While some Savannah Cat professionals felt the blog was a negative look at the subject, others felt that I described the cats in too positive a light.

As Craig mentioned, my job as a Quest blogger is not to be an expert in this highly vast field, or pretend to be one, but to share ideas, inspire dialog and hope that experts and those passionate about the subject do indeed chime in. I will be listening when they do.

Thanks! Amy

At least have your bloggers write about things in which they have expertise so as not to take the initial discussion to a lower level than necessary. No point in that when there are those better informed available to blog for you as well, thus beginning the community effort at a more informed starting point.

Thank you for your post. We at KQED always appreciate feedback from our members and readers, be it positive or negative. We certainly do not wish to let our supporters down, and regret that your expectations were not met.

That said, we do use the blog to relate unique personal & anectdotal experiences relating to science, environment and nature topics. While a scholarly essay on the issues surrounding hybrid and wild cats would indeed have been a worthy effort, we also value more informal and experiential insights, as an invitation to a wider discussion.

The wonderful thing about blogs is that they are a community effort. This post is the start of something, not an end unto itself. I look forward to continued comments and links to resources regarding this posts' topic. Thanks again!

Craig Rosa
Interactive Producer, QUEST

This piece is composed primarily of simplistically expressed opinion and anecdote, rather than evidencing an educated and informed query. The lack of useful information or even a clear point to the piece is disturbing.

We members and readers of the KQED site expect the information presented to be mature, well researched, and well written. Perhaps pieces of this sort belong on a personal blog or a child-oriented web site rather than a site like KQED that necessarily demands a higher degree of expertise and sophistication, certainly on such a complex subject as the hybrid breeding of wild animals. Please give us better quality information than is represented by this piece by Ms. ‘Gosh’liffe.

http://www.catchannel.com/Magazines/CatFancy/june-2007/cat-fancy.aspx

Call them 'designer cats' if you may (although I hate the term), but the fact remains that they are special (as you do point out in your article), and the reason they command such a premium price is because of the demand there is for such pets and because of the difficulty of breeding them makes for a very limited supply (just like any other 'pure breed' animal, be it a cat, a dog or a horse).

You may advocate adopting strays from shelters all you want (and I do agree that most animals available for adoption will make fine pets), but the fact remains that the people that are ready to spend a premium on a pure breed animal do so because that's what they want. I mean who would spend thousands of dollars on a cat (or a dog) when you can adopt one for a few hundreds (yes, adopting a cat from a shelter is NOT free) unless you are looking for something specific.

Savannahs are a rare breed because they are so difficult to breed, most breeders are extremely selective of whom they sell to (for the well being of the cats, believe it or not most breeders are in it for the love of the breed and of animals), and you will probably NEVER find a Savannah available for adoption in a shelter, period.

As for the anti-hybrid laws in place in some states and cities, they were ment to prevent wild-to-wild hybrids (Lion-Tigers) or eventually wolf-dog hybrids and are just casting too broad of a net in which new cat breeds are unfortunately caught.

If you are wondering, just do yourself a favor and go to a cat show and try to see for yourself what a Savannah, Bengal or Pixie-Bob looks like, and you're going to be disapointed if you're expecting to see more than a somewhat wild looking spotted domestic kitty with cool personality.

The question is what to do with all the animals already bred and now homeless? Shouldn't we first take care of what exists before producing new fodder (i.e.- litters) that will certainly produce some percentage of homeless animals, if history and the present conditions teach us anything?

I would gladly cohabit with a Savannah. But I cannot support their being bred when shelters are bursting with unwanted animals and the pile of euthanized animals growing. Nor do I support banning all breeding.

I do support us each taking more responsibility for other living creatures, especially when breeding, buying or adopting.

Savannah cats are a way for people to experience the beauty of the African Serval without owning a wild cat. Would you rather there be a Savannah breed or rather people buy wild cats who are ill equipped to deal with them?