Chausie Picture

A beautiful cat and picture by the well known, American, professional cat photographer Helmi Flick. This a show cat. The Chausie is a purebred cat. The breed is relatively rare it seems to me. It is a wildcat hybrid. The better known wild cat hybrids are the popular Savannah and Bengal cats. The wildcat parent of the Chausie is the jungle cat. The jungle cat looks like a wild domestic cat. All wildcat hybrids are intelligent and active. The more wildcat blood in them (higher filial) the more wildcat they are, of course. The higher filial wildcats will be larger too. The Chausie has a ticked tabby coat - see the "M" on the forehead and the banded tail with black tip. This is a solid, large looking cat. You'll need to provide plenty of input as a cat caretaker and have the right expectations about this cat's behavior before adopting. Helmi and Ken Flick kept an F1 Chausie for a while. See what they say about this cat breed.

Iowa Ban Wild/Domestic Hybrid cats

AN ACT REGULATING DANGEROUS WILD ANIMALS, INCLUDING THEIR OWNERSHIP AND POSSESSION, REQUIRING REGISTRATION, PROVIDING FOR FEES AND APPROPRIATIONS, AND PROVIDING PENALTIES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA

You can see an extract of this law under another article on the subject just below this one.

The photograph illustrating this article is by Helmi Flick copyright Helmi Flick

Comment: On the face of it this means a ban on Bengals including SBT Bengals (Stud Book Tradition). SBT Bengals are 4th generation, at least, and have about 12% wild blood in them. They are bred to be non-challenging and are true domestic cats, albeit it more active and more demanding than some other breeds.

This legislation which as far as I am aware is in force seems to have gone too far. Breeders have spent years developing a domesticated socialized Bengal cat. The other cats that fall into this category would be the Chausie and Savannah.

The tame wild cat would the Serval. Keepers can keep their "dangerous" cats (obviously) but need to register and pay a fee. As I understand it existing keepers will need also to microchip, supply a color photo of the cat, get insurance and keep the cat in an enclosure except under specific and authorized conditions.

Breeders can it seems seek exemption under conditions.

USDA licensed owners and breeders ARE NOT EXEMPT unless they are 501(c)3
non-profit as well, or are carrying out wildlife rehabilitation

I don't know what this means, if anything, on wider scale. Will there be a knock on effect and why are Bengals banned? What is the underlying thinking? On the face of it the purpose of the Act is the protections of the public from "dangerous" animals.

Are Bengal cats dangerous - No.

From Iowa Ban Wild/Domestic Hybrid cats to Cat Chit Chat

Iowa has banned ownership of felines with wild ancestry

Bengal cats banned by Iowa. This ban included all cats with a wild ancestry meaning wild cat/domestic cat hybrids. These cats are the Bengal, Chausie, Savannah and Safaris for example.

Photograph illustrating this article is copyright Helmi Flick

Those with these cats can continue to live with them provided they comply with some fairly strict rules and pay a yearly fee. "USDA licensed owners and breeders ARE NOT EXEMPT unless they are 501(c)3 non-profit as well, or are a wildlife rehabber" (quote from this site: http://fennecfoxes.com)

Here's an extract from the legislation:

5. a. "Dangerous wild animal" means any of the following:

(3) A member of the family felidae of the order carnivora, including
but not limited to lions, tigers, cougars, leopards, cheetahs, ocelots, and
servals. However, a dangerous wild animal does not include a domestic cat.

5. b. "Dangerous wild animal" includes an animal which is the offspring of
an animal provided in paragraph "a" (this seems to refer to 5 a above), and another animal provided in that paragraph or any other animal. It also includes animals which are the
offspring of each subsequent generation.

For clarification, the basic argument/interpretation is as follows:

Clause 5. a Defines the term "Dangerous wild animal"

clause 5 a contains a numbered list (1) to (10)

Number (3) refers to "a member of the family felidae....including leopards

Clause 5. b refers to "Dangerous wild animal" includes an animal which is the offspring of an animal provided in paragraph "a" (my note: this refers to 5 a above) and another animal provided in that paragraph or any other animal. It also includes animals which are the offspring of each subsequent generation.

This would therefore seem to include the Bengal cat as she is a Leopard/domestic cat hybrid or subsequent generation.


I live in the UK so please investigate further. This law seems to reflect the continued discussion and controversy on the issue of ownership of these breeds. All the evidence and experience seems to point to the fact that these cats are not dangerous so what is the underlying purpose behind this law?

Chausie Cat

This is a little informative video trial that I just made today on the Chausie cat. I am seeing if I can produce a series of short videos on each cat breed.