It looks like an exotic jungle cat — but it’s a missing pet SC woman calls her baby boy
“DO NOT SHOOT HIM!”
That was a South Carolina woman’s plea about her missing cat to anyone reading her desperate Facebook post.
And why would she feel as if she must ask others not to shoot her beloved pet? It’s because Sue Howard’s missing feline is no ordinary house cat.
Noah is an African serval, who looks like he would be more at home in an exotic locale or jungle rather than in an Orangeburg residence. But that’s where he lived — up until two weeks ago.
That’s when Howard reported that one (yes, one) of her African serval’s got out of the house and went missing. Noah has a sister, Khalissi — and like Howard, she misses the African serval, too.
Noah is 38 pounds, has golden yellow with black spots, and the tip of his tail missing. His first birthday is on July 25, Howard said.
Howard said Noah escaped from her house July 2, when her husband left a door open while taking out the trash, the Times & Democrat reported.
“Noah is my baby boy. He is my pet and my fur baby, and I miss him so much,” Howard wrote in another Facebook post.
Despite Noah’s appearance, he is not a wild animal.
On Facebook, Howard said he is harmless, and likely scared, because he has never been out of the house.
After receiving permission from Orangeburg Animal Control to own the African servals, Howard said she brought Noah and Khalissi home at 6 weeks old, bottle-fed and trained them to be a domestic cat, according to WLTX.com.
Howard told the Times & Democrat that Noah is not violent and that “he will not attack anybody,” adding he is likely to run away from a person.
The Orangeburg County Animal Shelter is helping Howard’s efforts to find her missing pet and has set up traps to try and bring him home safely.
Since her cat has gone missing, Howard said on Facebook that she goes out looking for him “day and night,” and even sings for Noah to come home.
“My heart is broken, and I pray he comes home very soon,” Howard posted on Facebook.