It’s no great shock that cat lovers can get a little excessive when it comes to their feline friends. But one company, banking on the fact there are more than a few prospective pet owners willing to part with some serious ka-ching for a kitten, is selling a designer breed of cat that costs $22,000.
The pricey pet is said to have been produced by cross-breeding an African Serval and an Asian Leopard Cat with a domestic feline. While Lifestyle Pets admits this type hybrid breeding has been done before, “the Ashera is unique in that genetic monitoring is used to standardize breeding and ensure that the defining features and size of the [animal] remain exceptionally consistent.”
Well, for all that money, at least now you can get the yappy Chihuahua next door to finally shut up.
| Cool cat but out of my price range. For that price, I could get 880 cats from the SPCA. (Just what I need.) |
| From MSNBC |
Found by Bubba Martin.
That is a freaking huge cat. Can you imagine an ill-tempered version of this thing? I agree, there are plenty of great cats at rescues.
That is not the type of cat to get if you have assholes around who like to torment cats. This thing would cause massive blood loss if not treated right. I would like to see it go after a yelping pussy dog though.
These people have way too much disposable income. How about doing something positive with it, like, hey, donate it to the SPCA.
Wow. Imagine the size of the litter box needed.
#3, Mark, you’re on the mark!
Now that’s one expensive pussy Elton John will pay to have.
Think Paris Hilton could carry one in her purse and still keep her face?
All of my cats are rescues but man is that one gorgeous creature.
Anyways…
In Africa the Serval is called the poor mans hyena. And Savannah Cats are bred from those and look similar to this.
http://tinyurl.com/22rbnh
[Fixed original link. – ed]
And since I’m mucking up the boards, heres another wiki link about the Servals
http://tinyurl.com/2ama8u
what do you mean, Bubba, 880 cats…heck, without much work you could get a thousand or more cats! Of course, you’d need that 22k to feed them..
First of all, cats are usually obtained as kittens from places like the front of the supermarket, friends, relatives, even the pound.
But I DO have a suggestion for this outrageously priced feline. Feed it coffee beans. Imagine the price you could get for coffee shat from a $22,000 cat!
DAve
I’d consider buying such a cat were I absurdly wealthy AND I’d donate plenty to many charities. I think its a beautiful animal. Of course, I’d want to know a lot about its temperament.
The web site says it is gentle, good with kids, and takes well to a leash, which if true is cool as I’d probably want such a pet to able to travel safely with me sometimes. I’d want to know all that was true because if I weren’t able to give this cat the care it needs and provide it a home that is good for its needs, I’d opt for a shelter cat.
I’m not a pure breed person. I never care about CFA regs. But that is a dramatically attractive animal.
#8, Matthew, thanks for the link. A spotted pet cat is amazing, and the examples are beautiful.
“Owners of savannahs say that they are very impressed with the intelligence of this breed of cat.”
#12, Meetsy, “what do you mean, Bubba, 880 cats”
I didn’t write the article, I just found the source material. Unfortunately, Hop’s going to take the blame for this one (sorry, Hop). But you’ve got to admit, $22,000 is a lot to pay for one kitty, no matter how cute or cool. I sure don’t have the bucks for one of those.
#13, Dave
I love coffee, but I still refuse to eat or drink anything that came out of an animals butt. The only exception being beer where the alcohol came out of the yeast’s butt.
In my area, when you adopt an animal from the SPCA there is a $25 charge. At this price, I could adopt 880 cats for $22,000.
True story:
My wife arrived home in her van yesterday just in time to see a coyote dragging the body of the neighbor’s precious (less expensive) cat up the road. She gave chase with the vehicle but it got away with its prize.
RBG
#19, RBG, Of all places, Plano, TX, town of 150,000 (!) just north of my home, a good friend who adopted one of my kittens suffered an attack by a coyote right in his front yard. He’s ok, kitten didn’t live. There are now coyotes, snakes, wild dogs, bunnies and all sorts of wildlife displaced. It seems that development north of where he lives has driven the wild things south into developed neighborhoods. What a bummer for the folks there and the wild animals.
Good Jeebus, what a gorgeous kit-kit!
I’ll wait a couple years, though – betcha the price drops 70-80%…
Coyotes have become endemic. For example, there’s lots of coyotes in beautiful Vancouver, BC, Canada. The over-simplified story is that wolves hate coyotes, but wolves don’t survive people-civilization. Coyotes do, and with no wolves …
Toronto, Ontario, Canada is chock-full of squirrels and racoons. Squirrels, for example, eat all the blossoms off fruit trees so there’s no harvest to protect. House cats can’t catch the squirrels. If one of these hybrid cat jobbies could catch squirrels, there might be a market in the GWN.
THIS IS A SCAM!!!
Breeders have been breeding this cat for decades! It’s called the SAVANNAH CAT! Savannah cats cost between $1,000 – $5,000 (sometimes more, for breeders) but nowhere near the $22,000 this rediculous “breeder” is ripping people off for!!!
Don’t fall for this!!