Serengeti Cat
Introduction The Serengenti Cat is a relatively new breed of exotic cat. There is an interest in wild cats and the keeping of them. This is seen in the popularity of the Serval (a tame wild cat) and other exotic hybrid cats cats such as the Safari Cat and Savannah.Development of this breed began in 1994 almost 20 years after the beginning of the development of the Bengal Cat by Jean Sudgen Mills. The founder of this breed is Karen Sausman and she has kindly allowed me to use her own photographs to illustrate this article. She has been in the breeding business for 40 years and breeds a lot more than cats. Karen Sausman has been showing dogs (whippets and Italian Greyhounds) since the '60s and also Fox Terriers. Karen also breeds Andalusian horses and Bengal cats. She has a lot of experience in breeding animals. Her website indicates to me a concerned and professional approach. Her
business, Kingsmark Cattery,
is located near Mountain
Center, California, which is about 20 miles as
the crow flies from Palm Springs. It looks a fairly remote and open
spot judging from Google maps. The cattery is TICA
and CFA registered.
Karen wanted to create a breed of domestic cat that looked, in part, like the Serval. The Savannah looks like the Serval because she is a hybrid cross between the Serval and a domestic cat.
However, Karen makes it clear that, unlike the Savannah, there is no wild blood (e.g. Serval blood) in the Serengeti Cat. Karen emphasises this point. This cat is a cross between the Bengal and the Oriental Shorthair. I am guessing here, but I suspect that Karen's belief that wild animals should not be kept as pets is carried forward into the firm conviction that the Serval should not be one of the parents of the Serengeti Cat. Although in breeding from a Bengal (a 4th generation Bengal has about 12% wild blood) there will be some wild blood in the Serengeti on the face of it. I personally agree that wild animals should not be kept as pets. Appearance The Serengeti Cat is tall and elegant, a domestic and smaller version of the African Serval almost. The colors are the same as for the Bengal.This cat has inherited genes from a wide range of domestic and wild cats. Apparently the American Serengeti has larger ears than the UK Serengeti as the foundation Orientals have larger ears. Breeding - Oriental Shorthair x Bengal Karen is keen to make clear that the ideal type of Oriental Shorthair has these characteristics:
These
two photographs of
an Oriental
Shorthair show
some of the characteristics that are looked upon
favorably by breeders of this cat. The positioning of the cats' ears
is notably different between these two Oriental Shorthair cats. The
ears in of the cat opposite are probably still not enough on top of the
head.
The Orientals used for foundation stock should have "extremely large ears". The other parent of this breed is the Bengal. I should think that you are all aware of the Bengal cat's appearance as it is a well known breed, so I won't reproduce a picture here; but please click on the link to see Bengal Cat pictures. The ideal Bengal characteristics would be those cats with:
I
have focused more than usual on the breeding
of the Serengeti cat as
this
is a relatively new breed. Karen has an excellent website, Kingsmark Farms, at
which you can go into more detail.
Got photographs of Serengeti cats you would like published? You'd like to promote your cattery? Please go to the forum for a user-friendly form to complete. Update: Lesley Dart of Neverneverland Serengti Cats has made a submission to the forum. Please see here article. She is the first to import a Serengeti cat from the USA and from the founder, Karen Sausman. Here are two Serengeti Cat breeders: Karakash Katz This breeder is based in Florida, USA. The site has an Alexa ranking and Google Page rank so looks OK, but check. Moonfruit This is a UK located breeder. I would suggest that you first contact Karen for guidance. Some of the breeders listed as Serengeti breeders on the internet actually weren't. Sources:
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