Missing Savana cat found, back with owner

By Nancy McCleary

Staff writer

A hybrid cat that was missing for 17 days is back home. The cat, named Agapi, is thinner but otherwise healthy, said its owner Suzie Huening on Monday.

Huening, owner of Lynxotic Cattery, has said she thinks someone broke into a fenced enclosure on her property and freed Agapi, which is a Savanna cat, and Apollo, a serval, over Memorial Day weekend.

Savanna cats are hybrids that result from the mating of domestic felines and servals, which are native to the African grasslands.

Servals have long legs and a spotted coat, which resembles that of a cheetah. A Savannah cat is larger than a domestic cat and has long legs and a spotted coat.

Apollo was caught June 5 by a Cumberland County Animal Control officer after he was spotted in the backyard of a home on Gillingham Drive in southwestern Fayetteville.

It wasn’t until last week that Agapi returned home, lured by food and Apollo’s lonely calls.

“I believe Apollo, calling out for her, brought her back,” said Huening, whose cattery is on Lullwater Drive in the Birch Creek subdivision.

Huening set out a live trap in her backyard and used food to lure Agapi home.

She is appealing a $1,000 fine levied by the county for violating an ordinance that bans exotic animals.

Huening recently visited 8-year-old Christopher Manivong, who spotted Apollo in his backyard, and presented him with a set of National Geographic binoculars.

“I told him he could use them the next time he sees something strange in his backyard,” Huening said.

Staff writer Nancy McCleary can be reached at mcclearyn@fayettevillenc.com or 323-4848, ext. 568.