Servaltude...
Before I say anything else, I need to establish the fact that my friend Todd is insane. Crazy. Loco. Wacko. Bonkers. We're talking not of sound mind okay?
Here he is with his baby girl Rebekah:
Stark. Raving. Mad.
We're talking about a guy who once owned a 12ft. Reticulated Python...in a dorm room...a dorm room that caught fire...and Todd went in and saved the snake.
We're talking about a guy who picks up 15-20 kids off the streets every week to bring them to church...a guy who just bought a limo for said purpose.
We're talking about a guy who once wrestled an actual brown bear in a shady contest rigged in the bear's favor...a guy who was beat badly by said bear.
We're talking about a guy who had a ginormous custom balloon made up for his graduation from Ohio State:
We're talking about a guy who just ran a 650ft. Zip line from a tree, over a lake, to another tree...just for kicks.
We're talking about a guy who happens to own a large African Serval Cat that walks around his house and makes me poop my pants every time I see it.
Serval photo by Stefan on Flickr
Yeah...that guy.
Well...Mr. Crazy African Cat owner has run into a bit of an ordeal recently. I got a panicked call yesterday afternoon saying that the cat has escaped. Todd was getting ready to head out of town and another friend of mine, Eric, agreed to keep the Serval while he was away.
Some time during the transfer process, the cat busted out of it's box and escaped into a rural town. Yes...I'm serious. We spent a good bit of the day searching for Gideon to no avail. Todd is freaking out a good bit right now as this cat isn't your ordinary house pet. If someone runs across Gideon, they're likey to assume it's some sort of Cheetah that wants to kill them and they may shoot him or worse.
Serval photo by Picture Taker 2 on Flickr
Todd has printed up fliers and is offering a reward for Gideon, but honestly I'm not sure how anyone will catch him. He's nearly 50lbs of pure muscle, built for hiding, and he can jump 15ft. straight up in the air. I know while I was out in the woods looking for him, my basic plan of action was to locate him (?) and then throw a blanket over him (yeah right).
We're just waiting for this to show up on the news. Please pray that we find this cat before anyone or anything gets hurt. Oh yeah...this cat cost well over $3,000 too. Zoinks.
Serval photo by golden shovel on Flickr
20 waggish utterances thus far...:
holy dyin.
i hope that someone sees the flyers and all that jazz before taking matters into their own hands.
did y'all call the police and fire officials and news stations? i would do that so people aren't panicked and try hurting him or themselves.
i think i'd call wild life officials too.
gosh i hope he's found soon!
keep us updated please.
oh yeah..and that baby? freakin adorable.
Talk about a unique individual with some very unusual tastes! You sure do know some....interesting people. Hope you're able to find the cat - that would be quite a loss if something happened to him (or others).
Once again - great photos. Thanks for sharing.
Here I thought the story was going to be about the baby! I hope the cat is found soon!
Reading blogs is like my morning coffee- something to wake me up. This post did the trick nicely. I will keep kitty and all in my prayers, and thank you for starting my day with something high octane!
I've never even seen an animal like that... ROFL!!! Crazy, I hope your friend finds his friend though. Best of luck and well wishes.
wow. just... wow.
i thought i had interesting friends. wanna give us an approximate geographic location for this critter? should i panic if i come across this thing?
He's lost in the Colerain area...off of Old Colerain Rd.
I wish I could say he's totally safe...but this is a wild animal.
oh no, Tod's cat escaped, that's terrible. I hope he shows up alive and well. Seeing that cat, even when I was expecting to see it, was freaky enough. Heaven knows I wouldn't want to touch it much less catch it. Not to mention it is one of the worlds fastest animals.
I think I'd soil myself if I was taking a leisurely stroll and caught a glimpse of that thing out and about.
Hope it is found safe.
I live in Southern Illinois during the summer, which the entire region is surrounded by woods and open farmland. The authorities deny it, but quite a few cougars/mountain lions/whatever you call them were released to take care of our ever-growing white tailed deer population. Well one night at my dad's house in the boondocks, my ex and I were walking through the woods when we came upon a cougar. Alive. Staring at us.
I'm telling you, nothing is more scary than coming up on a BIG CAT that is dangerous in the middle of nowhere. I really hope someone finds this poor kitty and brings him back to his home so he doesn't hurt anyone (or doesn't end up hurt himself).
That cat is beautiful! I also want to eat that baby's cheeks - she is so cute!
I work for a little town in Minnesota and we also have a wild life nuisance/recuse program that we use - you might want to call the city officials and see if they have something similar.
Hmmmmm...am I missing something? He keeps this wild animal in his house where there's also a baby? I have a couple of issues with that and I'm thinking I'm not alone here. It's a wild animal who should be in it's natural habitat? Surely a law or two is being broken? Not to mention the baby and the wild animal...together in the house...Or did you leave out some pertinent info in the interest of brevity?
Maybe that cat is headed back to nature where he belongs. It's not only illegal to own a wild animal, it's unethical. I don't see what's so Christian about that.
Rebekah and Gideon are adorable!
And yes, the dude's crazy!
Hope you find Gideon ASAP!!!!
Gosh... people make me sad. Why do we criticize the things we don't understand. Do some research folks... Quit criticizing. Start praying.
"Servals are one of the few wildcats that make a good companion. They bond very strongly with the caretakers. They do not become aggressive as they mature. They are extremely affectionate. For cat lovers they are the ultimate cat..."
Just thought I should throw in that where Todd lives it is legal to own a Serval. Also, the cat doesn't run around the main part of the house unattended. Gideon has his own large, special, gated area. The baby isn't in any danger.
Any word on Gideon?
RE: Issues with having this cat and a baby
Most people have houses that have ovens and stoves and stairs and knives and plastic bags and book cases and dogs and cars, etc.
Q: How does one keep a baby from being [baked/burned/tumbled/stabbed/choked/crushed/bit/squashed/etc] to death?
A: Proper adult supervision and responsibility -- SCIENCE!
Post Scriptum: A domesticated wild cat isn't wild.
Post Post Scriptum: Serval cats are legal to own in many places.
Wow.
So did anyone ever FIND Gideon? This inquiring mind wants to know. Oh, by the way I follow The Pioneer Woman. One minute mushrooms and the next Servals...all in all a pretty interesting day!
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