Savannah F1

History of origin

The origin of the Savannah F1 cat is America. By the mid-80s of the last century, the American continent had many catteries who had been trying to breed miniature "cheetahs" - serval.

One of the owners of such institution, Judy Frank, once asked Susie Wood one of the cats of this breed. She needed a male for one of her cats. But not only her “cheetah” cats called an interest from the well-bred male, but her homemade Siamese cat too.

After some time on April 7, 1986 she had a kitten, colored pretty wild spotted, weighing about 227 grams (or 8 oz). It was a female, she had long legs and big ears. It turned out a kind of hybrid Siamese cat and a serval cat. The kitten was named – Savannah (F1).

After 3 years, the cat grown-up and gave a birth to kittens from an Angora male cat. They represented a second generation of Savannah (F2). After that Judy decided to write an article about her pets. But her plans were disturbed by Patrick Kelly, who became interested in this breed. Together with the breeder Joyce Srouf, they decided to improve it. Thus, a completely new unique breed of cats appeared - Savannah.

In the story, Simon Brody, the deceiver, should be mentioned. Using the rarities of Savannahs, he tried to fraud Savannah F1 as the supposedly newly bred breed called "Asher". Simon still trades in fraud and is hiding from government officials.

In 1996, TICA identified the core standards of the breed.

Description of the Savannah breed

The derivation of this species is primarily due to their original appearance. Similarity with the wild beast of the African continent and the character of the domestic cat, makes them attractive to connoisseurs of exotic animals.

Cheetah cat color and incredible grace are the main distinguishing features of the Savannah.

According to the official classification there are certain common features:

• The head is relatively small in relation to the rest of the body. In general outline resembles a triangle with equal sides.
• Ears are characterized by rounded tips without brushes and a wide base. Light spots on the outer side of the ears, shows the pure blooded specie of the breed.
• Vibrissa cushions are not expressed brightly.
• Savannahs have a beautiful eye shape. The upper part reminds a boomerang, the lower part has the shape of an almond. The distance between them is equal to their size. Color does not depend on the color of the body and differs from yellow to green and copper.
• Nose wide and slightly convex. Nose color does not depend color of the body, but if the cat is dark colored, then the nose tip is usually dark shade.
• The kitten become fully developed only at age of 3 years. The size of the adult cat reaches up to 0.5 meters tall, the average weight is about 14 kg.
• Savannah features is an athletic build. They have a powerful chest, developed shoulders and hips.
• Savannahs has slender and elongated limbs. It is possible to notice strongly expressed muscles on limbs. The front legs are shorter than the rear legs. The size of the paws is small, they are oval.
• The length of the tail is such that when the animal is standing, it does not touch the floor. The tail has an average thickness, narrowing is closer to the tip. Color predominantly bright with deep contrast spots.
• The Savannah hair does not look like a hair of normal cat. The density of the fur is the same throughout the all body. It is more elastic, coarse and dense, with a soft undercoat.

Color features

Color can only be spotted or marbled. there should be no stains in the form of rosettes, like cats of Bengal breed, or any strips.

Spots in Savannas are of completely different size. They are placed around the body chaotically. On the paws, muzzle and tummy they are smaller. However, they are the same color: brown or black. According to experts, the pattern that adorns the coat depends on the genetic characteristics of the male cat taken for breeding.

Color of Savannah:

• Golden or different shades of brown
• Silver

The main signs of disqualification for the Savannah are the presence of white spots on the chest, tiger coloring, as well as spots other than black or brown color.

Temper

This breed is very easy to train. They can do different commands (for example, "Fetch").

Savannah is curious and sociable. They get on well with all members of the family. They treat the stranger carefully enough. If there are any other animals in the house, the Savannah will certainly take the lead. A special favor Savannahs fell on dogs.

Health

There are no any genetic diseases specific for this breed of cats. To ensure good health, it is necessary to carry out a timely vaccination and purification from parasites, like ordinary pets. The average life expectancy of Savannahs is about 20 years.

Care and maintenance

There are a little difference in caring from a common cat. This breed does not tolerate for a cold, but very much like water procedures. If there is such an opportunity, let the pet swim in the pond or splash in the bath.

They are very active and jumps high. It would be better to move all fragile and valuable items to a height of more than 3 m. For the safety of the cat, get rid of such poisonous plants as violets, spurge, as well as diffenbachia or monsters.

There no special hair treatment required, to comb once a week is enough. Placing in an aviary can substitute a long walks.

Feeding

It is not recommended to feed "domestic cheetah" with food containing a high percentage of grain, as the digestive system of the animal is not able to digest this product. You should not give milk, sour-milk products, otherwise there is a risk of getting a digestive disorder.

Savannahs are predators, so it is best to give them bejesus (hearts, stomachs, etc.). The pet will not refuse from chicken mince. A ready-made balanced dry food can be a good solution. But then get only high-quality premium products.

Where to buy Savannah kitten?

Our Savannahs are brought from the cattery "Select Exotics", one of the oldest and largest in the USA, engaged in Savannahs for over 20 years, and the Austrian "Akimba", the breeders of which use the lines of the American cattery "A1 Savannahs".

IMPORTANT! The F1 mark is assigned only to the first generation of cross breed (50% of the serval blood). Next - F1 and a domestic cat cross, is marked as F2 (that is already 25% of the genes of the serval). This continues until the F5 generation. The higher the figure, the less the uniqueness of the species and the lower its cost. There is another issue that male savannahs up to F4 cannot give offspring.

Savannah is considered the most expensive breed of cats. And this is not accidental. There is a lot of factors that cause high price, the most important of them is the complication of obtaining offspring from the serval and the cat. Not every male serval is ready to couple with a domestic cats, and even if this happens, it is not a fact that the cat can bear and give birth to viable kittens. The deviation in the number of days of pregnancy affects: the female serval walks pregnant 75-77 days, and the domestic cat - 60-65.

Savannah's photos of our cattery