Cat breed
The Savannah is a breed of hybrid cat developed in the late 20th century from hybridisation of a serval (Leptailurus serval) with a domestic cat (Felis catus). This hybridisation typically produces large and lean offspring, with the serval's characteristic large ears and markedly black spotted coats. F1 and F2 male Savannahs can be very large, and in 2016 an F2 male attained a world record for tallest cat at 48.4 centimetres (19.1 in). However, show-eligible F4–F5 cats range from 5.0–8.2 kilograms (11.0–18.1 lb), and therefore comparable in size to other large domestic cat breeds such as the Maine Coon or Norwegian Forest cat.
Behaviour: Many Savannah cats do not fear water, and will play in or even immerse themselves in water.
Savannahs, particularly the earlier generations, can sometimes exhibit undesirable wild or territorial behaviours, and in males, aggression and marking. Problems with litter box training are a common cause of owners abandoning or surrendering them to rescue centres.
Size: The Savannah's tall and slim build give them the appearance of greater size than their actual weight. Size is very dependent on generation and sex. Early (F1–F2) generations are usually the largest due to the stronger genetic influence of the African serval ancestor, usually weighing 4.5–[dose — ask your vet] (9.9–24.3 lb), although there is considerable financial incentive for breeders to produce F1 cats as large as possible; some are the size of dogs and can weigh [dose — ask your vet] (40 lb) or more, and in the US can fetch very high prices. Later-generation Savannahs are comparable in size to other large domestic cat breeds, weighing usually between 3.5–[dose — ask your vet] (7.7–18.1 lb). Like most cat breeds, males tend to be larger than females, and as with other hybrid cat breeds such as the Chausie and Bengal, most F1 Savannah cats will possess many of the exotic traits from the wild (serval) ancestor, which recede in later generations.
Coat: The coat of a Savannah should have a spotted pattern, the only pattern accepted by the TICA breed standard. The standard also allows four colours: black spotted tabby (cool to warm brown, tan or gold with black or dark brown spots), black 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).
Other, non-standard patterns and colours can occur, including rosettes, marble, "snow" (point), blue, cinnamon, chocolate, lilac (lavender) and other diluted colours derived from domestic sources of cat coat genetics.
Health: Savannah cats are more likely to develop hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) than other domestic breeds. The Savannah Cat Association recommends cats are screened for HCM, as well as progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) and pyruvate kinase deficiency (PK-Def), which can cause blindness and anaemia, respectively.
Savannahs and servals have similar anaesthesia requirements to other domestic cat breeds, including hybrids; ketamine, medetomidine, butorphanol, and atipamezole antagonist have all been found safe for use in servals.
History: On 7 April 1986, Judee Frank hybridised a male serval, belonging to Suzi Wood, with a Siamese domestic cat to produce the first Savannah cat, a female named Savannah. That first Savannah was bred with a Turkish Angora male and gave birth to viable F2 kittens in April 1989. 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 (TICA). In 2001, the board accepted it as a new registered breed, and in May 2012, TICA granted the Savannah with championship status (for F4 and later generations).
