Savanna cats

James&Misty2019

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Hi I was wondering if anyone hear has a savanna cat...I don’t want one or am thinking of getting one...But I love to hear those who have one how you got one and how your life has been since owning one 🐈
 

denice

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We used to have someone with a Savannah cat here but he has been gone for quite awhile. Unless there is someone lurking I don't think we have anyone here with a Savannah. The man that had one retired from breeding Bengals and he took in a Savannah who hadn't been socialized well and was in need of a home. The Savannah that he rescued had withdrawn and wouldn't interact with people or the other cats, he didn't get aggressive or destructive.
 

Dacatchair

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I live with a 2 year old F7 SBT Savannah cat and a 1 year old F6.

I sort of ended up with this breed by accident... or at least the part where I fell in love with one. Random bred kittens are scarce in my area as almost all adult cats have been spayed and neutered...My first was an F8 savannah with an F7 Mom who accidentally had a litter with some random wandering Tom cat. I totally fell in love with that little cat! He was unusually intelligent, seemed curious and insightful into things outside the interests of other cats I had lived with, he loved people and other animals and tried to make friends with everything. I was totally devastated when he died before he was a year old, with symptoms and blood work pointing to dry FIP....

The only thing that made me feel a bit better was looking at pictures of kittens, and I ended up getting the F7 and then the F6, as the F7 seemed to need a companion.

I have no experience with the Savannah's that have a high percentage of Serval, and mine are probably about 5% at most, and although they both have some quirky behaviour, they are probably not significantly different than other active breeds. But with genes it is kind of random what gets passed down, so I imagine it is possible some influential Servall gene can pop up, even in later generations.When he was younger my F7 was fascinated with deer. I suspect he was just lonely and wanted a playmate, but seeing this little cat chase a deer like it imagined it was a tiger was more than a bit surprising! ( as far as I know, even Servals don't go after full grown deer) Other than this my F7 is very sensitive, super gentle, shy, well behaved and cooperative. He is also very restless and spends a lot of time pacing the series of enclosures and walkways around our house,and he would clearly like to spend a lot more time in the yard than I can be out with him on a leash, but I have no reason to think that is because he is a Savannah. I spent a lot of time with him in the yard on a leash when he was young, and that is probably why he thinks that is where he belongs. Judging by the many discussions in Facebook groups, it doesn't seem to be a common problem for people living with Savannahs...

My F6 is really different than my F7. He is very relaxed, easy going, super cuddly and affectionate. mischievous, sleeps a lot more than my F7, and in brief spurts during the day, he is more than a little rambunctious. He has trashed many rolls of toilet paper. used my mosquito net as a trampoline and has been slow to learn to listen when I say "No" (The gentlest "no" is all it takes for my F7 to recoil) Luckily I don't have much of value that can be damaged, though I did just cut the fringe off a heavy 7' by 5' wool rug which he has been dragging around, and I need to put my shoes away as like a puppy he seems to have a thing for my shoes and also my feet. And he shreds cardboard boxes... But.. probably not that different than a regular active cat...

Both are dedicated hunters, as was my kitten that died. Even though they are only out in enclosures or on a leash, in the warmer months they manage to catch a surprising number of rodents and occasionally other things. Based on my limited experience, on average Savannahs seem to hunt as much as the more enthusiastic regular cats. As there is already a lot of concern about cats hunting, in most ecosystems it is probably best to keep Savannahs from being free to do this.. Breeders generally expect they will be kept contained at all times... So if people would find it difficult keeping a cat indoors, they are usually not the best choice...

And there seems to be a lot of misinformation about them... One of the things I disagree with is the belief hybrids are unnatural, when the reality is all random bred cats in Europe, the UK, Middle East and Africa have hybridized with local wild cats to some degree... Pet Servals continue to interbreed with domestic cats, even when this was neither planned or wanted, leading to some interesting kittens... And as our so called domestic cats are virtually identical genetically to their wild ancestors, the distinction between hybrid and non hybrid cats is not as clear as some people imagine... The main genetic difference between our family cats and their wilder cousins seems to be a few genes that make human tolerant cats more relaxed around humans in general. There is many stories in Savannah Cat Facebook groups of cats with a high percentage of Serval bonding strongly with just one or two people, and they may be less inclined to return home if they are allowed to roam or accidentally get out.

But even the Savannah\s that have a higher percentage of Serval in them are generally described as very intelligent, loving and confident, although their active nature can mean that they have more energy to perform the same sort of more challenging cat behavior that regular cats sometimes get into. I generally have the impression my Savannahs are a lot less "wild" than most random bred cats, which makes sense as they have been living exclusively indoors and captive bred for many many generations...
 
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moxiewild

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I have an F2 Savannah. He also has an F3 playmate of a friend’s. What exactly are you wanting know? :)
 
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basscat

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I generally have the impression my Savannahs are a lot less "wild" than most random bred cats, which makes sense as they have been living exclusively indoors and captive bred for many many generations...

Wild/Tame pretty easy to differentiate due to fairly straight forward definitions.
Domestic, however.....bit more of a challenge to define and relate.
I'm not sure what generation Savannah would clearly cross the line to "domestic"...but surely they do, somewhere down the line.
 

Dacatchair

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Living with a couple cats that are hybrids has made me really curious about the possible differences between hybrid cats and domesticated cats... I am not really sure there is a lot of difference.

The more I learn the more it seems our so called domestic cats are pretty amazing creatures. Partly because they don't really fit into the regular criteria of what constitutes a domestic animal, and if anything, it seems to be more of a case of cats domesticating humans. Up until the invention of kitty litter in the 1950s, almost all cats managed their own reproduction, and were free to come and go as they pleased. They have also always been free to choose where they want to live, and they have been free to pursue whatever best serves their own needs. Unlike other feral animals, all their random bred ancestors have enjoyed similar liberties. Pretty much every other domestic animal performs some service for humans, either at it's own expense, or in exchange for access to a resource we have artificially restricted their natural access to. For example, dogs need a pack to flourish, and by removing them from a pack and replacing the alpha dog with ourselves, we get a dog that accepts a human family as it's pack. Historically, cats just chose to hang out with us because they like the benefits we provide, and even though we appreciate them for keeping rodents in check, they don't perform this task at an expense to themselves, and they are under no obligation to do anything for us at all.

Recent genetic research seems to show our domestic cats have historically interbred with various wild cats, and they continue to do so. The line between a domestic or domestic / wild hybrid cat is not at all clear... but neither is the line between a domestic cat and a wild animal...

(PDF) The palaeogenetics of cat dispersal in the ancient world

An interesting experiment on the genetics of domestication and how quickly this can happen...
A Soviet scientist created the only tame foxes in the world

However with cats, it seems it was probably more natural evolution that selected the cats with the best human social skills and gave cats a better chance of survival if they earned a loving human guardian.

As the current trend seems to be to either breed cats largely based on looks, or to rescue kittens for pets from anti social feral populations, I wonder whether this is going to affect the evolution of cat's social skills? I think many Savannah breeders ( and other breeders of other cat breeds) want to select social and loving cats as the parents to kittens, but I am not sure if this plays as much of a role in choosing which cats to breed, as would be optimal for the best pets...
 
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mentat

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Re: Savannah and other hybrid cat breeds
2017 Hybrid Cats Position Statement | American Association of Feline Practitioners
The American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) strongly opposes the breeding of non-domestic cats to domestic cats and discourages ownership of early generation hybrid cats, due to concerns for public safety and animal welfare issues.

The AAFP opposes the breeding of hybrid cats for the following reasons:

  • Unnatural breeding
    The AAFP strongly opposes the unnatural breeding of nondomestic to domestic cats. This includes both natural breeding and artificial insemination.
  • Temperament concerns of hybrid cats
    The AAFP discourages ownership of early generation (F1, F2, F3) hybrid cats due to their unpredictable nature.
  • Safety and legal issues
    The AAFP strongly opposes the breeding of non-domestic to domestic cats due to concerns for public safety and interest.
  • Welfare concerns
    https://catvets.com/public/PDFs/PositionStatements/2017-HybridCats-Statement.pdf thorough details of their position re: nondomestic breeding ethics, difficult births due to chromosome disparity, behavior risks, infectious zoonotic diseases, international and interstate laws, and safety.
 

kittyluv387

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I have an F2 Savannah. He also has an F3 playmate of a friend’s. What exactly are you wanting know? :)
Are you ever able to go on vacation or are you homebound because they are so intensely attached to you?
 
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