Welcome to Catamount Ranch!
About Catamount Ranch
Catamount Ranch is the name of my farm, where I keep at present
several different species of wild felines. The name wasn't really chosen
for any particular reason, though I do have more catamounts (cougars) then
any other cat at this time.
Catamount Ranch, is at this time a privately owned and funded concern.
It is my goal to use my animals not only for conservation, but also for
education, to allow people to learn more about wild cats, and to hear the
things that Zoo's are not likely to tell you about. I am a firm believer
in the rights of individuals to own these animals, however I also believe
that with these rights come responsibilities. Owning a wild animal of
any kind is a large undertaking, in many cases there are permits and
licenses you must have. Furthermore there are many special needs that
exotic or wild animals have, and these needs are not generally known,
or (in many cases) easily met. Owning any kind of wild or exotic animal
is a big commitment, and requires special knowledge. However it can be a
rewarding experience, even if it can be a lot of hard work at times.
There are also people who feel you shouldn't have
these animals, and through their ignorance, you may be forced to deal
with many unpleasant issues.
Don't foget to check out some of the links further down, you may find
them interesting.
The animals
Click on Pictures
for more info
Sheena is the second oldest cat at the Ranch, but the one
we've had the longest. John bought Sheena as a cub back in 1991, from a
litter of cougar cubs that he raised for a friend that fall. Sheena is
a South American Cougar. This means that she is slighter and smaller then
her North American cousins, weighing about 70 lbs. She also is more redish,
where North American cougars tend to be more grey, as well as larger and
stockier. Sheena's dad was a movie actor btw, next time you see 'Harry and
the Henderson's' (the movie) look for the cougar in the begining.
Kera is Sheena's mom. Kera is somewhere around 20 years old i(as of 2000)and in
excellent health, and weights about 85 lbs. We'd like to point out that
at 20 years old Kera looks to be in as good health as her 9 year old
daughter, and may very well be around another 10 years! Don't overlook
this point, if you are thinking of getting one of these animals, they
can and do live a very long time, this is a LONG commitment.
Kera is a recent addition to the Ranch, under sad circumstances,
her previous owner, a dear friend of John's, died suddenly and we took
Kera in as John had worked with Kera for many years prior.
Eiger is also a South American Cougar. We had Eiger in on a breeding loan
about a year ago.
Eiger weighed about 125 pounds,and was also partially blind in one eye,
which I have been told was do to poor nutrition when he was growing up.
Eiger's current owners are some folks who had rescued him,
Eiger's original owner didn't know the proper things to feed a growing
cub, and blindess is not uncommon in such cases.
So Eiger and his brother
were not well raised and not very well socialized, when another responsible
owner found out about it (She was called by the Vet when Eiger's brother
was brought in for treatment, he lost an eye and broke a leg) she was able
to convince the first owner to give up both cats. The moral of this story
is: Please LEARN about the animals before getting one! and LEARN what you're
doing.
Kianna is the first Leopard we ever raised from a cub. It is an experience
I would not reccomend for anyone without experience, and even not for
many with it! We had experience with a full grown Snow Leopard that we took
care of for a while, and one of us had experience with Clouded Leopards
as well. However Leopards are tough, they are nimble and devious
and they're -very smart-. It is said that Leopards are the hardest of all
cats to raise, and I would tend to agree with that sentiment,
they take a lot of work and supervision.
Topics of Interest
Getting a Big Cat
What to feed a Big Cat
Bottle feeding Cubs, different formula's
Training and Keeping
More about Catamounts
More about Leopards
Myths about Wild Cats versus the truth
Interesting Links
The people
Owner: John Van Stry
Handler: Chad Glidden
Misc Pictures
Miscellaneous Here are some pictures of the cats, from the Ranch, or from the
facility John took care of prior to Catamount. There may also be
the odd picture from other places as well. Eventually all will
have captions, so be patient with us!
There have been
