Hi Dave.... any wild exotic cat require a lot of time, attention, care, management as they cannot eat ordinary cat food ONLY a raw diet w/vitamin supplementations or they will die from malnutrition, which happens so frequently with new pet owners. Exotic cats will only bond with one or two people at most therefore, would you be willing to commit 20+ years of your life for the sake of the exotic cats lifetime? You CANNOT go out a lot or take vacations or the cat will never forgive you while you're away as it will starve itself to death since it will only trust no one but you to feed it. Will you or your partner be able to afford to feed it the diet it requires and meet the legal requirements since you'll have to be inspected annually by the government ...or will you decide you can give it away because it becomes too much of a financial and emotional burden? Exotic cats should never be rehomed as it will ultimately be a death sentence to them. They bond with essential one or two people and if those persons no longer exist anymore exotic cats may starve themselves to death.
Exotic cats DO NOT get along with other pets and will kill any smaller domestic house pet that enters their territory even if they were raised together as youngsters. As they reach sexual maturity (even spayed/neutered) they will kill domestic animals. Most exotic cats are solitary by nature, which is why. Therefore, anyone telling you this is not being honest and this such a hearbreak to discover this first hand as many people do.
Here you will find some guidelines to owning an exotic cat. Please don't be fooled into believing that it will be any less work that having children! It is not for everyone. Don't make the mistake of believing that if you can't endure for the lifetime of your cat, you will be able to place it at a zoo or a wildlife rescue. This misconception is what gets a lot of exotic animals euthanised immediately because they are very hard to place. Zoos are full to capacity and also have strict requirements on the animals that they acquire for studbook breeding purposes and AZA (American Zoos and Aquariums Association) regulations. Compounds like Wild About Cats, Big Cat Rescue have to rescue some, but there are simply not enough sanctuaries for them all. Therefore, taking into consideration that many people are determined to get a cat no matter what they are told, and that many people are capable of being responsible owners, we always advise on captive husbandry. We would rather that these people were educated properly on care and handling, rather than dictated to that what they are doing is wrong. This is for the sake of the cats that did not ask to be born into these situations. If after reading through this information you would like to know more about captive wild cat husbandry and whether or not it is for you.
ENCLOSURE
Enclosures are not cheap to build as they must be updated frequently since wild cats spray and the urine degrades the metal. You will need a 300-800 sq. foot cage preferably. Considering they will be spending at least 20 years in this small space, obviously the bigger the better. It needs to be made of minimum 9-guage wire, preferably cyclone fencing 9-guage. It needs to be at least 8-feet tall with a ceiling. It will need a denbox. Usually constructed of 3/4 in. plywood or stronger, 3' x 6' x 5' tall. The door into the box will need a slider or guillotine door that can be operated from outside the cage to trap the cat inside so that you (and others when you are not home) can enter the cage to clean and feed. The back of the denbox should have some sort of hole to "bait" the cat into it, then you slide the slider shut and lock it. The main entrance to the enclosure should be double-gated. Where you go into one door, close it behind you in an entryway area, and then open the second door into the cage. Otherwise, the cat will have a direct line to get out. Most exotic cats love water and should be provided with a pool. This pool should be flushable with plumbing so that you will be able to clean it. Many cats like to use them to eliminate into. The enclosure needs to have good drainage or be on a slope so that there is no standing water when it rains.
LICENCING
You will need to contact your wildlife agency for mandatory requirements. Many places do NOT allow exotic felines. Therefore, you will need to check with your city/county/state governments for information on licensing and zoning. And if you are within city limits, you may need city agency licensing also. On a federal level you will need a U.S.D.A. license issued through APHIS (Animal and Plant Heath Inspection Service). They will have an inspector come out and see your enclosure prior to approval. Through them you will need to keep records of diet, vet care, and have annual inspections (also subject to "drop" inspections throughout the year) prior to renewal. They also require that your vet make at least biannual visits. The other regulating agency is U.S.D.I. (Dept. of Interior). They require licensing on endangered species only. Not doing any of these will guarantee immediate removal and euthanasia of the cat.
DIET REQUIREMENTS
All wild cat species need fresh RAW meat to survive. There are two main commercial carnivore feline diets made for captive cats. One is Nebraska and one is Breeders Choice. The price and availablility varies depending on where you are. Proper amounts to feed daily is 1%-3% of the cat's body weight. These commercial diets are in a hamburger-like form and are frozen into 5-lb. rolls. As a kitten, they will eat more because they are growing (5% body weight) and will need extra calcium (powder form or chicken necks) for bone growth. Too much beef acts as a laxative. A benefit to commercial diets is preparation. It's no fun to be butchering an animal every few days and it's very hard work. Another benefit is that the entire animal is used. The hide, hoof, bone, etc. is all in the diet. Including zoological vitamins and minerals. People that try to make their own diet often may not get the measurements right or proper balance. Health problems due to improper diet are very common and expensive. However, the disadvantage is that the consistancy of the commercial diets aren't always liked by the cats. They like the texture of bones and hide and that also keeps their teeth clean. So it is a good idea to cut it with whole chickens. An example would be to use 50% chicken/50% Nebraska and sprinkle some additional zoological vitamins on the chicken. If a non-commercial diet is used, zoological vitamins should be added. There was one called Oasis Vitamins, but they have gone out of business. Another very important aspect to diet is fasting. Wild cats do not eat every day. Their digestive tract is not designed to constantly be at work. It is much healthier for them to give it a rest once or twice a week. We fast on Sundays. Some times we fast on both Sunday and Wednesday and simply feed more on the days that they are fed so that the weekly intake is the same.
EXOTIC VET
This you will need to check on for your area. If you ask domestic vets locally, they can refer you to one. You should definitely use a vet that has experience with exotics. I have known cats that died because of inexperienced vets. They require unique vaccination programs, anesthesia, etc. You will need to locate a vet first, because U.S.D.A. will need information on them before they license you.
We highly encourage spaying or neutering exotic cats (if not of traceable lineage valuable to an organized breeding program). If you are considering not spaying your female cat, you must listen to this recording of a female in estrus. Be prepared to listen to this endlessly for weeks at a time and dealing with aggression towards you! Spaying/neutering will not stop an exotic cat from spraying with urine either.
TRAINING AND SAFETY
The most important information you will need is on handling and training. This comes from experience. No matter how tame your cat, it can kill you if you do the wrong thing. Your behavior is very important to safety. Raising, handling, and training a young cat properly will make or break your ability to handle them after the first year. And even then there's no guarantee that they will be handlable especially upon maturity. Check yourself to be sure that walking and petting your cat is not the reason that you are getting one. Handling them for one year as a younster is not worth having to house and feed them and not being able to touch them for the next twenty years as most exotic cats do not like to be held/cuddled or even petted. You must be prepared for the fact that you may not be able to handle your cat at all except maybe a quick careful rub through the fence. More often than not, this is the case. These are wild animals! Domestication takes thousands of years, not a few generations. See if you can volunteer somewhere that has exotic cats to learn all you can about behavior (yours and theirs). It may save your life, someone elses, and make for a happier cat. Also for safety you should get a CO2 fire extinguisher (not Halon) to keep next to the cage. If there's ever an attack or excape, a blast of CO2 is harmless but will spook a cat enough to get away or direct them where you want them to go. Even though the enclosure won't take up much room on your property, it will be nice to have that large buffer zone around your cat. Several acres is preferred. You do not want it visible to the public. If it is, build a wall. Once word gets out, people will come. Out of sight, out of mind. If they are tempted they will approach the cage and stick their fingers in, get bit, and sue you. Always have locks on both cage doors. Unfortunately it is not uncommon that angry people that don't approve will give you problems and/or poison or shoot your cat if they can get to it. You must have a perimeter fence on your property.
DISCIPLINE
Any wild cat that receives traditional discipline with a squirt of water in the face or a tap on the nose could be a death sentence for an owner. These cats cannot be taught discipline like with domestic dogs and cats and disregarding this fact will surely get you killed by a wild cat.