The Cheetah

I’ve grown rather fond of the cheetah,
Not just for how fast it can run.
Of all of the African wild cats,
Its body’s the slenderest one.
While its spots aren’t as cool as a leopard’s,
Its face has distinctive black “tear” lines,
As if it had cried in Goth makeup,
Unlike all the other great felines.
It also is said to be doglike
(The reverse of the catlike red fox?),
From its face shape to claws unretracted.
But to me, the main feature that shocks
Is the noise that it makes in recordings:
A high chirp that’s disarmingly cute.
And it purrs, so some call it a “small” cat.
What a term for a dangerous brute.