by Lauren
(Norwich)
F1 Savannah Magic and Leonie Stucki daughter of Marting and Kathrin Stucki of A1 Savannahs. Photo copyright Kathrin Stucki
I have three questions about the F1 Savannah cat. What is the biggest an F1 Savannah can get on average? Do they need a large humongous space or cat it just be a reasonable space? What would happen if they ate chocolate or sugar or certain human foods?
xxx
Email me at: xxxemolilchickxxx@yahoo.co.uk
xxxLauren
Hi Lauren..... Thanks for visiting and asking. I decided to answer your questions on the same page as it the questions and answers might be of interests to other visitors.
By the way the best people to ask are Martin and Kathrin Stucki of A1 Savannahs in Ponca City, Oklahoma, USA. The gentleman who owns Titan might also be a person who could advise (he is the person who is on the other end of Titan's leash in the shop)
Answering in the order in which the questions are presented:
-- Well we know that the biggest is 17.1 inches at the shoulder and you have seen a video of Magic I am pretty sure. But, Magic is not an average cat so we can guess that the biggest on average that a Savannah F1 can get is say about 10% or so less than Magic. There are three F1 Savannah cats on this site, Magic (the world's tallest pet cat), Titan (a sub-adult male F1) and a breeding grey F1 Savannah in an enclosure at A1 Savannahs (you can see them all on the Savannah cat page. I suspect you have already seen them. Here is the young F1 Savannah female and an F5 male:
I see the F1 Savannah cat as the approximate size of an average dog rather than a cat. Although dogs size varies enormously.
-- F1 Savannahs are domestic cats, albeit they require more input as they are in my view more demanding on account of their size, intelligence and activity levels but I don't believe that they are that different to other domestic cats provided that they are socialised as well as Titan and Magic. I think this is a very important point. You don't want a semi-wild cat in the house.
As to space, I think that if one is going for an ideal you need a decent sized house, plus a large enclosure for security. You simply cannot let an F1 Savannah wander around like an indoor/outdoor cat. This is to protect the cat. That means enclosures and leash training. Actually, in my personal opinion I don't think that you can keep a cat of this type unless you have a decent amount of money, a large house, a large secure area with the house and a good bit of time to give to the cat.
As you can see Titan, the young boy is happy to go shopping on a leash. And he certainly causes a bit of a stir.
Some people don't like the idea of a cat on a leash and I can understand that but it is a very practical and sensible solution for a cat such as this as it allows for safe outdoor activity. On the following page, you can see an F1 Chausie on a leash.
-- The dietary hazards (chocolate can be toxic to cats) are the same as far as I am aware as for other cats. I have not heard that sugar is toxic to cats but cats do not have a nose for sugar (i.e. don't have a sweet tooth). This would indicate that cats are not usually attracted to sweet food. See cats cannot taste sweet food (new window).
See Cats and Chocolate.
I hope this helps but as I said the best people to ask as those who live with F1 Savannahs and there are not many people like that.
There has to be a high level of commitment from the person before considering sharing a home with such a cat.
From A Few Questions About F1 Savannah Cats to Savannah cats
