My new kitty is part arabian wild cat

[JCMach1]

http://www.alshindagah.com/july99/arabianwildlife.htm

http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/agarman/sandcat.htm

http://www.lioncrusher.com/animal.asp?animal=67

My new kitty (Mika) is part arabian wild cat. She looks similar to this picture:


She has more orange than this cat though. In fact, Mika looks like a grey striped cat that was caught morphing to an orange cat. She also has a few other characteristics. The wild cats apparently readily breed with domestic cats.

It was too cool, she found us as a kitten (very small but weaned) during our first few weeks here in the UAE.

I will post some pictures in a day or two.

[NJCher]

1. looking forward to those pics

I'd say mine is a sand cat, except for the fact that she has long legs. She has big ears, though. Here's a pic:



And does she ever love sand. Why look at the kitty paw prints on the base of this cold frame, in which I put sand yesterday.




Cher

[REP]

2. Too Cool!

So what are they like? Smart, friendly, playful, quiet, clingy ?? Details, please!

One of my cats is sure she is part-some-wildcat. She's the one who sent me to the hospital when I tried to give her medicine.

[JCMach1]

4. She is very sweet and gentle and tries to follow you everywhere!

She hates being left behind if we go somewhere. She is an expert hunter... if we didn't keep her in during the mornings and evenings, she would take out two birds a day easily. This was from the time she was quite a small kitten. She chases anything across our marble floors constantly.

[REP]

7. Awwwww

Sounds as though they are a lot like Abyssinians, one of the best cats ever (tied with all other kinds of cat). Can't wait to see her pictures - sounds like she's even more adorable than the one in the photo above.

Damn. Now I have the urge to visit the UAE....

[interceptor]

3. the gulf

is full of cats! they were all over our pier in Bahrain. what brings you to UAE?

[JCMach1]

5. I teach at the American University of Sharjah

-- quite a good job.

Plus, it gets me out of the States right now! (I will be voting of course)

[interceptor]

9. Neat!

My dad works in Saudi, and I'm in the Navy so I've been there a few times. Never Dubai though :( Just Manama. My mom's a comparative religions prof so she travels there a lot to interview the Wahabi's.

What are you teaching?

[rppper]

6. my cat Max is a lynx/siamese mix.......

he is about 2.5 feet long from nose to tail, about 22lbs...not fat either...and his front and back paws measure nearly 2" in diameter when extended. he is a docile, very playfull and loving cat though...extremly gentle. when friends come over my house and see him for the first time, they are always shocked by his size...."man, thats a BIG cat!".....

[NJCher]

8. Max is a beauty!

rppper, love that back foot and the expression on the face.


Cher

[Catshrink]

13. Max is beautiful!!

Is he vocal? With the siamese I would think so. I love big kitties.

And Mika is gorgeous. Sigh. I have 5 domestic cats but have been feeling the urge to get another kitten. No no no!!!!

[Lorien]

10. There are many breeds of domestic cat now

that are hybrids, like this savannah cat:




She's part domestic shorthair, part African Serval (go to www.junglecats.com for more pics). Bengals are part leopard cat (an ocelot-like animal), and chaussies are part Jungle cat (another small breed from Africa with a range that extends into the Middle East). Although wild animals generally make poor pets, some of these hybrids are the exception, and have longer lifespans and "hybrid vigor" (not as suseptable to kidney disease, cardiomyopathy, etc. as domestics).

[Shakespeare]

12. I've seen these, and I want one!!

The hybrid is also as docile as a housecat, so no behavior problems. They're huge, too!

[Lorien]

15. Big...and expensive too!

They cost between $2000-$6000. But they do look fun (Like to swim, will walk on a leash too)!

[TexasMexican]

11. Neat Cat.

[sleipnir]

14. Nice, Arabic, huh... and a "wild Arab", perhaps Asscroft should know....

An open kennel in Gitmo???
:evilgrin:
I'm sure the freepers would advocate that type of behavior or just rename it a "freedom" wild cat.

[Lorien]

16. Two of those photos

were of Sand Cats (felis margarita) a small species (5 lbs) that lives in colonies throughout the Middle Eaast. The Arabian Wildcat (felis silvestris gordoni) weighs about 17 lbs-that's gonna be a big kitty!