Bobcat too much for you? Still want a big-ass cat?

[Shakespeare]

Savannah Cats!




http://www.hdw-inc.com/savannahwhatis.htm

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.

[leftistagitator]

1. It's a bueatiful cat

I think I'll stick with the pound though. It's hard to justify encouraging the production of cats when we can't deal with all the ones we have. A wildcat family had kittens behind my grandmothers house a few years ago. There was about 15-20 kittens, and the pound was going to put them all to sleep immediately because there was simply no room for them. We had to spend several hours finding homes for the them, and ended up adopting the 4 we couldn't get rid of.

[Shakespeare]

2. There are also Savannah rescue organizations.

:eyes:

[leftistagitator]

6. I thought this was a new breed

As in, one that they are making for sale. I'm not saying it's bad to have a Savannah cat, I'm just saying that I perfer to take the cats that no one else wants. I like big cats so if someone had one that needed a home, I probably would adopt it if I could.

[Don_G]

3. Beautiful

But my rescue Maine Coon fills up the litter box faster than I can keep up at times in my Apartment.

[mmm]

4. There are many thousands of unwanted cats waiting for a home

It seems insane that the Persian cat has been
morphed into a breed with chronic sinus and eye problems.
Likewise, by morphing the Applehead strains into some of the
designer Siamese-like cats we have created species that would
have absolutely no chance of surviving on their own.

I have worked with Bengals and Savannahs. Most of the F1, F2,
and F3 cats I have seen are messed up. They have unpredicatable
personalities and digestive tract problems - often serious.
This is madness. Those who wish to interact with wild cats
should volunteer at a wild cat sanctuary. Those who wish to own
a housecat should adopt one.

[CatWoman]

5. good post, mmm

:thumbsup:

[Shakespeare]

8. oh, for godsakes.....

I posted this in FUN after the bobcat thread. I'm not urging everybody to rush out and plunk down $2000 for a Savannah cat, so save the lecture. I find the savannahs a fascinating breed, and they instantly came to mind after reading the other thread.

I DO know quite a bit about them, however, and know them to be extremely docile, healthy cats--responsible breeding is vital whether you're talking about a savannah cat or a french poodle. Bad breeding makes for unhealthy pets, period.

Both of my cats are rescue kitties, but if somebody wants a maine coon or some other specialized breed, then yay for them. They're wonderful animals, and if you work with a good breeder, you can buy one of them with a clear conscience.

Geez.

[Shakespeare]

7. More interesting facts about Savannahs

They're extremely mild-tempered, and get on well with dogs, children and other cats. They seem to take on the temperament of the domestic cat, and the size of the serval.

They're an occurrence of what's called hybrid vigor: The observation that in some circumstances, the heterozygotes in a population have higher fitness than the homozygotes; for example they grow better, are better able to survive, and/or are more fertile than the homozygotes. The effect of heterosis can also apply to hybrids (thus "hybrid vigor"). In other words, the result of this cross-breeding is an exceptionally healthy ahimal. Also known as heterosis.