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.
Yes, of course the owner of Trouble was devastated. I am so sorry to her. I am a cat owner and understand the bond between a cat and its “owner”. I saw Trouble’s video on a different website and was led to this one because I picked up on the DOB-DOD and wondered what happened to this magnificent cat at such a young age. I do not intend my previous comment to bash Debbi or to make her feel worse. She hurts every day I know for a fact because I am old enough to have lost precious feline friends to illness and would never intend to increase that pain. Even small domestic cats like to escape. It is cat nature to want to run, explore, hunt. Debbi, this is not your fault but the world we live in.
I would actually love to share my life with as fine a feline as Trouble. BUT I would not purchase any animal from a breeder because there are too many animals in need and dying everyday in kill shelters. This is not about judgment; it is about compassion.
I do agree that not one of us who has weighed in lived through this experience except for Debbi and close family/friends. I hate this in my own life when people who were not even there think they know all about it and jump to conclusions.
I have sincere condolences for Debbi. This cat was her friend and companion. Nobody should jump on her back in her grief. Cat (and all pet) grief is deep and lasting.
I think the only message here is for others to think long and hard about supporting breeders because of sheer numbers.
It really isn’t appropriate for an article about the loss of a beautiful friend to veer off into comments about animal breeders. Stay on topic! What about the people responsible for Trouble’s death? Bring the hammer down on them for whatever cruelty they perpetrated!!!!
This story made me so sad and does not need to be politicized. It is the story of a girl and her cat, not a forum for a political platform.
Thanks T for commenting.
Humans can’t/won’t even find a way to keep all humans out of shelters and fed. Yet people just can’t wait to reproduce in spite of overpopulation and the taxing of our beautiful Earth’s resources. Yikes! And we are supposed to be so happy and coo over pregnant ladies and people think something is wrong with you–especially if you are a woman–if you don’t think it’s the greatest when someone’s preggers. It seems selfish to me anyway to bring a baby into this world. I know this comment will get a lot of haters but jeez it doesn’t look like humans or domestic animals are in any danger of bottle-necking anytime soon. They don’t call heterosexuals breeders for nothing–and, yes, I’m straight. We don’t have low cost sterilization available for people, but I would have been front of the line if we did.
Education AND participation is key to stopping all this senseless animal killing and suffering. Yes, we need to figure out solutions to overpopulation in both people and cats/dogs because there’s just too many.
I’m not a fan of breeders either. Many of these special breeds have health problems due to inbreeding or the incompatibilities of genetics between breeds. Another selfish act by humans for their own pleasure because they desire this or that.
Yes, you should adopt a rescue and don’t fool yourself into thinking that desire for a “special” look or type of animal is anything other than a status symbol.
Thanks for commenting. You say:
We (human beings) think we are way above every other creature on the planet and therefore can do as we please. We have misplaced attitude about our status on this planet. We are fools.
I agree with you by the way.
I know this article is very old, but from reading through the article and the comments, one thing is for sure: I am more convinced than ever that there should be no such thing as “breed”. It is the most high-faluting, shameful thing about people-the “top” of the food chain. We think it is ok to mess with nature, have kitten and puppy mills, all to please our desire to accessorize by color, height, temperament, insert several other possible descriptions. And as if that isn’t enough tails and ears are “docked” (whcih is just a nice-sounding word for something very ugly: cutting off a perfectly healthy part of the body for zero medical reasons=mutilation) to achieve just the right look for how the “breed” is supposed to look. All sorts of health problems due to breeding for certain traits, looks, docking on top, declawing, and cutting vocal cords. People, get a computer designed image of a pet! I know most people “swear” they love their _______(insert name of “breed” here) to pieces. Only people have to fiddle around with that they “love” and make it better, because it wasn’t good enough to start with. Scathing, yes very. How would you like to have your ears docked (because they are supposed to have a certain look), vocal cords cut (Because not one wants to hear you talk), your tail cut to a certain length (because it is supposed to only be a stump, or because your owner is tired of it knocking something over), get your claws removed (because this is simpler for your owner and easier on his/her furniture; instead of giving you the proper living environment), oh yes-and when they don’t like your personality you end up in a shelter (or because they just decided having a pet is not for them). Unless we can take all animals the way they are, we should not have any. Who are we to dictate to nature how her creations should be?
Eight dogs are part of our family: Sox was thrown away as a puppy (an acquaintance, whose dog just had a litter, took her as on) and Chuy of her “litter” mates; Ike and Tina (were given away, these are out oldes at 5): and four shelter dogs (If I could have, I would have adopted every dog at the shelter) Cinderella, Kurly, Moe & Larry, who all have their own stories of abuse, but who are the sweetest ever, and you wonder what soul-less person can do such a thing to something so small…I know this was about a cat…I love cats too…always thought of myself as a “cat-person”…but when my husband and I first met-he had Ike and Tina…
Yes, I think you are right. But people were upset by this news. The comments were based on an emotional response which is understandable. This cat should not have died young. Thanks for commenting Coffeecat.