About Savannahs
The Savannah is a breed still in development, recognized by TICA
(The International Cat Association) since 2001. Although rapidly
growing in popularity and numbers of cats registered, these cats
are still relatively rare due to the difficulty in breeding the first few
generations.
The first known serval and domestic cross was an unplanned
mating between Judee Frank's pet serval and a domestic female.
She named the female offspring "Savannah", which is the name of
the breed today, although the name is actually to recognize the
native African savannah of the serval.
Joyce Sroufe was the first breeder to actively breed Savannah cats
in the 1990's, and was largely responsible for bringing the breed to
popularity. Patrick Kelly helped develop the breed standard, and
presented it to TICA. TICA lifted its moratorium against new breeds,
accepting the Savannah as an Experimental New Breed in 2001,
with Lorre Smith as the first Breed Chairman.
Savannahs are currently an Advanced New Breed, and breeders
hope soon to achieve Championship status, with the first SBT
(Stud Book Tradition Litters) being born in 2007.
Savannah Generations
Savannahs are identified by generation with each succeeding
generation descended from the serval given a "filial" number,
such as F1, F2, etc. F1 Savannahs are 50% serval, F2's 25%,
etc. Females are fertile from F1 generation, males are sterile
until the F5 generation, with occasional fertile F4 males.
As Savannahs are bred back to the earlier generations,
the B and C designations are added, and the percentage of
serval genes is higher correspondingly. A B Savannah kitten has both parents Savannah, and a C kitten has both sets of parents and grandparents Savannah. For example an F2A female is bred
to an F5B male, her kittens will be F3B. Two "C" Savannahs will
produce SBT or "Stud Book Tradition" kittens.
Pricing
Savannah cats are quite expensive due to the difficulty of
producing the first few generations. Just imagine the logistics
of producing kittens from a 35lb serval and a 10lb domestic.
Miscarriages, stillbirths, and C-sections are the norm. The
first generations are the most expensive, with later generations becoming more affordable. Color and spot
patterns, and conformation to the breed standard affect
pricing greatly also. This is a price range among a variety
of breeders for your comparison.
Generation
F1
F2
F3
F4
F5, etc.
Pets - Neutered
$6,000 - 7,000
$2,500 - 4,000
$1,500 - 3,000
$1,250 - 2,500
$500 - 2,500
Breeder - Female
$7,500 - 9,000
$4,500 - 6,000
$3,000 - 5,000
$1,500 - 4,000
$1,000 +
Breeder - Male
n/a
n/a
n/a
$3,000 - 5,000
$1,500 +
Victory Lane Savannahs
of Low Places
Pricing will also be affected by the letter designations, A, B, and C,
as this is also a reflection of the serval percentage, with the C and SBT
kittens having a correspondingly higher percentage. The C and SBT
cats are also the only ones eligible for Showing in TICA at this time,
and thus more desirable, and will be priced higher the closer that they
meet the breed standard in looks.
The A and B kittens are not eligible to be shown, but can still be quite
striking in their looks, and can be the best choice for someone looking
for an elegant and beautiful companion, at a price that won't break the
budget.