My husband has a dream of adopting a white tiger as a family pet. How can we go about doing this?

Question

My husband has a dream of adopting a white tiger as a family pet. How can we go about doing this?

Answer 1

Please don't buy a wild animal as a pet.  If your husband loves tigers, why not sponsor them through a local zoo or conservation effort?  If he wants a more accessible companion, why not adopt an exotic-looking domestic breed of cat?  This may be his dream but he needs to realize that actually going through with it would be a nightmare.

Even the cutest baby tiger that seems "tame" will grow into an animal that is uncontrollable.  Also, there would be enormous expenses for food, veterinary care (most vets won't consider working on a tiger) and secure housing (you would need to create a huge enclosure mimicking that of a zoo tiger habitat as you will NOT be able to keep the tiger in your home for very long).  The tiger would likely be depressed because living out its life in a cage in your backyard contradicts its natural instincts.  

Additionally, tigers are powerful.  Any escape from the tiger enclosure places you, your family, neighbors, pets, children, and the tiger itself at risk.  If you own a wild animal you will most likely be strictly liable for their actions.  If your tiger mauled or killed someone you could be liable for hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars.  Worse, you would have to live with the guilt of creating such a dangerous situation.  

Also, a wild animal that has been kept as a pet usually cannot be re-homed.  If you die or must move to where you cannot keep wild animals (many state and local ordinances prohibit wild animal "pet" ownership) or cannot afford the astronomical costs associated with wild animal ownership, the animal could face euthanasia.  

If you absolutely decide that you are going to get a tiger as a pet, please research extensively (for years!!).  This is not something to undergo as a whim.  It is a huge responsibility not only for the tiger's well-being (for its entire life which can be 16-20 yrs. in captivity) but also to protect all people in your area from a dangerous wild animal that you have chosen to keep as a "pet."

Answer 2

Keep dreaming?

LOL I don't know but that would be cool.

Answer 3

Get a stuffed animal that is decorated after a white tiger.

White tigers are genetically incorrect, second you need a liscense to be an owner of a wild animal, third they are always going to be wild animals.

You will never be able to adopt one as a "family pet" nor will one ever be suitable for a family pet. If you really have the dreams of working with them, find an adoption organization and volunteer your time to them, they will probably never allow you to touch the animal as you never should be allowed to.

They are wild animals that can, and will, kill. Even without intentionally meaning to cause serious damage, they have been known to kill trainers who haved worked with them for all of their lives.

Answer 4

dont...........

Answer 5

That is illegal, not to mention stupid.  

Answer 6

Emmmm i dont think you get such a pet-why not a tiger like kitty cat-it wont grow up to be big and a killer stupid

Answer 7

very bad idea- tigers are huge, and need to be trained specially to not accidently attack you. Even perfectly trained tigers accidently swipe too hard and kill a person (they don't even need claws).

    

    We have some at the zoo I worked at, raised from a bottle, with people all the time. They come up, purr at the fence, and like to get pet. Then they get playful and decide to swat at you- their arm weighs as much as you- if they got you, you would be hurt.

  It is completely illegal, and unsafe to get one as a pet unless you are a very well trained professional.  Even at 10 days old, they are already trying to bite, and have small teeth.

If you do end up finding one illegally, rest assured that your kids will end up as snacks for the tiger- and by no fault of the tiger's- it's their nature.

Answer 8

Does your husband also have the desire to kill? Because big, wild, felines are KILLERS! Wake up woman! (Or man!) They DO NOT belong in a house. Visit the zoo, and get your idiot spouse some therapy.

Why are people so uneducated?

Answer 9

buy a white cat instead

white tigers are actually a genetic disorder in tigers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_tiger

Answer 10

Go to the zoo and throw him in the tiger cage.  

Answer 11

You can't.  Keeping and harboring a wild animal is illegal.