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I was just in the process of thinking up a new character and I wanted to do a Battle Cat frankly because I'd never done one before and I wanted to do a Cheetah.

Crack open the books and it's not on the list of breeds...crap.

So I start going through my old TMNT&OS (don't own the new After the Bomb) to get an idea...not thrilled.

Then I start going through other books that allow you to produced mutants...Heroes Unlimited, WB 19: Australia, Aliens Unlimited, DB 2: Phase World...etc. Not really feeling anything there unless I wanted to do some serious rewriting.

I was just wondering how any of you would write it to be on par with the other Battle Cats.

EDIT: I am feeling a bit optimistic on the Were-Cheetah on Kitsune's web-site...without all the supernatural stuff.

That's because unless Desmond Bradford sends people to other continents, he's probably never seen or heard of a cheetah.

Balabanto wrote:That's because unless Desmond Bradford sends people to other continents, he's probably never seen or heard of a cheetah.

I'm finding that highly unlikely since he (Dr. B.) has access to Lions and other exotic feline species and has an education above a 3rd grader.

The only problem I can see with him (Dr. B. again) NOT having a cheetah to work on is because I think Cheetahs would be hard to have as zoo animals stateside. I say this because in LoneStar they say that in North America, Lions, Tigers, and other non-indigenous cats freely exist because of escaped zoo animals during the Great Cataclysm.

Hey Pox!!

Maybe Cheetahs are in one of the South America Books as one of the Mutant Felines, instead -in which case they'd be Psionics of some degree or another.
Alternatively, perhaps Cheetahs are one of the KILL Cat breeds -there is a separate section for them apart from the Battle Cats.

(BTW, my personal recommendation for a Battle Cat Cheetah would be to give them the highest SPD attribute [of course], maybe add 1D10 +10 to the Spd. of the fastest one in the book and use the Stats for one of the other, small to medium-sized Cat species for the rest of their Attributes. However, in keeping with the natural traits of the Cheetah, perhaps it should only be able to maintain the top speed for relatively short distances, and perhaps you should cut back on its PE attribute to reflect that.)

Of course, one has to figure out which Cat in the books is about Cheetah-sized.

Is it a Jaguar??
Perhaps a Panther??
Maybe a Bobcat or Lynx??
Me Grimlock not know that much about the Big Cats.

(Me Grimlock ALSO surprised that the Cheetahs are NOT in the Books since Kevin seemingly listed every other form of Big Cat known to man -are you 100% certain that he somehow overlooked it??)

Actually cheetah's are a bit easier to keep in zoos than lions and some other big cats. cheetah's behaviors are much more like dogs than cats. They can even be 'simi' domesticated with time and effort. The Zoo I worked in didn't have any but that was due to the way our Zoo was built.

Bradford would defiantly have access to them. Even if it was just in the 'freezer' in lone star. I mean Gorilla's aren't native to the us, nor any kind of monkey but they had both of those as well.

Chello!

Actually, one of the few traits that cheetahs share with other big cats is basic skull shape. They have semi-retractable claws and their body form is closer to canine. They cannot climb. They are also the only cats to have been trained as a matter of course during the medieval period (by Muslims as hunting beasts).

In fact, that are in neither the Felis (small cats) nor Panthera (big cats) genii; their scientific classification is Acinonyx jubatus.

Not that this helps much; you might want to look at cougars and greyhounds and try to figure something out (is the greyhound breed even available for Dog Boys?).

Well...I just checked WB6: South America 1 and they have the Felionoids/Mutant Jaguars rank in speed wise as 5D6

South America 2 I thought might have something with the Incan Line Drawing but no Cheetahs

They have a Cheetah listing in the tattoo magic in Atlantis and it is listed individually as a seperate cat and not grouped with Jaguars/Panthers/Moutain lions or Lynx/Bobcats.

and as far as trying to find a cat that lines up with a Cheetahs' stats in using game terms from Palladium and TMNT...Cheetahs have the approxiamate same length as Lynx but is almost four times as heavy. Now Moutain Lions almost weigh the same but are twice the length.

*le sigh*

Lord_Dalgard wrote:Chello!

Actually, one of the few traits that cheetahs share with other big cats is basic skull shape. They have semi-retractable claws and their body form is closer to canine. They cannot climb. They are also the only cats to have been trained as a matter of course during the medieval period (by Muslims as hunting beasts).

In fact, that are in neither the Felis (small cats) nor Panthera (big cats) genii; their scientific classification is Acinonyx jubatus.

Not that this helps much; you might want to look at cougars and greyhounds and try to figure something out (is the greyhound breed even available for Dog Boys?).

so with that train of thought...I would write it as such:

+2 strike, parry, and save vs. disease, +4 to save vs. HF (as per BC: cougar)

+1d4 to initiative and P.E.
+1d4x10 to Spd. (as per DB: Greyhound)

2d6 damage for claws
1d8 damage for bites
Heightened Speed burst (allows character to run up to 120 mph (Spd: 176) for 1d4 MINUS 2 minutes twice per hour)
+1 to initiative and strike
+3 to parry and dodge
+2 to roll with punch
+4 to Damage for every 40 mph (adapted from TMNT&OS's cheetah entry)

How does that sound?

Stat-wise, a cheetah should be weaker and lighter than the big cats (lions, tigers, jaguars, cougars), but much faster of course.

A good way of handling the speed would to have a normal speed attribute, then have them capable of a double or triple speed burst lasting X time per PE point, to represent them not being able to sprint for that long.

Talavar wrote:Stat-wise, a cheetah should be weaker and lighter than the big cats (lions, tigers, jaguars, cougars), but much faster of course.

A good way of handling the speed would to have a normal speed attribute, then have them capable of a double or triple speed burst lasting X time per PE point, to represent them not being able to sprint for that long.

What he said; also, Pox, you gave them the same speed as the Greyhound...but aren't they faster than those dogs even when we're talking about their "cruising speed??"

From what I understand, Greyhounds can't run that fast for very long, either.
(BTW, in real life, Cheetahs can do that burst of speed up to about 70 MPH, right?? Can't you just use some simple arithmetic to figure out what 77MPH translates into in SPd and apply the resulting number to your Cheetah Battle Cat?? IF I can remember off the top of my head, 77 MPH equals something like a Rifts Spd attribute of 120 -which should be the top Spd. that they can maintain for only a short period of time.)

Pox wrote:

Lord_Dalgard wrote:Chello!

Actually, one of the few traits that cheetahs share with other big cats is basic skull shape. They have semi-retractable claws and their body form is closer to canine. They cannot climb. They are also the only cats to have been trained as a matter of course during the medieval period (by Muslims as hunting beasts).

In fact, that are in neither the Felis (small cats) nor Panthera (big cats) genii; their scientific classification is Acinonyx jubatus.

Not that this helps much; you might want to look at cougars and greyhounds and try to figure something out (is the greyhound breed even available for Dog Boys?).

so with that train of thought...I would write it as such:

+2 strike, parry, and save vs. disease, +4 to save vs. HF (as per BC: cougar)

+1d4 to initiative and P.E.
+1d4x10 to Spd. (as per DB: Greyhound)

2d6 damage for claws
1d8 damage for bites
Heightened Speed burst (allows character to run up to 120 mph (Spd: 176) for 1d4 MINUS 2 minutes twice per hour)
+1 to initiative and strike
+3 to parry and dodge
+2 to roll with punch
+4 to Damage for every 40 mph (adapted from TMNT&OS's cheetah entry)

How does that sound?

While you are at it, since its a palladium product you need to write in some typos.
I'd go with +5% to the running skill

Simple reason: Cheetahs are likely to be extinct by 2098. Factor in 300 years of big monsters, and the chances of finding cheetah DNA in a usable form, especially with any diversity, is pretty low.

Mark Hall wrote:Simple reason: Cheetahs are likely to be extinct by 2098. Factor in 300 years of big monsters, and the chances of finding cheetah DNA in a usable form, especially with any diversity, is pretty low.

By this logic, everything we have today would be extinct. It's been proven over and over that it's not. There's even other long running threads on why the SDC critter's are still runnin' around.

If bradford can do tigers and panthers and such he can do cheetahs'. It's no big deal. Our games have a number of escaped badger men that were engineered to be subterranean sappers and the like. They work in great. Cheetah's aren't even a stretch, they'd make great scouts.

Pepsi Jedi wrote:

Mark Hall wrote:Simple reason: Cheetahs are likely to be extinct by 2098. Factor in 300 years of big monsters, and the chances of finding cheetah DNA in a usable form, especially with any diversity, is pretty low.

By this logic, everything we have today would be extinct. It's been proven over and over that it's not. There's even other long running threads on why the SDC critter's are still runnin' around.

Not quite. Cheetahs are currently sitting at vulnerable, and are very specialized predators. They're also have low genetic variability and suffer from several problems with fertility. Take them outside their environment, and they are less likely to thrive. They're also not major zoo animals.

Tigers, on the other hand, suffer from one major problem: predation. If you remove human predation from tigers, they'll bounce back, as a species. If you set a bunch of tigers loose from zoos and circuses (or they can contrive to get out), their numbers will surge in the absence of controls.

I'm in no way talking about "SDC critters won't survive in an MDC world." I'm talking, specifically, about one endangered species with some pretty lousy adaptations for survival. That's why I said they will be extinct by 2098... the year the Rifts show up.

Cheetah DNA would be extremely easy to come by considering the CS has Snow Leopard Battle Cats, and they are EXCEEDINGLY rare especially compared to a Cheetah.

Mark Hall wrote:

Pepsi Jedi wrote:

Mark Hall wrote:Simple reason: Cheetahs are likely to be extinct by 2098. Factor in 300 years of big monsters, and the chances of finding cheetah DNA in a usable form, especially with any diversity, is pretty low.

By this logic, everything we have today would be extinct. It's been proven over and over that it's not. There's even other long running threads on why the SDC critter's are still runnin' around.

Not quite. Cheetahs are currently sitting at vulnerable, and are very specialized predators. They're also have low genetic variability and suffer from several problems with fertility. Take them outside their environment, and they are less likely to thrive. They're also not major zoo animals.

Tigers, on the other hand, suffer from one major problem: predation. If you remove human predation from tigers, they'll bounce back, as a species. If you set a bunch of tigers loose from zoos and circuses (or they can contrive to get out), their numbers will surge in the absence of controls.

I'm in no way talking about "SDC critters won't survive in an MDC world." I'm talking, specifically, about one endangered species with some pretty lousy adaptations for survival. That's why I said they will be extinct by 2098... the year the Rifts show up.

I don't agree. We have Cheetah's now, and have plenty, PLENTY of ways to get genetic material. in the "Golden age of science" That predated rifts we had genetic factorys so advanced they could build the dog boys and such. It's a lot easier to bring back endangered (( or even extinct)) animals than to cross engineer human animal cross breeds that are so viable they can even breed in the wild.

If the Cheetah was getting close to extinction, in 'pre rifts' times, they would have taken vast genetic samples to preserve till the tech could bring them back. Which as of pre rifts times, would have been viable and profitable. The US has started such "DNA Arks" already. As have private interests.

It's stated that Lone star had extensive genetic banks. Cheetah would be in there. It was the largest US base and built up exceedingly geared for genetic building and factory. They had the best of everything, they could easily have the most extensve genetic bank in the pre rifts world.

Given their speed, the stealth of cats, ect they would be natural choices to use as scouts and spys.

1) Defrost the cheetah DNA
2) Make a normal cheetah batch Say 100 animals. Let them grow to full adult hood, screening out any imperfections.
3) Choose the best of your test subjects, let the rest go (( Might as well)) Take genetic samples from the best of your test cats
4) Use the 'fresh' genetic samples to make your Cheetah Boys ((and girls)) Same as you would dog boys.


One living cheetah test subject has enough genetic code to make millions of cat boys. But you'd want some variation,, so you'd take your samples from 10 to 20 or heck 100. Depending on how much redundancy you want or need.

Bradford could make Slough boys if he wanted to. Or pecan men. Or spiny ant eater girls, ect. He's got all the templates he needs in the freezer. we've seen things as exotic as spider men, goat men, snake men, porcupine girls, and many different breeds of big cat.

Also as pointed out, they have snow leopards which are much more rare and endangered than cheetahs.

Balabanto wrote:That's because unless Desmond Bradford sends people to other continents, he's probably never seen or heard of a cheetah.

Likely one of the things the Federal government operating LOne Star did pre-Rifts, besides assimilating the Human Genome Project, was grab any commercial and institutional genebanks...including 'ark-banks' meant to store DNA of endangered species....Twofold reason....better to have genetic material that might prove useful later, than to figure out you need it after the species has gone extinct, 2) public relations----Lone Star could always claim that they were doing legitimate eco-science with their genetic experiments, working to restore genetic vitality to endangered species and cloning new animals...
I wouldn't be surprised if Lone Star had cryo-fossilized DNA from mammoths, amber-DNA from dinos, and maybe even dodo samples in its archive-banks...

Since I don't know how to multi-quote...I shall do this the dumb way.

C-prime: first off...I noticed that you didn't use your third-person speak in your post...odd. As for the greyhound thing...I was just giving it the attribute boost of the greyhound to go with what Dalgard suggested. As for the speed boost thing...I was just going off of what the Cheetah entry in TMNT but going from the cheetah entry in WB2 Atlantis...I would put the speed boost back to 80 mph or Spd: 120 (110 being 70 mph and 132 being 90mph). I wasn't basing on real world numbers but what KS/EW wrote.

R. Bastard: I didn't have the word shadow in my write up to replace inexplicably with the word Cyber-Knight and the entry was small enough to avoid the inevitable spelling errors. That and my Computer is running on a French version of windows *points to location* so EVERYTHING is getting the automatic red-line under it...so I take extra consideration not to misspell anything and not rely on automatic help.

120 mph is way too fast for a bipedal cheetah - real cheetahs top out around 80 mph, and unless your cheetah battle cat runs on all fours (a possibility) it should be slower than a real cheetah; the same speed at best.

I just got an idea for limiting the use of any kind of speed boost besides limiting to melee rounds equal to the character's P.E. and that is a scaled down version of the Juicer's Metabolic Induced-Voracity (MIV) from WB10: Juicer's Uprising pg. 14.

How does that sound as a handicap and balancer?

I think you're overthinking it a bit much. Just give flat bonus on the front end and be done with it.

Sure the other stuff might make it "Oh so much more realistic" but it just gives mechanics that you'll seldom use.

No need to make it more complicated than it needs to be.

Agreed..save the hyperboosting for the super-experiments and uber-elite forces...those rare adventure-generators or villians that make your PCs sweat when they see 'em coming....

Alright...I spent a bit of time compiling the bonuses and stats from all the other breeds and did some averaging and came up with this (grab a copy of Lone Star, open to pages 76-78, and follow along):

Special Cat Powers & Abilities:

1 through 4 (Psionics and Psi-bonuses) stay the same as listed on pages 76-77.

5. Physical Abilities & Bonuses:

Cheetah: +3 on initiative, strike, dodge, roll with punch, and save vs. disease, +5 to save vs. horror factor, +2d6 to hit points, +3d6 to S.D.C., and decrease size by 10% Attribute bonuses: I.Q. +1D4, P.P. +1D6, P.E. +1D4, Spd. +4D6, and can leap across 20 feet across and 15 feet up from a standing position (increase distance by 30% for a running start). +5% to Climbing, +25% to Prowl, +15% to Tracking. Bite does 2D6 S.D.C./hit point damage, claw attack 2D6 plus P.S. bonus, or by weapon.

6 through 8 (natural senses bonuses) I'm not sure about if they should change with Cheetahs physiologically being more akin to dogs.

9 and 10 will stay the same (climbing and swimming)

11. Sprinting I will change from:

The mutant cat can run at double his normal speed for 1D4 minutes before dropping back to normal speed.

to quadruple to account for the cheetahs ability to burst sprint but will say it should take 2 melees to get to full speed and to slow to a stop.

12. stays the same.

How does that sound?

You have put more than enough thought and research into this. I am very proud of you for doing so, and for not simply pulling numbers and bonuses out of the air.

I say it looks good. Run with it.... no pun intended.

I think it's a great creation. I think that you have captured the Cheetah very effectively.

Maybe they could create the variation known as the "King Cheetah" which has a mutation of the standard pattern. That would be cool too. Same creature, just different spot pattern. Of course maybe Bradford could make some differences in them to make them the kings of their kind.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheetah

Well if you're going to do that. Might as well make them green with brown and black spots. *grins*

Which if you read the rules for the mutant animals out of lone star and such, is not a stretch at all.

"Natural camo"

Actually what I'm talking about is observed in the cheetahs which occasionally causes changes the pattern. It's real! That is the reason I posted the link. Please read about it. Their color remains the same, the patern is significantly different then the standard patern.

I know. I worked at a zoo for two years. My point was that if you were going to choose a rare genetic recessive gene expression to make them so they look different, and you had the skill to create genetic wonders such as Dog boys and Battle cats to start with. Why mess with choosing a rare recessive genetic color scheme when you could just change a few numbers in the code and make them natural camo for the NA woodlands instead of the African Savanna?

Pepsi Jedi wrote:I know. I worked at a zoo for two years. My point was that if you were going to choose a rare genetic recessive gene expression to make them so they look different, and you had the skill to create genetic wonders such as Dog boys and Battle cats to start with. Why mess with choosing a rare recessive genetic color scheme when you could just change a few numbers in the code and make them natural camo for the NA woodlands instead of the African Savanna?

Because cheetahs would be horrible in the woodlands? They're straight-line sprinters, with a pretty big turning radius when they get up to speed. Stick a few on the grasslands of North America, however, and you're doing well.

You'd want to use either Jaguars, leopards or cougars for the forested areas. I wouldn't think of sending a Cheetah into an area where they couldn't do their job appropriately. I was also only talking about that recessive only to make some special ones, like leaders. Then the marking could come in pretty handy.

Mark Hall wrote:

Pepsi Jedi wrote:I know. I worked at a zoo for two years. My point was that if you were going to choose a rare genetic recessive gene expression to make them so they look different, and you had the skill to create genetic wonders such as Dog boys and Battle cats to start with. Why mess with choosing a rare recessive genetic color scheme when you could just change a few numbers in the code and make them natural camo for the NA woodlands instead of the African Savanna?

Because cheetahs would be horrible in the woodlands? They're straight-line sprinters, with a pretty big turning radius when they get up to speed. Stick a few on the grasslands of North America, however, and you're doing well.

These are mutants with the intelligence of a human. I think they'd be smart enough not to run into a tree, and could turn and such....

Aramanthus wrote:You'd want to use either Jaguars, leopards or cougars for the forested areas. I wouldn't think of sending a Cheetah into an area where they couldn't do their job appropriately. I was also only talking about that recessive only to make some special ones, like leaders. Then the marking could come in pretty handy.

And again. We're talking about bipedal mutants with the intelligence of humans. Having the speed to call on would be good anywhere for a scout. You don't need a straight line to run fast. Just knowledge of how not to run into a tree.

As for giving leaders special markings. That works great. Gives the enemy visual conformation on whom to shoot first. lol.

Pepsi Jedi wrote:

Aramanthus wrote:You'd want to use either Jaguars, leopards or cougars for the forested areas. I wouldn't think of sending a Cheetah into an area where they couldn't do their job appropriately. I was also only talking about that recessive only to make some special ones, like leaders. Then the marking could come in pretty handy.

And again. We're talking about bipedal mutants with the intelligence of humans. Having the speed to call on would be good anywhere for a scout. You don't need a straight line to run fast. Just knowledge of how not to run into a tree.

As for giving leaders special markings. That works great. Gives the enemy visual conformation on whom to shoot first. lol.

Have you ever driven a car really fast? Ever tried to turn at that high speed? Just because you say "I am going to turn here" doesn't mean your interia changes... you're still going straight, even if you want to turn. Turning is a gradual process when you're at high speed.

Mark Hall wrote:

Pepsi Jedi wrote:

Aramanthus wrote:You'd want to use either Jaguars, leopards or cougars for the forested areas. I wouldn't think of sending a Cheetah into an area where they couldn't do their job appropriately. I was also only talking about that recessive only to make some special ones, like leaders. Then the marking could come in pretty handy.

And again. We're talking about bipedal mutants with the intelligence of humans. Having the speed to call on would be good anywhere for a scout. You don't need a straight line to run fast. Just knowledge of how not to run into a tree.

As for giving leaders special markings. That works great. Gives the enemy visual conformation on whom to shoot first. lol.

Have you ever driven a car really fast? Ever tried to turn at that high speed? Just because you say "I am going to turn here" doesn't mean your interia changes... you're still going straight, even if you want to turn. Turning is a gradual process when you're at high speed.

Have you ever took off running and ran full tilt into a tree? More than once?

Pepsi Jedi wrote:Have you ever took off running and ran full tilt into a tree? More than once?

That's an irrelevancy. The speed cheetahs generate requires space to turn, when turning becomes necessary. They're moving at a speed that they won't be able to perceive a tree in their path before they hit it; the other trees will block their view, as will the lowered light levels. Far more useful in a forest is something that can move quickly, but agilely. While a cheetah can do so, it cannot take full advantage of its speed while maintaining agility.

Mark Hall wrote:

Pepsi Jedi wrote:Have you ever took off running and ran full tilt into a tree? More than once?

That's an irrelevancy. The speed cheetahs generate requires space to turn, when turning becomes necessary. They're moving at a speed that they won't be able to perceive a tree in their path before they hit it; the other trees will block their view, as will the lowered light levels. Far more useful in a forest is something that can move quickly, but agilely. While a cheetah can do so, it cannot take full advantage of its speed while maintaining agility.

Sure they can. While it's true that they might not be able to hit 80 MPH and maintain it in a forest, they rarely do so on flat ground either. most of the cheetah's sprints and kills are well below their max speed. And i still maintain that with the intelligence of a human they can decide "Hurm... not gonna go from 0-80 into a tree. I'll run fast, but not 80mph fast into a branch and take my own head off." Just as easy as if they were on the savanna which does have a few trees, they wouldn't run into one of them there either.

You can use speed up to that limit with out going full limit or nothing. You can sprint across a clearing at top speed and come to a stop. You don't just close your eyes and run in a straight line. You can run from Tree A to tree B a heck of alot faster than say.... A dog boy who's genetic make up is based on a basset hound. Or a kill cat who's based on a tiger. And cheetah's pivot and turn while sprinting too. Not complete U turns, no but they can go "Oh ****! Big clump of elephant poo! Dodge! MMMMM Little wildabeast you're my NOMNOMS!"

Even if they arn't going at their full speed, their low end speed is still going to be greater than say a dog boy's speed over ground.

They're slender, feline, and fast. They'd make good scouts. Probably not good Kill-cats. That's what tigers and lions and leopards are for.

duck-foot wrote:oh he would have cheetahs. they have the dna for them. if they had them for a lion and tiger

This is a false assumption I've seen a couple of times in this thread.

If the good Doc has a 1965 Ford Mustang in his garage, that does not mean that he also has Chevy Camaro. It only means he has the Mustang. While he may actually have a Camaro, the presence of the Mustang neither proves nor disproves it's existence.

Mack wrote:

duck-foot wrote:oh he would have cheetahs. they have the dna for them. if they had them for a lion and tiger

This is a false assumption I've seen a couple of times in this thread.

If the good Doc has a 1965 Ford Mustang in his garage, that does not mean that he also has Chevy Camaro. It only means he has the Mustang. While he may actually have a Camaro, the presence of the Mustang neither proves nor disproves it's existence.

But on that line of thought, if a person had the monetary and political resources of the good Doctor...that auto collector have the Mustang, the Camero, a Fairlane, and hell even a Model T if he put his wallet where he wanted it to, right?

Pox wrote:

Mack wrote:

duck-foot wrote:oh he would have cheetahs. they have the dna for them. if they had them for a lion and tiger

This is a false assumption I've seen a couple of times in this thread.

If the good Doc has a 1965 Ford Mustang in his garage, that does not mean that he also has Chevy Camaro. It only means he has the Mustang. While he may actually have a Camaro, the presence of the Mustang neither proves nor disproves it's existence.

But on that line of thought, if a person had the monetary and political resources of the good Doctor...that auto collector have the Mustang, the Camero, a Fairlane, and hell even a Model T if he put his wallet where he wanted it to, right?

The difference is between "could have" and "does have." One is a possibility (neither confirmed nor denied) the other is a definitive statement. The posession of the Mustang (or Lion) does not prove the possession of the Camaro (or Cheetah).

duck-foot wrote:

Aramanthus wrote:Maybe they could create the variation known as the "King Cheetah" which has a mutation of the standard pattern. That would be cool too. Same creature, just different spot pattern. Of course maybe Bradford could make some differences in them to make them the kings of their kind.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheetah

actually its a mix of jaguar and chetah

No it's not. It's a genetic recessive coloration. It's like being a human with red hair and blue eyes. This has been proven as they've been born to a pair of normal cheetah's in the past.

I think it's going to be up to ever GM if they decide to use these nice little critters in their game. And they are going to have to make up their mind if they use them or not.

I do not think that there is any animal in the animal kingdom that while moving at high speed can pivot (say 90 degrees) and continue moving at that same speed without wrecking their knees or leg joints. They would have to seriously slow down in order to pivot and then rebuild their speed again in order to get to their new destination.