The Savannah CatApril 7th, 1986 was an auspicious day for Judee Frank. A Bengal breeder, Frank had stepped away from her main breed of cat, crossbreeding an African wild cat, the Serval, with a domestic. April 7th brought her plans to fruition with the birth of Savannah, the first of a new hybrid breed.
Beautiful Savannah caught the eye of Patrick Kelly, a long-time enthusiast of exotic-looking domestic cats, who then purchased a second-generation hybrid - one of Savannah's kittens - in 1989. His enthusiasm for this new domestic breed was boundless. Kelly dug into research to find what was needed for Savannah and her children to be recognized by an official feline registry.
Kelly met with several Serval breeders, attempting to develop interest in creating more of this exotic breed. Although none were interested initially, he continued. He went to cat shows; he made phone calls. Finally, he managed to convince one breeder, Joyce Sroufe, in founding the breed now known as Savannah.
Together, Patrick Kelly and Joyce Sroufe laid out the original Savannah breed standard. In 1996, they brought it to the TICA (The International Cat Association) board. Unfortunately, TICA had put a freeze on new breeds early that year. It took four more years before Savannah would be recognized.
In 2000, after the standard had been rewritten with input from other breeders, TICA accepted the Savannah breed in a tight 7-to-6 vote. SIMBA (the Savannah International Member and Breeder Association), was formed as soon as the votes were cast. At it's first count, SIMBA boasted a little over 100 registered Savannahs. Within a year, the number of Savannahs had more than doubled.
Although the breed is still somewhat in its infancy, the number of people wanting to own a Savannah cat is large. Already, dozens of breeders have turned to breeding Savannahs. There are over 60 breeders worldwide, in North America as well as Europe.
Tall and long, Savannah's have been described as dogs in cat skins. They're sociable, graceful and love to play in water; some would rather swim in a bathtub than play other games. Owners have said that the Savannah's will follow them through the house like a dog, and they are easily trained to leashes.
Through careful breeding, Savannahs have been improved to be more acceptable as a domestic cat, crossing them with spotted domestic shorthairs. Although F1 (first generation) Savannahs can weight as much or more than 20 pounds, F4s and later are smaller - though still a bit bigger than regular domestics. Large and loveable, Savannahs have been bred to keep both traits, while getting rid of some of the less desirable traits found in their wild Sevral ancestors.
One of the traits that have made the breed so popular for many cat lovers - its size - has also brought it plenty of controversy. In New York, the breed is considered a wild, exotic animal, which is prohibited by state law. The breed is also considered illegal in Alaska, because it can survive in the wild and might be "a threat to natural Alaskan wildlife".
The Australian government banned the import of the breed, concerned that its wild ancestry might be passed on to feral domestic cats. Should the breed get loose and reproduce, many fear the possibility of creating "supercats" - big, smart and wild. It has only been since 2006 that Australia finally lifted the ban on Savannah import and allowed the breed into the country.
Beautiful Savannah caught the eye of Patrick Kelly, a long-time enthusiast of exotic-looking domestic cats, who then purchased a second-generation hybrid - one of Savannah's kittens - in 1989. His enthusiasm for this new domestic breed was boundless. Kelly dug into research to find what was needed for Savannah and her children to be recognized by an official feline registry.
Kelly met with several Serval breeders, attempting to develop interest in creating more of this exotic breed. Although none were interested initially, he continued. He went to cat shows; he made phone calls. Finally, he managed to convince one breeder, Joyce Sroufe, in founding the breed now known as Savannah.
Together, Patrick Kelly and Joyce Sroufe laid out the original Savannah breed standard. In 1996, they brought it to the TICA (The International Cat Association) board. Unfortunately, TICA had put a freeze on new breeds early that year. It took four more years before Savannah would be recognized.
In 2000, after the standard had been rewritten with input from other breeders, TICA accepted the Savannah breed in a tight 7-to-6 vote. SIMBA (the Savannah International Member and Breeder Association), was formed as soon as the votes were cast. At it's first count, SIMBA boasted a little over 100 registered Savannahs. Within a year, the number of Savannahs had more than doubled.
Although the breed is still somewhat in its infancy, the number of people wanting to own a Savannah cat is large. Already, dozens of breeders have turned to breeding Savannahs. There are over 60 breeders worldwide, in North America as well as Europe.
Tall and long, Savannah's have been described as dogs in cat skins. They're sociable, graceful and love to play in water; some would rather swim in a bathtub than play other games. Owners have said that the Savannah's will follow them through the house like a dog, and they are easily trained to leashes.
Through careful breeding, Savannahs have been improved to be more acceptable as a domestic cat, crossing them with spotted domestic shorthairs. Although F1 (first generation) Savannahs can weight as much or more than 20 pounds, F4s and later are smaller - though still a bit bigger than regular domestics. Large and loveable, Savannahs have been bred to keep both traits, while getting rid of some of the less desirable traits found in their wild Sevral ancestors.
One of the traits that have made the breed so popular for many cat lovers - its size - has also brought it plenty of controversy. In New York, the breed is considered a wild, exotic animal, which is prohibited by state law. The breed is also considered illegal in Alaska, because it can survive in the wild and might be "a threat to natural Alaskan wildlife".
The Australian government banned the import of the breed, concerned that its wild ancestry might be passed on to feral domestic cats. Should the breed get loose and reproduce, many fear the possibility of creating "supercats" - big, smart and wild. It has only been since 2006 that Australia finally lifted the ban on Savannah import and allowed the breed into the country.
