What type of cat is a "lipicat"? Where do they come from?
by 
LAURA NAYLOR
ANSWERS: 2
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Wow... let me just say that I tried very hard to research this question, and I still haven't got a very satisfactory answer. But I've done all I can, so here goes: Lipicats are Asian cats. The fact that they are from Asia is the only solid piece of information that I have. Supposedly (to the extent that one can trust a random Google search), they resemble European cats. I don't know if they're domesticated or not, but apparently their fur is used to make coats, handbags, gloves, sweaters, and probably other stuff. This leads me to believe that they are wild cats, even though they might be bred in captivity for these purposes. I'd be interested to know how you heard about them to ask this question. Lipicat is not in any dictionary or encyclopedia I can find (English and French), but only one thing came up in my Google search: a French animal-rights discussion forum, more specifically a discussion thread against testing products on animals. Apparently Canal+ (a French TV channel) did a report on how lipicats are killed (hung from their cages... ugh!) to make haute couture out of their coats.
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"Lipi" or "Lippi" is a name that certain unsavory aspects of the fur industry illegally apply to one of two possible sources: 1. Asian Leopard cats, which are rare across their home ranges, and only growing more scarce as time goes by due to illegal hunting and trafficking for the fur and pet trades or 2. Illegally-acquired domestic cat skins, which are mainly acquired in China, sold to countries such as Germany and Italy (where they are dyed to resemble the fur of exotic wild cats, and then processed into items such as coats, scarves, hats, etc.), and then illegally imported into the United States and touted as "An exotic Asian wildcat that is not endangered" (which is a lie in and of itsell. ALL Asian wildcats - indeed, all wildcats, large and small - ARE endangered) However, it is virtually impossible to tell, just from looking, whether most furs have been dyed. The only way to be 100% certain is to perform DNA testing on the furs. However, since this is rarely done, most unscrupulous furriers can get away with either poaching, or encouraging the slaughter of domestic pets for "Fashion".
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