 The
Savannah cat is one of the newest breeds of cats currently being
developed by a select few breeders around the world. There are very
few Savannahs currently in existence, and the demand for them is
quite high. The Savannah is the result of crossing an African Serval
cat to a domestic cat. There is a variety of domestic cats (most
often termed domestic shorthairs) used in breeding programs to
create the early generation Savannahs, including Oriental
Shorthairs, Egyptian Maus, Serengetis, Bengals, etc. While it is not
difficult to have a Serval to Serval breeding take place, it can be
very difficult to accomplish the Serval to domestic cat breeding.
The first documented breeding of an African Serval to a domestic cat
was accomplished in the mid 1980's by Judy Frank, a Bengal breeder
and cat fancier in Pennsylvania. The Savannah breed, still in the
early stages of development, provides a smaller (approximately 20
pounds, vs. the 40 pound Serval), more manageable (Savannahs use
litterboxes and do not require any special diets, facilities or
veterinary care) version of the beautiful, exotic Serval Cat for
people to live with and enjoy in our own homes. Savannahs make
wonderful family pets.
The
kittens resulting from the first and subsequent generations from the
breeding of a Serval cat to a domestic cat or a Serval cat to a
Savannah cat are recognized as DOMESTIC Savannah cats. The goal of
the Savannah breeding program is to create a uniquely beautiful
domestic cat which has physical features distinctive to the Serval
cat, and with the loving, dependable temperament of the typical
domestic cat. Savannahs are known to be extremely friendly and
talkative, and very playful and curious in nature. They are the
largest hybrid cat available at this time. This breed was named for
the native African grasslands where the Serval makes its home, and
also for the first and only Savannah kitten produced by Ms. Frank,
who named the female kitten resulting from this Serval/domestic
shorthair cross "Savannah". Savannahs are breathtakingly
gorgeous, with beautiful spotted and striped coats and colors
ranging from silver to amber. They have distinctive "tear
drop" markings around their eyes and large round ears. The
Savannah is a very graceful, uniquely built cat, with a lovely long
neck, long legs and ears, and a three-quarter length tail. The breed
standard states that they may be solid, tabby or silver/shaded in
pattern, with the allowable colors in those patterns to be black,
brown spotted tabby, silver spotted tabby or black smoke. The breed
standard calls for a head shape that is longer than it is wide. When
the face is viewed from the front it should form a distinct
triangle. The head of the Savannah is slightly smaller than in
proportion to the body. In profile, the nose is long but with a
small chin and should add to the cat's wild appearance. The ears of
the Savannah are to be large and alert, with a wide base and
slightly rounded tips.
Generations
As Savannahs are produced by crossbreeding
servals and domestic cats, each generation
of Savannahs is marked with a filial number. For example, the cats
produced directly from a Serval/domestic cat cross are the F1
generation, and they are typically 50% serval (although if you
use a F1 Savannah as the domestic cat, the percentage of serval
blood can jump to 75%). The F2 generation, which has a serval grandparent
and is the offspring of the F1 generation, is 25% serval. The F3
generation has a serval great
grandparent, and is 12.5% serval. They can be very expensive to
purchase because of their scarcity.
Male Savannah cats are typically sterile
until the F5 generation or so, although the females are fertile
from the F1 generation and on.
Characteristics
Savannahs tend to be one of the larger breeds of cats, ranging up
to 32 pounds (most other domestic cats range in the area of 5.5 and
16 pounds). The earlier generations, F1's to F3's or so, tend to be
larger than the later generations. Also, the males are often larger
than the females.
The bodies of Savannahs are long and leggy--when a Savannah is
sitting, their hind legs are often higher than their spine, like a Cheetah.
Their heads tend to be longer than they are wide, and like their
serval ancestors, they have long necks. Also like servals, they tend
to have spots on their ears, and their tails are about 3/4ths the
length of other cats'.
The coat
of a Savannah depends a lot on the breed of cat used for the
domestic cross. Early generations always have some form of dark
spotting on a lighter coat, and many breeders employ
"wild"-looking spotted breeds such as the Bengal
and Egyptian
Mau for the cross to preserve these markings in later
generations. The Savannah can have a tan coat with black or brownish
spots, or a silver coat with dark spots, a marble pattern, and many
other patterns and combinations, although the TICA
breed standard limits member cats to Black, Brown Spotted Tabby,
Silver Spotted Tabby and Black Smoke types only.
Behaviors
Temperamentally, Savannahs have been compared to dogs
in their loyalty, and they will follow their owners around the house
like a canine. They greet people with head-butts or sometimes
pounces out of nowhere (many a guest entering a house with a
Savannah have been pounced upon in the entry way!) They have a lot
of energy and are social animals that do well with both cats and
dogs.
Owners of Savannahs say that they are very impressed with the intelligence
of this breed of cat. Savannahs have been known to get into all
sorts of things; they often learn how to open doors, cupboards, and
anyone buying a Savannah will definitely have to
"Savannah-proof" the house to prevent their pet from
getting into things it shouldn't! Also, many owners have trained
their Savannahs to walk on a harness
and do various tricks like fetching
toys.
Water isn't a fear of the Savannah cat; they will jump right into
the bathtub or shower with people sometimes, and get into pools and
streams like their wild ancestors.
Vocally, like their serval parents and grandparents, Savannah
cats normally "chirp" instead of meow.
Care
Savannah cats have no special care or food requirements; they can
eat cat food like any other domestic cat, use the litterbox, and a
normal veterinarian
is qualified to care for one that needs a checkup or is sick.
The Savannah Cat
Association that we call SIMBA is the original and largest Savannah
cat-dedicated association in the world boasting 97 breeder members,
pet owners and associated members.
When a small group of
Savannah breeders came together in the beginning of the New
Millenium, January 2000, none of us ever expected to be where we are
today. Gary Fulgham had the notion to form an online email list so
Savannah breeders in the US and Canada could join together and share
hopes, ideas and breeding tips. That original group of people,
loosely formed, was the basis for this the Savannah Cat Association.
In slightly over three years we have set goals, made plans and
carried through with many of them and are working diligently on
getting the "To Do" list completed.
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