Cat lovers - animal lovers - check out this site.

[merh]

Cedarhill Animal Sanctuary http://www.cedrhill.org/

Here is the Sanctuary's youtube page with video tours.
http://www.youtube.com/user/cedarhillsanctuary

and videos of the cats.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1soV5Wp9uFU&feature=channel_page

Look at all the cats http://www.cedrhill.org/cedarhillcatfamily.htm

Here is an article on Cedarhill Animal Sanctuary and Kay McElroy, the lady that founded the place and that takes in the big cats and just about any animal that needs a place to call home.
http://www.cedrhill.org/Mar09/MORE_0309_2NDACTS.pdf

It all started with a newspaper ad in the local Sunday paper in 1987. "Six-month-old cougar cub for sale. $1,000.00."

Out of curiosity, I went to see it and what I found broke my heart. This little cougar cub was in a small dog pen, very thin with badly infected paws from a botched declaw job. Although he was so despondent, he already had proved to be too much for his owners to handle.

I had just moved to Mississippi and I didn't have a job yet nor much money. I told the guy that I had a 1947 Farmall D tractor (it never did run very well) that I would trade for the cub, but he said "No, I want the money!" I told him that if he should change his mind, I lived about a mile down the road.

Two weeks later he arrived with a trailer for the tractor and the cougar chained in the front seat of the guy's truck. After days of phone calls trying to find Zack a home at a zoo, I came to the realization that I either had to build an enclosure for him or have him euthanized. Zack was the beginning of Cedarhill Sanctuary, which has since become my life's work and greatest challenge.
http://www.cedrhill.org/aboutus.htm

Kay McElroy has been taking in and taking care of exotic animals and abandoned domestic animals like blind horses and pigs and cats and dogs and cats for years. She has been promoting legislation that protects exotic animals and now she is working on outlawing "canned" hunts.

Now this is what I would do if I won the lotto, I'd find places like this and help them out.

Kay McElroy and her staff are angels.

[enigmatic]

1. The Bill Hicks Foundation For Wildlife is great, too

http://www.billhicks.org/index.html

[merh]

2. Neat, another site to add to my wish list

I wish I could give more, when I have extra I give what I can to certain sites.

thanks :hi:

[Ignis]

7. Hey, thanks for that! I had no idea.

Two of my favorite things in one package: Hicks & wildlife!

:woohoo:

[LeftyFingerPop]

3. Kick!!

What a wonderful sanctuary.

Thank you for posting this, merh! :kick:

[merh]

5. thank you

:hi:

[Arugula Latte]

4. That is my lottery fantasy, too.

I would love to drop major $$$ on shelters and sanctuaries.

[merh]

6. See, I figure that god or the goddess know that we would do go things

with the money if we won the lotto, so we will never win it. It is a test for others, to see what good they do with their good luck.

I would so love to be able to give a host of groups a monthly donation.

[merh]

8. kick for the cats

[lildreamer316]

9. KICK

Beyoutiful.
Meow.

[merh]

10. thanks for the kick

these animals are gorgeous, aren't they. :)

[TK421]

11. Unrelated to this somewhat...I have to share but yes I did view the website...great stuff

I've been doing some under-the-table work for my ex-boss from my last job cleaning her "mansion" ( I put that in parentheses because it's not really a mansion but to me it is a HUGE house and property ) Today, I was cleaning her porch plastic wicker furniture and saw her dog run across the back yard with a groundhog hanging from his mouth. From what I've been told, this dog has killed over a hundred skunks ( we are overrun with these here, why I don't know ) and groundhogs. I actually saw this happen today and I was shocked to see the dog bring the fresh carcass to the corner of the yard. One of the house's owners regularly throws the carcasses into the river with a shovel ( watched him do it today ) and told me this is an everyday occurrence. I did walk over to the dead animal and can't figure out why the dog does what it does....perhaps it thinks it is an intruder in its domain, who knows.

Sidenote, I've met and talked with this lady......she stopped by at an exhibit in Newtown, P.A back in 2006. Very sweet, and I admire her work

[merh]

12. I guess you are right, the dog is keeping its terroritory free from the critters.

Neat story, thanks for posting it.

When you say you met this lady, you mean you met Kay McElroy?

[emilyg]

13. Kick