The trouble with trophy cats

Semi-wild savannah cats are increasing in popularity in the UK. But do they make sensible pets?

- CHARLOTTE CORNEY

IMAGINE FOR A MOMENT THAT THE UK was breeding wild wolves with poodles and selling their hybrid puppies on the internet. Sound a bit 'off' for a nation of animal-lovers aspiring to be world leaders in animal welfare? Yet here we are in the 21st century with a growing legal trade in breeding exotic wild cats with domestics to create 'trophy' pets.

Savannah cats are a cross between a serval (a wild felid found in Africa) and a domestic cat. They sell for vast sums of money, but owning such an animal comes with a host of challenges that can result in harm to children, native wildlife, and to the cats themselves.

The story of the savannah cat started back in 1986, in Pennsylvania, USA, when a male serval bred with a domestic Siamese. Bengals and chausies, the equivalent hybrids of leopard and jungle cats respectively, were already on the scene by this time (see box on p61). However, it wasn't until 2001 that The International Cat Association formally adopted the savannah breed, enabling it to be exhibited at shows and to compete against domestic breeds. This sparked a surge in the keeping and breeding of these animals, which now fetch upto £20,000 for a first generation (F1) kitten. The 'F' (filial) number indicates how many generations an individual is from its original serval parent.

FOR ANYONE NOT FAMILIAR WITH F servals, they are undeniably exquisite felines. Lean and long in the leg, they sport a composite, honey-coloured coat of black spots morphing into stripes that lead up to their crowning glory - a pair of fennec-fox-like ears.