drferox:

It’s very, very simple.

They feed the cats cat food and they feed the dogs dog food. All the other species get a species-specific diet which is heavily supplemented by vegetable scraps and leaves from local supermarket green waste. They are feeding species appropriate diets, and not feeding vegan diets to carnivores.

Most of their food is donated via collection bins at supermarkets where people can purchase food or goods (like cat litter) for the animals and donate the product directly. I recall one of the dogs being on a prescription diet for a while though, and that was purchased.

The dogs, cats and pigs also get fed the poultry eggs. Big Ears is home to many, many chickens, roosters, ducks and turkeys, and you can’t stop them laying eggs. Since they have a philosophy of not breeding animals, they are a sanctuary after all, they collect and feed those eggs to the animals that will eat them.

Big Ears Animal Sanctuary, for as long as I’ve known them, have had a philosophy of putting the animal’s needs first above human desired. The intent is to do no harm and to do as much good as possible, and part of that is feeding meat to the cats and dogs.

They also will provide their animals with needed veterinary care first and then solicit donations, instead of some ‘rescues’ which I’ve seen delay treatment for an animal until enough donations were acquired.

Their Facebook page is more up to date than their Website.

My favorite animal behavior is the little ear twitch cats do when they swallow, whether it’s suckling as kittens or drinking as adults. It’s just the cutest detail.