SAN DIEGO -- The owner of a rare cat missing since last week is hoping to get the animal back to safety.

Bridgette Cowell's Savannah cat, Katie, is as clever as she is expensive. Cowell told 10News her rare cat is worth $15,000, and she escaped from the Mt. Helix home of a breeder where Cowell and Katie were staying.

"It does sound insane, but once you've met one maybe you would understand why it is such a special pet," said Cowell.

Katie is a cross between a domestic cat and a wild African cat called a serval. She is 16 inches from the shoulders and has spots like a leopard.

Cowell said Katie is one of only a couple thousand Savannah cats in the entire world.

"To add to her expense, she also has a health condition which makes us more nervous about getting her back," said Cowell.

"Someone could think it was a bobcat or maybe a young mountain lion," said Dawn Danielson of San Diego County Animal Services. "My concern is that someone might be frightened and harm the cat, and not that the cat is going to hurt a person."

"They do look like a wild cat and some people do tend to react to them in that way, but the important thing to realize is that their looks are part of the breeding but their personality is entirely domestic," said Cowell.

Cowell said she doesn't want anyone who might come across Katie to be alarmed.

Even though Katie is half wild animal, Cowell said the odds of her surviving on her own are not good.