A Lion’s Share Of Attention Cat Tales Zoo Wildly Popular After Recovery From Setbacks

A group of youngsters from Grant Elementary mashed their faces against an outer fence to watch Jambo the lion slide his 500-pound body off the top of his shelter.

Brandy Martin, a volunteer zookeeper at Cat Tales slid a piece of raw meat through the fence which Jambo easily scarfed down.

The kids were in awe.

“I would not like to be a snack for one of those,” said 7-year-old Nate Olmey.

Jambo, one of 27 exotic cats living at the park, was a favorite among the kids.

“I like the puma, but the lion has a bigger head,” Olmey said.

But 8-year-old Gena Wickey wasn’t as impressed as some of her classmates. The exotic animals didn’t hold a candle to “Binks,” her imaginary pet lion, who she said she was going to feed when she got home.

As for Cat Tales, its financial health is no longer a figment of the imagination of owners Mike and Debbie Wyche.

The couple purchased the small plot of land off Highway 2 about a decade ago and since then have made it into a popular Spokane attraction.

Such an accomplishment seemed impossible five years ago.

State officials raided the 4-acre site and confiscated two exotic cats from the compound in 1992.

Two years later, Mike Wyche pleaded guilty to lying on documents required by the U.S. Department of Agriculture concerning the origin of some large cats, according to court documents.

Wyche also pleaded guilty to conspiring to keep a cougar that the state’s Department of Wildlife ordered deported from the state.

“The drop-off in business was tremendous,” Debbie Wyche said last week. “We went from serving 1,500 people on weekends to no one.”

State officials took some small exotic cats and left the facility with just the bigger animals which, she said, cost more to feed.

The federal government dropped five of seven original charges against Mike Wyche in return for the guilty pleas, according to court records.

The plea agreement required Wyche to pay $5,500 to a Vancouver, Wash., woman who in 1992 loaned the park two bobcats and two lynxes that weren’t returned. The cats were eventually given back.

The Wyches said what saved them from financial ruin was the fact that their Spokane attorney, Mary Schultz, represented them at no cost.

“We wouldn’t be standing here if she (Schultz) hadn’t done that,” Debbie Wyche said.

She said Schultz visited the park before the raid with some of her friends.

“She heard about the raid and called us and asked us if we needed her help,” Wyche said.

When the dust settled, Mike Wyche agreed to serve three years’ probation, perform 200 hours of community service and pay $1,000 in fines.

The Wyches didn’t want to publicly comment about the “politics surrounding the raid.” They said: “They just want to move on.”

Judging by the look of Cat Tales, the Wyches’ appear to have done just that. The park is more popular and financially stronger than it’s ever been in seven years, the couple said.

As the couple talked about their future last week, the summer-schoolers from Grant Elementary couldn’t seem to get enough of Spokane’s largest zoo.

The Wyches moved to Spokane from California, where they met while working with exotic cats. They decided to move to Spokane because Mike’s children were living here, they said.

Before the two knew it, their love of animals had taken hold on their land.

“We had no intention of doing this,” Mike Wyche said. “Now people pull off the road because they think we’re a state park,” he said.

Roughly 150,000 school kids a year from throughout the Northwest and Canada visit Cat Tales. On a slow day the big cats still attract 100 visitors. The zoo’s web site got 43,000 hits last year, he said.

Cat Tales gets its money from gate admissions, gift shop sales, memberships, animal adoptions, local business supporters and other cash donations.

The zoo’s main source of income is from the zoological training center.

The Wyches teach students year-round who are interested in becoming zookeepers, exotic animal handlers, trainers and wildlife conservation educators.

The training center’s student body is diverse. Some students have extensive backgrounds in animal keeping while some have no experience at all.

Classes are broken down into quarters. Each quarter consists of a minimum of 352 classroom and field hours spread out over 11 weeks.

The program costs just under $4,000 a year. The program has gotten more attention with the help of its web site. Animal handlers from Canada, Chile and Australia have enrolled for classes in the fall, the Wyches said.

Students successfully completing the minimum of three required quarters receive certificates of achievement.

Brandy Martin said she has been a volunteer at Cat Tales for two years. When she and her husband first moved to Spokane a few years ago, Cat Tales quickly became one of her favorite places to hang out.

After hearing about Cat Tales’ animal trade school, Martin enrolled.

“I didn’t have any background with animals,” Martin said. “All I knew was that I loved them. I completed the course and I’ve been here ever since.”

None of Cat Tales’ zookeepers are paid employees, but nonetheless they are all passionate about their work.

“I love everything about this job,” Martin said. “I can be scoopin’ poop all day, it doesn’t matter. These cats are my friends.”

Cat Tales’ operating budget was $78,000 last year. One-third of that money went to food for the cats. As a group they devoured 45,000 pounds of raw chicken and 35,000 pounds of raw beef.

“We’re in good shape right now,” Mike Wyche said. “We’re not out groveling for money. But what makes this place work are the contributions.

“Sometimes people come in here and say they don’t think the animals have enough space,” he said. “I agree with them. And then I tell them to break open their checkbook.”

The Wyche’s say preserving endangered and exotic cats is what wakes them up every day.

“We want to educate people about these animals while continuing to learn from them and about them,” Wyche said.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 4 photos (2 color)