An escaped zoo cheetah in England gives a ten-year-old boy a scare and breaks his bike while playing with it after he runs to his mother.

Thankfully, despite abject panic no-one was hurt and Akea (the cheetah) was wrestled into a harness without using tranquilizers after handlers arrived. Toby (the boy) got quite a scare, though, hopefully he'll get over it soon instead of seeing nightmares for years to come. Personally, I would have likely been mauled after trying to cuddle the surprise visitor.

Sounds like an event that happened in Mom and Dad's community. Apparently the neighbors had let their new dog (Australian Sheepherder) out in the yard for a little while. Came back a short time later and found the dog had been mauled to death. Veterinary examination indicated that it was killed by a mountain lion. Down south of Tucson, Arizona Game and Wildlife had to kill a mountain lion that had been stalking hikers.

Mountain lions aren't native to those regions?

To divert the subject, since I mentioned cuddling, is it strange for a domestic cat to be eager to roll on its back and offer its belly to be rubbed? (Only to me, though, he's terribly shy otherwise.)

Mine rolls over and offers its belly... but it's a trap. As soon as you reach for it, the claws come out.

Like this, I assume :



Mine either stares curiously, licks me when I rub his belly or grabs with his paws and starts gnawing on me.  ;)  What makes it even funnier is that he's awfully shy and immediately hides under the bed when strangers arrive at my front yard (strangers include my family), but he's quite affectionate towards me and even waits for me behind the front door when I come back. (Likely he just wants out, but that's another thing)

Or like this...


Note: Catnip was involved.

Now I have to ask you, would you dare to go and rub that belly?  

In my picture, catnip was not involved, he's just like that.  

--Last edited by meckelbu on 2008-11-21 15:59:47 --

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Now I have to ask you, would you dare to go and rub that belly?

Yep.  Been there, done that.  Not to this particular cougar, and not while under the influence of catnip.  But, I've done it all the same.  Unlike Sandusky, all I got was purring in return - and a raspy tongue bath across my face.

Hee, that must've been enjoyable, though I recall what you have said of the efficient skin-removal properties of a cougar's tongue. Domestic cat tongues are not all that rough after all.

LOL! Your cat is FAT!

And I'm pretty sure I've got pics of John rubbing a cougar's belly. they are titled "Don't do this"

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sabercat wrote : LOL! Your cat is FAT!

Aww, is it really that evident from the picture? And I know, but limiting his food intake (I already give him "light" food) is kind of troublesome because he becomes a real pest if he doesn't get food in a timely fashion. Meowing constantly, clinging to me, biting me, destroying random items etc.

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And I'm pretty sure I've got pics of John rubbing a cougar's belly. they are titled "Don't do this"

Heh, somehow I knew that is how they would be named. Rubbing the bellies of large, unrestrained carnivores is something that can earn you a Darwin Award.

your cat is like a throw pillow. Only fatter.

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sabercat wrote : your cat is like a throw pillow. Only fatter.

 

(Yes, I should put him on a diet, most definitively. I showed the same picture to my mother yesterday and she immediately commented how fat he looks.)

I just realized that throw pillow analogy is actually very firring, since he also acts like a throw pillow instead of merely looking like it when you handle him.

yes... a throw pillow with claws.

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sabercat wrote : yes... a throw pillow with claws.

Heh. Viiruliini (the fat cat) only uses his claws when he's being particularly playful, on your lap he's just like a furry throw pillow complete with sad eyes.

To underline the point, he won't claw me even when he's both angry and scared, he had a bad eye infection early this year and didn't like the oinment I had to put in his eyes several times/day. He would hide when he saw me reach for it, and hiss like mad when I went to get him, but still didn't put up a struggle as I inevitably grabbed him. Then he would meekly let me put the ointment in his eyes.

Nuutti (the dark gray one) is impossible to restrain or grab, however, he's otherwise mellow but fight back like a mad cat if someone tries to hold him. The last vet trip was an hour-long disaster because of that, and I warned them twice beforepaw but they still underestimated him. He had to be sedated (that was a task in itself, and they had two people doing it) before he could be examined and vaccinated.

meckelbu,

I was reading what you said about wanting to cuddle the cheetah.  I would think that (if done in a slow, respectful way) would be at least a tiny bit safer than running from the cheetah the way the boy did.  Although I'd be afraid to do either

My kitties both like to show off their tummies.  Rachael actually likes having her tummy rubbed.  Iris takes this as an invitation to play - and she isn't very good at keeping her claws to herself!

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Kristina L. wrote : meckelbu, I was reading what you said about wanting to cuddle the cheetah.  I would think that (if done in a slow, respectful way) would be at least a tiny bit safer than running from the cheetah the way the boy did.  Although I'd be afraid to do either

True, as running can easily activate the hunting urge and then you're in a dangerous position. After all, cheetahs are supposedly the most mellow of the big cats with the least dangerous mindset when they are mature (not that they can't be dedly, but so can large dogs if they are angry). Like this semi-tame fellow here who receives rubs and pets from tourists, trying that with a leopard would be highly dangerous.  

Speaking of hunting urge, one of my friends visited a zoo in South Africa and said that they were told not to run around the cheetah cage in order to prevent the occupants from trying to chase them, since apparently cheetahs cracking their skulls in the fence was a real threat.

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Kristina L. wrote : My kitties both like to show off their tummies.  Rachael actually likes having her tummy rubbed.  Iris takes this as an invitation to play - and she isn't very good at keeping her claws to herself!

Yep, Viiruliini isn't very good at keeping his claws to himself either when his tummy is being rubbed, as evidenced by multiple clawmarks on me.   Nuutti will not show off his tummy but won't claw you either if you reach underneath it.

I swap you kats. Mine LOVES it's belly rubbed. Go on... try it.

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sabercat wrote : I swap you kats. Mine LOVES it's belly rubbed. Go on... try it.

*Nods and carefully extends a large paw towards Simba to rub his belly*

Like this?