The Ashera Cat Controversy
A New Breed for Those with a Lot of $$ or a Scam?
The new breed's name is Ashera ™. The Ashera cat has been described as miniature leopard, an animal of impressive size and wild look yet fully domesticated, tame, and easily trained to walk on a leash. The breed is said to be developed by crossing African Serval, Asian Leopard Cat, and domestic cat.
Lifestyle Pets wants $22,000 for Ashera (yes, that's twenty two thousand dollars). Those wishing to spend so much on their own miniature leopard will have to wait 9-12 months after paying in full to receive an Ashera kitten. Those unable to wait can pay $6,000 more to receive their kitten earlier. Delivery costs within the United States are $1,500 more. The company says that the Ashera cat requires no special care or special food, it is no different from any other domestic cat, although some recommendations will be provided.
The announcement about the Ashera launch has stirred some controversy among the Savannah cat breeders. They claim that the Ashera is not a new breed at all but a substandard, undocumented Savannah.
"A special kitty descended from the African Serval and Asian Leopard cat and the domestic cat and they want to charge folk $22,000?" writes Brigitte, a Savannah breeder, in her blog. "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."
The fact that all the details about the Ashera are kept confidential does not help. Information has leaked that Simon Brodie, the Ashera breeder is not new to fraud (he has been convicted of false accounting), and he had attempted to obtain some breeding Savannah cats, under a fake name. That does not help, either. Brodie's other creation, Allerca, a company claiming to have developed "the world's first scientifically-proven hypoallergenic cats" (currently priced $5.950, will go up to $7,900 in 2008), has the same shady policy: no detailed information released about the cats, no peer-reviewed studies published to back up the claim, and 18 months of waiting time after you pay for the kitten.
Judging by the photos published with the Ashera press-release, the Savannah breeders conclude that the cat is an F2 generation Savannah, which means it is two generations removed from the African wild cat Serval. A cat like this would normally cost between $3,500 and $5,000.
Published by Laura Lond
I have done many things in my life, from picking herbs for the local pharmacy when I was a kid to working for large international corporations, but I have always wanted to be a writer. View profile
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9 Comments
Post a Commentthat thing looks like it will eat my baby alive. if i want a cat that big i will just get a leopard, what a waist of time
@morgan - did you miss the controversy? Ashera is a scam. You can get an F5 savannah for $1000.
@Lauren - the "hypoallergenic" thing are just claims that have never been independently verified and the guy who sells Asheras has a history of fraud. Would you believe claims of a guy with history of being in prison for fraud? The guy who changed his name and sells skis for $19,000?
oh its really great thing .
jacob
Persian Cats
THATS GREAT IDEA .
JACOB
Persian Cats
Asheras are F1 savannahs but the Ashera GD is hypoallergenic because they breed them with cat that lack Fel d1. In order to do that there is a lot of research involved%252C so I can understand why it is more expensive than a regular savannah F1. Although the price is insane%252C i dont understand why ppl thing you are an idiot if you want to buy one. Come on... ppl spend tht kind of money on cars and tvs and even jewelery. If you dont have allergies get a regular savannah or adopt a cat from a shelter (they can be just as awesome)... but if ur allegic then why not?? A living thing that will love you for over 20 yrs is worth waaaaaay more than a car or a tv... ppl should be able to spend there money however they please... even though some ppl go overboard.
you have to be kidding me%252521 I have two sleeping here on the sofa next to me. An F3 and an F5. My little dogs are sleeping with them....
Dragon. Hopefully it kills you!!
SHAME! SHAME! SHAME! Designer cats should be banned altogether. There is no documentation on temperment (Savannahs are known to be mean)
What s going to happen when this cat turns out to be the Amstaff (Pitbull) of the cat world.
will they ever drop prices on the ashera cat i want one soooooo bad but they are WAY too much i mean really $22,000 is too much to pay for a feline friend no matter how much you want one.