Savannahs are developed by crossing an African Serval with a domestic cat, typically a Bengal, Egyptian Mau, or Oriental Shorthair. As with the Bengal, there are difficulties developing first generation Savannahs because in order to do so, an African Serval, which is a forty pound, fairly unpredictable and undomesticated cat, must be bred to a domestic cat. There are many difficulties with this. First, the gestation period is different for Servals and domestic cats. Second, there is a large size difference between the two cats, and third, the Serval must often times be raised from kitten-hood with each of the females that it will be bred to so that it does not become agressive with them. Another difficulty with breeding Savannahs is that the males are sterile and cannot reproduce until they are 4 or 5 generations removed from the Serval. Thus, it is usually 5 generations before there can be a Savannah to Savannah breeding.
When litters are successful, the result is a beautiful, long-legged, long-bodied, long-necked, and large eared domestic Savannah Cat that resembles the Serval but that is docile and affectionate. Savannahs differ in size, but generally weigh approximately 25 pounds, which is the largest hybrid cat available. They are lanky rather than stalky like the Bengal. The goal of Savannah breeders is to create a beautiful domestic cat which has physical features distinctive to the Serval cat, and with the dependable personality of a domestic cat.
As explained above, a first generation Savannah is 50% Serval, 50% domestic cat. These are referred to as F1s. F2s, or second generation Savannahs, are 25% Serval, 75% domestic cat. F3s are 12.5% Serval, and so on. This is the most simple way to understand the generations. The explanation may, however, become slightly more complicated when an F1 is bred to a Serval, resulting in a cat that is 75% Serval and is really an F2.
We chose to purchase an F2 for our first breeder, as there may be more difficulties in breeding F1s over an F2, the personality of F1s are somewhat more Serval-like, and because we wanted to start with something that would give us farther removed, more docile kittens with the wonderful appearance of a Serval.
