A lost exotic cat is on the loose in the Virginia Beach area after escaping from its North Carolina home months ago.
The large, 25-pound feline is an African serval with large ears and a tan coat covered in black spots and stripes. It escaped from its home in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, which is about 85 miles south of Virginia Beach, last October, according to its owner Brian Hankins.
The city's Animal Control agency got a call Wednesday after someone saw the cat, which stands about 25 inches tall at the shoulders, slinking through a city neighborhood.
It had on a collar with two boxes attached, but it won’t do investigators any good because, even though it’s a GPS tracker, the batteries are dead, according to Hankins.
Hankins said the cat is socialized, but animal control officials are still warning anyone who sees it not to approach it or interact with it.
Hankins insisted in a social media post that the cat, named Rocky, wouldn’t hurt anyone.
"He is not dangerous to children or dogs or other cats," Hankins said.
The serval, which eats small rodents such as mice and squirrels and small birds, is famous in the Outer Banks, according to OBXToday.com, after residents kept spotting it on their security cameras.
“Traps have been set and wildlife trackers have worked to find him, but the elusive feline evaded capture,” OBXToday.com reported.
Hankins is working with Virginia Beach investigators to try and capture the wayward feline.
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