures.
We put their needs before all else; the old, the maimed, and the unwanted find sanctuary here.
Happy Friday, everyone! If you missed any of this week's postings, you can catch up by reading our weekly recap (below) plus some additional exciting information we think you'll enjoy.
Let's kick off the review with Monday's blog posting. On Monday, we introduced you to Neffie's new friends named Mr. Kibo and Shira. They traveled over 1,000 miles just so they could call In-Sync Exotics "home"! To learn more about our new (brother-sister) servals, please click HERE!
On Tuesday, we provided news you can use this winter in helping out the feral and stray cats in your neighborhood. Click HERE to learn how YOU can save the life of an outdoor kitty.
On Wednesday, we shook things up with a special "October Surprise!" To see your cheetah habitat donations at work, click HERE to see our cheetahs in their new home!
Ah, what a dilemma--to wear a costume or go au natural? This question was answered in yesterday's blog posting, so click HERE for our answer to this most unusual dilemma!
We are sad to report that our Fall Big Cat Photo Shoot was cancelled as we did not have enough participants. We plan to reschedule this event in the Spring, so be sure to look for this very special event next year!
Now that the weather is beginning to change, leaves are falling off the trees, we must have... an exciting FALL FESTIVAL!
Our Fall Festival will be held on October 28th from 11:00am - 4:00pm at In-Sync Exotics. This is another fabulous In-Sync Exotics special event as our cats just LOVE to play with their pumpkins; your kids (the human kind) will enjoy great games & prizes, get lost in a maze; have your face painted; bounce around in the bounce house; participate in our raffle; and much, much more!
This is one event you will want to bring your friends, family, and camera! For more details or to print a copy of our flier, please click HERE!
We hope you enjoyed our blog postings for the week and will join us again next week for another possible "October Surprise--The Sequel!" In the meantime, you are invited to come out, observe your donations at work by touring our facility (click HERE for tour information).
Please keep in mind, we are still fundraising for our big cats' dental work. If you can spare $10 or more towards this most worthy cause, we (and our cats) will be most grateful--thank you! To make a donation towards our big cats' dental surgeries, please click HERE!
Halloween cat and dog costumes–we can hear our
wild cats snickering (or screaming in horror) at the thought! Do your pets enjoy “dressing up?” With Halloween
just around the corner, thoughts of goblins, ghosts and get-ups begin to tease
at the back of pet lover’s minds. Should my pet wear a costume this year?
With Halloween just 20 days away, pet
parents should take some common sense precautions on this spookiest day
of the year so that you both you and your pet will be safe and “ghoul” free!
1.Sorry Fido, no
treats—not even for tricks!That candy
bowl filled to the brim with chocolates and other sugary snacks can be very
dangerous to cats and dogs.Dark and
baking chocolates are very dangerous because they contain a component our animals' systems cannot tolerate and it could be deadly.If other types of candies are made with artificial sweetener
xylitol, your pet may become very, very ill.Dogs may also ingest food wrappers, causing a risk of choking, upset
stomach or gastrointestinal blockage. Ouch!If
you believe your dog or cat dived into the candy bowl (or ingested salty snacks
or alcoholic beverages) while your back
was turned, you may want to contact your veterinarian or ASPCA Animal Poison
Control Center at (888) 426-4435 for assistance--they are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
2.Never allow your
pet to eat your decorative Jack-o-Lantern or fall table display!While
pumpkins and the colorful decorative corns are pretty much non-toxic, they can
produce some stomach discomfort for those the naughty nibblers.When it comes to Jack-o-Lantern on display, be careful
putting a lit candle inside your Jack because a curious pup or kit may accidentally knock over
your Halloween display, setting your pumpkin on fire.You may also want to make sure they don’t get
to close to the display just in case they singe their fur or
whiskers.When decorating for Halloween,
just remember to “pet proof” your decorations—have fun—just think about your
pets first!
3.So you decided your cat is
going to dress up as a ghost this year?You can’t but help check out all the cute pet costumes on display in your local stores.Yes, they are
adorable, but are they really a good idea for your pet?Please don’t force your cat or dog into a
costume they don’t like.Some pets prefer
to dress “as is” asopposed to wearing a
costume with lots of tentacles and other external extremities that flap around
when the pet tries to move.If the
costume scares your pet—it’s time to return the item to the store.
4.If your pet likes
to wear his or her costume, be sure it’s not annoying to you or your guests (lots of bells and other
annoying sounds) or unsafe (pet trips over his own four feet due to strange
footwear).If you animal has trouble
breathing, hearing, seeing, walking, barking (meowing if a cat), then you need
to return the costume.If your pet seems
unduly distressed wearing the outfit, then perhaps it’s best he or she goes au natural!You can always put a colorful bandana or bow on
your critter.
5.Costumes should
fit well—not hang off the body.A poorly
fitted costume could cause your dog or cat to get twisted up in its costume, or
worse, twisted on furniture or displays, thus leading to injury.Because of these potential dangers, never
leave your pet unattended in the costume!
6. Ding Dong – Trick or Treat!If your dog or cat is afraid of strangers,
you may want to move your animal out of the room closest to the front
door.Too many strangers yelling "Trick
or Treat" may scare your precious pet.For your overly social dogs, you may want to make sure your animal does
not try to either dart out the door or run-jump onto a young trick-or-treater.Nothing scares kids more than
a fast moving costumed furry creature jumping on them when they scream “Trick
or Treat” at the door.
Picture from amyshojai.com
7.Finally, in the
event your costumed pet feels the need to show off in the neighborhood (without
your expressed permission), always make sure your animal wears proper ID.If for any reason your pet becomes separated
from you, a collar with tags and/or a microchip tag can be a life saver for
your animal, increasing the odds that your beloved pet will be returned to you!Sadly, this is the time of year when some
people may be cruel to animals, especially cats, so you may want to keep your animal(s) indoors if possible.
Does your pet dress up for the howl-idays? (Get
it—howl-idays!) Do you do full costumes,
fancy bows and collars, or does your cat or dog say GET THE !@#$%^! AWAY FROM
ME WITH THAT CRAZY THING!
Hmmm…. Do tell!
We hope you enjoyed today's blog posting! Be sure to check back tomorrow for more fun and informative information about our exotic cats and their friends of In-Sync Exotics! Don't forget to let us know your reaction to this posting by clicking on one of the reaction buttons below--and share this blog posting with others please ~ Thank you!
On Friday, September 9, 2011, we shared with you a very exciting announcement--the arrival of two cheetahs named Sam and Kodi. As you may recall, Sam and Kodi were re-homed from Fossil Rim Wildlife Center and were placed in a temporary enclosure while we fund raised enough money to start building the cheetahs' new habitat!
Thanks to Chase Community Giving Program and our wonderful supporters who graciously donated towards our Razoo "Cheetah Home Improvement Project", we were able to raise enough funds by December 2011.
Once the weather improved and the final schematics drafted, we were able to order the supplies needed to build the cheetah enclosure!
In January 2012, the cheetahs' "Fast Track Habitat" was just a dream...
Before
Before
But today, the new cheetah habitat is a reality!
We want to thank all the hard working volunteers who came out and helped build the cats their new home. Our volunteers put in long hours, working during the worst part of our hot summer months, with one goal in mind--build the cats a fabulous habitat!
This weekend, the cheetahs' new home was finally completed. Everyone oohed and aahhed the empty habitat. It just seemed too empty.
So, on the spur of the moment, Vicky thought, "Hey, let's see how easy it will be to move the cats." So yesterday afternoon she placed a cheetah-sized transporter flush against their door, just to see if Sam or Kodi would enter it. If a cat entered, then the big cheetah move was "on". If either cat refused to enter the transporter, then the move would be put off for another day.
As luck would have it, Sam walked right into the transporter!
"Holy cow, get another cage" yelled Vicky. Like his brother, after some coaching for about 10 minutes or so, Kodi finally entered the second cage and was slowly transported to his new home.
Now the big moment arrived...it was time for the cats to see and smell their brand new home!
Each time the gate opened, to admit Kodi first, then Sam, we held our breaths to see what would happen next.
You may have noticed a little "drool action" going on with Sam. Well, Sam was getting antsy waiting for his brother to hurry up and enter his transporter so they could both be moved to their new habitat. We fed Sam treats while he waited, but that just made his drooling worse. He just wanted out of the transporter! Poor boy had to wait just a wee bit longer as we released Kodi first since he was not happy about the big move. Needless to say, once that gate opened up, Sam was thrilled to join his brother in their brand new home!
It wasn't long before we felt comfortable enough to allow the cats out of their quarters and on to their new playground!
Please excuse our shaky videos as this was such a "spur of the moment" move and we were so excited to see the empty habitat now a home for two handsome cheetahs, that we could barely contain our excitement!
The entire cheetah habitat is about 14,500 square feet and it wasn't long before Sam and Kodi explored the outer perimeter of their new home. What caught us off guard (no video -- sorry!) was Kodi running across the playground, jumping over a fallen tree, just so he could get a close look at a horse running across the field! Running!! Jumping!! Success!!
Vicky reported that the cats were still exploring their home at 1am in the morning. We don't know if they went into their climate controlled house which has heat for the winter and air conditioning for the hot summer months. We imagine at some point soon, when the weather gets cooler, the cats will spend more time in their house, out of sight of their adoring public.
If you want to see the cheetahs in their new habitat this weekend (or another upcoming weekend), you are more then welcome to say "hello" to the boys. Just be sure to ask our friendly volunteers for assistance in finding their new home on our property!
This project would not have been possible without our wonderful donors who helped us make the cheetahs' dream home a reality. The "Fast Track Habitat" dedication plaque, with the names of the donors who contributed $1,000 or more, will be put up next week. Hopefully, in about two weeks, Fossil Rim representatives will be able to come out and see the boys enjoying their new home.
We still have some "home" improvement projects to complete such as landscaping, but we figured it was more important to move the cats so they can enjoy the open space!
Now that the cheetahs moved out of their old temporary home, we plan to moves some more cats around, so stay tuned for all the upcoming news on their moves!
In the meantime, here are a few more pictures for you to enjoy!
Cheetah sighting!
"Thank you everyone for my new home!
You can stop taking pictures now..."
Wait for me!
Which way did the horse go?
We hoped you enjoyed today's cheetah surprise! If you are in the area, we'd love to have you come out and see the boys in their new home. We are on the Fall/Winter schedule, which means we are only open on Saturdays and Sundays. For more information, please click HERE!
We hope you enjoyed today's blog posting! Be sure to check back tomorrow for more fun and informative information about our exotic cats and their friends of In-Sync Exotics! Don't forget to let us know your reaction to this posting by clicking on one of the reaction buttons below--and share this blog posting with others please ~ Thank you!
