We've all seen pictures like this: 
A cute kid hanging out with a peaceful looking tiger. There are places all over the world that give people opportunities to get up close and personal with all sorts of fascinating animals that they've only otherwise seen in pictures or from far away in the zoo. It sounds like a pretty sweet deal: cuddly tiger, sweet picture, and unforgettable memories for you and your family. At least that's how it seems.
What many people don't realize is that these animals are basically drugged out of their minds in order to sit around all day and have strange creatures that don't look or talk like them touch them in ways that they don't like. The only reason they aren't attacking or running away is that their neurological pathways are probably so intoxicated that they couldn't even stand up. Its amazing to me that they don't just relieve themselves uncontrollably.
On top of the drugging and unfamiliarity, with Big Cats specifically this experience is unbelievably stressful. Big Cats are by nature not social creatures. The exception being the African Lion however even then, most of the females in a pride are sisters or otherwise related and usually only up to three males run the pride. There are also small bachelor prides of males who have not established themselves yet. Even the Asian Lions run their pride system differently. There are female and male prides who live separately and come together only for the mating season.
Most other cats don't even remain with their mate except for the actual action of mating. Cubs leave their mothers about as soon as they hit sexual maturity to lead the same solitary lives as their parents before them. It's not a sad life because that is just how they are wired. A lot of us humans don't quite understand that not all animals are social like we are let alone social at all. You know those dreams you have where you are being chased and you can't run, or you can't gather up the strength to punch your attacker? That is how I imagine this situation for these animals.
Dogs are pack animals and thus live and breathe the family lifestyle and constant attention. Even domestic cats have been domesticated for thousands of years making them much more highly suited to our human social system.
It is super cool to think about getting cuddly with a lion or with a tiger but the fact of the matter is that they are not cuddly creatures (despite their outward appearance). They are wild animals and should be treated with the same respect as we give any other dangerous thing.
