Nairobi
(Serval)
DOB 1993

UPDATED May 2015: Carole posted a photo of Nairobi on Big Cat Rescue's facebook page with the same lie she has been telling for 21 years. Why do her supporters insist that Carole's "mistakes" are all in her past when there is overwhelming evidence that she lies about the origins of her cats to this very day for their donations?

Carole claims to be transparent, upfront and honest about her past of buying, breeding, selling, and declawing her cats and charging people to sleep with her cubs. If Carole is honest why doesn't she tell the truth about Nairobi's past? Would you send her donations for a cat she bought, probably sold, and lied about for 21 years?

The evolving stories that Carole tells about Nairobi below are all completely fabricated lies. View the Bay News 9 video to hear Chris Hawes' telephone interview with the owner of the pet shop where Nairobi was purchased. The former owner tells Chris that not a word of Carole's story is true. Carole's former and present websites as well as her audio version of Nairobi's story tells you Nairobi was taunted by children in a pet shop and the owner was afraid he would bite one. She wants you to believe she rescued this cat but that is not true.

We spoke to the now retired owner of this pet shop on May 26, 2015. Even though Nairobi was very tame he was displayed behind glass to protect him from the public and was handled only by adult employees, never children.There was never a concern that Nairobi would bite a child and children never taunted him. Carole Lewis (now Baskin) purchased him for $1000, and we were told that was not the only time Carole (never Don) did business with this pet shop.

But wait. Although the pet shop owner, the USDA papers, and Carole's 1997 website all tell us that Nairobi was a male serval, in 1999 Carole now claims he is a female! Since Nairobi was a young, healthy cat who was very tame and trained to walk on a leash, we suspect that Carole sold Nairobi and then replaced him with another serval, this time a female. Carole's former staff told us Carole would often substitute cats when one died or was sold and exhibit it as the same cat with the same name and invented rescue story. This practice saved her from having to buy a new name plaque for the cage.

According to Carole's WOES Safari Guide Nairobi 2, the female version, was bred to Frosty (born at BCR) to produce cubs Tonga and Kongo. These two were 'cabin cats' forced to sleep with paying bed and breakfast customers.

Unless you believe it is ethical and honest to purchase cats for breeding or exhibition, assign them a false story to lead people to believe they were rescued, then sell them and replace them with another cat who you assign the same lie, then breed this cat to make 2 more....these 5 cats, Nairobi 1, Nairobi 2, Frosty, Tonga, and Kongo, were not rescued.

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The Evolving Stories

Wildlife on Easy Street 1997 (male serval?)

"A male Serval born in 1993 came to us on 7/7/94 from a Pet Shop owner, who was afraid that some small child may be bitten by her otherwise fabulously tame adult male cat. He was raised in a pet shop, surrounded by people and walks well on a leash and enjoys riding in the car. He never knew how much fun a cat could have until he met the female Servals here on Easy Street."

Wildlife On Easy Street 1999 (female serval?)

"Nairobi came to Easy Street on 7/7/94 from a Pet Shop owner, who was afraid that some small child would be bitten, even though this cat is fabulously tame. She was raised in a pet shop surrounded by people. She walks well on a leash and enjoys riding in the car. She never knew how much fun a cat could have until she met the male Servals here on Easy Street."

Big Cat Rescue (present)

"Nairobi was the mascot in a pet store window until she came to live at Big Cat Rescue July 7, 1994. The pet store owner was afraid that she would bite the small children who were always taunting her and she was right."