$22,000 cat??

I was floored when I saw the price of this cat, it doesnt even seem like it is proper as a house cat? It's basically a wild cat- Serval & Leopard

"No word yet why this family didn't just buy a dog" yeah.... my thoughts exactly

Are they paying $22,000 for the cat, or is most of that licensing to allow a basically fully-wild cat into a suburban area?

Crazy, eh!!

Craig and I priced a Serval once and it was $15,000, no way in a million years would I pay that kind of money.

WOW!

Well, I wouldn't pay even a tenth of that price, but I'd pay anything SPCA charges so I can rescue kitty.

But the idea of having a LARGE domestic cat instead of a dog is very appealing to me.

I always dreamed of having a kitten like that so I can teach it to be walked and whatever can be taught to a cat without damaging it's personality as feline.

But...   that's just a wish-wish dream.  Never will happen.

I believe for a long time now that cats are much better guards and protectors then dogs are.

I have a living example (Johnie - one of my five SMALL domestic cats).

And WOW, the wild kitty on the video is so adorable!

The Ashera is a fake breed, that has been known since 2008. They are Savannah cats that were bought under false pretenses by the lifestyle pets company, the same people who also sell hypoallergenic cats. They just gave these Savannahs a different name and a bigger pricetag.
There was this guy in my country, the netherlands, who bought one of these "ashera cats" in 2008, bragged about it in a national paper, but when the cat arrived at the airport it was seized by customs because authorities said it was a wild cat or wild cat hybrid and the new owner didn't have the right papers to import it. He has since been convicted of violating dutch wildlife protection laws. The cat died in government custody, supposedly from some kind of lymphoma (I'm wondering about FeLV).

http://ashera-savannah-cat.blogspot.com/
http://www.messybeast.com/asheras.htm

Give me a regular domestic cat anytime, there are enough breeds so that there is something for everyone. Breeding new hybrid cats brings an disproportionate amount of suffering for these cats when you compare it with breeding domestic cats, especially since big bucks are involved which brings out the worst in people. Cats become status symbols, objects.
Getting the first generation crosses often means getting a lot of dead kittens, since Servals and domestic cats have different gestation periods. It must take a certain kind of person to breed that way I guess.
The first generations of males are mostly sterile so useless to breeders, they must get rid of them so they often sell them with the assurance that they are perfectly suitable as pets.

On the dutch forum I'm on I've heard from two people who bought a Savannah, one just said she couldn't keep it in the house with her kids, the other is a Maine Coon breeder who says she won't allow the Savannah near her kittens and has posted pictures of how her hand and arm looked after an incident that necessitated a trip to the ER. She says that most owners she talked with paint a different picture of the breed than the breeders do. The national wild cat rescue gets a lot of requests for help with these cats too.

Is it a Savannah?  If so, makes sense.

Mimosa said:

The Ashera is a fake breed, that has been known since 2008. They are Savannah cats that were bought under false pretenses by the lifestyle pets company, the same people who also sell hypoallergenic cats. They just gave these Savannahs a different name and a bigger pricetag.
There was this guy in my country, the netherlands, who bought one of these "ashera cats" in 2008, bragged about it in a national paper, but when the cat arrived at the airport it was seized by customs because authorities said it was a wild cat or wild cat hybrid and the new owner didn't have the right papers to import it. He has since been convicted of violating dutch wildlife protection laws. The cat died in government custody, supposedly from some kind of lymphoma (I'm wondering about FeLV).
http://ashera-savannah-cat.blogspot.com/
http://www.messybeast.com/asheras.htm
Give me a regular domestic cat anytime, there are enough breeds so that there is something for everyone. Breeding new hybrid cats brings an disproportionate amount of suffering for these cats when you compare it with breeding domestic cats, especially since big bucks are involved which brings out the worst in people. Cats become status symbols, objects.
Getting the first generation crosses often means getting a lot of dead kittens, since Servals and domestic cats have different gestation periods. It must take a certain kind of person to breed that way I guess.
The first generations of males are mostly sterile so useless to breeders, they must get rid of them so they often sell them with the assurance that they are perfectly suitable as pets.
On the dutch forum I'm on I've heard from two people who bought a Savannah, one just said she couldn't keep it in the house with her kids, the other is a Maine Coon breeder who says she won't allow the Savannah near her kittens and has posted pictures of how her hand and arm looked after an incident that necessitated a trip to the ER. She says that most owners she talked with paint a different picture of the breed than the breeders do. The national wild cat rescue gets a lot of requests for help with these cats too.

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Very good information and good links.  Thank you.

But... whatever that kitty is - I'm so sorry that it died, so unfair.  It was a living soul, even if being bred not nicely and by a crook.

I LOVE Savannah cats.  (Well, okay, I love any cats).

And no, I would not give my money to a crook like that.

I'd rather have my feral darlings instead.

Still, I love the idea of having a LARGE cat in the house, and NO, I'm not getting one, for it might upset my five moggies.

Anyways, from what I heard - I don't like those officials who captured that kitty and allowed it to die.

Crazy..... they could buy a lot of dogs with the money :lol3: and still have some over to donate to the shelter.

Ambermay said:

Very good information and good links.  Thank you.

But... whatever that kitty is - I'm so sorry that it died, so unfair.  It was a living soul, even if being bred not nicely and by a crook.

I LOVE Savannah cats.  (Well, okay, I love any cats).

And no, I would not give my money to a crook like that.

I'd rather have my feral darlings instead.

Still, I love the idea of having a LARGE cat in the house, and NO, I'm not getting one, for it might upset my five moggies.

Anyways, from what I heard - I don't like those officials who captured that kitty and allowed it to die.

Click to expand...

What about a Maine Coone? My Jaspar is half Maine Coone and he's bigger than small dog breeds.

  All I know is that Maia is priceless to me! I wouldn't sell her for a million, and yes, I mean it!

lorindaleigh said:

What about a Maine Coone? My Jaspar is half Maine Coone and he's bigger than small dog breeds.

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Yes, Maine Coone are large cats and they are so beautiful too.

If I was thinking about cat breeds before I got my moggies - I'd probably go for Siamese or Egyptian Mau, even though they are not as large as Maine Coones.

It's a good clip... The presenter is very 'tongue in cheek' about it all.  And the Paris Hilton handbag comment was excellent.. For so many these animals are some kind of status symbol or accessory.

I think this cat is super cute and I'd love to have one but I still think having an animal that big that's mixed with something wild is dangerous,but that's just me.

The so-called "Ashera cat" is really a scam IMO... It's basically just a Savannah or Savannah cross with an inflated price tag and misleading press releases.

Ah, the Savannah cat. You should look up the Toyger. My rescue happened upon one that had been missing for over 3 months (the owners thought it would be a great idea to let him play outside by himself...even though this 3 year old cat had never been outside in his life. He freaked and ran. Luckily, someone found him- rather beaten up from encounters with other animals- and brought him to our rescue.)

The owners paid over $20,000 (I think they said 25000?)

Wow,  Thanks for your share Mimosa. Sheds light on how inhumane this breeding practice is . Sure, the cat is beautiful to look at,  but there are sooo many cats at the shelter waiting for some love. 

I don't know anything about this hybrid breed but I do know that both of the cats that it is supposed to be bred from are wild cats. I think even someone that developes hybrids from crossing a domestic cat with a small wildcat would have a problem with this. The serval is crossed with a domestic cat for the Savannah and the Bengal breed was started by crossing an Asian Leopard cat with a domestic cat.

It's an "Ashera" which is what some fraudulent "breeders" are trying to pass off F1 Savannah cats as. There have been genetic tests done on so called Asheras and they all turned out to be Savannah's. 

Savannah or Ashera, - what difference?  They are still just feline persons.  

And pity on those who try to make a quick buck out of the trickery.

But they are so majestic and elegant, and big!

Not to say that my moggies are less Majestic, but people shouldn't have a large cat in their home unless they can afford to give them all they need, and they need a lot more then our domestic babies.