Posts tagged "savannah"

We recently told you about actress Bai Ling's pet cat Quiji, which she claims is half cheetah and half domestic cat. While the speckled cat certainly looks exotic, we were skeptical. Could Quiji really be half cheetah?

To find out more, we contacted Carlos Driscoll, a scientist who researches cat genetics at the National Cancer Institute's Laboratory of Genomic Diversity. It turns out we had good reason to be suspicious. "Her cat is most assuredly not hybridized with a cheetah," Driscoll told Paw Nation.

For one thing, the huge size difference between the house cat and the cheetah would make it impossible for them to mate, he says. Beyond that, "A cheetah is too far, genetically, from a domestic cat to produce viable offspring," Driscoll said.

"House cats and exotic cats can, on some occasions, breed, but not any [exotic cat] species, and certainly not a cheetah," Driscoll told us. Based on Quiji's appearance, he guesses that she might be a Savannah cat, a mix between the domestic cat and a wild feline called a serval.

But even Savannahs aren't as exotic as they sound, Driscoll adds. "Such cats sold to the public are, by law, at least five generations away from the serval. As a result, there is an almost undetectable serval genetic component to them," he told Paw Nation.

Bai Ling claims her ex-boyfriend paid $30,000 for the exotic cat. If so, we hope he's not reading this. That's a lot of dough to drop on a fake cheetah -- especially for an ex-girlfriend.

Because having just a plain old cat won't do, Brits are now breeding super cats.

What's a Super Cat you ask? Take your average domestic cat, breed it with a wild exotic like a Savannah or a Geoffrey and you get a 35 lb. super-duper cat with claws, teeth and jaw muscles to match its hefty weight, reports the Daily Mail.

Beyond the fact that a half-exotic could cause some serious harm to a child or small animal, you'd need a litter box the size of a sandbox!

Despite safety and litter box concerns, some breeders boast a six-month long waiting list and a price tag of almost $9,000 for a super kitten. Thankfully these cats are illegal in several U.S. states and Australia reports the Daily Mail.

Peter Neville of the Feline Advisory Bureau told the Daily Mail, "I would not be happy with a Savannah around a small child because of their genes and their size. They are going to do a lot more damage than a normal domestic cat. Their paws are bigger, they are stronger and they will bite deeper."

But fans of these ferocious felines defend their exotic kitty cats. Donna Peyando, president of the Savannah Cat Club of Great Britain isn't concerned, "There are no more safety concerns than for any other breeds," she told the Daily Mail. "We always advise never, ever leave a cat alone with a child under five. For the sake of the cat and the child as well."

Are they kidding?

Source

Daily walks aren't just for dogs.

Every afternoon, Elizabeth Oxnard takes her dogs (along with her neighbor's pup) for a walk along the Sapelo River in Savannah, Georgia. Recently, though, Oxnard realized that someone else had joined the gang.

While Ootie trots along on four legs just like his pals, there is one small factor that makes him stand out from the crowd: he's a river otter, an animal usually known to butt heads (among other parts) with the canine crowd.

Around these parts, though, it looks like dog's worst enemy is actually a new best friend.

Source