A large amount of people in the United States own cats, and a majority of those people have normal house cats, but what about the exotic hybrid breeds that some people are drawn to. There has recently been some controversy over this topic, somewhat due to Justin Bieber buying two “half-wild” kittens. They might look pretty, but these breeds have a lot of issues with them that I will be highlighting in this blog post.
Fig. 1 Savannah Cat
Some people are drawn to the ultra-expensive cat breeds that are made to look like wild cats, but don’t actually know what they are getting themselves into. “Exotic” cat breeds like the Savannah cat (a hybrid between a house cat and an African Serval cat) can have many of the wild traits, especially in early generations. This causes them to be very bad indoor pets, but most people don’t like to let their cats roam the neighborhood, especially since cats like Savannahs have extremely high hunting instincts. Being cooped up in a house all day causes a lot of behavior issues if they are not exercised and played with at all times of day, and most people don’t want to put in that much effort into having a cat. People who buy these cat breeds oftentimes don’t know what they’re getting into, and this causes a lot of unhappiness in owners and sometimes they even have to rehome the cats in order to solve the issues they are having; however, rehoming these cats is extremely difficult due to their wild nature. Most wildlife sanctuaries and big cat sanctuaries have to have waiting lists for accepting Savannah cats because there are just so many that people want to rehome, and if a cat is having behavioral issues like most Savannahs end up having due to the circumstances, regular cat owners might not be willing to adopt them. This leaves the owner of the “exotic” cat with the choice of either keeping the cat until a sanctuary can accept them or dumping them in a shelter or on the streets, and either situation will cause issues.
With the amount of cats in shelters, there is never a reason to buy an “exotic” kitten that can cost up to $10,000, and if you want that “cool cat” look, you can admit that some tabbies look pretty wild sometimes! These cats are suffering because prospective cat owners don’t know what they’re getting into and pay big bucks for kittens they don’t know how to properly take care of, causing unhappiness in both the owner and the kitten. Sure, some “exotic” cat breeds have less issues with being indoors than others, but buying these “less-wild” breeds only encourages breeders to make more and exacerbate the issue. Cats are not toys to buy and dispose of once problems occur, and plenty are suffering in shelters across the United States. I urge you to please check out your shelters before paying a breeder for a kitten you won’t know how to deal with.
I would have never thought of this as a topic, but the as I read it I realized all the YouTube or instagram videos I use to watch of these people who owned wild cats, and with that were tons of comments against the owning of these cats. I agree that only people who can care for such animals should buy them, but if it is solely to look “cool” buying a regular animal that is easier to maintain and will remain healthy and happy is way cooler. I also like how you mentioned that some tabbies can look pretty wild in comparison with the wild cats because it made me laugh. 🙂
This article is very informative and I agree with your stance on this topic. People definitely shouldn’t be spending absurd amounts of money on these cats who aren’t really made for houses, when there are plenty of normal cats who need to be rescued. Justin Bieber is the scum of the earth so I’m unsurprised by the fact that he bought two of these cats.