Sharing a bed with your furry friend has taken on a whole new meaning for Riana Van Nieuwenhuizen.
The sanctuary worker shares her South African home with not one but FOUR orphaned cheetahs, five lions and two tigers.

Forty-six-year-old Riana said: ‘I love them all. But they’re a handful.’

Two of Riana Van Nieuwenhuizen big cats fight to be top dog in her South African home

Riana bought her first cheetah, Fiela, in 2006, after realising the big cats were in trouble and heading for extinction with only 1000 left in Africa.

She left her full time job working for the department of justice – a position she had held for 22 years – and found temporary employment on a game ranch where she could raise her beloved big cat.

But Riana’s real dream was fully realised after she set up the not-for-profit Fiela Funds Cheetah Breeding Project in South Africa to ensure the long-term survival of the cheetah and their ecosystem.

Cat burglar? The cheeky cheetah muscles in for a snatch of sarnie

No cheetah-ing: One big cat offers some furry advice

Happy families: Riana with three of her five white lion cubs Vanilla, Snowball and Snowflake and two tigers

The project spreads over a hectare of land and visitors can meet Fiela and the other cats and even have their pictures taken.

And if you want to outdo your friends in the wedding photo stakes the project also offers newly weds the chance to be snapped cuddling up to a big cat.

The cats in Riana’s own home are truly part of the family and are allowed to roam freely.

Fight like cat and dog? Riana’s two dogs snuggle up with one big cat

Say cheeeeetah: For the ultimate wedding snap couples can have their picture taken with a cat at the project

They make it known when they are hungry, even jumping up onto work surfaces in an attempt to snatch a bite of whatever’s going.

Luckily Riana’s two dogs aren’t on the menu but instead romp with the cats and even snuggle down with them for a snooze.

The cheetahs have even been known to sit in on the odd card game but whether they offered any cat-like-cunning or poker faces is unknown.

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This is the kind of tarantula that I wanted as a pet when I was growing up–my parents weren’t very fond of the idea so it never happened. But consider, spiders–as well as any other kind of bug–can make an excellent first time pet. They are relatively easy to care for, inexpensive, and don’t require a lot of attention. In my opinion, they make a much better “teach” animal for kids just learning how to care for a pet than fish or hermit crabs.

Pinkfoot Goliath Tarantula
(Theraphosa apophysis)
by Jon Fouskaris
*Information provided by Frank Somma

*Please note that ALL tarantulas have a certain amount of venom. Although most people are not affected by this species, some people may be allergic to the venom, or just more sensitive, making it a dangerous situation. This is one of the reasons that people should not handle this tarantula. Also, New World species of tarantulas like this one can flick urticating hairs off of their abdomens, which can also cause a reaction, depending on the person. Affects of this tarantulas’ natural defenses may vary between people. All tarantulas should be considered dangerous, so be careful, because you don’t want to find out if you are allergic or more sensitive the HARD WAY!

For more care sheets on other arachnids, insects, and myriopods, see petbugs.com

Often referred to as the cat of spare parts, this unusual, but beautiful cat is among the feline family’s most successful. It has a small, delicate head and extremely large ears set on an elongated neck, long slim legs (hind legs longer than front), long slender body and a short tail. The ears are black on the back with a distinctive white spot, and the tail has 6 or 7 black rings and a black tip. The coat color is pale yellow with black markings, either of large spots that tend to merge into longitudinal stripes on the neck and back, or of numerous small spots, which give a speckled appearance. These “speckled” Servals from west Africa – called servalines – used to be considered a separate species Felis brachyura, until it was demonstrated that the speckled pattern was just a variation or “morph”.

Servals are found in well-watered savannah long-grass environments, and are associated with reed beds and other riparian vegetation types. They occupy a variety of habitats all associated with water sources, they range up into alpine grasslands and can penetrate deep dense forests along waterways and through grassy patches, but are absent from rain forests. They will make use of arid areas in extreme instances, and have occasionally done so in parts of south-western Africa.

Servals can be domesticated and raised as pets in residential areas! They are one the only breeds of still-wild cats with direct relatives being bred and raised in family homes with children and–albeit unwisely–other pets.

The serval has been kept in Europe as a pet for many centuries and has more recently gained popularity in the United States.  Servals are one of the few wildcats that make a good companion.  They bond very strongly with the caretakers.  They do not become aggressive as they mature.  They are extremely affectionate.  For cat lovers they are the ultimate cat.

Servals are much more challenging and time consuming to raise than a domestic cat. In order to end up with a tame, safe, and loving serval that can live in your house, you are going to have to spend a lot of time socializing, training, and housebreaking him. These things don’t happen automatically with a serval.

A Serval kitten is like a domestic kitten on speed! If you have ever raised a kitten you know how playful (and sometimes destructive) they are. Then imagine kittens the size of a full-grown domestic cat, with way more energy! Prepare to be playfully tackled, bitten, clawed, climbed, and otherwise wrestled with by a huge kitten, and make sure you have the training experience to teach your little fireball to be gentle with humans and your house.

However, if you have the knowledge of training and you put in the time, you will be rewarded with a wonderful, loving companion who is fun to live with and easy and safe to handle. A well-raised serval really is incredibly sweet and amazing. To me it is worth every bit of the time and effort.

For more information:
bigcatrescue.com,
exoticcats.com,
animal-world.com