Serval Hiss

by Michael
(London, UK)

Male Serval Morpheus Hissing - photo copyright Michael Broad - please respect it.

Male Serval Morpheus Hissing - photo copyright Michael Broad - please respect it.

In this video showing the serval hiss, it is my fault that she hissed. I provoked her.

The reason for provoking her was to get her to move away from a homemade cat tease I made and was using. It had sellotape on it and she was chewing it.

Probably falsely, I had visions of her swallowing sellotape. The tease was under her as if she had captured prey. I felt that I had to get her off the tease.

Accordingly, I got close and provoked a response. While I did this I videoed it. Why not? I couldn't pass up the chance of a bit of video material. Serena, this fine serval cat, obliged.

Serena was in fact a very nice serval cat. But there is going to be the serval hiss whatever you do, really. This is because they are wildcats and you are invading their space.

Morpeheus, a close male serval neighbour to Serena also hissed at me a lot, basically for the same reasons. She also had a couple of swipes at me. I deserved it all.

Sometimes I think that servals hiss for reasons other then defensiveness. It is almost a sign of pleasure.

Associated pages:

Why do cats hiss

Cat Sounds

Serval Hiss to Serval

Michael Avatar

5 thoughts on “Serval Hiss”

  1. The author of the best comment will receive an Amazon gift of their choice at Christmas! Please comment as they can add to the article and pass on your valuable experience.
  2. We do not hear much about ocelots these days. Are they becoming endangered?
    I do know that a long time ago it was not considered wrong to keep an ocelot or cheetah as a pet, especially the ocelot. What can you tell us about such practices? Many of us, myself included [as a lover of wild cats and feral domestics], love to dream of nurturing a cat bigger than our beloved domestics. My love of all cats sometimes gets the better of me, thinking that I could care for such a wild creature. Probably not. <3

  3. I have to say, the serval even when semi-domesticated is quite intimidating. They are large and strong. It was very interesting being very close to them but I don’t know how some people can think of them as pets. I am sure that even when domesticated they retain this wildness. They can never be domesticated like a domestic cat unless they were pets for 10,000 years. I have carried a serval like a domestic cat. A smaller one. He was cute but he felt muscular and his fur was coarse.

  4. Serena has such a long, elegant serval neck. It must have been tempting to put jewels and gold around it. I’m sorry that you had to suffer a bit of a slash, Michael. <3 We all know that is the price we pay when playing or conditioning, or just plain worried. It might be interesting to you to know that I do not put triple antibiotic or any kind of antiseptic on my cat scratches…and eventually they heal just fine. I have never handled a serval though. I cannot imagine the titillation nor overwhelming emotions that could produce. I can only imagine that… It must have been so awesome!

Leave a Comment

follow it link and logo