Savannahs are considered one of the larger breeds of domesticated cats. Their tall and slim build gives Savannahs the appearance of greater size than their actual weight. They are as tall as many breeds of domestic dogs. F1 hybird and F2 Savannahs are usually the largest, due to the stronger genetic influence of the African Serval forbear. Male Savannahs tend to be larger than females. On average, early generation Savannahs may weigh 10 to 25 lbs. Average size is also very dependent on generation and sex, with F1 male cats usually being the largest. Later generation Savannahs are usually between 8-17 lbs. Because of the random factors in Savannah hybrid genetics, there can be significant variation in size, even in one litter. Some breeders report Savannahs in excess of 30 pounds, with at least one breeder claiming an over 40 pound male.

The coat of a Savannah depends a lot on the Hybridized-breed of cat used for the domestic cross. Early generations have some form of dark spotting on a lighter coat, and many breeders employ "wild"-looking spotted breeds such as the Bengal and Egyptian Mau for the cross to preserve these markings in later generations. The Savannah has a tan coat with black or brownish spots, or a silver coat with dark spots, a marble (also called classic) pattern, and many other patterns and colors, although the international Cat Association (TICA) breed standard calls for black, brown spotted tabby, silver spotted tabby and black smoke types only.

The overall look of an individual Savannah depends greatly on generation, with higher-percentage Savannah cats often having a more "wild" look. Almost all Savannah breeders use a Bengal for the domestic parentage, but if a different domestic breed was used, it will affect appearance as well. A Savannah's wild look is often due to the presence of many distinguishing Serval characteristics. Most prominent of these include the various color markings and tall, erect ears. The bodies of Savannahs are long and leggy—when a Savannah is standing, their hind-end is often higher than their shoulders. The head is taller than wide, and they have a long slender neck.The back of each ear has a light band borded by black stripes, which are calledocelli. The short tail has black rings, with a solid black tip that extends Several inches. The eyes are blue as a kitten, and usually green as an adult. Black "tear-streak" markings run from the corner of the eyes down the sides of the nose to the whiskers, much like a cheetah's. The black tear marks help reduce glare from sunlight, which aid the Savannah's vision during hunting.

Most F1 generation Savannahs will possess many or all of these traits, while their presence often diminishes in later generations. Being an Hybridized-breed of cats, appearance can vary far more than cat owners may be used to. Photos of different generations can be found at the Savannah Cat Club and SIMBA websites.

Health considerations

Because this hybridized-breed of cats is an emerging one and different individuals contain different amounts of Serval and of other domestic cat breeds, if there are particular health issues that will be common in the Savannah breed, they are not yet known.

Savannah cats have no known special care or food requirements.

Savannah cats do not require a special diet, although some breeders and owners recommend premium cat foods. Others recommend a partial or complete raw food diet with at least 32% protein and no by-products. Some will also recommend a calcium supplement, while others consider it unnecessary, or even harmful.Issues of Savannah diet are not without controversy, and again, it is best to seek the advice of a veteranarian or exotic cat specialist before feeding a Savannah cat any non-standard diet.

Ownership laws

Laws governing ownership of Savannah cats in the United States vary according to state. Most notably, hybrid cats—defined as a domestic / wild species' cross—such as the Savannah are illegall to own as pets in the state of New York as of 2005. The majority of states, however, follow federal and USDA code, which define wild/ domestic Hybrid crosses as domestic.

Other states known to have laws restricting hybrid cat ownership include but are not necessarily limited to: HI, MA and GA. Savannahs more than 5 generations from the Serval are allowed to be owned in NY state, but not in the city of New York.

Connecticut is occasionally misrepresented as a state that reserves restrictions on Savannah cat ownership as mentioned on various Savannah cat websites. The confusion likely arises from Connecticut's 'Hybrid Cat Law' which does state: “no hybrid is legal in the State unless certified by an internationally recognized multiple-cat domestic feline breeding association as being without wild parentage for a minimum of four prior generations." - [Sec. 26-40a]. So from first glance it would appear that Connecticut restricts the first four generations (F1 - F4) of the Savannah cat. However, upon deeper inspection of Connecticut state law one discovers that the serval (the foundation cat for the Savannah breed) is excluded from the state's list of potentially dangerous animals. "Potentially dangerous animals include the Felidae family (lion, leopard, cheetah, jaguar, ocelot, jaguarundi cat, puma, lynx, and bobcat)" -. At this time there is no restriction on Savannah cat ownership of any generation in the state of Connecticut.

History

Bengal breeder Judee Frank managed to crossbreed a Serval and domestic cat, producing the first Savannah (named Savannah) on April 7, 1986 Judee Frank’s Savannah attracted the interest of Patrick Kelley, who had been interested in exotic looking domestic cats for many years and purchased one of Savannah's kittens in 1989. Patrick Kelley’s enthusiasm and vision for establishing a new domestic breed based on the Serval / domestic Cat Hybrid cross prompted him to research what steps would be needed to be recognized and accepted by an official feline registry. Armed with that information, obtained from Leslie Bowers at TICA , Patrick approached numerous breeders of Servals and encouraged them to attempt the development of this new breed. Initially, no breeders were interested]But Patrick persisted and finally convinced one breeder, Joyce Sroufe, to join him in founding the Savannah breed.

In 1996, Patrick Kelley and Joyce Sroufe wrote the original version of the Savannah Hybridized-Cat breed standard, and presented it to the TICA board. However, in that same year, TICA had placed a moratorium on new breeds. It was not until 2000, that the standard, with input from other breeders, was accepted by TICA in a narrow 7-to-6 vote. At that same time, the Savannah International Member & Breeder Association (SIMBA) was formed, and reported just over 100 registered savannahs. As of 2001, the population of Savannahs was estimated to be over 200.