Serval caught in Battle Creek neighborhood

BATTLE CREEK (Newschannel 3) - People in one Battle Creek neighborhood are still in shock after a wild cat wandered through their backyards on Tuesday.

Experts believe it was a wild African cat called a serval, which can grow to be 40 lbs. and a few feet long.

Now, a day later, neighbor Philip Paul says the big cat is all anyone is thinking about.

"It was like, 'Wow! Baby cheetah!' Were would that come from?" said Paul.

But it wasn't a cheetah, rather an African serval, and Binder Park Zoo experts say it's probably a 5-year-old male, underweight and not in great shape.

"It has a torn left ear, it's got nails and toes that were injured," said Greg Geise, President of Binder Park Zoo.

The serval should be averaging about 30 to 40 lbs., but instead, he weighs only 16. Aside from that, two things point investigators to one conclusion - the cat is someone's pet.

"It has been de-clawed on (it's) front feet and has been castrated," said Guise.

While certain towns have rules about exotic animals this size, most, like Battle Creek, follow state rules.

"The regulation in regards to an animal like this is, there is no regulation," said Lt. Duane Knight with Battle Creek Animal Control.

And that means that servals are less regulated than a pet dog, which is something that surprised neighbors.

"It's something you would see in the zoo, not in the city" said Paul.

And experts say it should stay that way.

"We strongly discourage people from having non domestic animals as pets," said Guise.

Battle Creek Police are hoping the owner of the serval comes forward, but they say they will probably end up sending the cat to an animal sanctuary.