I’m typing this on a beat-up laptop in my apartment outside Cincinnati, it’s February, the heat’s clanking like it’s about to give up, there’s half a cold Papa John’s box on the coffee table because I’m an adult who makes excellent choices. Rain’s coming down sideways again—classic Ohio—and I’m trying to write something honest about how long it took me to stop believing comforting bullshit about tigers and lions. Big Cats Care
The “They’re Just Big Kitties” Trap I Fell Into Hard
I used to think if you raised a tiger from a cub it would basically be a Great Dane with stripes. Like, give it enough steak, a big yard, some belly rubs and boom—best friend forever. I even said that out loud once at a brewery while showing friends pictures from that godawful “sanctuary” we visited in rural Kentucky back in like 2017.
We paid extra for the “toddler tiger experience.” I remember the handler smelling like Red Bull and regret, handing me this tiny cub that immediately bit my knuckle hard enough to draw blood. I laughed it off because Instagram. Posted the pic with “future roommate?” like an idiot. That cub is probably dead or pacing a tiny cage somewhere now. Most of them end up that way once they hit 100+ pounds and stop being cute for selfies.
That whole “love and space fix everything” thing is one of the nastiest big cats care myths still floating around. It keeps the private exotic pet trade alive even after the Big Cat Public Safety Act cracked down. People still breed and sell cubs under the table in states that drag their feet on enforcement. The Humane Society keeps decent track of it: https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/captive-big-cats-united-states
I Used to Hate Zoos on Principle (Turns Out I Was Half Wrong)
Another big cats care myth I swallowed whole: every zoo is basically a prison and real conservation only happens in Africa or Asia. I was that guy reposting black-and-white sad-tiger memes with captions like “ captivity kills the soul.”
Then I started actually showing up at the Cincinnati Zoo during their keeper talks. Sat through three different ones on Amur tigers in the sticky summer heat, sweating through my shirt, listening to a keeper explain how the SSP (Species Survival Plan) literally keeps the gene pool from collapsing. Without those coordinated breeding programs a lot of these cats would wink out in a couple generations.
Doesn’t mean every facility is good—plenty are still trash—but blanket “zoos = evil” is lazy and hurts the ones doing the actual work. AZA has the list if you want to see who’s legit: https://www.aza.org/
“Just Feed Them and They’re Fine” – Yeah, I Believed That Too
This one stings the most because it feels so obvious now. I used to think tossing a frozen slab of meat and maybe a pumpkin to shred was enough enrichment. Enrichment? I didn’t even know the word until a couple years ago.
Big cats roam insane distances. A wild tiger might cover 50–60 square miles in a day looking for food, mates, territory. Stick one in a quarter-acre pen with a couple plastic barrels and yeah, they start doing that awful repetitive pacing or chewing on the fence until their teeth crack. Those aren’t “cute habits.” That’s a brain screaming.
I saw it up close at that Kentucky place. One female tiger just rocking side to side for twenty straight minutes while kids threw marshmallows at her through the bars. I took a video. Thought it was funny at the time. Deleted it later when I finally understood what I’d filmed.
What I’m Actually Doing Differently Now (Still Messy, Still Human)
Here’s the short, not-very-impressive list of things I try to stick to: Big Cats Care
- Only give money or time to GFAS-accredited true sanctuaries (no drive-through cub-petting scams). Big Cat Rescue is gone but there are others—check https://www.sanctuaryfederation.org/
- Won’t click on, share, or like any “tiger plays with puppy” or “lion cuddles owner” videos anymore. Almost always tied to horrible origins.
- Talk to people when the topic comes up instead of just nodding. Even if it makes the barbecue awkward.
- Remind myself I’m still part of the problem half the time—plane trips, Amazon hauls, all that. Nobody’s getting sainthood here.
