Efforts are underway to legalize a new cat breed in Georgia.

Lawmakers in a House committee got a firsthand look at the Savannah cat, a hybrid breed that was created in 1994 when an African Serval mated with a domestic cat.

Deborah Milette brought her Savannah cats Motzie and Peanut all the way from Oklahoma, the state where they were created, and among those where they are currently legal.

“They’re not wild… the minute the first litter is born, the USDA says they’re domestic,” she tells WSB’s Sandra Parrish.

Georgia is among a handful of states with tight restrictions on their ownership, and require a license to own one.

Atlanta resident Jennifer Hardin owns four domestic cats and is hoping the law will change so she can add a Savannah.

“They’re very different from your average domesticate cat,” she says. “They’re more dog-like, they’ll walk on a leash, they’ll fetch, they’ll play dead,” she says.

Milette says there are only 1,500 Savannahs in the country and 2,500 in the world. They range in price from $15,000 to $24,000.