Serengeti Cats

History

Conservation biologist Karen Sausman established the Serengeti breed at her cattery in California. She wanted to create a breed modelled on the Serval (Leptailurus serval), but without any crossbreeding with that animal.

Work on the breed began in the mid-1990s. The Serengeti was created by crossing a Bengal with an Oriental. The breeding program is still in the developmental stages, but there are now Serengetis in Europe and Australia.

The Bengals used in the program are many generations removed from that breed's wild cousins, to make sure the Serengeti has no recent wild cat blood. The breed is recognized as a preliminary breed by The International Cat Association.

Behaviour

Serengetis are friendly and affectionate, although they are timid in new surroundings. They may hide for the first few days when you bring them home, but they soon lose their reticence. They are vocal cats that will happily chatter away to you, and will let you know if they want something.

If introduced in a controlled and careful way to other pets, they will learn to get on well with them - or, at least, to happily ignore them. Serengetis are athletic and enjoy getting themselves up high by climbing on furniture, shelving, fences, roofs, and trees.