Savannah cat breeds are super unique. If you have ever dreamed of owning a tiger that wouldn't necessarily be dangerous to keep around the house, Savannah cat breeds may be the answer for you.
Not only does their name sound very similar to Camilla Cabello's hit Havana, which we all probably listened to 100 times, but it also makes you think of the wild and untamed Savannahs in Africa.
Savannah cats are a hybrid cat breed. This means that they are the offspring of a domesticated cat and a serval.
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If you want to adopt one of these felines, you should definitely be aware of their various quirks.
A Savannah cats' temperament will depend on three main features:
Socialization
These three features follow the law of nature vs nurture. I will do my best to explain it down below.
First of all, it truly depends on how you raise them.
Just like with children, some Savannah cat breeds will turn out to be extremely shy and anti-social if you isolate them. The might even go as far as to hiss at strangers or people that they have just met.
On the other hand, many cats are out-going and social. They like making new friends. You have to continuously encourage this sort of behaviour.
Like many of my favourite cat breeds, these cats love following you around the house. Both of mine (they are strays though, so I am not quite sure what breed they are) will follow my husband and I EVERYWHERE.
Going to hang up some laundry to dry? They will be sitting right next to the laundry basket.
Cooking some delicious dinner? They are lulling around my ankles in the hope of getting some of it.
Going to the bathroom and- dare I say close the door- yep, instant mews of complaint from the other side.
However, this doesn't mean that Savannah cat breeds will be as clingy. I have just spoiled mine a little.
Here is also a little bit of proof how similar Savannah cat breeds are to dogs:
Like I mentioned above, due to the Savannah cats love for water they will sometimes shower with their humans and enjoy going for a bath. Quite unique, don't you think so?
Furthermore, they can be trained to walk on a leash, which if I think, is absolutely amazing! Imagine being able to take your beloved felines outdoors to show them the beautiful nature.
Lineage and Generation
A Savannah cat breeds lineage and generation is pretty much the tipping point.
As Savannah cats are a hybrid cat breed, this means that genetically they are 50% of each breed. This is why as the purity of serval dilutes, the more of a domesticated house cat they become. Savannah cat breeds are marked with fillial numbers to disntiguish between them.
For example, the direct offspring of a serval and a domesticated cat would be 50% each, and would be known as (F1).
However, (F1) are very difficult to produce as pregnancies may often endanger the mother cat and the male servals are very picky about choosing a mate.
There is some more science involved but I wont go into the details with it too much.
If breeding lines start from the earlier generations, such as the First filial (F1) or the Second filial (F2), their behaviour tends to gravitate more towards that of their Serval ancestor.
Said behaviour includes enhances fight or flight instincts, jumping, dominace and nurturing acts.
Most fertile males of later generations, such as (F5) and (F6) are used in breeding programs. This means that most later geneartions have more doemtictaed cat breed traits, in compare to the wilder ealier geneartions.
Interestinhgly, high activity and high curiousity were traist found in all genertions of Savannah cat breeds.
Even though some may find their fur colour to be boring, I definitely think it brings out their wild and free background. Colour variations include brown, silver, black and smoke.
Obviously, Savannah cat breeds are way larger than most other cats. As you can see, a (F1) Savannah cat is 2 inches (5.08 cm) bigger than the maximum of a domestic short hair breed.
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The have also inherited "Oceli marks"behind their ears, which in nature are used to scare of predators. In the icture below you should be able to see the ring-shaped features.
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Even though some scientisst may argue that the Ashera cat is only a ditinctive (F1) Savannah cat breed, they are a little bit different.
'Lifestyle Pets' a company that is based in Los Angeles developed this hybrid feline. It is also the same company which developed the first hypo-allergic cat about 13 years ago.
However, they do have a little bit of a drawback.
Unless you have about 125,000$, I don't think this is the cat breed for you.
Hopefully in the future they may become more affordable for everyday citizens, as they are a very interesting cat breed to have.
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On the other paw, Savannah cat breeds can be a little bit cheaper.
Well to be honest 12,000 to 20,000 $ for an (F1) kitten iss till quite a huge amount in my eyes, but since I got both of my angels for free I may be a little bit biased.
It mostly depends on the generation and gender.
Female Savannah cats cost more than males on average.
Furthermore, the higher the serval percentage (ie. the earlier the generation) the more expensive they are. An (F1) kitten can be more up to 10 times more expensive than an (F5) kitten.
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In conclusion, if you are interested in getting a loyal, active and generally fun to have around cat, here they are.
You can find this large beauty and many more in this article.
If you have a Savannah cat or have some more interesting facts about them leave them in the comments. Read you next time.