I Think I Have a Savannah Cat

by Abby
(GA)

Savannah cat?

Two useful tags. Click either to see the articles: Toxic to cats | Dangers to cats

Savannah cat?

I think I have a Savannah cat… He is only 5 months old but has exhibited odd behaviors and is large for his age. He is very wild like, loves water, and has hissed before. His meow is also odd. He looks just like one but I guess I just can’t believe that I got him from a pet store in Georgia for free!

Hi Abby: Thanks for sharing. He could well be a Savannah or a mixed Savannah/moggie. He’s almost certainly a tabby random bred cat (a moggy).

However, sometimes people give up the wildcat hybrids because of perceived behavioral problems. Another lady picked up a stray cat that has all the appearance of being a Sokoke a rare purebred cat. Or the cat she found and now cares for might be a Bengal or Savannah mix (this is her submission). It is not, it seems that rare for this too happen. There is also such a thing as purebred rescue as I am sure you know….Michael (P.S. I changed the title so Google might find this page better. Hope you don’t mind).

Comments for
I Think I Have a Savannah Cat

Click here to add your own comments

Dec 27, 2010 i cant tell if my cat is a savannah cat or bengal
by: Anonymous

hello i just got this cat for free he thinks a bengal but im not sure so here is some pictures and she does kind have that wild side you can tell she is not your typically cat but she is very loving and jumps into your knees and a very loud meow and hisses alot for no reason… i hope you can tell me what i have


Useful tag. Click to see the articles: Cat behavior

Note: sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified.
Useful links
Anxiety - reduce it
FULL Maine Coon guide - lots of pages
Children and cats - important

Michael Broad

Hi, I'm a 74-year-old retired solicitor (attorney in the US). Before qualifying I worked in many jobs including professional photography. I love nature, cats and all animals. I am concerned about their welfare. If you want to read more click here.

You may also like...

168 Responses

  1. Louise Bristow says:

    Hi I rescued a male cat and I would like your opinion on his breed, he is an amazing boy very special to us

    • Michael Broad says:

      Hi Louise. Sorry for the slow response. He looks like a standard tabby cat to me. Very handsome, very special and loved. The last bit is the important bit 🙂

      It is very unlikely that he is a Savannah cat because they are very expensive and don’t find themselves in a position where they need to be rescued and also there’d be a certificate of family lineage certifying that he is purebred. Finally, although Savannah cats are tabbies they are a bit different because of selective breeding. Sorry if I have disappointed you. Thanks for asking.

  2. Abby says:

    Is this a mixed Savannah are a Egyptian Mau

  3. Abby says:

    What breed is this he makes chiping sounds

    • Michael Broad says:

      Hi Abby making chirping sounds is normal for any domestic cat, really. He looks like a very fine spotted tabby random bred cat and therefore not a member of a cat breed. That’s my guess from the picture. He has a beautiful coat.

      • Anonymous says:

        He has a Egyptian Mau Beetle scalp

        • Michael Broad says:

          I think you are referring to the tabby ‘M’ mark. This is normal for all tabby cats and the Egyptian Mau is a tabby cat. The point to make is that if a cat is purebred the ‘owner’ will know because she’ll have a pedigree to prove it. Sometimes rescue cats are pedigree cats but rarely. There are also lots of pedigree-mix cats – one removed from being purebred. Thanks for sharing.

      • Abby says:

        Why dose he have the Egyptian mua cat Beetle scalp he just don’t got the M Behind the Is a full Beetle scalp

  4. Nikita says:

    Was told his dad is a Savannah.

  5. Kerri says:

    Hello! We just recently rescued this beautiful cat and her four newborn kittens! I’m just curious as to what bred she may be. I’ve only had for a few days so we are still getting to know each other, but so far she is very friendly! Any thoughts on what she could possibly be linked to, if anything? Thanks!

    • Michael Broad says:

      Hi Kerri, she is a tabby random bred – probably a mackerel tabby but I can’t see her coat fully to be sure. She looks like my cat. The mackerel tabby is the original domestic cat. The one that goes all the way back 10,000 years to the first domestic cats. Thanks for sharing.

  6. Juliett says:

    last week we bought a kitten, 9 weeks old. The lady seemed suspicious, not very nice, besides selling kittens cheaper than usual, she sent her little daughter to show us the kitten. No paperwork of course.. but she claimed it’s a pure F5 Savannah cat.
    So I wonder, is it a real Savannah? Whether he is or not we still love him regardless. just curious. this is our first time buying a cat.

    • Michael Broad says:

      Hi Juliett, thanks for visiting and asking. Your cat could be an F5 Savannah cat. Savannahs have spotted tabby coats. The coat looks a bit too long. Without papers showing pedigree you have to say your cat is a tabby cat. A very beautiful cat.

      Below is a picture I took of an F2 (second filial) Savannah cat that I took years ago. You can see the similarity. But I can’t say if he/she is a Savannah cat or not based on this nice photo).

  7. Nuria says:

    Hello,
    I just adopted this kitten with a beautiful coat. I’m courious what may be in his genes. Would you say he is a spotted tabby, Ociat mix or could he have some Bengal? I’m very curious to hear your comments.
    Thanks,
    Nuria

    • Nuria says:

      Here is another picture:

    • Michael Broad says:

      Hi Nuria. He is a special looking spotted tabby cat because of the very high contrast pattern. You only get this sort of contrast with selective breeding usually. I would guess he could be a Bengal mix. Bengal breeders like high contrast and glamor coats which is what he has. The small wild cats have high contrast coats. A super looking cat and tabby coats like this are unusual. Thanks for posting.

  8. Stephanie says:

    My neighbors own and operate a junkyard of sorts, and received a call about an abandoned van. They picked it up and towed it away. When they opened it up, this beautiful cat was inside! She’s really thin and malnourished but so sweet and curious. Vocal too. I Think she may be a Savannah mix, what do you think?

    • Michael Broad says:

      She looks like a purebred Bengal cat to me. She is not a Savannah because of the doughnut rosettes (hollow tabby spots). She’s certainly a Bengal and quite valuable (nice example and complies with breed standard as far as I can tell). Love her and care for her. She looks super. How they abandoned her like this is beyond me. Thanks Stephanie.

      • Stephanie says:

        Thank you so much! I wasn’t sure, but she looked very special to me. I also can’t fathom how anyone could leave this sweet girl! Believe me, she will be loved and cared for. She has her furever home now! ?

  9. Jenni says:

    Can anyone comment on my cat? We got him as a kitten at a shelter and he and his sister had been rescued with no mother cat in sight. I always thought he was a little bit wild and one day I saw a picture of a black serval cat and thought it looked like him. The more I investigated I truly felt like he was a Savannah cat. Does anyone have an opinion? Thanks

    • Jenni says:

      Here’s another photo, his ears are constantly going in different directions and seem larger than the typical cat.

      • Michael Broad says:

        Hi Jenni, he has an interesting coat. He is not a Savannah cat and has no Savannah cat genes in my opinion. He is a random bred cat but his coat is unusual. The photo is not quite good enough in terms of clarity to comment fully on the coat. As to body conformation he is pretty standard random bred. Many thanks for sharing by the way.

        • Jenni says:

          Thanks so much for your comment. I have attached another pic with a better view of his coat.

          • Michael Broad says:

            Jenni, I’ll stick my neck out and say that I believe he is a melanistic tabby. In other words he has a gene that makes his tabby coat charcoal black, the same gene that makes the jaguar and leopard black panthers. That’s my guess. Bobcats and servals can also be melanistic.

            • Jenni says:

              I just wanted to update you on my cat. We got him genetic testing to identify breed and believe it or not he is highly correlated with a Peterbald. The secondary cat, which is much less correlated is Maine Coon. I thought you may be interested in that finding because of his unique coat. The third breed is Oriental Shorthair and there are a few others. Thanks!

              • Michael Broad says:

                Thanks Jenni. He has an unusual coat. Very unusual actually. To me he looks like a melanistic tabby. You are the first person I know who has had a genetic test done on their cat. Interesting result by the way. And thanks again for telling me.

  10. Azalia Hdz says:

    Hi, this my kitty 14wks old, she is feisty and full of energy.
    What kind of kitty do you all think she is

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *