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The Savannah cat is a fairly new breed that derives from combining the African Serval with domestic cats. The Savannah is a tall, long and lean cat with very large ears that set up high on it’s head. They have very long legs, bold spotting, hooded eyes, wide nose bridge with puffy nose leather giving them the appearance of a wild cat but with the personality of a domestic cat. The Savannah standard colors are brown (black) spottedy tabby, silver spotted tabby, black and black smoke. |
The breed started in the early 1980s by a Bengal breeder, Judee Frank. She crossbred a Serval with a Siamese. This unplanned breeding produced a F1 Savannah appropriately named “Savannah” and it is now the official name of the breed.
Savannahs have gained a reputation for being “big cats”. However, Savannahs are not a heavy cat but instead a tall, lean cat. Their tall build gives the illusion of them being larger than they actually are. Size is dependent on the generation and sex. The early generation F1 and F2 Savannahs are the largest with males tending to be larger than females. The early generations can range 12-25 lbs. with the higher end range usually being the males. Lower generations often range 10-16lbs. but again, appear much larger than the average cat. Brigitte Cowell of Kirembo Savannahs wrote a good article called "Savannah_Myths" that help explain some of the truths behind these myths. |
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More important than size the Savannah is a fun, energetic cat. They are a very social breed that gets along with other cats, dogs, kids and people. They are very dog like in behavior. You can walk them on a leash, play fetch and tug-o-war. They love water and will often try to get into the bath or shower with you. They are mischievous and will often “steal” objects such as pencils, the kitchen sponge or even a spoon. Not knowing they are doing “wrong” they sometimes will bring you these objects to play fetch with. Savannahs love high places and will often be seen sitting on high shelves, curtain rods and counters. |
The Savannah is a healthy breed with no specific known health problems. With a healthy diet, good housing and exercise it can have a life span of 15-20 years. It’s diet is the same as any domestic. However a high quality diet is suggested for the Savannah or any cat.
The ideal owners for a Savannah are anybody willing to live with a high energy and mischievous cat. They have good litter box habits and are not destructive by nature but if they get too bored or if they have too much energy they will find their own fun.
The Savannah cat is one of the latest to be accepted by The International Cat Association (TICA). It is currently considered “Advanced New Breed”. Breeders are working hard to perfect the breed and achieve Championship status. |
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