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A modern-day Noah is on a mission to help a rare cat breed be fruitful and multiply.
Brooklyn Rabbi Michael Salita – brother of former welterweight boxing champ Dmitry Salita – said he has three of the only documented Kanaani cats in the world, and considers it a “moral and spiritual obligation” to preserve the breed and its symbolism.
“This is my boat – and I’m trying to save this breed,” he told The Post. “You’re not going to find anyone who has it.”
The Kanaani – named for the land of Canaan preceding Israel — originated in Jerusalem in the 1990s when Holocaust survivor and artist Doris Pollatschek developed a cross between a rescued African wildcat with a local stray.
For the past year, Salita, 52, has devoted his life to developing the breed, and said his “journey” is a commitment to “strengthening the connection between past and future.”
“In our generation there is no one else standing between the Kanaani and its disappearance, it’s on the edge of extinction – I see this as my rabbinical mission,” said Salita, who is registered as a World Cat Federation Kanaani breeder. “[G-d] gave me this assignment and I’m very thankful.”
To Salita, his three Kanaanis — named Haifa, Arbuz and Laila – are the cat’s meow. He even walks them outside on the terrace “like a dog,” said Salita, who also works as a special ed teacher.
“What makes me smile is when they rub noses with me – I’ve never seen it before,” he said, describing that “it feels like love.”
And they are uniquely playful, intelligent and “talkative. They attach easily to humans,” he gushed.
The breed is known for large, tufted ears, almond-shaped eyes – with green as the gold standard – they’re hypoallergenic with a short coat, triangle face and slim, long body.
“It’s the most beautiful cat in the world – if King David would choose a cat, it would be Kanaani,” asserted Salita, who’s hoping to get the rare breed into the hands of President Trump in an effort to keep the “holy breed” from extinction.
The very cool cat has a link to Adam and Eve, he claimed. “These cats come from Eden – they’re not regular cats, they’re special.”
The breed was registered with the World Cat Federation in 2000, and two other kitty associations followed, but the exact number of Kanaani worldwide isn’t known.
While Salita thinks the Kanaani are “culturally significant,” not all experts recognize it as a distinct breed.
“The experimental Kanaani is registered for tracking purposes only. It is an experimental record, and we do not recognize it as a breed,” Letty Chavez, registrations supervisor for the International Cat Association, told The Post.
Selling them isn’t an option now, as they’re too small in number to breed, said Salina, who claimed he’s been offered a cool $3,000 for one by a cat lover who “appreciates their spirituality.”
“It’s not about the money – I want to find the right people willing to develop the breed. The person has to appreciate them” and vow not to sterilize them.
The good news for the future of the breed: Haifa is pregnant with a litter of up to four kittens.
English (US)