NationStates Jolt Archive

NOTE: If I can ever afford one of these cats, I'm going to name it Catula! :D


What's Up, Pussycat? Whoa! (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/12/fashion/12cats.html?th&emc=th)

http://img38.echo.cx/img38/1561/savannah4vh.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)

By SUSAN SAULNY
Published: May 12, 2005

DARJEERLING and Bunnicula are two kittens who prefer shrimp cocktails and steak frites to pet food. They sleep on Burberry beds in their Greenwich Village apartment and wore matching crystal-studded collars until a few weeks ago, when they chewed off all the stones.

They are outlawed in New York City, members of a new designer breed growing in popularity called the Savannah, an offspring of a wildcat - the African serval - and the domestic house cat.

"If I have to move to New Jersey to keep these cats, I will," said their owner, a 29-year-old hedge fund analyst who equates life in downtown Manhattan with life itself. "That's how much I love them," she said, speaking only on the condition of anonymity.

The cats - which can cost from $4,000 to $10,000 - are visually striking with their long necks and oversized ears, and they can be intimidating. They look like little leopards and grow to more than twice the size of normal cats. They love to leap and splash in water, and they don't mind taking long walks on a leash. Some people describe them as dogs in cats' bodies.

"More than ever, everyone's been calling me about the Savannah, and I'm like, 'What's going on?' " said Bash Dibra, an animal trainer in New York whose sessions, at $300 to $500 an hour, are often the last resort for people who cannot control their Savannahs.

Taking care of them on the sly - as New Yorkers must - can be tricky. Across the country, however, the Savannah is not always illegal: a hodgepodge of city and county regulations and state laws govern pets that are part wild.

In New York authorities do not scour the streets for such pets. Owners are often in hiding from their neighbors who might report them. For instance Darjeerling and Bunnicula rarely appear outdoors in the light of day. In an apartment on the Upper East Side, another Savannah named Tiger is tended by the household help in the middle of the night. And Kara LoDolce, who recently moved to a new town on Long Island with her Savannah, Mazi, will not even tell her friends where she lives.

"It's hard to have, hard to keep," said Mr. Dibra, who calls that part of the Savannah's appeal. It makes it "more mystical to own," he said.

New York City banned ownership of any wild or part-wild animals long ago. The state followed suit in 2004. Bethany Schumann, an aide to Assemblyman Paul D. Tonko, a Democrat from Amsterdam, who sponsored the state law, said her office had heard from hundreds of angry cat owners for and against the Savannah in the last couple of years.

"For whatever reason, these cats are cats many people would like to have," she said. "There is some sort of wow factor to the 35-pound cat in your Manhattan apartment."

But they come with too many unknowns, she added. "We have no idea what this cat's habitat should be," Ms. Shumann said.

The cats are growing in popularity elsewhere in the country too. It is hard to estimate exactly how many Savannahs are kept as pets. Their numbers are surely small compared with the average cat. But animal trainers, veterinarians and pet-business owners say they are seeing the Savannah more frequently, while they were rare five years ago.

In Chicago, Cynthia A. King, a Savannah owner and breeder, said: "I had to wait two years to get my kittens, and I had cash I was waving in the air. For a first-generation pet, we're talking a $5,000 minimum expenditure. That's how popular they are."

Julian Robertson, a breeder in Reidsville, N.C., said: "We've shipped them to Alaska, we've shipped them to Austria. You name it, and we've shipped them. We can't keep enough of them." ( continued )

[ This is a long, two-page article. The full article can be found at http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/12/fashion/12cats.html?th&emc=th ]

How trendy. I wonder if they will supplant pit-bulls in the hood?
People are morons.

How trendy. I wonder if they will supplant pit-bulls in the hood?
People are morons.
One can only hope. Pitbulls are mean ... these Savannahs apprently are not. :)

One can only hope. Pitbulls are mean ... these Savannahs apprently are not. :)


I hope so. We have enough "stylish" pets out there, owned by nitwits, ripping up children.

A pit bull mauled another kid in NJ a few days ago.

I just dont like the pets that people get as an ego-related trend. And then it becomes a monster.

I really don't see that big a deal. Cats are barely domesticated anyway. Much less so than most dogs. So a half-wild cat(to me), describes most cats anyway. But imagine a giant thirty-five pound cat feeling ornery around your house! :eek:

It's funny they mentioned not knowing the cats' habitat - normal (domestic) cats are naturally suited to the desert. That's why they don't like water. These half-breeds are probably more suited to temperate climates.

I really don't see that big a deal. Cats are barely domesticated anyway. Much less so than most dogs. So a half-wild cat(to me), describes most cats anyway. But imagine a giant thirty-five pound cat feeling ornery around your house! :eek:
Hehehe! I'm going to teach mine ( if I can ever afford one! ) to sic dogs! :D

I so want one of those. 5k is a little steep for a feline though. Especially since you can get as many regular cats as you want for free.

It's funny they mentioned not knowing the cats' habitat - normal (domestic) cats are naturally suited to the desert. That's why they don't like water. These half-breeds are probably more suited to temperate climates.
Good point. I would love to have one, just to see what I could teach it. I've taught my little Himalayan to have a recongnition vocabluary of about 20 words. His usage vocabulary is perforce much smaller. :)

I so want one of those. 5k is a little steep for a feline though. Especially since you can get as many regular cats as you want for free.


If these do hit 35lbs, catmeat may be come popular in chinese food again.

I so want one of those. 5k is a little steep for a feline though. Especially since you can get as many regular cats as you want for free.
I know! Sometimes it seems like almost everything I would like to have is way too expensive for my alleged "budget!" SIGH! :(

Nice kitty! Looks like an awesome cat, but I hope they don't make it to Australia. We have enough problems with ferral cats hunting down wildlife, a cat that twice as big I guess would have to eat twice as much.

If these do hit 35lbs, catmeat may be come popular in chinese food again.
TSK! Shame on you! :p

Hehehe! I'm going to teach mine ( if I can ever afford one! ) to sic dogs! :D

I had a huge yellow tabby named T.C. that used to chase dogs. He died some years ago. :(

Nice kitty! Looks like an awesome cat, but I hope they don't make it to Australia. We have enough problems with ferral cats hunting down wildlife, a cat that twice as big I guess would have to eat twice as much.
True. Perhaps Austrailia should consider a total ban on this one?

I know! Sometimes it seems like almost everything I would like to have is way too expensive for my alleged "budget!" SIGH! :(
Well you could tape to normal cats together and pretend its some kind of supercat. Its almost the same :eek:

I had a huge yellow tabby named T.C. that used to chase dogs. He died some years ago. :(
Kewl about him chasing dogs. I'm sorry to hear that he died though. I'm really dreading when my Skuttles dies. He's been my best friend ever since my parachuting accident. Someone had mistreated him before he came to live with me, and it took me a couple of months to gain his trust. Now we're almost inseparable. :)

Well you could tape to normal cats together and pretend its some kind of supercat. Its almost the same :eek:
ROFLMAO! Uh huh. And you don't think they would take exception to that??? LOL!

True. Perhaps Austrailia should consider a total ban on this one?

And probably a few other places in the Pacific (like New Zealand with all their flightless birds!). I doubt that would happen, too much common sense for politicians.

5k? I think I would rather have a PSG-1 for the same price.

Well you could tape to normal cats together and pretend its some kind of supercat. Its almost the same :eek:

Or create the perpetual motion device (http://www.icw-net.com/howto/funstuff/cattoast.htm) everyone craves (Grand Prizewinner, which by the theory should have no problem being two cats strapped back-to-back).

And probably a few other places in the Pacific (like New Zealand with all their flightless birds!). I doubt that would happen, too much common sense for politicians.
Politicians ... the breed we love to hate! :D

-We have enough "stylish" pets out there, owned by nitwits, ripping up children.
-A pit bull mauled another kid in NJ a few days ago.

One can only hope. Pitbulls are mean ... these Savannahs apprently are not

I hate it when people do this...
*sigh*
Pitbulls are not NATURALLY mean, people make them that way through ignorance or in order to be guard/fighting dogs. You COULD turn ANY breed of dog into a vicious killer, some of them wouldnt be very good at it (Pomeranians?), but they would make an effort.
A Pitbull is naturaly a somewhat friendly dog, unless it has some sort of mental disorder, they arent foo-foo dog friendly, but they fetch, roll over and other similar things.
Our neighbor had a Pitbull back in Oregon, and I have yet to be viciously mauled. It did growl at me once, but that was because I stepped on it.
OUR dog is a German Shepard, one of the "naturaly mean" dogs, and if anybod considers our dog mean, they need serious help.
The worst our dog has EVER done to anybody is drop a slimy tennis ball on them. I beleive both of her parents were Belgian police dogs (Imported by the Texas police department, or something) who COULD easily rip somebodies arm off, but didnt.
End rant :P

5k? I think I would rather have a PSG-1 for the same price.
"PSG-1?" ( puzzled look ) :confused:

I so want one of those. 5k is a little steep for a feline though.

My thoughts exactly!

MEOW!

Kewl about him chasing dogs. I'm sorry to hear that he died though. I'm really dreading when my Skuttles dies. He's been my best friend ever since my parachuting accident. Someone had mistreated him before he came to live with me, and it took me a couple of months to gain his trust. Now we're almost inseparable. :)

It's amazing, isn't it? T.C. died thirteen years ago, and his mother, Liz(a tiny little half manx with a stub for a tail) died ten years ago. I still think about them from time to time. I still miss them. :(

But I have Evil now. :)

"PSG-1?" ( puzzled look ) :confused:

This. (http://www.snipercentral.com/psg1.htm)

Or create the perpetual motion device (http://www.icw-net.com/howto/funstuff/cattoast.htm) everyone craves (Grand Prizewinner, which by the theory should have no problem being two cats strapped back-to-back).
When a cat is dropped, it always lands on its feet, and when toast is dropped, it always lands buttered side down. It was proposed to strap giant slabs of hot buttered toast to the back of a hundred tethered cats; the two opposing forces will cause the cats to hover, spinning inches above the ground. Using the giant buttered toast/cat array, a high-speed monorail could easily link New York with Chicago.
I like your thinking, you got moxie kid.

I so want one of those. 5k is a little steep for a feline though. Especially since you can get as many regular cats as you want for free.
so, what, get three or four regualr sized cats and duct tape them together? that's some VOLTRON action right there.edit: dammit, just saw hammopolis' post. fooey.

One can only hope. Pitbulls are mean ... these Savannahs apprently are not. :)
I haven't met many mean pitbulls. Most of them are as nice as any dog.

I hate it when people do this...
*sigh*
Pitbulls are not NATURALLY mean, people make them that way through ignorance or in order to be guard/fighting dogs. You COULD turn ANY breed of dog into a vicious killer, some of them wouldnt be very good at it (Pomeranians?), but they would make an effort.
A Pitbull is naturaly a somewhat friendly dog, unless it has some sort of mental disorder, they arent foo-foo dog friendly, but they fetch, roll over and other similar things.
Our neighbor had a Pitbull back in Oregon, and I have yet to be viciously mauled. It did growl at me once, but that was because I stepped on it.
OUR dog is a German Shepard, one of the "naturaly mean" dogs, and if anybod considers our dog mean, they need serious help.
The worst our dog has EVER done to anybody is drop a slimy tennis ball on them. I beleive both of her parents were Belgian police dogs (Imported by the Texas police department, or something) who COULD easily rip somebodies arm off, but didnt.
End rant :P


I agree. That was my point-that people who need a staus symbol will get these cats and encourage them to be aggressive. Then get tired of them and neglect them. Leaving them to maul the neighbor's kid one day.
I was mauled by an Alaskan Malamute. I wish it were a pit bull instead-I might have won the fight.

I was attacked by a pit bull, and ever since then I've been off the breed. I love corgis! :D How embarassing, I know! But they do look interesting and you can laugh at them.

I was attacked by a pit bull, and ever since then I've been off the breed. I love corgis! :D How embarassing, I know! But they do look interesting and you can laugh at them.

Why is that embarassing? Ein rules!

I hope that by the time the two cats that own me decide to finally cough up their last hairball(s) the price has come down.

Ever since a childhood friend had a bobcat as a "pet"* I've wanted a big cat.(*Casper had been illegally declawed and was rescued by USFS from the wildlife theif who had killed the mother to get the kitten.)

It's amazing, isn't it? T.C. died thirteen years ago, and his mother, Liz(a tiny little half manx with a stub for a tail) died ten years ago. I still think about them from time to time. I still miss them. :(

But I have Evil now. :)
I have so many stories of cats and dogs that I can't remember them all. I use to have three cats, all of which I "inheritied" from my grandchildren. Two of them, identical all white brothers, were killed a few months ago by the same dog ( dogs aren't suppose to run loose here, but one obviously did! ). I still think of them often, especially one of them who was highly intelligent for a cat. My ex is still mad at me about that and holds me responsible, naturally! :(

I agree. That was my point-that people who need a staus symbol will get these cats and encourage them to be aggressive. Then get tired of them and neglect them. Leaving them to maul the neighbor's kid one day.
I was mauled by an Alaskan Malamute. I wish it were a pit bull instead-I might have won the fight.
As I've already indicated, it seems Savannahs aren't aggressive toward people, otherwise people in apartments wouldn't be able to keep them.

This. (http://www.snipercentral.com/psg1.htm)
Ah! I didn't recognize the nomenclature. My bad! :(

I agree. That was my point-that people who need a staus symbol will get these cats and encourage them to be aggressive. Then get tired of them and neglect them. Leaving them to maul the neighbor's kid one day.
I was mauled by an Alaskan Malamute. I wish it were a pit bull instead-I might have won the fight.
Thats 'cause Malamutes are some of the most cat-like dogs I know of.
If you can find a docile Malamute, you buy it :P
Although I dont think Ive heard of one mauling somebody, they tend to be (in my experience) fairly lazy. We had one named Kodi who lived to be something like 17, which is a VERY old dog.
As I recall, she liked to steal the other dogs toys and kill the squeakers...good times :)