Cat asher - a myth or a sensational reality?

In 2006, the world flew around a message that made the effect of a bomb exploding in the world of animal lovers: the American company LIFESTYLE PETS, as a result of the synthetic crossing of the African serval genes , wild Asian and ordinary domestic cats, brought out a new breed. Referring to the eastern origin of the new race, it was named after the Babylonian goddess Astarte (in English Asher). Photos of these "divine" felines in the shortest time became leaders in the number of clicks on the Internet. First of all, the size of "pets" hit: the average cat of the asher breed reached a length of one meter and weighed about 14 kilograms. The size of a large dog was complemented by the hefty fangs and color of a leopard.

The company that brought out the largest domestic cat in the world, said that the character of the representatives of this breed is the friendliest: they like to rub against the feet At the master, purr, cute play with children and never bite the postman or guests at home. Lifestyle Pets claimed that the animal loves walking on a leash like a dog and, moreover, hypoallergenic, that is, it can be kept for people who have a physiological rejection of cat hair. For a long time the whole world was crazy about these pussies, and the price of 27 to 125 thousand dollars did not scare away those who wanted to acquire this asher. The cat, according to the company's rules, could be purchased only after making a deposit of six thousand dollars, after which the owners promised to deliver the animal only six months later.

The agiotage lasted about two years, until in 2008 a certain Chris Shirk from Pennsylvania (USA), a breeder cultivating the Savannah breed, did not recognize in the photo posted on the Internet, which allegedly depicted the cat of an asher, his pet. Chris said that this animal was purchased by a Lifestyle Pets employee to fraudulently inflate the price of Savannah. The latter breed is also quite large in size, because it was bred by crossing a serval and a domesticated Bengal cat (and this latter, in turn, is a descendant of the wild cat of Bengal.

The company "US Fish and Wildlife", which Chris Shirk addressed, conducted an investigation with DNA samples. Have Two savannas from the Shirk nursery, blood samples were taken and taken to the independent forensic laboratory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. A laboratory DNA test confirmed that the declared cat on the Internet is a direct descendant of these Savannahs in Pennsylvania. The news that the new breed is just a fiction, worried the felinologists, and especially those who already managed to pay for their purchases an amount equal to the cost of the new car.

Lifestyle Pets published an assurance that the case with Shirk was exclusively private, caused by the company's dishonest employee, and that the asher cat does exist as an independent synthetic breed. However, the prices for representatives of this race have fallen very much. Even for kittens of a very rare Royal variety, which do not have black and orange leopard spots on the back of the caramel, they give no more than 22 thousand dollars.

Whatever it was, whether it was an independent breed or especially large Savannahs, but the cat of Asher also has his followers. Agree, many would like to walk on a leash through the streets of this mini leopard. Especially popular is the already mentioned Royal - because within a year in the world there are no more than four kittens, and Snow (absolutely white) species of this synthetic race. Such animals are a sign not only of luxury, but of real prestige.