by Kessie Carroll

Created on: September 03, 2008   Last Updated: April 16, 2011

The Ashera cat is a Savannah cat with a much higher price tag.

A little online digging reveals that Ashera cats are not recognized breeds by the TICA, whereas the Savannah cat has been a recognized breed since 2000. The company who sells Ashera cats, Lifestyle Pets, keeps the lineage of the Ashera secret. Why? Because they are only Savannah cats!

Savannah cats are a cross between a Serval cat and a domesticated breed, and their prices range from $2000 to $12,000, depending on the generation. That's a far cry from the $22,000 price tag of the Ashera!

Personally, I wouldn't buy a house cat for that much money. Half my cats have been abandoned kittens that we rescued for free, and they all turned out to be great cats. You can also let them out of the house without dying of a heart attack. If a domestic cat gets hurt by neighbor dogs or cars, it's a tragedy, but nothing compared to the horror of having your multi-thousand dollar cat hurt or killed.

Savannah cats and Ashera cats both come housebroken, at 8-12 months old. Only males are sold as pets, because they are sterile. However, savannahcatbreed.com also sells breeders. They are about the same price as the cats offered as pets, again, prices varying depending on generation.

According to the websites, Savannah cats have almost dog-like personalities. They like going for walks on leashes, like car rides, playing fetch, and swimming. What a great pet: a cat that acts like a dog! In fact, they make friends with dogs easier than they do other household pets.

These exotic cats can be cared for like any domesticated cat. They eat cat food and use a litter box. But every breeder website has a warning that sometimes purebred Serval cats are sold under the guise of Savannah cats. Servals aren't quite as good pets, and among other things have to have a pricey diet of raw meat. It seems that Savannah cats are so hard to breed and in such demand that unscrupulous breeders will take advantage of their customers.

Savannah cats, and the pricey ripoff, Ashera cats, both sound like they make wonderful pets. But they are expensive, making them an even better way to flaunt your extra cash than fancy motor homes or SUVs. I'll stick with domestic tabby cats. They have leopard markings, too.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savannah_(cat)
http://www.savannahcatbreed.com/
http://www.baxterboo.com/catdogblog/2007/11/25000-as hera-cat-hoax.html
http://ashera-savannah-cat.blogspot.com/  

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