"Straight from the Horse's Mouth" - an email from the Breeder

I am Christopher Shirk, owner of Cutting Edge Cats.
I was recently made aware of the supposed Ashera cat confiscated and being held at the Schiphol Airport, Netherlands. Upon viewing the pictures of him, both stretched out on the black blanket and in the carrier I can POSITIVELY identify him as an F1 Savannah bred and raised here by me at my home. He was born Sept 3, 2007 out of 'Ace Man' my Serval cat and 'Jazz' my Egyptian Mau. He is registered as a domestic Savannah cat with The International Cat Association (TICA). The picture of him stretched out on the black blanket was taken by me here at my home.
In NO WAY was he to be sold to Life Style Pets as an Ashera cat. He is a Savannah cat. He was sold to A1 Savannahs to be sold within the USA as a pet and has ended up in the wrong hands that he was resold overseas. I am very distraught over this and only wish for this kitten's safe return. He was loved, held, and cuddled and a part of my family. I can't imagine how stressed he is. He is a sweet sweet guy and I pray for his safe return. I have enclosed a picture of him taken here at my home. Sincerely, Christopher Shirk www.cuttingedgecats.com

Compare the picture above sent by the breeder to the Photoshopped pic on the Ashera.nl website... the alien eyes have been fixed but it is the same picture.

The Actual Breeder of the Ashera Cat Confiscated in the Netherlands Finds Out!

This post is forwarded with permission from the SavannahKittens YahooGroup email forum:

I was recently made aware of the supposed Ashera cat siezed at Schiphol Airport. This kitten is a domestic savannah cat bred by me here at CUTTING EDGE CATS. I sold this cat to A1 Savannahs and he was to be resold to a private client in the USA. He was not sold by me to Life Style pets (and as told by A1 Savannahs) was not sold to Life Style Pets as an Ashera cat. I'm very distraught over this whole thing. Anyone with more info please contact me at chris2@netzero.com or my cell # 717-669-1765. Chris

Chris Shirk is the breeder of the F1 Savannah kitten in the picture of the newspaper article about the Ashera cat confiscated at Schiphol airport. He took the very picture used in the story and positively identifies the cat from further pictures on the website of the buyers www.ashera.nl as his kitten. He is doing all he can to retrieve that kitten as it was NOT sold as an Ashera cat.

Ashera Cat Confiscated at Schiphol airport in the Netherlands

http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2008/01/giant_cat_seized_at_schiphol.php

http://www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/3087111/_Mega-kat_komt_niet_door_douane__.html?p=13,1

It seems that Lifestyle Pets might want to get an exporter's license and apply for CITES permits when exporting their "Ashera cats" around the world from the United States. Paperwork needs to be filed for any cat descending from an exotic cat, whether or not it is a registered Savannah or Bengal or an unregistered hybrid mutt labeled Ashera.

One would think that if they are being paid $22K for a cat then they could afford to file the appropriate paperwork! Oops!

On a serious note, it is very sad that the poor cat is the one to suffer. It has to be stressful and frightening for a kitten/cat to be shipped internationally, then to be held likely in a shelter or caged setting while its fate is determined, well that is terrifying for the animal.

And really, what kind of ridiculous hype is this, the cat is described in the news story as growing to the size of a "large dog"? Even an African Serval is not that large (generally 30-40lbs) and the Asian Leopard Cat is domestic cat sized...

A Savannah breeder's perspective on the Ashera cat

This is quoted from an email by a Savannah breeder:

"Keep in mind -- the Savannah is on its way to having wonderful consistency -- we are already breeding Savannah to Savannah. In a few short years, that will be the norm -- so there will be NO outside cats in a four or five generation pedigree.

This breed has structure, a well-defined (we're getting there :o) standard, carefully thought out breeding programs, a LOT of breeder dialogue through the Savannah Cat Club and the Savannah Breed Section List, a study, testing, and discussion on health and genetics, and a large registering body (TICA) that has documented the pedigrees of our new breed for over five years now.

The difference between a Savannah and the Ashera? I would say the Savannah can be likened to a well-bred, pedigreed horse or show dog -- whose lineage is carefully tracked and whose breeding painstakingly thought out.

The Asheera is more like a Goldendoodle or a Shitzypoo. Not registered, not shown, no standard -- but the whim of a couple of folks who thought wouldn't it be fun? And folks will pay top dollar for these mongrels? Curious, isn't it?"

Lifestyle Pets Introduces the $22,000 Ashera(TM), the World's Largest, Rarest and Most Exotic Domestic Cat

Lifestyle Pets Introduces the $22,000 Ashera(TM), the World's Largest, Rarest and Most Exotic Domestic Cat

In my opinion, reading this press release simply shouted "There's one born every minute" and "A fool and his money are readily parted". A special kitty descended from the African Serval and Asian Leopard cat and the domestic cat and they want to charge folk $22,000? This cat already exists, it is called the Savannah cat and was first accepted for registration by The International Cat Association (TICA), the world's largest genetic registry of pedigreed cats, way back in the year 2000. So to me, Lifestyle Pets seem a little behind the eight-ball.

From the looks of the pictures attached to this press release, the Ashera they are peddling for $22,000 appears to be an F2 generation Savannah cat (two generations removed from the Serval) which would normally cost $3,500 to ~$5,000 from a reputable cat breeder, depending on quality.

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?