Trouble (Savannah Islands Trouble) was a fantastic F1 (first filial) Savannah cat. I am assuming, by the way, that Trouble was a first filial Savannah cat because he was so big. In fact he was the Guinness World Records tallest domestic cat. He took the title from MAGIC, a cat I made a video about. Update: Welcome comments tell me that Trouble was an F2 (second generation). Thanks for the comments.
Trouble measured 19 inches to the shoulder beating Magic by 1.9 inches. A beautiful and much admired domestic cat. But he died young. And with the greatest of sensitivity I would like to write about that briefly here. It will have to be brief because we don’t know how he was killed. I feel I am allowed to discuss this difficult subject here because Trouble was such a public cat. He was a celebrity and in the public eye.
On the Savannah Island Cattery website we are told:
Trouble escaped his home on August 15th, and was tragically killed.
I find that short statement very sad indeed because he was born April 20th, 2008. He was four years old and in his prime and a great ambassador for all domestic cats.
A cat like Trouble would have to be supervised if he went out. He was a very valuable and special cat. I presume he was kept inside and when he went outside he would have been on a leash. He was probably well used to it and comfortable on a leash. I think this is the best way to take such a special cat outside. Magic and Titan two other special Savannah cats were good on leads as well.
Was it that he simply got out of the home in some way and was tragically hit by a car? There have been a number of cases of servals escaping homes and being killed one way or another because they are large cats and people are frightened of them. In America there are quite a few people who like to keep servals as pets as they are predisposed to being domesticated (of sorts, but they retain their wild cat nature). The serval is the wild cat half father of the F1 Savannah cat. The F1 Savannah and serval look similar from a distance. Dare I ask, “Did someone shoot Trouble?” That sort of thing has happened before.
Update: It seems that some visitors have misconstrued what I am saying. In writing about servals I am extending the article because I have to as Google likes people to write articles of a reasonable size otherwise Google won’t find the article and list it. Also servals can be domesticated. When domesticated they are not that dissimilar to F1 Savannahs at a distance to a person unfamiliar with wild cat hybrids and wild cat species. So the problem of “escaping” to the outside is similar. In the past escaped F1-F2 Savannah have been mistaken by people for a wild cat species. Under these circumstances there is a danger that the police will shoot it as this seems to be not uncommon in the United States when dealing with wild cats in public places.
It would be nice if someone could tell me what happened. Maybe we can learn from it. Perhaps there is a lesson to be learned. I don’t know.
In the meantime my condolences to Debby Maraspini and Trouble’s human companions and friends.
Many have forgotten that we were placed in a position of trust and guardianship over animals and this entire planet. Due to avarice and other human failings, we exploit the position of power entrusted to us.
Debby, I was so glad to see you weigh in personally on this matter. My heart aches for you. I too have suffered tremendously from people who throw stones when they are operating on half-baked assumptions. I am so sorry for the loss of your true friend who sounds like he was well cared for and loved. This must have been terrible enough for you without people getting up on a high horse and politicizing your pain.
Cat homes are not prisons. I have tried both free roaming and indoor cat guardianship. Cat nature is to explore. I would love to let my cats roam free. But there are too many dangers, many of them MAN made or caused through human cruelty. And cats spook so easily. The last time I let my cat Shadow outside, he came home with a deep puncture wound; I thought I was gonna lose him and that was the last time I will let him run around. But he is not in prison. He is not being punished. He is being protected. I almost lost another cat years ago to an outdoor accident. It is a tough choice to keep them indoors, because even small domestic cats gain greatly through the stimulation of being outdoors. Through love we keep our felines confined.
I wish they could find the person who mowed down your baby and put him in a cell or maybe on a busy highway. He/she was probably speeding. I live on a 25mph street and people fly through here.
I still feel the spirit of my departed felines all the time. I believe in the Rainbow Bridge and hope you do too. It is considerable comfort. It has to be there, right? That’s a forever connection.