Cat's in the cradle

A few years ago, it was the Vietnamese pot-bellied pig that caught the fancy of Americans who just weren't going to be happy with a dog or a cat or a parakeet. I guess there are still some of them around, but most people got tired of the jokes they would hear when someone invited them over to dinner and they replied with, "Can I bring my pig?"

So, now the cool, hip non-standard pet is the serval (SER-vul) which is a cat from Africa, the sub-Saharan countries, except the rainforests (cats do not like getting wet). They are bigger than the standard house cat but smaller than the standard lion or tiger. Their skinny frames stand 21–24" at the shoulder; they weigh 20–40 lb They have a small head, big ears, a yellow or tan coat with stripes and spots, and short tail with a black tip.

I mention all these identifying details in case you live in the historic Bookhaven neighborhood in Atlanta, where a serval has been roaming free.

Now, when I read the story, it said that Bookhaven is a historic area, and I guess that must mean "a neighborhood where few, if any, crimes take place" because the other day, a man there named David Frank let his dog out sometime after 6 AM, and left the door open for the pooch to come back in.

Guess who came in the house before the dawg? The neighborhood serval, which proceeded directly to the bedroom of the Frank residence where Mrs Frank, Kristine to be exact, was sound asleep at 6:45 when the serval woke her by jumping onto the bed.

This is what cats do at 6:45 AM, if not before then.

"I felt something jump on my bed, and I opened my eyes and it was a large cat on my bed," Frank told The Neighbor newspaper.

Swiftly jumping into action (you can bet he was still in his p.j.s), Mr Frank cleverly locked the serval in the bedroom and then ran around the back of the house to open the other bedroom door, the one that leads to outside. He reports that the serval hissed at him as he bounded away.

I have 5 dollars that says Mrs Frank made some sort of noises at him too.

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources has been on the lookout for a the serval in that area. "It's difficult in an urban situation like this because there are so many places to hide, but we think it's staying in a relatively small area of the neighborhood," DNR Lt. Wayne Hubbard told WGCL.

It's legal to keep a serval as an exotic pet in Georgia, where it is illegal to give water to someone waiting in 96° heat waiting to vote.