Lions and Tigers and Cheetahs, Oh My!

She may have 11 cats, but Riana Van Niuwenhuizen is no ordinary cat lady — probably because her cats aren’t ordinary cats. The South African woman, 46, shares her home with four cheetahs, five lions and two tigers. And by “share” we mean share: They sleep in her bed and hang out in her kitchen (on their menu for lunch: doves).

After learning cheetahs were headed for extinction, with only 1,000 left in Africa, Riana took out a loan and bought her first cheetah in 2006. (She hasn't disclosed how much she paid, but 2005 advertisements in South Africa's Mail and Guardian suggest the kitten would have cost about $6,000.) Named Fiela, the cheetah had been abandoned by her mother. Riana then left her job of 22 years — working in the department of justice — for work as a temp on a game ranch so she could raise her cat.

In May 2007, Riana bought a male companion for Fiela, named Mafusa. Six months later, in November 2007, she launched the Fiela Funds Cheetah Breeding Project with land provided by the Emoya Estate in Bloemfontein, South Africa. (That’s central South Africa.)

“I love them all. But they are a handful,” Riana told the U.K.’s Daily Mail.

She told the Lancashire Evening Post: “My goal is to make as many people as possible aware of the plight of the cheetahs as well as their own role in the long-term survival of the cheetah and their ecosystem.”

Visitors to the breeding project can hang out with the cats — and couples married in the nearby wineries can pay to have a wedding photo snapped with them. Hey, if you thought your bridesmaids were catty ...

Photo courtesy of London Daily Mail.