Hybrid Cat Acts Like A Dog

Hybrid Cat Acts Like A Dog AG WORLD 29-5-21 Savannah cats are as big as many dogs and they often act like them, too, according to Joyce Sroufe, a leading developer of the new breed. With their 20-year life span, owning a Savannah is a long term commitment, she says. "They are very dog-like," says Sroufe. "They trot along behind you like a dog and they like to play fetch and romp in the water. They can learn to shake paws and they like to walk on a harness." The cats, which can get up to 25 lbs. and 30 in. or more in length, are a cross between an exotic wild cat breed called "servals," and domestic cats. The combination of a distinctive spotting pattern and their gentle disposition has made them a popular alternative for people who want an exotic pet. "Not everyone can deal with a true wild cat like a bobcat or a lynx," explains Sroufe. "And in the last ten years, a lot of states have passed laws making it impossible to own a full blooded wild cat. Hybrid cats like the Savannah can fill the need." Even if owning wild or even half wild cats is legal in your state, breeding the cats is anything but easy. For a first generation cross, a wild male serval has to be raised from a kitten with the domestic cats he will be bred to. The initial cross has to be male serval and female domestic, as 90 percent of domestic males don't recognize when a female serval is in heat. Even those that do are usually too small to mount the larger females. A successful breeding does not ensure live births. "We get a lot of premature births, as domestic females don't carry their kittens as long as a serval," says Sroufe. "It took me four years to get my first live litter. In the first generation cross, you may get only two litters a year and then only get one to two kittens that survive." Once a first generation Savannah female has been produced, it can be bred back to a serval or a domestic. Savannah males are infertile until the fifth generation of Savannah/domestic breeding. It is only then that they can be shown at cat shows as a true breed. The difficulty in breeding the hybrid cats adds to their attraction for many people. It also adds to their price. Sroufe says first generation Savannahs bring as much as $8,000, while a sterile first generation male may fetch $4,000. Fertile fifth generation males sell for $5,000 on up. She emphasizes that even at these prices, this is no get-rich-quick scheme. Unfortunately, the high cost has brought out the con men. "There are people who will sell regular pound cats or domestic breeds with spots for a little under what a true breeder will charge," warns Sroufe. "People need to know who they are dealing with." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Joyce Sroufe, 7750 W. Riverview, Ponca City, Okla. 74601 (ph 580 765-6907; joyce@exotic cats.com).

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