Baby Animals Are Adorable, No?

Baby cheetah is cute.

Who doesn't love baby animals, right? There's something especially cute about baby animals that. when adults, will tear your face off. Unfortunately, there are some (let's call them mentally deficient) people who seem to ignore the fact that while bobcats may be cute, they have paws the size of my face.

This brings me to this little guy:

 

This fine young  lad is a Savannah, and the one cat I really, really want. Unfortunately they may be illegal in Connecticut. See, technically the Savannah is a hybrid cat. But what cats aren't. tight? Well, the part that makes it illegal, from what I understand, is that part of it's hybridity (I totally made that word up) is that its daddy is a Serval, and Servals are wild cats. Lamesauce. By the way. the mommy is a domestic Siamese. Picture that, big, male Serval mating with a wee little Siamese. Yeoch. I imagine it'd look something like this:

 

A few things I would like to point out:

• Yes, that is a full-sized adult male holding a Savannah; they are huge!
• Please tell me you see that painting in the background. Epic.It looks like a naked lady straddling a basilisk. I want it. (the painting, not the lady)

Savannah's tend to weigh around 10-15 pounds but can weigh up to 20. If you have a fat cat like some people maybe they can weigh more. The Guinness record for the biggest cat is a Savannah (18 inches tall  and almost 42 inches long). Yowza.

I think my favorite trait of the Savannah, though, is it's basically a dog. Imagine all the best traits of a dog with some of the more mischievous characteristics of a cat, and you have a Savannah. The cats are very playful, and can be trained, much like a dog. They will follow around their owners and are extremely loyal, whereas cats always seem like they're holding out for something better.

Savannah's greet people with head butts (as does our beloved Meatball)


and sometimes they can actually pounce. But this is more of a "Hi! pleased to meet you!" kind of pounce, not the more treacherous "Die! I'm going to rip you to shreds and eat your carcass" kind of pounce you need to be afraid of with other cats.

Savannah's are incredibly smart, managing to open doors, cupboards, and anything else they can get their paws on or into (See, little troublemakers!). Oh, and from a standing position they can jump 8 feet! Eat your heart out LeBron, there's a new king in town.

You know what cats hate more than anything else? That's right, water. Except Savannah's don't! They actually love water. Just like dogs, Savannah's will frolic and swim in water and, believe it or not, you can actually shower with them. It sounds bizarre, I know, and I certainly wouldn't feel comfortable doing it, but apparently a lot of Savannah owners do it. I think cats are a little to prone to swatting though, if you know what I mean.

I don't think they should be illegal. Sure they look scary (compared to most domestic cats) but they're pretty harmless. Unfortunately, Connecticut likens them to Grizzly Bears:

Possession of potentially dangerous animal. Bill for costs of confiscation. Civil penalty.
For the purposes of this section, the following wildlife, or any hybrid thereof, shall be considered as potentially dangerous animals: The felidae, including, but not limited to, the lion, leopard, cheetah, jaguar, ocelot, jaguarundi cat, puma, lynx and bobcat; the canidae, including, but not limited to, the wolf and coyote; and the ursidae, including, but not limited to, the black bear, grizzly bear and brown bear.

That's right, owning this sweet cat is just like owning a pet wolf, bear, or lion. True Story. It just makes me want to break the law though, or move to another state.

Here kitty, kitty. Maybe one day I will own one of you, but for now I guess I'm out of luck.