Cheetahs! They’re fast, they have adorable faces, and, compared to other big cats, they’re docile and friendly to humans.
So why not own a cheetah as a pet? After all, a bunch of unimaginably rich people do.
First of all, if you’re reading this, you’re probably not unimaginably rich. Second and more importantly, cheetahs are wild animals. They don’t belong on your property no matter how big it is. They deserve to be free, to roam vast open grasslands as they’ve done so for millennia.
Read on to know more about why cheetahs make terrible pets!
7 Reasons Why Cheetahs Make Bad Pets
Why exactly is it a bad idea to own a pet cheetah? Let us count the ways!
1. Cheetahs are wild animals
Perhaps one reason people like to keep cheetahs as pets is because of their shy, gentle nature. Unlike tigers, leopards, and lions, these cats are extremely unlikely to maul you to death. Their bite force isn’t even that impressive—around 400 to 500 PSI (pounds per square inch). This is weaker than that of the Kangal Shepherd, the dog with the greatest bite strength, which is around 743 PSI.
In fact, there aren’t any records of cheetahs killing humans for sport or food.
However, as mentioned above, cheetahs are wild animals; they haven’t benefited from thousands of years of domestication to become proper house pets like dogs and cats. This means they’re still largely governed by their wild, predatory instincts. True, there are no documented records of these creatures murdering humans. But we’re willing to bet a cheetah can still cause considerable damage if pushed into a corner.
2. Cheetahs require special enclosures
Because cheetahs are wild animals, they belong in the wild, where they can go wherever they want and use their slender legs to run at speeds reaching 75 mph.
Therefore, you can’t keep cheetahs in a tiny apartment or even a huge yard. They need LOTS more space so that they can get the physical and mental stimulation they need to stay healthy. Otherwise, they’ll grow weak and depressed.
In other words, you need an enormous enclosure that’ll emulate the look and feel of these creatures’ natural habitat. Not to mention its walls have to be high enough so that your exotic pet can’t escape (cheetahs can jump 20 feet high).
3. Cheetahs have special dietary requirements
You can’t feed cheetahs food available at the pet store. It’s not even a good idea to feed them raw poultry all the time. In the wild, these cats eat a wide range of meats you can’t find at any grocery or store.
This means you’ll have a tough time meeting your pet cheetah’s dietary needs, which can cause their health to plunge. Examples of health conditions resulting from an inadequate diet include spinal cord degeneration and hind limb paralysis a.k.a. myelopathy.
4. Wild cheetah populations are dwindling
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed cheetahs as vulnerable, meaning they are close to extinction. In the wild, only an estimated 6,700 adult cheetahs remain, and that number is decreasing thanks to human activity such as poaching and the destruction of the environment.
Unfortunately, now we have to add the smuggling of these creatures to other parts of the world to the list of human activities contributing to the decline of wild cheetah populations.
5. Smuggling kills many baby cheetahs
The Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) states that every year, criminals smuggle an estimated 300 baby cheetahs to the Arabian Peninsula where they’re sold as luxury pets to the wealthy.
Cheetahs as young as two weeks old are stolen from their homes. As if that wasn’t heartbreaking enough, over 80% of these babies perish during the smuggling process due to stress and the lack of adequate nutrition. Many of those that survive develop vulnerabilities to serious chronic conditions, neurological deteriorations, and bone deformities. Some perish after catching viruses from domestic felines.
The captive cheetah’s average life expectancy is a mere one year.
6. Captive cheetahs are more prone to disease
As discussed above, cheetahs in captivity are prone to health issues due to being deprived of their appropriate diet. Even those that survive the first year of being kept as a pet may suffer from various diseases and illnesses, including:
- Liver disease
- Renal disease
- Gastritis
- Chronic stress
- Pancreatitis
- Fungal disease
- Feline enteric coronavirus
- Feline herpesvirus
- Infectious skin conditions
- Oral mucosa infections
- Myelopathy
- Amyloidosis
Cheetahs are fairly fragile creatures, to begin with. The stress of captivity and lack of proper nutrition only make them more susceptible to various problems contributing to a short lifespan and poor quality of life.
7. Cheetahs are ridiculously expensive
If you want to buy a pet cheetah, you have to be prepared to sell your kidney (or preferably someone else’s). These critters cost a bunch of money—like $15,000 per kitty.
Let’s not forget the aforementioned enclosure. Expect to spend thousands upon thousands of bucks to purchase and maintain such a large, specialized facility.
You’ll also have to think about food, medicine, and other things necessary to keep your exotic pet from dying.
The Legality of Owning Pet Cheetahs
We’ve learned that owning a cheetah is a bad idea.
Here’s the good news: keeping cheetahs as pets is illegal in many parts of the world.
For example, the ownership of pet cheetahs is strictly prohibited in the United States, Canada, and most western countries. Anyone caught engaging in the illegal trade of these creatures risks severe penalties.
A license or permit to own a cheetah is only awarded to rescue shelters and zoological facilities. However, even zoos don’t house many of these cats as they’re difficult to import and breed.
Pet cheetahs once served as a status symbol in the Arabian Peninsula. However, stricter laws are being put in place to protect these creatures. In the United Arab Emirates, for instance, the importation of cheetahs and other wildlife species has already been illegalized.
The bad news is that there remain places where exotic pets such as cheetahs continue to be purchased both illegally and legally.
Fun and Quick Cheetah Facts
It’s time to expand our knowledge of cheetahs!
Cheetahs are the friendliest of the big cats
Unlike other big cats such as tigers, leopards, jaguars, cougars, lynxes, and lions, cheetahs are timid, docile, and even friendly toward humans. This, of course, doesn’t mean cheetahs are tame—far from it. While there’s no record of these wild animals killing and eating humans, they can still cause significant harm if provoked.
Cheetahs aren’t the most social felines. Female cheetahs are loners that only socialize when they have a desire to mate, and stay with their cubs until said cubs are around 18 months old. Males live in groups known as coalitions, which are composed of male siblings.
Cheetahs are shy toward other animals
As previously discussed, cheetahs are shy animals. They therefore tend to slink off whenever they sense the presence of other predators such as hyenas or lions. This is wise of cheetahs, as their light bodies and blunt claws don’t make them great fighters.
In zoos, cheetah cubs and the puppies of domestic dogs are often paired together. As they grow older together, the dogs then serve as companion animals to the cheetahs. This gives the reclusive cheetahs a sense of security, which provides them with better opportunities to thrive.
Cheetahs can’t roar
Cheetahs can’t roar because their throats don’t have the two-piece bone that gives other big cats the ability to make this sound.
However, cheetahs do make other feline sounds such as purring, hissing, and growling.
Cheetahs have LOTS of spots
How many spots do cheetahs have on their bodies? Between 2,000 and 3,000! These spots help these critters camouflage themselves, allowing them to catch prey unawares or remain hidden from large predatory animals.
Cheetahs are carnivores
As carnivores, cheetahs depend on the consumption of meat to survive. Their diet is primarily composed of smaller antelope such as steenbok, springbok, impalas, duiker, and Thomson’s gazelle. They also eat wildebeest calves and, once in a while, small animals like birds, hares, and rabbits.
Cheetahs aren’t as widespread as they used to be
Cheetahs were previously found across the continents of Africa and Asia. Today, they’re mostly confined to Sub-Saharan Africa’s dry open grasslands. Most inhabit nature reserves or parks.
Cheetahs need space
Cheetah coalitions live in territories measuring between a modest 30 square kilometers and a whopping 3,000 square kilometers. To avoid competing against bigger predators, they seek areas that aren’t too densely populated by prey.
Sadly, human expansion and the resulting destruction of natural habitats are causing a steady decline in cheetah populations.
It’s also to be noted that the cheetah’s requirement for vast spaces is one of the chief reasons why they do so poorly in captivity, which forces them to stay in far smaller territories than their kind is used to.
Cheetahs hunt during the day in contrast to most cats
Unlike most felines, cheetahs hunt when the sun is out. This helps them avoid losing their kills to nocturnal predators like spotted hyenas and lions, while their extremely sharp eyes also allow them to detect prey from far away.
Conclusion
Cheetahs don’t make good pets. Their gentle nature and exotic beauty may make them attractive living status symbols for those with money to burn. But these wild yet gentle, fragile creatures are close to vanishing from the planet. If we are to ensure the survival of this species, we need to make the ethical choice of letting cheetahs live freely in their natural habitat.