Domestic vs Savannah Analogies

[DB in RR]

My daughter said last night, "I did not think you were a cat person."

My response was, "Savannahs are not cats!" I know literally they are, but go with me on this.

Lumping Savannahs into a "Cat" grouping is like putting Racecars in the car category.

Domesitc cats are like street cars, and Savannah are like Nascars, and their Serval ancestors are Formula 1.

The analogy is close, I think. DO you have better????

David

 

[Kimberly]

I get it

 

[SV Dad]

hmmm,,,, interesting concept.. Genetically there are serval genes present depending upon the generation. So the genetic component is not 100% domestic cat. I know there are folks on this board with a much deeper understanding of the definitions of this query.

 

[Patti]

Most Savannah folk will discourage you from saying that Savannahs are not domestic cats. We have had to fight legislation and bureaucratic barriers to get our breed accepted. They are considered domestic by the USDA and TICA, and to say otherwise can potentially invite further legislation against them. If you look at the history of the domestic cat you will find that it also descends from a wild cat, just not the same one as the Savannah. I have no problem calling the Savannah the Ferrari of the cat world or something similar, but please consider carefully what you are implying when you say that they are not domestic cats.

 

[DB in RR]

I understand that point of view, but users of this site have stated they are more like dogs sometimes than domestic cats. More people are injured by dogs than Savannahs, or even Servals. Its the differences that set this breed apart.

For example, Cayenne in just one day shows more affection that many domestics I had in my house before like Siamese, Maine Coons, DSh kitties. She also has a load of spunk. She is going to catch the feather thing on the stick if it kills her. That does not mean she is dangerous. My dogs bark at squirrels that infiltrate the yard..... If they could figure out how to climb trees like cats... there would be a lot less squirrels in our neighborhood. That does not mean they are dangerous either.

You can certainly drive a Ferrari up the street, and there are some showroom stock racecars ( i.e. street legal ). I would love a Serval, but I completely understand the permit/barriers on those. I would expect if you drove a formula one car on the freeway you might get a ticket too.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

The DSH I had immediately before my Savannahs was very similar in personality...she loved our dog, came when called, played in water and was generally a very crazy kitten. What is great about the Savannah breed compared to an unknown origin cat is that you are more likely to find those characteristics. But then you are likely to find similar characteristics in an Abyssinian, which is a very domestic cat breed. Any of the stories we Savannah breeders tell, an Aby breeder can match and raise us! Our breed is simply on the high energy end of the kitty spectrum... and yes, looks expensive like a Ferrari ;-)

I completely agree with Patti that saying that Savannahs are not domestic is harmful and incorrect. Most people when they hear that Savannahs are "wild" in origin assume that they are big feral-behaving cats and this is just not true. They are high in energy and very intelligent but they are not "wild" as most people assume when people use labels like "wild" and "exotic" for our breed. As Patti says, those of us that spend a lot of time working on legislative issues, we are sensitive to the effect that such erroneous labels have...

 

[Ashley]

I completely agree with Patti that saying that Savannahs are not domestic is harmful and incorrect. Most people when they hear that Savannahs are "wild" in origin assume that they are big feral-behaving cats and this is just not true. They are high in energy and very intelligent but they are not "wild" as most people assume when people use labels like "wild" and "exotic" for our breed. As Patti says, those of us that spend a lot of time working on legislative issues, we are sensitive to the effect that such erroneous labels have...

Someone asked me how dare I let a "wild" animal sleep in my son's room. lol I had to school them on the Savannah breed. Kovu is amazingly gentle and easy going with Elijah for a cat. Any other cat would have run for the hills. lol Kovu loves his boy. Keeping them apart would just be mean. I don't know about you, but I don't think he looks like much of a threat.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Very cute pic!

 

[ambiente18]

My daughter said last night, "I did not think you were a cat person."

My response was, "Savannahs are not cats!" I know literally they are, but go with me on this.

Lumping Savannahs into a "Cat" grouping is like putting Racecars in the car category.

Domesitc cats are like street cars, and Savannah are like Nascars, and their Serval ancestors are Formula 1.

The analogy is close, I think. DO you have better????

David

Your analogy is magnificent... I, my son and my husband (they and I like to look a car racing) think also

 

[John Popp]

I concur with the sentiments expressed by others who have fought the many legislative battles. Describing Savannah's as some sort of uber cat is not good for the breed nor the many owners who may some time be facing legal challenges to keep their pet. The majority of these cats don't stray far from the likes of a spirited domestic in temperament or size. That's the message that should be getting out and how wonderful of pets they make.