Has anyone heard of this breed? I can across a photo of one-they look gorgeous but I can't find a lot of information on them.
Cynthia
Cynthia
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Savannah Breed
- Thread starter ckatz
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yes ... Savannahs are a hybrid coming from a SERVAL wild cat and a domestic ( usually bengal or abby) ... Like bengals they have f generations... ONE BIG thing the Cost about 2000-4000 $ to adopt .... they are still in the creation phase ( forgot what TICA called it)
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Wow that much! Are they similiar in personality to a bengal? Forgive my ignorance, what is TICA?
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TICA is a cat organzation( breeders help
)
I would say yes but not having personal experience ???
let me see if I can find the semi local breeder site for ya
I would say yes but not having personal experience ???
let me see if I can find the semi local breeder site for ya
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What a great site. Thank you. Isn't it strange that there isn't a breeder on this site? Maybe I'm wrong, maybe there is. I don't think I've heard of this breed before. They look like they get really big. Just beautiful cats.
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strange no.. Savannahs are still what I would call rare.. and since a fertile male can be $5000 vs about 2000$ for many breeds ..
Most if not all breeders who breed savannahs also breed servals as "unusual pets" and many also breed bengal cats. A kind of 3 wild cats under one roof. I'm not sure I like the idea of wild animals- the servals- and savannahs who still have temperament problems being sold as lovable pets to people who fall in love with them and Think they can handle them. I guess the price tag will put off most people.
http://www.stuffonmycat.com/index.php?startpos=30
Although, when I saw this one (just over 1/2 way down the page) I did start thinking $$$$ could be worth it...
http://www.stuffonmycat.com/index.php?startpos=30
Although, when I saw this one (just over 1/2 way down the page) I did start thinking $$$$ could be worth it...
The bengal is not an allowed outcross, though the Savannah I own has a bengal father. It is used but is now heavily discouraged. The bengal and savannah have 2 completely different goals. The bengal is supposed to be small (the Asian Leopard Cat is 6-10lbs) with small round ears, Savannahs are supposed to be large (Serval weighs 40lbs). The Savannah uses a lot of oriental/foreign body type as outcross. They want long legs, large radar ears, smaller heads with a long lithe body and short tail.
I would stay away from Savannahs until they have been further developed. There are some issues that are coming up in this breed that are not the same as Bengals. I'm not sure this is a great cross, nor an ethical one. The gestation period of a Serval is longer than a domestic cat. Because the female is a domestic, she gives birth much earlier than a Serval would and therefore the kittens will appear premature, this then has a high mortality rate which sends a red flag to me. There are also some aggression issues that most breeders are not letting on about. There is also a high mortality rate amongs the domestics used to breed to a serval. I have talked to one breeder that had lost several queens in the attempt to pair them with a serval. Another major red flag. Because of this, artificial insimination is being used more frequently which is another issue I disagree with.
Of course I'm not saying every Savannah is like that and I guess the ultimate personality is supposed to be like a bengal, outgoing and confidant, playful, etc. My girl is a delight, though tends to be shy around people, not enjoying being held but otherwise curious from a distance and ready for lots of loving from her owners when the house settles down. She is not aggressive at all and has "Christmas eyes" all the time. We love her and its not about her that I take this view on this breed.
Savannahs come in brown and silver, can't quite remember if snow is allowed but I wouldn't think so. Marble is possible I believe. There is nothing real consistant yet with this breed.
I would stay away from Savannahs until they have been further developed. There are some issues that are coming up in this breed that are not the same as Bengals. I'm not sure this is a great cross, nor an ethical one. The gestation period of a Serval is longer than a domestic cat. Because the female is a domestic, she gives birth much earlier than a Serval would and therefore the kittens will appear premature, this then has a high mortality rate which sends a red flag to me. There are also some aggression issues that most breeders are not letting on about. There is also a high mortality rate amongs the domestics used to breed to a serval. I have talked to one breeder that had lost several queens in the attempt to pair them with a serval. Another major red flag. Because of this, artificial insimination is being used more frequently which is another issue I disagree with.
Of course I'm not saying every Savannah is like that and I guess the ultimate personality is supposed to be like a bengal, outgoing and confidant, playful, etc. My girl is a delight, though tends to be shy around people, not enjoying being held but otherwise curious from a distance and ready for lots of loving from her owners when the house settles down. She is not aggressive at all and has "Christmas eyes" all the time. We love her and its not about her that I take this view on this breed.
Savannahs come in brown and silver, can't quite remember if snow is allowed but I wouldn't think so. Marble is possible I believe. There is nothing real consistant yet with this breed.
So what domestics are they using if they want a more oriental type. The orientals are very little cats - 5-7 lbs! Are they using an oriental to a 40 lbs cat????????
This is strange. I just checked the standard and the only permissible outcross is the Serval which is bizarre because there are many outcrosses being used during this development, it must just be lacking in the documentation... I distinctly remember seeing the Oriental Shorthair listed... The idea is not for size but for the lean body type. I probably overemphasized size with the bengal, the only attribute the bengal shares with the Savannah is spots. Nothing else is the same, size being only one small component of that. There are many attributes of favor with the oriental in the Savannah vision. I believe the goal for the Savannah is 10-20lbs, but again only one component of the standard. My girl is 9lbs and an F4, many are much larger than that.
That may be true, however, I don't think its wise to be breeding a 30-40 lb cat to a 7 lb oriental! That's like breeding a great dane to a beagle! Orientals are NOT large cats. I'll have to do a bit of research myself
You are right - the TICA standard says outcrosses are to the wild cat - serval - that doesn't make sense - you want to get away from the direct wild cat! Something is wrong.
I just happened to look up the Sarengetti cats on TICA breeds - THEY are using the oriental sh and bengal crosses! Maybe this is 2 different cats we are talking about?
You are right - the TICA standard says outcrosses are to the wild cat - serval - that doesn't make sense - you want to get away from the direct wild cat! Something is wrong.
I just happened to look up the Sarengetti cats on TICA breeds - THEY are using the oriental sh and bengal crosses! Maybe this is 2 different cats we are talking about?
I think they are also using generic tabbies that are large in size for some early breedings. In my early research of the breed I found this happening a lot. Purebreeds are not always used, but a spotted tabby with a more distinct contrast are sometimes desired. I think these might be used for the initial hybrid and at the F1 generation we already see a great reduction in size, enough for a breeding to an oriental probably. I have seen everything from F1 to F5 Savannahs. The F1 was still quite large, I'll have to ask what was used for her mother. She was a very sweet cat but ended up not being fertile. Yet others are not so....so maybe its up to the individual cat but still to much variability for me to trust this particular cross.
Here is a great article describing the differences and the wild counterparts of Bengals and Savannahs:
http://www.nitewindes.com/BengvsSav.html
It says these outcrosses are used: Bengals, Ocicats, Oriental Shorthairs, Egyptian Maus, Maine Coons, Serenghetti's and others. Though I've found a lot of documentation against the use of bengals in this program. It seems Orientals are favored though as an outcross.
Here is a great article describing the differences and the wild counterparts of Bengals and Savannahs:
http://www.nitewindes.com/BengvsSav.html
It says these outcrosses are used: Bengals, Ocicats, Oriental Shorthairs, Egyptian Maus, Maine Coons, Serenghetti's and others. Though I've found a lot of documentation against the use of bengals in this program. It seems Orientals are favored though as an outcross.
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Seregettis( sp) are a mix of a bengal and a orientalOriginally Posted by GoldenKitty45
That may be true, however, I don't think its wise to be breeding a 30-40 lb cat to a 7 lb oriental! That's like breeding a great dane to a beagle! Orientals are NOT large cats. I'll have to do a bit of research myself
You are right - the TICA standard says outcrosses are to the wild cat - serval - that doesn't make sense - you want to get away from the direct wild cat! Something is wrong.
I just happened to look up the Sarengetti cats on TICA breeds - THEY are using the oriental sh and bengal crosses! Maybe this is 2 different cats we are talking about?
savannahs are a wild domestic hybrid ... serval and domestic
That site seemed to give very honest perspective of these cats. Thanks!
This is also an informative site, from one of the savannah breeders: http://www.savannahcatbreed.com/
Have a look at the savannah section and the FAQ section.
Have a look at the savannah section and the FAQ section.
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That site says they grow to be up to 32 lbs. Whoa that's a big cat!!!
They are gorgeous but that would take up most of my apt-to say nothing of my budget.
"what do you feed a 32 lb cat- anything it wants!"
They are gorgeous but that would take up most of my apt-to say nothing of my budget.
"what do you feed a 32 lb cat- anything it wants!"
Originally Posted by ckatz
"what do you feed a 32 lb cat- anything it wants!"
They're so gorgeous though aren't they! I love the servals they along with the cheetah are my favourite type of wild cat.
That is a fun website with beautiful cats!
If I remember correctly they breed 4 different types of cats. I'd imagine that would be difficult. And I'd think you'd have to have an incredible amount of space. Maybe they are a large family and everyone helps or they have volunteers or staff. They may of mentioned how they are able to do it and I missed it.
If I remember correctly they breed 4 different types of cats. I'd imagine that would be difficult. And I'd think you'd have to have an incredible amount of space. Maybe they are a large family and everyone helps or they have volunteers or staff. They may of mentioned how they are able to do it and I missed it.
Oooh I remember that site! When I was first researching the Savannah breed I had some conversations with this cattery, particularly regarding the Habiri. They are using genetic profiling on these cats for breed development which is great, not sure if it is a registered TICA experimental breed or not but very fascinating.
