Ron
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“Zoos
tell us as much about humans as they do about animals”
Richard Mabey
About
Big Cats
For
many years, I treated wild exotic cats in zoos and private collections
in Texas. Later, I cared for large circus cats in Sarasota, Florida.
This is some of the information I learned over that time. For
it, I am indebted to the Rosaire Family, Show Folks Inc. of Sarasota
and to the kind members of the Feline Conservation Federation
of America.
Hand-raising
big exotic cats is somewhat like baking a cake – there is
no one right way to do it but there are some obvious things you
want to avoid. What is important is that you are happy with the
final results.
Why
Would Anyone Want To Hand-raise Big Exotic Cats?
Maternal
Neglect
It’s
not unusual for exotic wild cats, living in captive situations,
to need help raising one or more of their offspring. In captivity,
the clues, rhythms and experiences that govern their natural wild
behaviors are missing or poorly developed. This often includes
the rearing of their young. If all cubs are of equal size and
development and one has died or is in serious trouble, I usually
suggest all the babies be pulled and hand-raised then and there.
First
Time Mothers
Exotic
cats giving birth for the first time often have poorer maternal
instincts and less success then they do in subsequent litters.
If one or more infants are subnormal in temperature or have died,
you may be able to save the rest through hand rearing.
Wild
Orphans
People occasionally find these wild infant felines after a parent
was killed, injured or when their parental bond was broken –
usually through some interaction with humans. These foundlings
can be successfully raised. They are rarely suitable for re-introduction
into the wild, but they make good educational ambassadors and
zoo display cats.
Display
and Performance Cats
Many
animal professionals raise these magnificent creatures for show
or display. They usually find that these big cats lead less stressful
lives and are more excepting of human companionship when they
are nurtured by humans from birth or shortly there after.
Exceptionally
Large Litters
Occasional
mothers will give birth to more kittens than they can successfully
raise. Those that are slightly smaller will quickly fall behind
in growth and rarely survive. For all to survive, some will need
to be bottle-fed.
Hybrid
Offspring
When a male species of cat is bred to a female of a different
smaller species, the kittens may be born after a shorter pregnancy
than would have occurred in the larger species. These kittens
are sometimes slightly less developed than they would normally
be and may require bottle-feeding to survive.
Exotic
Pets
Exotic
wild felines are commonly raised and sold as pets in the United
States. My observation has been that, with the exception of servals
and other smaller cats, it is a really unwise idea to keep big
exotic cats as domestic pets. Most people greatly underestimate
the commitment required to keep these animals, their space requirements,
the time their care involves and the cost of keeping them. When
you cut corners on any of those things, or when you think you
can make them into anything but the wild animals God intended
them to be, things will end sadly. But
my clients still insist on having them, my job is to keep them
healthy and hand raising them is the norm. It does establish a
bond and trust that is next to impossible to establish later in
the cat’s life. But anyone who tells you you can ever fully
trust a large cat has a leak in their attic.
Are
There Drawbacks of Bottle-Feeding ?
Bottle-fed
big cats are going to turn out quite differently from those raised
by their mothers. Depending on your future plans for the cat,
this can be a good thing or a bad thing. Other than that, hand-raising
infant big cats is a big commitment in time and energy that requires
homework and preparation if you are going to succeed.
Once
a facility decides to bottle feed its offspring, it may be forced
to do so in subsequent generations since human-raised large cats
may become poor mothers themselves.
In
zoos, bottle-feeding is a time-consuming process that ties up
staff time, space and resources. When more than one individual
is assigned the chore, slight changes in care technique often
causes digestive disturbances in the young animals. Besides, large
cats that are raised by their own parents grow up better adjusted
to group living.
First
Things To Do When Hand-Raising – Initial Physical Exam
When
you remove cubs from their mother, the first thing to do is to
closely examine them. Each cub needs a notebook, a name or a number.
Snip of a small tuft of hair or mark their tails or claws with
a dab of nail polish to tell them apart.
Be sure the cubs remain warm while you are doing it.
First
check its mouth and nose to be sure it can breath freely. If any
of its amniotic
sac remains on its face, remove that material completely.
Weigh
each cub with an accurate food scale and record its weight.
Check it’s belly button (umbilicus) to see that it has
fully closed and is dry.
If its remaining cord is longer than an inch, cut it off at
an inch. If it is damp or infected where it enters the body,
swab it off with povone iodine.
Check its mouth to be sure the palate is fully formed.
Check its anus to be sure it is normally formed and not protruding.
Check it for fleas or other external parasites.
Check its mouth color for paleness – a sign of anemia.
Observe its nose for crustiness or drainage.
Observe its respiration for rate and rhythm.
Listen to its chest for any sounds of congestion.
Check its eyes for any dissimilarity between the pupils, inflammation
or other abnormalities.
Check all its limbs to be sure they are normal.
Check its entire body for any superficial wounds, sores or
abrasions. |
If
you are concerned about anything you observe, consult a seasoned
professional who has raised many exotic cats. Your local animal
hospital is not a good place to seek advice in raising these animals,
neither are your local game wardens or SPCA. (Professional,
in this case, means experienced, wise and practical, not degreed,
titled and academic.)
If the cub(s) are cold or wet, dry them completely with a face
towel and warm them immediately. I use a hair dryer on low setting.
But be sure you keep the dryer a far distance from the animal’s
body, away from its face and do not over heat it. Warm it to your
body temperature. You will know it is sufficiently warm when its
footpads are the same temperature as the rest of its body and
its mouth and tongue are a rosy pink in color. Then wrap a hot
water bottle in a towel and place it next to the cub. Individual
cubs are more susceptible to chilling than a group of snuggling
ones.
What Formula Should I Feed?
You
can be successfully raising infant large exotic cats on accepted
traditional formulas you make from individual supermarket ingredients,
from commercially available infant pet formulas and from combinations
of the two. When you feed any one of these three options, how
you feed is just as important as which one you feed.
Some
people still believe that to be successful with a particular species
of big or exotic cat, they must feed a milk formula that is identical
to the composition of that cat’s milk as they see it recorded
in the literature. The largest producer of animal milk replacements,
PetAg, has encourages that way of thinking. However, the data
that these people use to make their recommendations is pretty
much worthless.
Here
is why these minor differences in constituents do not matter:
................
First,
the composition of every species of exotic cat changes a lot during
the time it is nursing its cubs. Depending on when the sample
was taken, the content of fats, protein and calcium varies enormously.
It also varies depending on what the mother cat has been eating,
the number of kittens it was nursing and even the nipple (ref)
that was sampled. It is somewhat like you averaging your weather
forecast during a year and saying that that is what the weather
will be like tomorrow. It is OK for making broad general decisions
as to what ought to be in an exotic cat milk replacement, but
not what the individual levels should be. Much of the published
species milk analysis data is just plain silly as another article
points out (ref).
It
is relatively easy to cross-breed (hybridize) wild exotic cats.
Common sense tells you that for this to happen these cats must
be very much alike in their metabolic and nutrient needs at a
cellular level. Where
the cubs differ is in their starting weight, and how long growth
occurs.
After
their initial flow of thick, rich colostrum, big cats produce
a more dilute milk during their first week of lactation that gradually
increases in its protein, fat and calcium content. Calcium content
tends to increase slowly, increasing up to 200% in late lactation.
Lactose (milk
sugar) remains rather constant throughout lactation. By comparison,
the cow’s milk you buy is much more constant with a lower
amount of protein, less fat and a higher amount of lactose sugar.
I
put together some recorded milk sample constituents for exotic
cats and comparative species. They are valuable in getting a feel
for the general level of nutrients in exotic cat milk –
nothing more. No one has ever determined that
one species of exotic cat requires a special nutrient or nutrient
level that another species of exotic cat doesn’t. And there
is no reason to think that any of them would.
SPECIES |
%
PROTEIN |
%
FAT |
%
LACTOSE |
%
SOLIDS |
COW
|
3.1-
3.3 |
3.2
- 3.5 |
4.5
- 4.9 |
12.2 |
DOMESTIC
CAT |
9
-11 |
10
- 11 |
3.5
- 5.0 |
18
- 28 |
| GOAT |
3
- 3.5 |
3
- 6 |
4
- 4.6 |
12.0 |
| LION |
6.0
- 8.5 |
11.4
- 17.5 |
2.7-
3.4 |
16.7-
30.2 |
| COUGAR |
12% |
18.6 |
3.9 |
35.5 |
| LEOPARD |
11.1 |
6.5 |
4.2 |
22.6 |
| SERVAL |
15.8 |
15.3 |
6.9 |
29.3 |
| KMR (canned
liquid) |
7.5 |
4.5 |
|
18.0 |
| Esbiliac
(canned liquid) |
4.5 |
6.0 |
|
15.0 |
Off-The-Shelf
Milk Replacers
No
product for sale in the US is scientifically designed for exotic
cats. All were originally designed to feed the kittens and puppies
of domestic cats or dog whose nutritional needs we know much more
about. Wild exotic felines produce milk that is richer in fat
and protein content than that of house cats and domestic dogs
and most produce a milk that is lower in carbohydrate (primarily
lactose). Domestic cats have adapted to absorbing this sugar by
producing a considerable amount of lactase enzyme in their intestines.
This capability is not as well developed in wild exotic cats.
That is why they are prone to develop bloating, diarrhea and other
digestive problems if they consume products formulated for domestic
cats or formulas high in cows milk. If you look at the table,
you will see that goat's milk is not that different from cow's
milk. Cow's milk is
also much lower in calcium than feline milk when the babies need
it most.
The
most commonly used commercial milk formulas to bottle-feed exotic
cats in the US are those produced by PetAg.
Many use their KMR or Esbilac formulas because they are readily
available and opinions are pretty much evenly split as to which
works best in exotic cats. When one prefers one over the other,
it is usually because they think they see less diarrhea and bloat
with one or the other product. Some straddle the fence by use
a mixture of the two. Everyone has occasional problems with both.
When problems occur, it appears to be due to the fat portion of
the formulas.
Because
results have been mixed when either KMR or Esbilac is used in
wildlife, PetAg also sells a line of Milk Matrix products that
are milk-fat free the way all their products once were manufactured.
The fat and oil portion of Milk Matrix formulas is all from vegetable
sources. Of this line, their Milk Matrix 33/40, 42/25 and 42/50
are suggested. The first number in the names of these products
represents their percentage of protein and the second the percentage
of fat. I have not noticed that any one of these three Milk Matrix
formulas gives consistently better results than another. Individual
exotic cat professionals each have their favorite and which one
you will personally find best is not predictable. That is probably
because it is not so much, which one you feed, as how you feed
it that makes most of the difference. Differences between product
batches and limited product shelf life probably account for the
rest of the differences you will see.
Most
people purchase these formulas in dry powdered form. The process
by which PetAg and the other Borden clone company, Fox
Valley, include a fat or oil in a dry powder formula is a
difficult one. Think about it. Have you ever considered turning
a stick of butter into a powder? These products are, by their
nature, very unstable with a short shelf life. They also vary
from batch to batch because bulk dairy ingredients they purchase
to make them are not a uniform product. During storage, milk-based
formulas often become rancid and irritating as they form unhealthy
peroxides and aldehydes (malondialdehyde,
hexanal, alkenals) and loose vitamin E, other anti-oxidants and
essential omega fatty acids.
It
is not just the quality and freshness of the fats in dry formulas
that is important. It is very important that the size of the fat
droplets in the formulas you prepare be such that the cubs can
easily absorb them. If the powdered formula you purchase is old
or if that particular batch was not up to quality, or if the liquid
you prepare was not blended sufficiently or was blended too vigorously,
the fat can form lumps that are too large for infant exotic cats
to absorb. When this occurs, the cubs can die from intestinal
blockages. the milk fat ingredients (creams) they use to produce
feeding formula seem more prone to this problem than their vegetable
fats ingredients. Be sure there are no lumps, clumps or graininess
in the formulas you prepare and that the powder itself shows no
sign of off-odor or rancidity. I have tried various ways of keeping
these powders fresh but haven’t been happy with any. The
stuff just seems to have a mind of its own.
To
be used successfully, all dry formulas needs to be well blended
with pre-warmed water. The fat portion of KMR and Esbilac were
reformulated some years ago to include milk fat. Changes were
also made in the way the products were manufactured. So old formulas
and advice you read about are no longer valid. Unfortunately,
a lot of product information that might be helpful are company
trade secrets. Each time a change occurs, it has lead to major
confusion when their products are used to raise wildlife. The
older formulas of KMR and Esbilac are still available from PetAg
as Milk Matrix 42/25 and 33/40 respectively.
PetAg
says that their Milk Matrix line has only vegetable fats, so the
clumping of milk fat should not be a problem when you use them.
However, PetAg put out an advisory a while ago that electric blenders,
when used to vigorously, might cause the fat portion of their
products to clump and congeal. They suggest the formulas only
be mixed in blenders with intermittent pulse bursts. The characteristics
of the fats in these commercial formulas are as important as their
source. When fat or oil globules are the wrong size, they can
lead to constipation and death in big cat cubs due to intestinal
blockages. Cow-source butterfat in these formulas caused this
problem at a number of large zoos and wildlife centers. This butter
fat clumping problem does not seem to occur when you make your
own formula using heavy cream.
You
also have the option of purchasing similar products from Fox Valley
or Wombaroo Food Products
but, as far as I know, they all face the same production challenges.
Colostrum
and Serum Antibodies
Cubs
and kittens haven’t had time to develop their own immunity
against infections. They rely on immunity (antibodies) passed
down from their mothers. Some of these antibodies pass into the
cubs while they are still in the womb. The amount of immunity
passed to the cubs before birth depends on the health and nutritional
status of the mother as well as her vaccination status. But many
antibodies are passed along to the cubs in the first milk or colostrum
that the mothers produce for a day or two after giving birth.
The amount of antibody that can pass through the cub’s intestine
in this way begins to decline shortly after birth. After a day
or two has passed, the antibodies in milk can no longer be absorbed
by the cubs. But the antibody that they did absorb persists in
their blood and protects them for many weeks.
Cubs
that do not receive colostrum are more prone to bacterial infections
(septicemias),
pneumonia, intestinal infections, diarrhea and umbilical infections.
It is not until they are about 8 weeks old that feline cubs produce
enough antibodies of their own to protect themselves.
That
is why, whenever possible, exotic cats should nurse their own
mothers for their first 48 hours. When that can't happen, you
still have some options:
1)
You can give the cubs a colostrum supplement produced in
goats or cattle. It won't have all the antibodies cubs need,
but perhaps it will help.
2) During the cub’s first 24-48 hours, you can give
it an oral preparation made from the blood serum of the
mother cat or
another cat (0.5 – 5.0 ml/feeding). It keeps a long
time when frozen at a low temperature and not thawed repeatedly.
3)
If 48 hours has already passed, you can have the same serum
injected sterilely into the cubs abdomen or given subcutaneously
(5 - 8ml/ 1000grams body weight ) on two consecutive
days.
4) You can give weak newborn cubs antibiotic (trimethoprim/sulfa,
etc.) protection to try to compensate for their low antibody
level. The problem with doing this is that antibiotics kill
the good bacteria along with the bad. I would only suggest
it if you have lost litters from this mother before or if
some cubs in the litter have already died.
|
First
Feedings / Electrolytes
Cubs do best when their first few feedings are warmed
electrolyte solutions such as half-strength pedialyte, ringer’s
solution or 5% dextrose (glucose). There are a couple of reasons
for this:
1)
It takes cubs a while to get used to feeding from rubber
nipples. During that time, they are more likely to aspirate
(inhale) formula into their lungs. If that occurs, electrolyte
solutions cause much less damage than milk formulas do.
2) It may take you time to adjust to the feeding habits
of the cub(s) – particularly if you are inexperienced.
Every litter is a little different from the previous one.
Until you get your techniques and equipment optimal, you
are more likely to get formula into the cub’s lungs.
Electrolytes are more forgiving than milk if that occurs.
3)
All artificial formulas are more prone to cause digestive
disturbances than natural milk and bottle feeding is not
as natural as nursing on their mother. Giving electrolytes
allows the cubs time to adjust.
4)
After the first 24-48 hours of thick colostrum, the mother
cat’s milk becomes quite dilute - only thickening
gradually as lactation progresses. You duplicate this process
when you start with a diluted product.
|
Once
you and your cub are confident in the feeding process, gradually
add the milk formula to the electrolytes. Increase the amount
of milk mixed with the electrolyte by about 50% a day (not the
total volume) until it is wholly formula. If diarrhea occurs,
temporarily dilute the formula with more electrolytes.
Preparing
The Cub’s Formula
Always
begin with a diluted formula until the cub adjusts to it. Too
rich a formula, given too soon can cause something called osmotic
diarrhea in which
unabsorbed nutrients pull water out of the body and into the intestine.
You
can prepare enough for a full day. Keep the day's stock supply
on the top shelf in your fridge, heating only what you
are about to use. Reheating destroys nutrients and changes the
consistency of the fat portion. Give the formula time for the
air bubbles and foam to leave the bottles.
If
you are working with the 42/25, 33/40, powdered KMR or Esbilac,
begin by mixing one part powder with four parts pre-warmed electrolyte.
Over the next three or four days, decrease the amount of water
you add to a one-part powder, two-parts water mixture.
Be
careful when you use a microwave to heat formula. It is safer
to heat a bowl of water and place the filled nursing bottles in
that than to directly nuke a bottle of formula. Shake a few drops
onto your wrist to be sure it is not too hot - about 100F is just
right.
How
Often Should I Feed The Cub(s)?
Feeding
every three hours, dawn to dusk, is sufficient for most infant
exotic cats. If the kittens were born weak or are not vigorous
nursers, you can feed them every two hours for their first few
days. It is always safer to feed weak cubs smaller amounts at
more frequent intervals than risk the chance they will aspirate
larger amounts given less frequently.
By
the time the cubs are two weeks old, they should do fine when
fed every four hours and every 5 hours by the time they have reached
5 weeks of age. Feed the weanlings their formula 2-3 times a day.
How
Much Formula Should I Feed ?
A
very general rule of thumb is that cubs drink 10–20 % of
their body weight each day. That is, a 300-gram cub would drink
30-60 ml per day. However, a cub of that size should not get more
than 15-20ml in a single feeding. Stay near the lower end of the
range for the youngest cubs. The risks of overfeeding are greater
than the risks of moderately underfeeding. Stop when they aren’t
greedy for the formula and don’t re-feed them before their
stomachs have time to empty. Never feed them till they are drum-tight
or bloated – just until they are comfortably full and relaxed.
If they haven't taken the amount you think they should but their
stomachs appear full, stop.
Over-eating, particularly in tiger and lion cubs, causes a lot
of intestinal problems and bloat. If the cubs stay restless and
hungry between feeding or their growth rate drops off, try increasing
the strength of their formula. If it occurs when they are breaking
teeth, add some strained baby meats.
Put
more milk in the bottle than they will consume so they don’t
suck air and don’t rush them. The little ones in particular
need rest breaks during their feedings.
Weight
Gain
(enlarge the graph)
In
exotic cats, the number of cubs in a litter is not a good predictor
of the birth weight of individual cubs and both males and female
cubs are born at about the same weight (ref).
The San Diego Zoo published some expected daily weight gains for
a number of exotic cats of sizes as large as snow leopards. They
range from 11 to 35 grams per day over their first 3 weeks (ref).
It
can take up to two days for cubs to begin gaining weight. So it
is sufficient if they don't loose weight on their first or second
day. From then on, their weight gain should be a rapid slope upward.
Only the smaller exotic cats, such as margays, grow at the slow
rate of domestic house cats (ref).
Can
I Make My Own Formula From Scratch?
“I’ve
heard of formulas that need two chemists and a witch doctor to
make.“ Kevin Chambers.
Yes.
There is no limit to the number of homemade formulas that are
being used to successfully hand-raise exotic cats. Considering
all the sorts of things go into these formulas, it is remarkable
how well most of them perform.
Zoo
nutritionists tell us that fresh cow’s milk is not a suitable
ingredient in infant exotic cat formulas. They prefer you use
a dried skim milk powder or evaporated milk as your base and avoid
adding sugar ingredients (ref).
However, that hasn’t kept people from developing their own
successful fresh cow’s milk and goat milk formulas. The
many ingredients added to these formulas evidently protect the
cubs from the effects of the high lactose level and scarce nutrients
in cow’s and goat milk. Both cow and goat milk are nutrient
poor - the volumes of un supplemented milk that cubs would need
to drink to meet their nutritional needs are just too large. Here
are a few formulas that I know that have been used by zoos and
breeders over the years:
Lion
cubs: A mixture of 160ml cow’s milk, 10 ml heavy
whipping cream, 1-3 large egg yolks, 30ml gelatin powder,
30 ml sunflower oil has raised lion cubs successfully. (I
would add calcium and a vitamin supplement).
Another formula consists of 3 cans of evaporated cows or
goats milk, 1 cup of powdered milk, one cup of cooked ground
liquefied turkey puree or unseasoned Gerber’s strained
baby turkey, beef or chicken, one tablespoon full of Calcium
Carbonate, 8 ounces of plain yogurt, 6 eggs ,2 ml of liquid
pediatric multivitamins and water to make about a gallon
of formula. Prepare only as much as will be fed in a day.
Leopard cubs: 180 ml cow’s milk, 3ml powdered
dextrose, 2 egg yolks, 20 ml gelatin powder
Cougar cubs: 168 ml cow’s milk, 10 ml heavy
whipping cream, 1 egg yolk, 25 ml gelatin powder, 2ml powdered
dextrose and 30 ml sunflower oil.
Cheetah cubs: 185 ml cow’s milk, 20 ml water,
1 egg yolk, 15ml gelatin powder, 25ml sunflower oil.
Some of these concoctions add high protein baby cereal,
others, yogurt, and/or strained baby food meats. Often a
commercial infant pet milk replacement is also thrown in
or is the basic ingredient. Gelatin is in many of the formulas.
It thickens the formulas and some think these thick formulas
are less likely to be spit back up and aspirated.
Bobcat cubs: 1 jar strained turkey baby food without
onion or spices, 2 egg yolks, 1 can goat’s milk, 1
dropper full of Poly Vi Sol infant vitamins, 1 teaspoon
full of Neo-Cal-Glucon calcium supplement.
Whichever
formula you use, my personal feeling is that the more ingredients
you add, the less likely it is that your formula will be
deficient in any one nutrient. Be sure that your formula
contains both a multivitamin and a calcium supplement. Too
much of either is as big a problem as not enough.
Most
home made formulas use only the yolks of eggs. That is because
uncooked egg whites contain avidin,
which ties up a certain B vitamin. Whether or not this is
of any importance to exotic cats is unknown. |
Adding
Other Things
Vitamins
It
is a good idea to add some multivitamins to formulas for exotic
cats – particularly if you are making these formulas from
scratch or if there is any doubt in your mind as to the freshness
and stability of the commercial product you are feeding. I prefer
to use a liquid human pediatric vitamin. They are sold under many
names, both proprietary and generic. The best known brand is Poly-Vi-Sol
Vitamin Drops. They all should contain Vitamins A, C, D, E, thiamine,
riboflavin, niacin, pyridoxine, Vitamin B12 and iron.
Depending
on the brand you purchase, a standard daily human infant dose
is one half or one ml. Scale this dose down to the size of the
cub you are feeding and add it to the mixed formula - boiling
vitamins destroys them. Others have used pet vitamin products
such as Pet-Tabs just
as successfully. Just like the powdered formula, it is important
the vitamin product is fresh and has been properly stored. Large
discount human pharmacies have fresh product because they turn
their stock over rapidly. Most feed stores and veterinary hospitals
don’t. Never over-do it with vitamins; too much vitamin
A & D are just as dangerous as too little.
Calcium
Calcium is very stable. All commercial infant pet formulas contain
sufficient calcium. Calcium supplementation becomes important
when you are mixing your own formulas from scratch and they do
not contain enough dairy ingredients or other calcium sources.
The skim portion of dry or liquid milk as well as yogurt and buttermilk
are rich in calcium. But the cream and cottage cheese portions
are much lower in calcium. Products based on meat are also low
in calcium unless calcium has been added to them. Cereals are
also low in calcium if they have not been calcium-fortified and
a diet too low in vitamin D-3
does not allow enough of the calcium that is present to be absorbed.
Because these exotic cats are growing fast, their calcium needs
are high. If enough calcium is not available to them, these cats
will develop rickets.
By the time you see their curved bowlegs and painful gait, the
problem cannot be fully corrected. This occurs most commonly when
their primary diet ingredient is red meat or poultry meat.
You can avoid this problem in growing exotic cats by adding a
calcium supplement. Calcium carbonate antacid tablets and powdered
skim milk are readily available sources of calcium you can add.
In liquid formulas, Neo Cal-Glucon works well (Calciquid,calcium
glubionate)(about 100mg/100grams body weight/day).
Taurine
All cats are especially sensitive to a lack of taurine in their
diets. Taurine is very important for their eye, heart and brain
development. They also have poor hair growth when it is lacking
in their diet. Dairy proteins, meat and egg white are all rich
in taurine and both KMR and Esbilac are fortified with it. But
some exotic cat breeders add extra taurine to their baby formulas
anyway. Should you wish to add some, it is sold as a tablet or
powder for use in pets and as a human supplement by stores like
GNC. If you add it, 1000 mg per pound of dry food ingredients
is sufficient.
Iron
The primary sign of not enough iron in large exotic cats is anemia.
Anemic big cats have pale gums, low energy level poor weight gain
and sometimes an increased respiration rate. The younger the cat,
the more likely it is that these signs will be severe. Iron anemia
can be a problem in mother-raised big cats too when they are kept
on cement rather than natural earth enclosures that provide natural
iron sources or when they carry high hookworm or flea loads (galvanized
cages are another cause of anemia). Hookworms steal iron,
and big cats that carry intestinal hookworms almost always pass
them on to their offspring in their first milk. It is not just
a captivity issue - over 90% of the wild bobcats here in Texas
have hookworms as well. The Poly-Vi-Sol vitamins I mentioned earlier
are fortified with iron. If their anemia is severe (Hct/PCV under
30%) they need injectable iron dextran (iron
dextran injections are very painful and inflammatory).
If parasites are the underlying problem, they need to be treated.
Lactaid (lactase)
Some exotic cat breeders and zoos swear by the addition of lactaid-like
enzyme tablets to their infant cat diets. This product is an enzyme
that helps the animals digest milk sugar (lactose). Domestic cat
kittens produce some of their own lactase. But between 4 and 7
weeks, the amount they produce drops significantly.
enlarge
the graph
Exotic
cats are probably similar.
Since
cow and goat milk are high in lactose sugar, pre-treating milk
with lactase can be quite helpful in preventing the bloat, intestinal
upsets and diarrhea that sometime accompany diets based on cow
and goat milk.
You can purchase lactase in liquid form. When you use it in your
homemade formulas, fifteen drops (3750 units) removes nearly all
the lactose from a quart (946ml) of milk when it is stored in
the refrigerator for 24 hours. Some exotic cat breeders crush
a Lactaid Ultra tablet (9000 units) in 8 ounces of their milk
formula. That is a whopping amount of lactase but it causes no
harm.
Probiotics
When kittens and cubs nurse their mothers, they are naturally
seeded with bacteria and yeast that aid in digestion and seem
to promote good general heath.
Probiotic
organisms digest the lactose milk sugar and accomplish the same
thing as adding lactase enzymes. Probiotics also seem to help
prevent diarrhea by keeping the intestinal tract more acid and
preventing the growth of diarrhea-causing bacteria.
You can supply some of these organisms when yogurt is an ingredient
in your formulas. You can supply a wider variety of organisms
if you include a probiotic paste in your feeding plan similar
to Bene-Bac
. I prefer using human probiotics because of the same quality
control issues that surround formula powders.
Cream
Pure cow’s milk cream in homemade infant diets does not
cause the digestive problems that the mechanically dried cream
powders contained in commercial pet milk replacements do. Use
the product called pure heavy cream or whipping cream that has
no added sugar. It should be added to any formula that only relies
on the natural cream content of cow’s or goat’s milk
because infant exotic cats require much more than those products
naturally contain. When you supplement your formulas with cream,
increase the cream level slowly. Older cubs can handle more of
it than younger ones. Cream is an excellent source of energy for
growing exotic cats. But it does not supply the proteins these
animals need for muscle growth. That will have to come from ingredients
like cooked egg white, meats and the casein protein the cow or
goat milk non-fat portion.
How
Much Water Should I Add To The Dry Formula Powders ?
Over
the first day or two, gradually change from a pure electrolyte
formula to a formula composed of three parts electrolyte/water
and one part powdered formula. Over the next few days, increase
the concentration to two parts water/electrolytes mixed with one
part powdered formula.
At
What Age Should I Pull The Cubs?
When
you intend to hand raise exotic cats, 14 days is a good time to
take on the responsibility. Those first two weeks are the most
critical and most mother cats do a better job than you will.
There
are exceptions, some cats consistently loose their litters for
one reason or another and those cubs need to be removed at birth.
Its tough to make those decisions because you can never be certain.
If the cubs are not in immediate danger of dying, allow them at
least 48 hours to nurse on their mothers so that they will receive
her colostrum, or split up the liter so at least some of the offspring
will survive.
If
this is a pet, commercial exotic wild cat breeders often encourage
purchasers to take their cubs too young. Avoid the urge to do
that. It is less work for the breeder, but it can be more heartaches
for you. Cats pulled at 2 weeks develop just as mellow and docile
as those removed earlier. What the cubs first see is important
(imprinting).
An ideal time to take over parenting responsibility is as their
eyes are just opening but before they have the ability to focus.
As long as they still purr when you stroke them, you should be
OK.
If
you have the mother, remember that removing her cubs or loosing
her litter will usually causes her to come back into heat. You
are putting a lot of unnecessary stress on her health and subsequent
liters if you allow her to become pregnant again so soon.
Once
the cub(s) is in your care, integrate it completely into your
life. The more time you spend with it, the more you stroke and
cuddle it and the more you talk to it, the better. You can’t
have it both ways – big cats, bottle-fed in zoo nurseries
with multiple caregivers, minimal contact and indifferent staff
often turn out to be unhappy creatures. They grow up to not be
happy in groups of their own kind, and distrustful of humans as
well.
General
Sanitation
Your
cubs will not thrive when sanitation levels are low. This goes
for the conditions that mother cats reside in as well as the nursery
where cubs are raised - unhealthy mothers have unhealthy offspring.
Stale
formula is an invitation for digestive problems for the
cub(s). Milk formula is an excellent medium for bacterial
growth and it will rapidly sour when it stands at room temperature
or when it is taken in and out of the refrigerator. The
same thing goes for powdered milk formulas. I don’t
suggest you use any one purchased container for more than
a month or so. Remember, the powder in the original container
was never
sterile.
Wash your hands frequently before and after feeding or handling
each cub.
Dip or soak all washable supplies in a mixture
of one part bleach and twenty parts water after you have
cleaned them thoroughly with soap, water and a scrub brush.
Let them dry overnight or rinse them with water to remove
any residual bleach. Boiling is also a very effective way
to keep items sanitary.
Do not use disinfectants like Lysol, Pine-Sol, Nolvasan,
etc, around the cubs. Anything that kills bacteria is toxic
enough to keep away from infants.
Boil all your feeding bottles between use.
Flies, cockroaches, rats and mice spread bacteria –
control them with kitten safe/baby safe products like boric
acid, pyrethrins or products approved for use in dairies.
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What
Are Some Common Health Problems This Cub Might
Encounter?
Exotic
cats are born with limited body reserves and stamina. When they
go down hill - they do so fast. So when you see even the smallest
hint of a problem you need to nip it in the bud.
Very few veterinarians work with exotic cats and fewer still understand
the husbandry errors that underlie most infant exotic cat health
problems. So your best sources of information are experienced
breeders. Take time to locate and introduce yourself to these
people before you need their advice. Visit their compounds and
learn as much as you can. Join groups like the Feline
Conservation Organization.
Aspiration
Pneumonia
The most serious problem that can occurs for an inexperienced
caregivers (or a distracted or rushed experienced caregivers)
is allowing the milk formula to enter the cub’s lungs rather
than its stomach - the formula “goes down the wrong way”.
The most common cause of this is feeding infant cubs in the wrong
position. Never cradle and feed these exotic cats on their back
as you would a human infant. These animals must have their stomach
side down (belly down) when they suckle. Later, when the cub is
more developed and able to walk, it can sit back on its haunches
or stand and take the bottle in its front paws like the one in
the photograph at the top of this article.
The younger a cub is, the more likely this problem is to occur.
That is why inexperienced caregivers are much safer if they take
over the chore when cubs are already 4-6 weeks old. Let an experienced
person get you started right.
Here are some other tips to help you prevent this problem:
Feed
the baby in the proper position
Use
nipples that are the right size and that do not leak or
flow too easily. (Pull on the nipple
to be sure it is well seated. Enthusiastic cubs will pull
nipples right off the bottle and can swallow them.)
Never
squeeze the bottle when the cub is nursing
Be
sure you stop feeding the cub as soon as it no longer sucks
vigorously and greedily. Do not punch too many holes or
too large a hole in the rubber nipple. Milk should not drip
or accumulate on the bottle when it is held nipple-down.
Milk should never come out a cub’s nose.
Keep your cubs adequately warm at all times. Use hot water
bottles wrapped in towels or microwavable heat sinks (like
SnuggleSafe).
Feeding
electrolytes the first few feeding - until both you and
the cub are comfortable with the feeding process also guards
against the effects of aspiration pneumonia. Electrolytes
when aspirated do not cause the severe lung reactions that
milk products do.
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Once
a cub has aspirated, there is very little a veterinarian like
me can do to improve its chances of surviving. - it all depends
on how much milk entered the lungs. If the cub is a cliff-hanger,
a high-oxygen, high humidity environment like a preemie incubator
(Air-Shield) and antibiotics may tip the balance in favor of its
survival.
Symptoms of aspiration pneumonia are labored breathing, irregular
breathing, gasping, pale or bluish gums. Later, tremors and listlessness
and death.
Diarrhea And What To Do When It Occurs
Diarrhea is a common and serious problem in bottle fed animals
of all kinds. Exotic cats are no exception. Many things can cause
it. But in my experience, feeding techniques and feeding schedules
are a more common cause than minor mistakes in dietary ingredients.
When diarrhea occurs, cubs can become dehydrated rapidly.
The first thing to do when diarrhea occurs is to supply more fluid
and less solids in the cub’s formula and to supply them
more frequently but in small amounts that don’t stress their
digestive system. Electrolytes (pedialyte, ringers solution, etc.)
are the best way to supply these fluids. If the cub becomes weak
or severely dehydrated, it is best that the missing fluid be supplied
by subcutaneous injection of electrolyte solutions intended for
that use. This usually corrects the problem in 24-36 hours. When
the stool has returned to its normal toothpaste consistency, gradually
return the concentration of the formula to full strength.
Treating the formula with lactase (Lactaid) before feeding it
and adding probiotic bacteria or yogurt seem to lessen diarrhea
problems in infant exotic cats.
If the stool shows any traces of blood, something more serious
is going on. The stool of those kittens needs to be sent for a
fecal culture to determine if dangerous bacteria or parasites
are the root of the problem. Cubs with bacterial diarrhea need
antibiotics and, perhaps, intestinal coating agents ; those with
parasites need other appropriate medications and the sanitation
and husbandry procedures at the facility need to be changed. Never
give these kittens Imodium.
Bloat/Colic
Bloat
and colic are two signs that you need to change your feeding technique.
The most usual causes are feeding too large an amount of formula
at one time, feeding too infrequently, feeding too fast, feeding
from an improper bottle or feeding in the wrong position.
Pre-treating
the cub’s formula with lactase (Lactaid) and/or adding probiotic
bacteria or plain yogurt to their formula once it reaches feeding
temperature often help solve this problem.
Some folks have found adding sucralfate (Carafate®) helpful.
It does have the effect of coating and protecting the cub’s
stomach and intestine from over-acidity. But it only masks underlying
formula or feeding problems and can cause a number of side effects
such as constipation or aluminum overload.
Sometimes burping cubs with strokes or pats of the back is all
that is required.
Constipation
Never
give cubs phosphate
enemas such as Fleet.
Cubs
can become constipated if they are not stimulated to defecate
sufficiently after they are fed. Constipation can also occur when
formulas are too thick or when a cub becomes dehydrated do to
previous diarrhea or too hot an environment. The stools of infant
cats should be soft and mushy, not clumped and segmented as in
mature exotic cats.
When
constipation occurs, try diluting the formula a bit and feed smaller
amounts more frequently. Also be sure the cub is being kept at
a warm enough temperature. If the constipation is severe, your
veterinarian needs to deal with it. I have had several weanling
mountain lions block when fed chicken necks and backs. High enemas
and abdominal massages were required to move this material down
and out. When an animal is completely blocked by constipation,
it usually also vomits. In partial cases, the stool that is passed
can be a combination of hard lumps and diarrhea.
Constipation
and GI obstruction problems have also been associated with bad
batches of commercial formula – particularly Esbilac. In
these cases the cream (butterfat) portion forms large unabsorbable
clumps in the cub’s stomach and intestine. PetAg, the supplier
of Esbilac has suggested that forceful blending can cause this
to occur.
Often,
a few drops of Karo syrup added to the formula solves minor constipation
problems. If that is not sufficient, consult with a veterinarian
about using a small amount of flavored mineral oil or petrolatum-based
cat laxative. Never give unflavored oils or petrolatum that have
not been mixed with food because cubs will inhale them. Remember
that straining can be as much a sign of diarrhea as of constipation.
Rectal
Prolapse
Prolonged
diarrhea and colonic irritation or constipation can cause older
cubs to strain so much that a short portion of their intestine
sticks out through their anus like a red/bluish hotdog or small
donut. Coccidia parasites, and intestinal worms are another common
cause of this. When it occurs, a veterinarian needs to tend to
the problem. The protruding portion of the rectum will soon die
due to a lack of circulation. It needs to be lubricated, replaced
and, in some cases, a pursestring suture needs to be placed to
prevent the problem from reoccurring. Coat the protruding portion
with non-dairy margarine or KY jelly until you can get it to a
veterinarian.
Discolored
teeth or rings of discoloration on teeth
Stress during the period teeth are forming may cause them to erupt
discolored, with brownish rings or pitted. This stress is often
nutritional. But it can also be caused by infectious diseases
as well as by antibiotics that are in the tetracycline class.
The cub’ set of permanent teeth should be unaffected.
Dehydration
The most common causes of dehydration are the starvation of parental
neglect and diarrhea. But a very low humidity environment, vomiting
or too thick a formula can also cause the problem. Signs of a
dehydrated cub are a decrease in skin elasticity, dry or sticky
gums and weakness. Skin, over the shoulder blades should spring
back to normal position after being pinched and plucked. It should
not “tent” or behave like clay or dough.
Mild dehydration can be corrected with oral electrolytes. More
severe dehydration or dehydration in a weak cub is best treated
with subcutaneous fluids (sterile, balanced electrolytes). (If
you are isolated out in the bush, ringers can be given by enema.)
Dehydrated
cubs are prone to constipation. They produce little or no urine.
Metabolic
Bone Disease (MBD, Rickets)
The cubs and kittens of exotic wild cats, particularly the larger
species, need large amounts of calcium to support their rapid
growth rate. They also need their calcium intake to exceed their
phosphorus intake - ideally by a factor of 2 to 1. Cow’s
milk is borderline in its calcium to phosphorus ratio (1.3 to
1). Domestic mother cats produce a milk that is 1.6 to 1 during
the period the kittens are growing fastest (ref).
Most
people run into trouble with rickets/ MBD when they wean their
exotic large cats over to meat. A pure meat diet - be it beef,
poultry or other - is deficient in calcium. Most a food animal’s
calcium is in its bones, not its muscle. A diet of meat not only
supplies too little calcium, it supplies too much phosphorus.
The ratio of calcium to phosphorus in meat is the reversed of
what it needs to be (red meat contains approximately 1part calcium
to 12-20 parts phosphorus).
Also, red meat is deficient in vitamin D-3 which is essential
for the cat’s body to absorb whatever calcium is present
in its diet.
Signs
of MBD in growing exotic cats are lameness or limping, reluctance
to move about and play, enlarged knobby joints, painful joints
and bowleggedness. Healthy teeth should be china-white, not translucent
as they often are in MBD. Bone fractures in immature animals,
other than those hit by cars, are also often due to MBD.
One
can halt the progression of MBD, but the damage that has already
been done cannot be reversed. Tension splints can slowly straighten
bowed legs that are still growing. But they have to be watched
very carefully or they will cause more damage than good. Exotic
cats that have suffered even mild cases of rickets as juveniles
are more prone to arthritis in later years. To prevent this problem,
either feed whole carcass or use a supplement designed for feeding
slab meats such as this
one.
Naval/Joint
ill and Septicemia
Infant big cats rely on the antibodies in their mother’s
colostrum to protect them from bacterial infections. The most
common infection we see when they didn’t receive these antibodies
is an infected umbilicus (navel). Cubs that have this problem
usually also have some degree of septicemia. That is, you see
an infected navel but the same bacteria are moving unseen through
the cub's blood stream as well. That is why applying topical antibiotics
to their navel is not sufficient. They need injectable antibiotics
as well. These blood born infections often localize in the joints,
causing joint swelling, pain and a hot joint. They must be treated
promptly with antibiotics to prevent permanent joint damage. Other
common places for these blood born infections to localize are
the heart valves, liver and kidneys.
When
cubs are maintained at too low a temperature, their immune system
doesn't function well. This can mimic the effect of a lack of
colostrum antibody.
Cataracts
Commercial
pet milk replacements that perform well with puppies and kittens
sometime cause cataracts to form in the lenses of the eyes when
they are fed to infant wild animals. We think this is due to a
higher need for certain amino acids in infant wildlife. The amino
acids that have been suggested as being deficient are arginine,
methionine, phenylalanine and taurine (which is similar to an
amino acid). This problem does not seem to occur as frequently
when home made formulas are fed or when commercial formulas are
supplemented with pureed meats. When caught early, these cataracts
sometimes go away when an amino acid supplement is added to their
diet.
Parasites
The most common serious parasite I see in infant exotic big cats
are hookworms. These intestinal worms can cause a severe anemia
as well as diarrhea, malnutrition and poor weight gain. They are
present in all wild bobcats in Texas and I commonly find them
in exotic cats from cat compounds where wild cats are maintained
on dirt. Dirt allows hookworm numbers to build up in the soil.
Over time, adult cats built up a natural immunity to hookworms
that protects them to some extent. Their offspring do not have
this protection. So the fact that the parent animals are said
to be “parasite free” is no guarantee their offspring
will be.
Roundworms can also be a problem. Since roundworms do not suck
blood, they are more prone to cause colic or intestinal obstruction
than anemia.
These
parasites can be passed from the mother to the infant through
the mother’s milk and probably to the baby even before birth.
They should be suspected in weak or anemic cubs even when a fecal
examination reveals no parasite eggs. That is because it can take
up to three weeks for the parasites to begin producing eggs. When
in doubt, the cubs need to be wormed with pyrantel pamoate (Nemex,
Strongid, etc.).
Coccidiosis
also occurs occasionally in infant exotic cats. Many adult animals
carry small numbers of these parasites but are immune to the disease
they cause. They are passed through soil and fecal contamination.
They can cause a severe diarrhea that can be fatal if the cub
is not given injectable fluids to counteract dehydration. Sulfa
drugs lessen the severity of the disease.
Giardia
are another cause of diarrhea. When veterinarians detect this
parasite in the cub's stool, they treat it with metronidazole.
Many normal-appearing adult animals (and humans) carry this parasite.
It is another reason to frequently wash your hands.
Large
numbers of fleas can also cause severe anemia. They should be
picked off with tweezers individually and dropped into a cup of
vodka or rubbing alcohol. Do not apply the alcohol or anything
else to the cub itself. Simultaneously, bedding needs to go through
a hot dryer cycle and caging needs to be steam cleaned or replaced.
Fleas and ticks can also spread Ehrlichia
, Bartonella
and similar blood parasites to exotic cats – about a quarter
of wild bobcats are seropositive for this organism.
Mange
is also seen occasionally in wild exotic cats. When a young exotic
cat has mange, there is much more skin irritation and thickening
than in the transient hair loss problem that growing exotic cats
also experience. But any exotic cat with hair loss needs to have
a skin scraping performed.
All parasite problems are more common when loose house cats are
allowed to roam around large cat compounds. Large exotic cats
are susceptible to all the diseases and parasites that affect
domestic cats. They don't fight them off as well as domestic cats
do. These problems tend to bounce around the mixed populations
of petting zoos, home menageries, carnivals and wildlife sanctuaries,
popping up most frequently in youngsters or stressed adults.
Poor/Sparse Hair Coat And Hair Loss
It
is not uncommon for tigers and lion cubs to develop hair loss
at 6-9 weeks of age. These animals are growing extremely fast
at this time. The problem resolves as soon as the cubs shift to
solid, meat-based diets. Begin adding blended or homogenized meats
to these cats’ diets as early as 5-8 weeks. If the hair
loss is patchy, if the animal is itchy, if the skin is scabby
or thickened, if its lymph nodes are enlarged, if the hair loss
is accompanied by scabby or crusty eyes or ears, or if you start
intching, the cub needs to be examined for mange or a bacterial
or fungal skin infection.
Suggestions
On Nursing Bottles
When
a cub is learning to feed from a bottle, fill it with electrolyte
solution the first time – not milk – until it has
learned to use the bottle well. Gradually,, in the next feedings,
increase the amount of milk formula in the mix. It takes time
for cubs to adjust from their mother’s nipple to a rubber
one. You can place a drop of milk on the cub’s tongue and
dampen the nipple with the same mixture to help it get the idea.
Have patience and just keep trying. Large cats can use 4 or 8
oz glass infant bottles such as Evenflo with standard or preemie
nipples. Smaller cats do well on 2 oz kitten nursing bottles.
I prefer you not use syringes or eyedroppers. It is just too easy
to depress the plunger too fast and get formula into the cub’s
lungs. Cubs can be choosy about nipples and bottles. If one brand
or style doesn’t work well, try another.
Buy
many nipples. Burn a small hole through the nipple end with a
heated pin. Start with one or two small holes; add more if you
need to until the cub nurses comfortably without a lot of dripping.
Many small holes are safer than one or two big holes. No milk
should drip from the nipple when the bottle is full and held upside
down. Shaking the bottle should produce a drop or two.
Use
a bottlebrush and dish detergent to clean bottles and nipples
between use and boil the clean, rinsed items.
Do
not warm bottles of milk in the microwave. Microwave a container
of water. stir it with a spoon, check its temperature with your
finger, and place the bottle of formula in that to warm it. Shake
the bottle on your wrist. The milk should be pleasantly warm,
not scalding.
Never
squeeze the bottle when feeding.
Rubber
nipples do not last forever with large cats. Throw them away when
they begin to flow on their own.
Proper Temperature
It
is easy to over-warm infant exotic cats. They should feel slightly
warm to the touch – not hot - and their ears and paws should
be pink – not red. Placing them in an environment that is
86-88F is usually sufficient. A hot water bottle wrapped in a
bath towel, placed in a draft free box with fake sheep skin is
usually sufficient. Human isoletes work well. Do not put infant
animals in them until you have firm control of the temperature.
For me, that can take a day or two. Heating pads, on low setting
can be used. Place it under the pet carrier or box – not
inside it. Again, let your system run a day or two while you get
the temperature just right before you place cubs in it.
Several
cubs, kept together, chill less than individual cubs. Just be
sure they do not suck on each other.
Claws
get snagged in towels – clip them.
Stimulating Cubs To Urinate And Defecate
You will need to stimulate young cubs to defecate and urinate
for their first few weeks. Do this with a ball of cotton or gauze
wetted with warm water. Massage their anal/genital area gently
after each feeding. You will not always get a response. Don’t
worry when you don’t and don’t massage too harshly
or too long.
Judging
Your Success
Monitoring
Weight And Growth Rate
Purchase
a digital scale. One designed for food or postage is sufficient.
Weigh the cub(s) daily just before their first feed of the morning
and enter their weight in a notebook. Fingernail polish on a claw
will tell multiple cubs apart. Steady weight gain is the best
indicator that everything is going well. A weight gain of 4-6%
per day while on formula is sufficient. Once the cubs begin solid
food, their daily weight gain should be about doubled. After the
initial two days, no weight gain over a 24-hour period may occur.
But if it continues for 2 days, occurs more than once or is a
weight loss, you have a problem.
Housing
& Space Requirements
Snug containers help keep infant cubs warm and draft-free. But
as soon as the cubs gain curiosity and begin to move about, they
need more exercise space. Without it, their bones and muscles
will not develop properly.
Plastic
pet carriers are often used. But I prefer using a plastic storage
container with its snap-on the lid modified with a large ,½
inch hardware cloth, cut-out. These are less drafty and easier
to clean and service and accept an under-the-bottom heating pad
better. They also stack one-within-the-other when not in use.
Wooden containers are impossible to clean well. They stay damp
and can harbor bacteria and parasite. If you must use wood, do
not use treated lumber. It is also quite acceptable to use a stout
cardboard box that you discard from time to time.
As
soon as the cubs are moving about, the container needs to be secure
and well constructed. Synthetic sheepskin blankets are good liners.
If you use old towels, be sure they do not have long stringy frayed
areas that can tangle the cubs or catch in their claws.
Once small wild felines are weaned, they can be moved outdoors
into a natural-like enclosure. I construct mine of vinyl-coated
18 gauge welded wire or chain-link fence. I prefer concrete floors
for sanitation.
A well-built secondary fence is a really a must. It prevents feral
cats, raccoons and opossums from transmitting diseases to your
cats. Large cats intimidate ordinary folks and are likely to be
shot when they escape and smaller human-raised species will not
survive long on their own. Large cats attract inquisitive children
and gawking adults who love to poke fingers through anything they
can. If you are not willing to duplicate (on a smaller scale)
the pen construction quality of a well-run zoo, you oughtn’t
keep these animals.
Neonatal Vaccinations
Wild
exotic cats are susceptible to all the diseases of ordinary domestic
cats. I vaccinate them with Ft. Dodge, Fel-O-Vax PCT which protects
them against panleukopenia (cat distemper, cat parvo) rhinotracheitis
virus (feline herpes-1) and calicivirus. All cats receive the
same standard 1ml dose regardless of species.
There
is no sense giving these vaccines when cubs are less than 12-14
weeks old, unless you are in the middle of a virus outbreak in
your nursery. Do not assume that multiple vaccinations before
4 months of age are effective. They are not a substitute for sanitation,
good husbandry and common sense. The cats need to receive a booster
vaccination at 6 months of age. After that, their immunity titer
(level) can be checked yearly to decide if further vaccinations
are required.
Be
sure that your veterinarian is using an all-killed vaccine. Most
public health authorities do not recognize the effectiveness of
rabies vaccines in exotic pets or wildlife and, in some US localities,
it may be illegal for your veterinarian to administer rabies shots
to exotic wild cats. So there is little benefit in giving them.
When I do vaccinate wild felines for rabies , I use Merial’s
Imrab-3. – but this is not a government-sanctioned use of
the vaccine.
Certain
exotic cats also susceptible to canine distemper. Outbreaks of
canine distemper occasionally occur in zoos and wild lion populations
in Africa. If you vaccinate felines for canine distemper, a sub-unit
vaccine similar to Merial’s Purvax is probably safest.
Although exotic cats can acquire FLV and FLV and FIP, better to
rely on good husbandry and non-exposure. The AZA
does not currently recommend that zoo cats receive those vaccination.
FIP occurs occasionally in exotic cats that are foster nursed
on domestic house cats. However, the existing intra-nasal FIP
vaccine is of questionable value. Some zoos vaccinate their large
exotic cats for leptospirosis as well. Lepto vaccines can cause
a severe reaction at the site of injection and shock-like reactions
when given repeatedly so I do not use them. Leptospirosis can
be prevented through good sanitation.
If
not specifically labeled as “killed product” try to
only use vaccines called "sub-unit" vaccines.
There
is very little we actually know about the effectiveness of vaccines
in wild exotic cats. We assume they work because wild exotic cats
and domestic cats are very similar. Bengal tigers and servals
produce antibody against feline leukemia when they are given three
doses of subunit feline leukemia vaccine. But no one is about
to challenge them with virus. If exotic cats mingle with unvaccinated
domestic cats or uninvited wildlife or if you run a wildlife rehabilitation
center, you can consider administering these other vaccinations.
Weaning
& Beginning Adult Diets
I
suggest you begin to supplement your cub’s milk-formula
diet with meat products as soon as you feel its teeth erupting
and supplementing its diet with small bits of raw meat as soon
as it shows interest in consuming them. The beginning of meat
diets means it is also time to add a calcium supplement if you
are not already doing so. Initially, canned meat products can
be blended and added to the formula. Do not use human baby foods
that contain ingredients, spices, onion or flavorings other than
meat. Do not try to feed lumpy or chunky foods through a nipple.
Raw
meat, especially raw poultry, can be a source of salmonella. To
avoid this threat, some professionals begin their smaller species
of exotic cats on canned all-meat baby foods, Iams canned kitten
formula or canned
Zupreem or Mazuri
exotic feline diet. Large cat compounds and zoos in the US tend
toward Central Nebraska
Packers. All three are already fortified with calcium and
vitamins. This allows the babies to become larger and stronger
before encountering these hostile bacteria. Others go directly
to ground supermarket turkey or chicken with no problems.
If
the cubs are hesitant, sprinkle powdered milk formula over the
solid foods. If the food is not eaten within 30 minutes, remove
it. If they develop loose stools or diarrhea, cut back on the
meat ingredients.
I
suggest you feed human quality products to your exotic cats –
particularly young ones. If you feed them 4-D meats, pet store
rats, road kill etc. , you will eventually get into trouble. Frozen
rodent carcasses from national suppliers
are more reliable as are whole healthy rabbits, poultry and barn
yard animals depending on the species of cat you are raising.
Large, mature exotic cats have more stamina and body reserves
to get through the bouts of indigestion caused by contaminated
foods.
Any
diet changes need to be made gradually. Juvenile cats do better
when fed many times during the day. They are also less likely
to bite you when they are not ravenously hungry. The number of
feeding can be gradually reduced as the cubs mature.
Begin
keeping a bowl of fresh water in the cub’s pen as soon as
it begins to eat meats from a dish.
Once
cubs are eating entirely on their own, they should consume 15-25%
percent of their body weight each day. This is only a general
rule of thumb. Feed the cubs only what they would consume avidly.
But do so in several feedings throughout the day so they do not
over-eat at any one time.
Cubs
need to chew on bone and consume whole prey. Chicken and turkey
backs and necks are more bone than flesh and will block the cub’s
intestine if too many are given. Always combine meat diets with
a calcium/vitamin supplement.
Links
you might find helpful:
http://www.pacifier.com/~jtsmith/CATBOX.HTM
http://www.tigerlink.com/husbandry/husman6.htm