According to this follow-up to the story about the Harlemite who kept a tiger and alligator in his 7-room apartment in the projects:
There are 15,000 pet tigers, lions, cougars and other "big cats" in the United States, nearly three times as many as in the wild, said Wayne Pacelle, senior vice president of the Humane Society of the United States. "It's become ... a national epidemic," Pacelle said. "They're sold pretty cheaply. You can buy them on the Internet." Web sites advertise tiger cubs from $500 to $2,000 or more, depending on the breed. Dealers also peddle lion, leopard and cheetah cubs.
Assuming that each of the 15,000 pet, um, kitties lives in its own house or apartment, that means 1 in 6,000 American households is harboring something big, muscular and bitey. Divide your city's population by 6,000, think about it, and have a nice day.
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