In point of fact, cheetahs are fairly easy to train and domesticate

(Regarding http://www.pajiba.com/pajiba-love-040808.htmand http://theblemish.com/2008/04/paris-hilton-wanted-to-buy-a-cheetah/)

Paris Hilton's getting a pet cheetah. And y'all expose your ignorant fucktardness yet again. In point of fact, cheetahs are fairly easy to train and domesticate, but instead of bothering to take five minutes an d do some actual research, you instead decide to spout some bullshit snarky lie and hope that you won't be called out on it. (sic)

Raises an interesting question.  Can you tame a cheetah?  Should you?  And how easy is it to even get one?  The answers seem to be "oh, certainly", "no" and "not at all".

According to bigcatrescue.org and an article on exotic pets, cheetahs have historically been the easiest big cat to tame.  But it's not all easy and cute, "Cheetahs are generally easy to train as pets, and although hard to imagine, they can be pretty affectionate animals. For example, a pet cheetah will purr and rub their owners just like cats. Keep in mind that cheetahs are loud feline pets, and their purr can be quite deafening. Cheetahs are carnivorous animals, and hunts for small mammals and young larger mammals by sight. They use their ability to run to the best of their ability, but they will give up easily due to the large amount of heat they generate by running. Keep in mind that feeding cheetahs is not easy, and you will need a large environment in order for them to generate their running abilities and exercise. Cheetahs need to rest for a while after a long run though."

AfriCat, a conservationist organization helping the cheetah in Namibia, has to deal with problems caused by capricious pet owners sometimes. The key to is release the rescued animals - usually on other farms - before they lose their fear of humans. But some must be held back, including cubs who were orphaned or kept as pets until the owners decided they were no longer so cute.  (http://www.cheetah.org/?html=news-press&data=news-press&key=141)

And, as you might have guessed, money and a big backyard won't even help you that much in scoring your own wild kitten, since conservationists are struggling to keep a wild population alive in Africa and Iran, as Rachael Yang again elaborates: Because cheetahs are an endangered species, it is not easy to obtain a permit for them even if you are a professional - even big zoos have problems and difficulties obtaining a permit for a cheetah at times. Many organizations have also established acts to help protect the cheetah as well. Keep in mind as well that cheetahs are most vulnerable when held in captivity and may have a shorter life span. They also don't reproduce as easily and as regularly. Also, cheetahs are hunted for their fur, and many times they are killed by farmers and others who are trying to protect their livestock.

Many of the cheetah lovers will find it hard to obtain a permit for keeping a cheetah in captivity; thus, if you are one of them, donating to organizations to help cheetahs can be another route you may choose to go for.

The Cheetah Conservation Fund would much rather that animal lovers donate to preserving wild cats in their habitats.  For much more information, visit the CCF at www.cheetah.orgto find out how you can help!  Besides, this third grade student was only doing a creative writing assignment, but he's got a very good point.

Dear Mom,

I hope you don’t get a cheetah as a pet. We live in an apartment. A cheetah needs more room. Besides its tail is so long it would knock things off the tables. Cheetahs also eat 5 pounds of hamburger a day. We couldn’t pay for the food. They also shed their hair and we would have hair on all the furniture.

Love, Nick

And you thought your little cat was a handful!  Besides, it's well known Paris is not cut out for this gig.

Comments

[Stacey]

Well, on the upside, a pet cheetah might take care of her rampant chihuahua problem.

Kidding, kidding.

[AnnArrogance]

My husband is South African, and as a child they actually had a pet cheetah. A nearby farmer shot the mother and brought the cub to hubby's mom, who was basically the local animal rescue person. It lived in their house and ran around on their property (they had a farm). He said it purred, it would "milk tread" (ie. knead their paws on you like kitties) on their chests and lie across their laps on the couch. They had meerkats at the same time and it never messed with them.

The only thing was that it was very protective of it's family unit. One night, hubby's dad came home from the bar with the local vet, both of whom were three sheets to the wind. The cheetah slept under the kitchen table, so hubby's dad warned the vet not to go near the table.

The vet responded, "What, do you have a mean dog under there? I deal with mean dogs all day every day. I can handle him." He then promptly stuck his arm under the table and the cheetah clawed him from shoulder to wrist.

Hubby's dad took him to the hospital, where he received over 70 stitches. The doctor came out and asked "What in the hell happened? All he'll say is that you have the meanest damn dog he's ever seen."

Not long after, once the cheetah had reached breeding age, they put him in a breeding program to help increase the population in South Africa.

Anyway, let's just hope Paris Hilton has a similar experience with her new "mean dog."

[No-troll Cindy]

Do you have a "Lost" theory, or even a clue as to the whole story of the island?

[Exotic Big Cats For Sale]

I just love exotic cats, as babies, they are so cute, and as adults so majestic.