Living With Savannah Cats
A1 Supremes Savannah Cat - photo copyright Kathrin Stucki
Living with Savannah cats particularly the F1 and F2 Savannahs, is not quite the same as living with your usual domestic cat. The wild cats are considered more intelligent that domestic cats because of the extra demands placed on them in order to survive in the wild. This is handed down to the closer fillials (generations) such as the F1 and F2s. As expected, therefore, they are intelligent, which brings more excitement for us and intelligent cats really need a little (lots?) more input from us to arrest the onset of boredom (for the Savannah cat that is!).
They demonstrate a high level of devotion to their human companion. This reflects what Helmi and Ken Flick said about keeping a Chausie F1, another wild cat hybrid of similar personality. They found the F1 Chausie demanding and in exactly the same way they create (demand) a close bond with their human companion.
The F2 Savannah cat is more likely to be an alpha cat. If there is more than one cat in the household, the pecking order starts at the top, the Savannah. They get first call on whatever is going or happening. Living with Savannah cats one can experience the dog like characteristics of this breed, playing fetch, being more leash trainable (see Chausie F1 on leash) than normal and panting like a dog when you have worn her/him out (although panting is common to all domestic cats but rarely seen).
They communicate with an unusual meow and as they are descended from the Serval, a fantastic jumper, the Savannah too is an athletic jumper. Christmas trees watch out! There will be no hesitation in climbing it. Intelligence also brings the demands of playtime. The Savannah is likely to turn anything we do into an opportunity to play, hunt and hide the prey.
Like everything in life, living Savannah cats carries more demands than usual but more rewards follow.
Living with Savannah Cats to Savannah cat
See wild cat hybrids
The Adventures of Songha: The Amazing Savannah Cat
