…I wanted to cry that these animals may not be here when my children go to see them on their adventures…

…They may never get to see them in their wildest state – in nature!

For many of you who have been an ExoticAnimalLover.com fan for some time, you’ll remember this photo, as it was the photo used in the header for the last theme we used for the site.

This is actually one of our own photos…but it sparked me…

“This is Why I Want To Save Exotic Animals!”

Today, I was looking around Vista Print to get some car magnets for some business stuff, and I was compelled to create this photo magnet:

This will go on my refrigerator door so it will remind me over and over of the reason I want to save animals…

…For the next generations of this world to experience the beauty and splendor – just knowing they are there making our planet extraordinary!

Imagine: If there were no more gorillas like this one on our planet! What a tragedy that would be!

Anyway, Vista Print also has a lot of other amazing ways to remind you of animals…

They have templates you can use with animals or you can upload your own photos, as I’ve done here!

You can even make save the date magnets – which are calendars you can create on a large magnet!

They’re really cool, and I think I could use one of those while I’m at it…

***

I hope you enjoyed this Animals of the World post on Exotic Animal Lover! Until next time…

Live Exotically,

Kimberly Edwards

P.S. Be sure to check out the Donate to Refuge Tab at the top of any page on this site!

Technorati Tags: exotic animals, save animals, animal welfare, gorilla, animals of the world, animal conservation, Vista Print

This is Why I Want to Save Exotic Animals! is a post from: Exotic Animal Lover

I asked her to fill us in on having a Canadian Lynx as a pet.

This is her account:

Firstly, his name was Snaggletooth, and I rescued him from a breeder in Iowa. I found his information online and called him to find out more about owning a lynx.

I had always thought how wonderful it would be to own a big exotic cat. I went with a lynx because he would mature around 65lbs., which is equal to that of a medium sized dog.

With a smaller cat there are a lot of advantages. First off, the amount of food involved…I fed little Snaggletooth Zoopreem, a Purina dry pellet food, mixed in with raw turkey. This cost me less than $10 per week to keep him fat and happy.

Also, a cat of that size is not considered a lethal cat. Since I was new to exotic cat ownership, I certainly didn’t want to jump off and get something that would chew me up in the middle of the night. I did my homework before I picked up little Snaggletooth from the airport.

I made sure he had a large litter box (2) in each room of the house and removed anything from the shelves/tops of tables or cases that I didn’t want knocked off and broken. I also made sure to provide him with a fully enclosed outside run where he had access to trees and grass and plenty of space to play.

Now, most domestic cats learn to use the litter box by following what their moms do. Since Snaggletooth’s mom was an outside lynx (outside in an enclosure) and taken from her at 2 weeks of age, he never had a mother lynx showing him where to use the bathroom.

It is natural for a cat to want to dig and bury their eliminations, however a lynx doesn’t mind urinating on your floor or couch and doesn’t feel the need to dig and cover anything up. This was the case for little Snaggletooth.

So…I went and purchased a special clay cat litter that has an attractant in it to lure cats to the litter box. He got the idea almost immediately when I replaced the litter. This didn’t mean he never had an accident after that point, but in general, he knew where to go when he needed to eliminate. I had to provide him with 2 litter boxes (side by side) because it is normal for an exotic cat to want to defecate in one and urinate in the other.

He had a favorite toy and I used that toy to get him to come when called and as a reward for when he was being good. I never fed him treats as a reward since he had a tendency to be too interested in food and very possessive of it. When I would feed him, I would have to place his food down in the room and close the door and leave him alone. If I didn’t, he thought I was going to steal his food and would hiss and growl at me.

We had a system that worked well and we just stayed with it. Now I did try different things to get him to be less possessive with his food but each one of them failed. Trust me, an exotic cat acts nothing like a dog or domestic cat. So…he taught me a lot on how to be patient and compromise.

Snaggletooth is no longer with us, and of course I miss him quite a bit. If I had to pick again for an exotic cat to own I would own a Canadian Lynx again hands down. They are very personable. Snaggletooth would lay on the couch with me and watch TV. He also followed me all over the house during the day.

He had moments of boundless energy and would literally run on the sides of the walls. He also tested out the curtain’s strength, several of my free standing lamps and of course anything I left out for him to get to. I learned quickly that if I wanted to drink anything I had to put it in a bottle with a lid. Otherwise I could expect to find it all over the floor just minutes after setting it down.

Lynxes are not raised to be pets for the general public. Mostly, they are bred for the fur trade. This means that there are a lot of breeders out there who do not care about the health of these cats, since they are just interested in a nice fur for later use.

Some have serious health problems and don’t live past 1 year. So, you need to do your homework if you are looking for a breeder to purchase a lynx for yourself.

Some points to also consider before you run out and get a lynx for yourself is do you have other pets?

Snaggletooth got along with my large Akita and my Great Pyrenees, but a domestic cat he would have killed. In fact, any pet smaller than him was prey…This also includes small children. So, if you have children, or small pets, a lynx isn’t for you.

If you have heirloom furniture in your home you don’t need a lynx. Trust me they love wood furniture to scratch on. We purchased a large cat tree complete with scratching areas. It looked like a jungle gym covered in swizzle rope. Well he did enjoy scratching it, but he still managed to find furniture he liked just as much to kill.

You need to check with your state or province to see if you are even able to own a Lynx. Once you do, you will need to contact your state Vet to see what requirements are needed to keep a lynx. Some states require permits while others not only require permits but also a double fence system to keep your lynx from getting loose.

Also, you need to purchase insurance just in case your exotic cat does get loose and hurts someone.

In conclusion, if you think you would love to own an exotic cat, please think it through very carefully.

Owning an exotic cat isn’t like owning a dog or domestic cat. As you can see, there is a lot of homework that you need to do before you settle on a lynx to own. I actually advise most people not to purchase an exotic cat.

Several rescue organizations are overloaded with exotic cats that people saw and thought, “Oh man, I would love to own a lynx or tiger.” They either weren’t honest in their abilities or they didn’t do their homework. This isn’t fair to the pet, nor is it fair to the rescue organization that you will expect to clean up the mess you made.

Actually, if you want something exotic, I would recommend a Savannah cat. These are Serval (exotic cats) crossed with domestic cats. They are large cats and have beautiful exotic cat looks. They are a recognized breed by TICA and there are several reputable breeders out there who produces healthy Savannah cats. These cats do not require permits or any restrictions on ownership.

Well that is about it…I really want to stress to your readers that owning a Lynx isn’t for everyone, and of course to do your homework before you purchase one.

Running a rescue organization like the one you are thinking of would include getting exotic animals that were once thought of as a unique pet. Big Cat Rescue in Florida (I am a member there) has nothing but large exotic cats. 3 are retired cats from the circus (and they paid big bucks for these guys to keep them till they passed away) but the rest are cats that they rescued from breeders who didn’t provide proper housing or again, people who had illusions that an exotic cat made a great pet.

They have to turn away over 50 cats per year…Where do these cats go? Either to other rescue places or they are euthanized. Its a sad, cold fact of life, but it just shows you as humans, we need to be responsible and govern ourselves and not expect someone else to come clean up our messes.

BTW…I am not an animal rights activist. In fact, I do not believe animals have rights. I believe humans have rights, and with those rights comes the responsibility to do the right thing. LOL! You can never expect an animal to be responsible.

I donate annually to the ASPCA, however I never donate to PETA, who has made a mockery of what taking responsible care of animals is. (I’ll get off my soap box now)…LOL

***

I hope you enjoyed this Unusual Pet post from Exotic Animal Lover! Until next time…

Live Exotically,

Kimberly Edwards

P.S. Check out this beautiful Canadian Lynx Print from the 1899 Zoological Gardens:

Technorati Tags: Canadian lynx, lynx, big cat, exotic cat, unusual pet, exotic pet, Canadian animal, North American animal, mammal, cats

A Canadian Lynx as an Indoor Pet? is a post from: Exotic Animal Lover

Not sure if you know, but my family loves to invest in real estate, and whilst we were looking at a great suburb in Allen, Texas – a suburb of Dallas – we came across an amazing find, actually considered to be in McKinney, Texas!

It was the HEARD Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary…Wow! This place boasts over 200 acres of land that is “hikeable”, has different trails, a great museum, especially for children, and even has a collection of exotic animals.

Not expecting to come across this place, we had to be extremely quick, as we were not prepared for hiking or the sheer size of this place, but we quickly looked through the museum, the exotic animals and walked a little way’s down one of the nature trails and sat to enjoy the Texas sky under some trees!

This would be awesome for a family outing, a school trip, or a quiet place to hike!

We will certainly go back to visit! I must give props where props are due! I will post photos soon…

***

I hope if you live in Dallas or are going to visit, you will enjoy this Animal Sanctuary that you found on Exotic Animal Lover! Until next time…

Live Exotically,

Kimberly Edwards

P.S. Learn how to donate to this amazing facility by clicking here…

Technorati Tags: natural science museum, wildlife sanctuary, HEARD, exotic animals, exotic animal refuge, animal sanctuary, McKinney, Texas park, nature trails, wildlife park, hiking in Texas

HEARD Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary in Dallas is a post from: Exotic Animal Lover

To me, our greatest asset is our bio-diversity of wildlife. One by one, these fantastic animal species are disappearing…extinct…never to be seen again.

What a shame! So, what in the world can you do?

Well, first of all, conserve your resources, such as energy, water and don’t waste your food. Live organically, not only with the food you consume, but with your cleaning products and the means in which you take care of your property, gardens and grass.

Use your car less, walk more. Save the baby robin you find in your back yard. Donate your time to clean up the environment or help out at a local wildlife refuge.

If nothing else, you can donate to help out the planet and it’s animals.

Earth Hour was a huge, and many areas are participating in an Earth Hour every month or week.

I hope that this blog provides you with great information, inspiration, appreciation, and a spark to help save this planet and the animal species in it, one way or another.

This blog post was inspired by reading a blog post: A Blogger Should Be Responsible – Working For Earth

***

I hope you enjoyed this post! I hope you check out the page on our Exotic Animal Refuge! Until next time…

Live Exotically,

Kimberly Edwards

P.S. Let us know what your Green Initiatives are and how you are a Responsible Earthling by Commenting in the Comment Box Below.

Technorati Tags: green, green initiatives, animal refuge, responsible earth, conservation, wildlife preservation, Earth Hour, environment

Are You a Responsible Earthling? is a post from: Exotic Animal Lover

I wanted to present it to you and find out what you collectively thought about this issue, being Exotic Animal Lovers yourselves!

Enjoy!

I hope today’s installment of Exotic Animal Lover was thought provoking! Until next time…

Live Exotically,

Kimberly Edwards

P.S. Add me as a friend on Stumble Upon

Technorati Tags: exotic animal, exotic animal welfare, animal conservation, exotic animal legislature, exotic animal owners

What Is Your Opinion on Exotic Animal Laws? Watch This Video First… is a post from: Exotic Animal Lover

Neglected Exotic Animal Finds Home:

Newest refuge to be built will be home to 100s of needy exotic animals…

Check out the entire story Here:

Exotic Animal Refuge News

***

That’s Right! I am Announcing my Plan to the World!

I am developing an Exotic Animal Refuge! This refuge will take in exotic animals that have been neglected, or have outgrown an owner’s desire or ability to keep.

Animals in such condition are often unable to be released back into their habitats in the wild, as they have lost many of their basal survival instincts or have tremendous injuries, physical and mental.

Apart from shelter, food and protection, these animals will receive Love at this Refuge! I seriously hope to be able to contribute to breeding programs for endangered animals to help conserve amazing species of animal…

No one can spread the word or help if I don’t say something! So, here’s the news…Please Help Me Start this Exotic Animal Refuge by doing what you can…whether that be Contributing Financially by Donating or simply by Spreading the Word by sending people to this page!

.

I want to thank everyone for their support and encouragement, and I would like to Thank You in Advance for Making a Difference in the life of an Exotic Animal, or helping to save an Endangered Species…What would this world be like without Animals?

***

I hope you enjoyed today’s installment of Exotic Animal Lover! Until next time…

Live Exotically,

Kimberly Edwards ;D

P.S.

Technorati Tags: exotic animal refuge, animal refuge, animal welfare, animal conservation, animal donation, endangered species, breeding program, donation, contribution

Kimberly’s Exotic Animal Refuge is a post from: Exotic Animal Lover

Thank you for visiting our blog. My name is Kimberly Edwards. This blog will be a multimedia blog, and it will contain video, audio, text, pictures, and all kinds of things pertaining to exotic animals, their lives and our love for them.

We are going to have a regular turn of info. Check back often. We look forward to your posts, comments, and interaction.

Thank you for visiting our blog. Have a wonderful and blessed day.

Live Exotically,

Kimberly Edwards

Technorati Tags: exotic animals, wildlife, nature, wild animals, conservation, endangered species, unusual pets, biology, science, fauna, environment

Exotic Animals: An Introduction To A Blog About The Wonderful Wild Animals Of The World is a post from: Exotic Animal Lover