Catty Shack Ranch

On August 7th, the Naturalists visited Catty Shack Ranch for their night feeding. Catty Shack Ranch is a wildlife sanctuary who mostly caters to the big cats. It is located in north Jacksonville, FL. The dedicated volunteers rescue big cats from improper living situations and give them the loving home they deserve.

The Naturalists had a blast as they got up close and personal with Tigers, Lions, and various other big cats. It all began at 6pm as a personal guide showed us around and introduced us to all the residents. Around 7:45, after everyone got a great understanding of the big cats and their conservation, Curt brought out the grub. The cats went wild as the cart drove by with their yummy turkey. Curt went by all the cages tossing in turkeys and playing with the cats (from his own side of the fence, usually). One or two of the felines gave Curt a bigol' goodnight kiss before they ate.

It was fun to see these animals this close up, but our hearts went out to them at the same time. Most of them have never seen their native environment and therefore cannot continue the species naturally. But for their cats now, Catty Shack does all they can to give them a fantastic life. They depend on donations and fundraisers for money (they have just recently opened a thrift store) so these volunteers do as much as possible with the little materials available.

The website for Catty Shack - http://cattyshack.org/ - has all the information needed to learn about this wonderful sanctuary. We definitely recommend this experience to any animal lovers!
See the video bar on the right for our videos from the feeding!