Type the name of the breed you're looking for below
[wpdreams_ajaxsearchlite] Don't see the breed your're looking for? Click here and let us know!
Breed Characteristics
1 paw - breed exhibits the least amount of this characteristic
5 paws - breed exhibits most amount of this characteristic
[fbcomments]
Savannah
| Origin And History | A Savannah cat is a cross between a domestic cat and the serval, a medium-sized, large-eared wild African cat. The unusual cross became popular among breeders at the end of the 1990s, and in 2001 the International Cat Association accepted it as a new registered breed. In May 2012, TICA accepted it as a championship breed. A Bengal breeder, Judee Frank, crossbred a male serval, belonging to Suzi Woods, with a Siamese (domestic cat) to produce the first Savannah cat (named Savannah) on April 7, 1986.[1] In 1996, Patrick Kelley and Joyce Sroufe wrote the original version of the Savannah breed standard and presented it to the board of The International Cat Association. In 2001, the board accepted the breed for registration. |
| Personality | When entering a new living space, the Savannah Cat adjusts in no time at all. It is excited to explore its new environment and make it its home. New human visitors and friends get the Savannah Cat very excited. It loves to meet new people and treat them like friends. The Savannah Cat really enjoys interacting with its owners. Owners of this cat should expect to spend time with it almost daily.Bringing the Savannah Cat to a home with children will bring the animal great joy. This cat loves children and their playful actions. The Savannah Cat loves to be around dogs. So much so, that it could be said that the cat sees the dogs as family. This cat breed lives to love. Owners can expect their Savannah Cat to show a lot of affection towards them. Savannah Cats are extremely playful. Owners can expect this cat to be ready to play at almost any moment in the day. The Savannah Cat is a high energy cat breed that loves to run around and have fun. Owners have been successful in training this cat because the Savannah Cat is a very intelligent breed. |
Physical Attributes
| Appearance | The Savannahs' tall and slim build gives them the appearance of greater size than their actual weight. Size is very dependent on generation and sex, with F1 hybrid male cats usually being the largest. F1 and F2 generations are usually the largest, due to the stronger genetic influence of the African serval ancestor. Most first generation (F1 Savannah Cats) will possess many or all of exotic looking traits, while these traits often diminish in later generations. Male Savannahs tend to be larger than females. Early-generation Savannahs can weigh 14-25 pounds (6.3-11.3 kg), with the most weight usually attributed to the F1 or F2 neutered males due to genetics. Later-generation Savannahs are usually between 7 and 15 lbs (6.8 kg). Because of the random factors in Savannah genetics, size can vary significantly, even in one litter. The coat of a Savannah should have a spotted pattern, the only pattern accepted by the TICA breed standard. The spotted pattern is the only accepted pattern because it is the only pattern found on the African Serval Cat. Non-standard patterns & colours include: Rosetted, marble, snow colour (point), blue colour, cinnamon colour, chocolate colour, lilac(lavender) and other diluted colours derived from domestic sources of cat coat genetics. These nonstandard colours should be placed as pets only to be culled out of the gene pool. In order to achieve a spotted pattern early in the breed's development other spotted breeds such as the Bengal and Egyptian Mau were used. The International Cat Association (TICA) breed standard calls for brown-spotted tabby (cool to warm brown, tan or gold with black or dark brown spots), silver-spotted tabby (silver coat with black or dark grey spots), black (black with black spots), and black smoke (black-tipped silver with black spots) only. Domestic out-crosses from the early days in the 1990s have greatly impacted the breed's development in both desired and non-desired traits. As of 2012 most breeders perform Savannah to Savannah pairings; using out-crosses is considered less than desired. The domestic out-crosses for the Savannah breed that are permissible in TICA are the Egyptian Mau, the Ocicat, the Oriental Shorthair, and the Domestic Shorthair. Outcrosses that are "impermissible" according to the TICA breed standard breeds include the Bengal and Maine Coon cats. These impermissible breeds can bring many unwanted genetic influences. Outcrosses are very rarely used as of 2012, as many fertile savannah males are available for studs. Breeders prefer to use a Savannah with the serval to produce F1s, rather than a non-Savannah breed in order to maintain as much breed type as possible. A Savannah's exotic look is often due to the presence of many distinguishing serval characteristics. Most prominent of these include the various colour markings; tall, deeply cupped, wide, rounded, erect ears; very long legs; fat, puffy noses, and hooded eyes. The bodies of Savannahs are long and leggy; when a Savannah is standing, its hind-end is often higher than its prominent shoulders. The small head is taller than wide, and it has a long, slender neck. The backs of the ears have ocelli, a central light band bordered by black, dark grey or brown, giving an eye-like effect. The short tail has black rings, with a solid black tip. The eyes are blue as a kitten (as in other cats), and may be green, brown, gold or a blended shade as an adult. The eyes have a "boomerang" shape, with a hooded brow to protect them from harsh sunlight. Ideally, black or dark "tear-streak" or "cheetah tear" markings run from the corner of the eyes down the sides of the nose to the whiskers, much like that of a cheetah. |
| Health | Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a health concern in many pure breed cats. A link has recently been found between Bengal Cat (a similar hybrid) and HCM; there are cases that indicate that HCM may also be a reoccurring health issue in servals. Several responsible Bengal Breeders have their breeder cats scanned for HCM on an annual basis, though this practice is not as widespread in the Savannah community. Some veterinarians have noted servals have smaller livers relative to their body sizes than domestic cats, and some Savannahs inherit this, but the medical consequence of this is unrecognized and is likely to be of no consequence. There are no known medical peculiarities of hybrid cats requiring different medical treatments than that of domestic cats, despite what many breeders may believe. The blood values of Savannahs are not known to be different from the typical domestic cat, despite its serval genes. Like domestic cats, Savannahs and other domestic hybrids (such as Bengals) require appropriate anesthesia based on their medical needs but do not have specific requirements as breeders sometimes erroneously infer. It is unclear among the veterinary community how a particular anesthetic agent, specifically ketamine, has been listed as causing ill effects when this has not been found to be accurate. It is possible this comes from a misunderstanding of the drug and its common effects, since ketamine is an anesthetic that cannot be used alone. Ketamine has been proven safe, when used in servals, together with medetomidine (Domitor, Dorbene, Dormilan, Medetor, Sedastart, Sedator, Sededorm) and butorphanol (Alvegesic, Dolorex, Torbugesic, Torbutrol, Torphasol) with the antagonist atipamezole (Alzane, Antisedan, Atipam, Revertor, Sedastop). Dexmedetomidine (Dexdomitor) is a new version of medetomidine, with fewer side effects. Another inaccurate breeder recommendation is that of using only a killed vaccine. Modified live vaccines are appropriate for use in Savannahs and will not 'cause' the disease. Savannahs are not more or less sensitive than the general population of domestic cats to a vaccine reaction. Modified live vaccines induce much better immunity than killed vaccines, and many modified live vaccines have the desirable bonus of lacking an 'adjuvant', a component in killed vaccines that predisposes the cat to vaccine-associated sarcomas. In the United States rabies vaccines are recommended but not approved for non-domestic cats. If a non-domestic cat bites someone it will be treated as "unvaccinated" whether it has been given a vaccine or not. This means a state veterinarian may require a cat who has bitten someone to be euthanized or quarantined according to state laws. Some breeders state Savannah cats have no known special care or food requirements, while others recommend a very high quality diet with no grains or by-products. Some recommend a partial or complete raw feeding/raw food diet with at least 32% protein and no by-products. Some recommend calcium and other supplements, especially for growing cats and earlier generations. Others consider it unnecessary, or even harmful. Most Savannah breeders agree that Savannahs have a need for more taurine than the average domestic cat, and therefore recommend taurine supplements, which can be added to any food type. |
