At the Cincinnati Zoo we took in a cheeta from another zoo, but he was too big to play with the other little cheetah. So the zoo adopted a chocolate lab named moose and the Donny (cheeta) and moose always are together.
"Although cheetahs are members of the cat family, they have dog-like non-retractable claws. This limits their tree-climbing ability but gives them a speed advantage when charging."
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"There has been some scientific discussion as to whether they should be classified as part of the dog family because of their non-retractable claws, but they exhibit too many cat-like features, including the ability to purr loudly. Cheetahs cannot roar but can growl and spit like a cat and sometimes they make a peculiar chirping noise."
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http://www.krugerpark.co.za/Kruger_National_Park_Wildlife-travel/kruger-park-wildlife-cheetahs.html
The funny thing is they used to be commonly kept as pets. Even wild cheetahs are generally not considered a threat to humans since they're smart about what they do and don't attack. Hand-reared in captivity they aren't unlike normal house-cats
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"There has been some scientific discussion as to whether they should be classified as part of the dog family because of their non-retractable claws, but they exhibit too many cat-like features, including the ability to purr loudly. Cheetahs cannot roar but can growl and spit like a cat and sometimes they make a peculiar chirping noise."
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http://www.krugerpark.co.za/Kruger_National_Park_Wildlife-travel/kruger-park-wildlife-cheetahs.html