EARLY GENERATION SAVANNAHS
In the UK

I have written this article to help prospective Savannah purchasers to decide which generation of cat they 'need'.

It is a commonly perceived notion that Savannahs are enormous cats that are gargantuan in proportion, and dwarf other pedigree cats and moggies. This is not necessarily, or even usually, true.

How big will the Savannah get?

If you are particularly keen to buy a Savannah that is large in size as well as large in style, you need to consider buying an earlier generation Savannah between F1 and F3. Most commonly the larger cats, by fluke of genes, are usually males of the F1-F3 generation. The average Savannah outside of these generations are not significantly larger than other breeds, or moggies. These larger Savannahs are rare, particularly in the UK, and they are in extremely high demand.

In the UK you would need to keep an F1 Savannah using a DWA license.

However F2s and F3s need no such licence.

Officially the largest pet cat in the world - the F1 Savannah.
Confirmed by the Guiness Book of World Records (TM).

Photo credits to Kathrin Stucki of A1Savannahs, OK, USA
Pictured is A1Savannahs Scarlett's Magic, aged 18 months - with Leonie Stucki
Now owned by Kim and Lee Draper

Buyer Tips

Welcome to our buyer tips section for early generation Savannah lovers!

1. The very first thing you need to do, if purchasing an early generation Savannah - particularly from the UK, where these cats are very rare still - is ask to see the Dam's TICA certified pedigree. TICA certified pedigrees have the words 'The International Cat Association Certified pedigree' across the top with a silver TICA sticker to the top right of the pedigree.

You need to find a Serval on there. This is denoted by either the word 'Serval', or the code 'SZ'. I have attached two examples of these below.

Above left you will find the TICA certified pedigree of our F2 Savannah, Zema. Note that in Zema's case you can see her grandfather, Derk of NewHorizon, clearly stated as a Serval (underlined). In our F4 Regal Beauty's pedigree (above right) you will see the same Serval denoted as 'SZ (also underlined)'. Both 'Serval' and 'SZ' means Serval. Because Zema is an F2 cat you will see that 'Derk of NewHorizon' is listed as her grandfather. Because Regal is an F4 you will see the same cat, Derk, listed as her Great, Great Grandfather.

It is imperative for you, as an early generation Savannah buyer, to find the Serval in the ancestry, denoted either with the word 'Serval' or the code 'SZ'. Do not accept anything less. You must see that Serval in the ancestry! Remember, if a cat's information is 'unavailable' it just means that it is ... unavailable! Not that there is a wildcat in the ancestry - look for the Serval!

Busting Breeding Jargon!

Beware of awkward breeder jargon! A 'second/third generation outcross' does NOT mean a second/third generation (from the Serval) cat. It means that the cat has Savannah in his or her pedigree for the last two or three generations and nothing more.

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2. Do not believe the media hype. Savannahs have been nicknamed "Supercats" by the press. The term 'Supercats' could only possibly be applied to generations F1-F3 and even then, there are no guarantees of size. You will not find a cat of a later generation (F4 onwards) that reaches the sizes talked about in the press. Although there are some large and beautiful later generation cats you will be disappointed if you expect these cats to reach the gargantuan sizes quoted in the article of 35lb! Here is the first in a line of articles that coined the phrase 'Supercats' . Pictured at the top of the page is me and my cat Annie. Annie is an F2 female, of average to large size for an F2 female.

3. Beware of inflated price tags! With the media quoting prices of £6,000, they may have inadvertently put up the prices of the later generation cats, which are not ones you should be buying if you want to focus on size. You can expect to pay a high price tag for an early generation cat with a reasonable expectation that these cats are going to be larger than average. How much you pay for your later generation cat is entirely up to you, but bear in mind that you could be disappointed by their size, if you are paying just for that.

4. If you have decided the early generation Savannah is for you - before going on a waiting list and handing over a deposit, check the breeder has produced at least one early generation litter. These kittens are extremely hard to produce. You could be waiting a long while if the breeder has not already produced a successful litter out of their queen(s) and their stud(s). These kittens are rare in the UK, and will continue to be so for a long while because of the complexities of successfully mating an early generation Savannah girl with her partner. My best advice to you is buy a cat that exists.

We are now done with our buyer tips for now, so let's get onto the issue of money!

Why is the Savannah so expensive?!

The main reason for this goes back to the production of the foundation cat (Serval x Domestic), and with male fertility issues. Male Savannahs are not fertile until the F5/F6 generation - although there have been a handful of fertile F4 males they are very few and far between.

The foundation cat (Serval x Domestic) is very hard to produce, because of the difficulties of successfully hybridising and then breeding the male Serval with his domestic partner. As you get further down the generations from the Serval, the breeding becomes easier and the price goes down. However early generation Savannahs will produce small litters, and much less frequently than a domestic cat does.

Another reason for the price of the Savannah being high is because of the difficulty of producing these cats - there aren't that many breeders out there worldwide, able to produce early generation Savannahs - so the old question of supply and demand affects the price.

AND FINALLY!

Meet the Savannah Ancestor - The African Serval!
(Please note we do not sell Servals at Teardrops!!)

Serval Cubs

Pictures above reproduced with permission of A1 Savannahs

Serval cub pictures taken from strawbell cats