Much has been said about Dante Pettis and his love for cats. The rookie wide receiver took a little time out before practice to detail why he will soon become an owner of two cats, mixed breed with serval bloodlines, a breed of wild cat that can be domesticated.
Servals are native to Africa and were originally domesticated by Egyptians. Purebreds are legal to own in a few states but California is not one of them. In some states you even need a license to own one. Cats with some serval blood mixed in, however are legal to own. Servals are known for their vertical skills, which can allow them to catch birds up to 15 feet above them.
Pettis listed several reasons why he is a cat lover more than a dog person. While he explained that it’s nothing against dogs, he feels more connected to cats. In his interview, it starts at his second reason why he loves cats. Apologies for missing his first response via video but it was an explanation of how cats are self sufficient. He explained that while you have to take care them, they can fend for themselves for quite a while as opposed to dogs, who need more constant attention.
Pettis also admires cats for their agility and athleticism. He even sees himself as a catlike version of a wide receiver. He plans on getting two, so they can entertain each other while he isn’t home. Pettis also admires their intelligence and humor and while he’d like to train his cats to play fetch and go for walks on a leash, he’d ultimately like to train his cats to do a flip on command.
Pettis will have to go through a mild screening process done by most breeders of cats of serval bloodlines, to make sure he is serious about his desire to be an owner. Obviously that shouldn’t be a problem being the cat advocate that he is, especially on social media. Pettis explains that part of his admiration for cats has to do with the dog centric population of the United States. He believes it’s because people generally don’t know how to interact with them and he finds them fascinating.
Pettis loves the fact that cats are the only wild animal that you can own, and he can watch them for hours. It’s not only their aesthetics that appeal to him, he also admires their intelligence and sense of humor. Pettis says that they are a quick study in learning simple tasks as well as being entertaining.
All of this, of course, is not without some ribbing from his teammates, George Kittle and Cassius Marsh, especially after his cat-like celebration after his first career NFL reception and touchdown.