Rare rusty-spotted wild cats born in Berlin Zoo.

[KlondikeGeoff]

Check out theselittle wildcats. Look for the video at the bottom of the story too. Cute little devils, and sometimes they look more like squirrels:

[Taomist]

I want!! There are never enough kittie bns,q1222222222222222222222222222222222222226yyyyyyyyyyyyyu
even though that last bit was posted by my 13-pound lap cat. /eyeroll

[Boyo_Jim]

What’s endangered and apparently tamable. What is the danger of allowing people to get them as pets? I don’t mean that as a “What could possibly go wrong?” question, because I imagine there could indeed be things that go wrong. But – what are they?

[Taomist]

I always say “I want” to have cute wild animals. I want a yard full of red pandas and wild cats and wolves. BUT…I wouldn’t actually want them as pets. I can barely handle going to zoos without wanting to return them all from whence they came, pet stores make me want to take them all out of their cages, and I’ve seen through close experience that you cannot easily, if ever, ‘breed out’ unwanted wild traits.

But I still wish.

[KlondikeGeoff]

@Taomist

I always say “I want” to have cute wild animals. I want a yard full of red pandas and wild cats and wolves. BUT…I wouldn’t actually want them as pets. I can barely handle going to zoos without wanting to return them all from whence they came, pet stores make me want to take them all out of their cages, and I’ve seen through close experience that you cannot easily, if ever, ‘breed out’ unwanted wild traits.

But I still wish.

Yeah, me too. However, I have two 5th generation Bengal Cats, and while different, they have had no problems in their 15 years, and are still goring strong. They are sometimes called “Living Room Leopards” for their looks.

Pretty good compromise from having a real wild cat. At the breeder’s, I saw 1st and 2nd generation cats bred from the Asian Leopard Cat, and they were really wild. Bengal breaders will only sell 5th and later generations, as it takes that many to breed out the wild nature.

[Flander]

SQUEEEE!!! KITTENS I WANNA EAT YOUR FACES!!!

purr cuddles.

[Snickers]

Want. WANT! So much cuteness.

[Taomist]

@KlondikeGeoff

Yeah, me too. However, I have two 5th generation Bengal Cats, and while different, they have had no problems in their 15 years, and are still goring strong. They are sometimes called “Living Room Leopards” for their looks.

Pretty good compromise from having a real wild cat. At the breeder’s, I saw 1st and 2nd generation cats bred from the Asian Leopard Cat, and they were really wild. Bengal breaders will only sell 5th and later generations, as it takes that many to breed out the wild nature.

yeah, I have heard 5th and beyond seems to be the tipping point, for cats anyway. Congratulations I would not mind, but my current cats might, lol.

[araminty]

@Boyo_Jim

What’s endangered and apparently tamable. What is the danger of allowing people to get them as pets? I don’t mean that as a “What could possibly go wrong?” question, because I imagine there could indeed be things that go wrong. But – what are they?

“Tamable” isn’t the same as domestic. IMHO, people should keep domestic animals as pets, and not tame wild animals. Domestic animals have been selectively bred for many generations to display the traits that make them suitable as companion animals. In my experiences, tame wild animals don’t tend to seek out human company as readily as domestic pets.

There’s also a larger conservation issue here. If people began indiscriminately breeding these animals as pets, starting from an already-limited gene pool (as an endangered species), any genetic issues are quickly going to become amplified. Zoos work very hard to ensure the genetic health of zoo populations. See this AZA link for more details.