$22,000 Cat.....Seriously????

[sarahcals]

Even if this were a perfectly safe pet, I cannot fathom paying $22,000 for a cat! Granted, I'm a dog person, , but when I think of all the amazing things you could do with $22,000... wow.

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by sarahcals

Even if this were a perfectly safe pet, I cannot fathom paying $22,000 for a cat! Granted, I'm a dog person, , but when I think of all the amazing things you could do with $22,000... wow.

They are saying the cat is worth $22,000, but they are selling them from $2,000 up, I imagine you could probably get one for a whole lot less than that. What makes a cat "valuable" is it's pedigree, and these cats essentially have none, they are just a run of the mill mix, well maybe not run of the mill. However, the uneducated and can always be mislead.

[chachi]

I think its ridiculous that someone would pay that when unwanted cats are killed every day in shelters. I believe in adopting cats from shelters only

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by chachi

I think its ridiculous that someone would pay that when unwanted cats are killed every day in shelters. I believe in adopting cats from shelters only

Yeah, it almost seems more important with cats than dogs, so many are being put to sleep that would make wonderful, beautiful pets.

[Nikki+2]

Greed can be a dangerous thing. This is ridiculous- it doesn't even seem like it would be legal. Wouldn't this be classified as an exotic?

[MindieRose]

I don't see how this is different than the Bengal. We have a Bengal/Manx (Banx? lol) that we adopted that is the most loving and intelligent cat we have ever had. The Bengal came from Asian Leopards. Ours is 18lbs and spotted, not quite as exotic looking as others, as it lacks the rosettes that some have. It isn't even remotely a wild animal. In fact, Sid acts more like a dog than a cat, which is probably why I love him.

[MindieRose]

Here's my Sid Baby. He loves water and has to be the center of attention. Not shy at all to strangers like most domestic cats are.
With my almost-11 year old Gavin, and 7 year old Morgan.

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by MindieRose

I don't see how this is different than the Bengal. We have a Bengal/Manx (Banx? lol) that we adopted that is the most loving and intelligent cat we have ever had. The Bengal came from Asian Leopards. Ours is 18lbs and spotted, not quite as exotic looking as others, as it lacks the rosettes that some have. It isn't even remotely a wild animal. In fact, Sid acts more like a dog than a cat, which is probably why I love him.

You are correct, and in the article I linked where they are called scam artists, it says:

Since the original launching of the Ashera cat, the story has changed a little. This current idea is that this cat melds domestic cat with both African Serval and Asian Leopard Cat lineage. ANY cat with African Serval heritage and domestic cat heritage is a Savannah cat. Period. Asian Leopard Cat heritage is a fancy way of saying that they used Bengal cats (the domestic hybrid descended from Asian Leopard Cats, registered for over 20 years with TICA) to cross to the African Serval, something that has already occurred in the Savannah breed, and the vast majority of Savannahs registered have some Asian Leopard Cat in their heritage.

By keeping all information about the Ashera cat confidential, this means that the purchaser of an Ashera cat is buying a cat lacking a pedigree, which is the thing that normally means a cat is worth more money than a shelter kitty. The pictures supplied of the Ashera cat appear to show an inferior-quality Savannah, and the lack of a pedigree or registration papers backs up that impression.

So as far as I can see, buying an Ashera cat is buying an unregistered inferior Savannah cat and paying five times as much for the privilege? Ashera vs. Savannah Cat: Lifestyle Pets Introduces the $22,000 Ashera(TM), the World's Largest, Rarest and Most Exotic Domestic Cat

[MindieRose]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

You are correct, and in the article I linked where they are called scam artists, it says:

Gotcha. I didn't read replies, just replied to the OP.

I got a steal being that I paid a $50 adoption fee and he was already fixed and needs no immunizations until 2010. I cannot imagine paying loads of money for a kitty!

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by MindieRose

Gotcha. I didn't read replies, just replied to the OP.

I got a steal being that I paid a $50 adoption fee and he was already fixed and needs no immunizations until 2010. I cannot imagine paying loads of money for a kitty!

Wow, that is great, he's a beauty, how much does he weight?

[MindieRose]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

Wow, that is great, he's a beauty, how much does he weight?

He was 18lbs, but I think he is heavier. I am going to weigh him tomorrow because he feels more like 20 now, lol.

[mypreciouspups]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

Wow, I googled Lifestyle Pets, and it came up with the automatic word for scam, and I got pages of stuff. THE MURKY BACKGROUND OF THE ASHERA AND ALLERCA
Ashera vs. Savannah Cat: Lifestyle Pets Introduces the $22,000 Ashera(TM), the World's Largest, Rarest and Most Exotic Domestic Cat

Interesting...anne

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by MindieRose

He was 18lbs, but I think he is heavier. I am going to weigh him tomorrow because he feels more like 20 now, lol.

We had a couple of cats who were 17 and 18 pounds, and they always seemed so small to me, but to everyone else they looked huge.

[Nikki+2]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

We had a couple of cats who were 17 and 18 pounds, and they always seemed so small to me, but to everyone else they looked huge.

My mother has one that is in that range, maybe almost 20 lbs now, and he looks HUGE to me. Especially since she has 2 yorkies so in that context he looks even bigger. He's a sweetie pie though. His mother (stray) moved her litter and abandoned him and a friend of my mom's called her to take him in. She bottle fed him and had to stimulate his belly to make him potty and then eventually had to teach him how to use a little box. It's so hard to believe he was that tiny little helpless thing.

[stedmansmommy]

How funny that I just saw this thread. I watched Cats 101 tonight on Animal Planet and they were talking about a breed of cat called Savannah.

It said that these cats do have wild cat in them - and they can cost up to $20,000.00. It showed a lady that owned *TWO* of them - HELLO!!!

And, these suckers were HUGE! The biggest "indoor" house cat that I have ever seen in my life. Their legs are very long and it says that they weigh around 35 lbs and can stand as tall as a medium sized dog.

They have different "ranges" of these cats (f1 and f2's I believe) - the f1's and f2's are used to determine the "amount" of wild cat that has been bred into that particular Savannah.

Just crazy!

Here are pictures of them: Yahoo! Image Search Results for savannah cats - if I saw one of these cats outside I would probably die. They look like leopard's or cheetah's.