MY : Chinese lady adopts wildcat hybrid from rescue home!

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MY : Chinese lady adopts wildcat hybrid from rescue home!

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May 26, 2006 at 9:36 am

#690127
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General Lighting

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I found this on the web last night

This is a picture of Ah Mao, a pet cat looked after by a Chinese lady in Kuala Lumpur (the capital city of Malaysia). She got this animal from the SPCA rescue home in 2001, and selected it because of its blue eyes and distinctive appearance. It is a very good pet apparently and is intelligent but does not meow much (this often indicates a cat which is used to hunting, as excessive mewing would frighten away potential prey!)

The picture below is a flat-headed cat (Prionailurus planiceps)(*), a wild cat species often found around Malaysia and other parts of SE Asia although more commonly found in rural/jungle areas.

(*) originally classified as Felis planiceps (which just means “flat-headed cat” anyway”)

Note the distrinctive head shape of both animals..

Anyone else think Ah Mao is a wildcat hybrid?
May 26, 2006 at 9:47 am

#861379
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Raj

@raj

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could be

its amazing how unlike the scottish wildcat the malay one is; blown away

:bigsmile::bigsmile::bigsmile:
May 26, 2006 at 10:57 am

#861382
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RawDirtyBass

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MEOW
May 26, 2006 at 1:46 pm

#861370
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General Lighting

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what is even more remarkable is that the picture came from a webpage of all the successful rehomes from the animal sanctuary in Malaysia.

There were all sorts of dogs and cats on there – which look much the same as their Western counterparts (although many cats appeared to have more Siamese/Burmese blood which is understandable!)

but this is the only cat which had the distinctive appearance. The sanctuary is in a suburban area as well; I have visited that area and there isn’t any jungle left; it is a bit like the outer suburbs of Suffolk/Essex with the heat turned up considerably…,
May 26, 2006 at 2:05 pm

#861374
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BioTech

@biotech

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I don’t know, but it looks a little TOO clever for my liking.

The wildcat looks like a mixture of cat, bear and dog!
May 27, 2006 at 1:50 pm

#861376
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gv23

@gv23

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Has anyone else seen any big cats roaming free in the UK????

saw the Norfolk/suffolk panther/puma whateveritwas last year.. around this time of year, it ran in front of my car as i was driving home from a nightshift.. no mistaking it, it was a labrador sized cat that could run like the wind…i stopped the car and watched it run away across a field….

we may have seen it again on sat night just gone, something with a cat like tail jumped up onto a bank and into a wheat field, but we only got a good look at the tail (this time it was dark, me and my two mates were gassing and not paying attention til almost too late, but we all immediately thought “BIG CAT”…… a long thick tail that nearly touched the ground but had a distinctive upturn towards the end……………..

or am i tripping??
May 27, 2006 at 2:08 pm

#861371
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General Lighting

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gv23 wrote:

Has anyone else seen any big cats roaming free in the UK????

saw the Norfolk/suffolk panther/puma whateveritwas last year.. around this time of year, it ran in front of my car as i was driving home from a nightshift.. no mistaking it, it was a labrador sized cat that could run like the wind…i stopped the car and watched it run away across a field….

we may have seen it again on sat night just gone, something with a cat like tail jumped up onto a bank and into a wheat field, but we only got a good look at the tail (this time it was dark, me and my two mates were gassing and not paying attention til almost too late, but we all immediately thought “BIG CAT”…… a long thick tail that nearly touched the ground but had a distinctive upturn towards the end……………..

or am i tripping??

I’ve not seen one myself but a lynx was found in Cricklewood (NW London!) and friends of mine have reported seeing a similar animal in SW England.

This definitely sounds feasible…. puma are about the size of a labrador and have a tail which looks like that. Wouldn’t put it past a cat in a private collection to go wandering (having escaped via some insecurity in its enclosure) but return to “captivity” in order to get fed in the morning!

Also there is plenty of spare food and suitable habitats in East Anglia to harbour these animals..
May 27, 2006 at 2:13 pm

#861380
1

Raj

@raj

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gv23 wrote:

Has anyone else seen any big cats roaming free in the UK????

saw the Norfolk/suffolk panther/puma whateveritwas last year.. around this time of year, it ran in front of my car as i was driving home from a nightshift.. no mistaking it, it was a labrador sized cat that could run like the wind…i stopped the car and watched it run away across a field….

we may have seen it again on sat night just gone, something with a cat like tail jumped up onto a bank and into a wheat field, but we only got a good look at the tail (this time it was dark, me and my two mates were gassing and not paying attention til almost too late, but we all immediately thought “BIG CAT”…… a long thick tail that nearly touched the ground but had a distinctive upturn towards the end……………..

or am i tripping??

Depends what you mean by big cat…

Used to have a Scottish wildcat cross as a pet (He died last year unfortunately), but he was huge. Weighed about 2 stone, and had the most amazing green cat eyes. His favourite hobby was catching you in the morning stumbling bathroom-wards in a semi dressed state, and running up your legs and onto your shoulder, or attacking your feet…:crazy_fre:crazy_fre.

We eventually discouraged this when he caught me properly dressed one morning, and wearing combat boots…:toxic::toxic::toxic:
May 27, 2006 at 2:17 pm

#861377
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gv23

@gv23

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the same animal (i think) has reported sightings almost weekly every summer these days around here.. and a few of my friends and colleagues have also seen it..

Appaerently they are cheap as chips on the black market if you have the inclination and the contacts, so yeah, perfectly feasable explanation.. especially when someone buys a cub as a bundle of playful fur… then boots the snarling animal out the door a few months later!

i am in no doubt as to what i saw a year ago.. it was 20 meters in front of me on tarmac, no mistaking!!!
May 27, 2006 at 2:34 pm

#861372
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General Lighting

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rajsuspect – I’ve always read that it was impossible or very difficult to keep a Scottish wildcat hybrid – OTOH I’ve always thought that a lot of the pet cats in Scotland and Northern England (particularly those from rescue homes) look as if they may have Scottish wildcat ancestry…
May 27, 2006 at 2:43 pm

#861381
1

Raj

@raj

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General Lighting wrote:

rajsuspect – I’ve always read that it was impossible or very difficult to keep a Scottish wildcat hybrid – OTOH I’ve always thought that a lot of the pet cats in Scotland and Northern England (particularly those from rescue homes) look as if they may have Scottish wildcat ancestry…

look for the ones who are big and blacktabby; they usually have the distinctive head markings too and dont tend to miaow much…:crazy_fre

i wont say that grebo was the easiest cat in the world to get on with but if he liked you there was no problem. i ended up with him because he had had several homes and no one could deal with him; a rescue in fact as he was going to be put down. he was a pretty raj cat and you needed to not be scared of him:bigsmile:

i was heartbroken when i had to have him put to sleep due to ill health and still miss him 4 years on; would have him back like a shot:crazy_fre
May 27, 2006 at 4:05 pm

#861373
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General Lighting

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rajsuspect wrote:

look for the ones who are big and blacktabby; they usually have the distinctive head markings too and dont tend to miaow much…:crazy_fre

i wont say that grebo was the easiest cat in the world to get on with but if he liked you there was no problem. i ended up with him because he had had several homes and no one could deal with him; a rescue in fact as he was going to be put down. he was a pretty raj cat and you needed to not be scared of him:bigsmile:

hmm….

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kellas_Cat

F4 hybrids onwards would be progressively less wild…

incidentally the Chinese lady who looks after Ah Mao mentions that her pet is usually silent and very faithful .. and if this cat is a hybrid it has the genes of an otherwise very rare endangered species… (I’ve looked into this further and there is a possibility that flat-headed cats are breeding in the artificial palm tree plantations which are being created in that area of Malaysia…)

maybe the cats are taking over slowly, or just taking back lost habitats… 😉
May 27, 2006 at 4:10 pm

#861375
1

BioTech

@biotech

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Never seen it/them Gv23 but considering all the wooded land and high grass around this area I’d be suprised if there weren’t quite a few out there.

I bet if they didn’t want to be seen then they wouldn’t be.
May 28, 2006 at 9:53 am

#861378
1

missMushed

@missmushed

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When i was a kid i was told that there was once a black caty in the fields behind my house, or once was, but whether this was just a scare story to stop me wandering off on my onwn into the fields as i often did (the idea of seeing a big black cat made me want to go and investigate more!) or whether it was actually spotted once i dont know and probably never will!
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