See more: www.pictures-of-cats.org — This is a short video about the world’s tallest domestic cat, MAGIC (and probably the biggest – yet to be confirmed at 27-9-09) and Andreas Stucki the charming son of Martin and Kathrin Stucki. MAGIC is a F1 Savannah cat bred and raised at A1 Savannahs and now owned by Bella Gattini Cattery owned and run by Lee and Kim Draper. The music is by Kevin MacLeod called, Long Road Ahead, Celtic and Folk music. It is royalty free. Google “Kevin MacLeod music”.
Video Rating: 4 / 5
A Serval at the San Diego Wild Animal Park performs at a show.
Video Rating: 4 / 5
Serval Cat Apollo giving headbutts. This is Apollo’s way of saying “Hi mom, I love you!!!!” F1Hybrids Cattery is dedicated to producing quality F1, F2, F3 savannah cats. We do have rare F1 savannah cat kittens! www.F1Hybrids.com
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Serval Cat playing with domestic cat. Savannah cat breeder, F1Hybrids Savannah Cats & Serval cats. F1Hybrids Cattery is dedicated to producing quality F1, F2, F3 savannah cats. We do have rare F1 savannah cat kittens! www.F1Hybrids.com
Video Rating: 4 / 5
The Flicks and I visited the best known cattery, A1 Savannahs, the home of the Savannah cat. We had an intense and memorable experience. We met this wonderful Serval cat.
Video Rating: 4 / 5
A litter of 1 to 3 serval kittens are born in the summertime months after a gestation period of 68-72 days (Domestic cat gestation is 62-63 days). Servals will be found together in pairs only for a few days while mating occurs.
Wild reproduction of Serval cats:
Observation of the serval’s offspring is next to impossible since serval cats are very shy. Like the cheetah, the cat raises her kittens alone & must leave them often to hunt. They are born in a lair. In order to protect the young a female will move her offspring often to new hiding places. Female serval cats can stay together until they become sexually mature, either siblings or mother and daughter. When the cubs are old enough to hunt, the serval female will drive the male cubs away from first so they can establish their own territories.
Captive reproduction of Serval cats:
Breeding serval cats captivity is not as easy as taking full grown cats and putting them together. Breeding cats is a risky business because cats are very temperamental. They can chose in the blink of an eye to attack each other should the female not be in the proper stage of heat cycle. When a pair is raised together from birth they normally will share a deep bond. They are like experience with one another be it bad or good. It’s important to be 100% able to handle a female else it will make the birthing process even more risky. Often mothers need assistance of so kind. Many things can go wrong with out notice you need to be able to react. Also you need to know that a male non-neutered will have testosterone flowing through him, when around a female one should be vigilant not to disturb a male who could see you as getting in between him as a potential mate. When the female does have kits they are removed to be bottle raised by humans to provide crucial human contact.
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Species of Serval cats: The serval cat has been hunted throughout its range for its appealing coat and locally as a supply of meat. In general the serval cat species & subspecies is protected in most countries and it is listed in CITES Appendix 2 as threatened. However some reports show conflicting information. A northern subspecies is rarely sighted and is listed as endangered. Within the latest overview of cat taxonomy the serval cat was placed within the genus Leptailurus. Usually the serval cat is considered to be in the genus felis.
As far as Serval cats go there are currently 14 recognized subspecies:
F. (L.) s. serval (Cape Province)
F. (L.) s. beirae (Mozambique)
F. (L.) s. brachyura Servaline cat: (Sierra Leone to Ethiopia)
F. (L.) s. constantina (Algeria-Atlas)
F. (L.) s. hamiltoni (East Transvaal)
F. (L.) s. hindeio (Tanzania)
F. (L.) s. ingridi (South Zimbabwe, Botswana, southwest Africa)
F. (L.) s. kempi (Uganda)
F. (L.) s. kivuensis (Congo and Angola)
F. (L.) s. liposticta (North Angola)
F. (L.) s. lonnbergi (South west Angola)
F. (L.) s. mababiensis (North Botswana)
F. (L.) s. robertsi (West Transvaal)
F. (L.) s. togoensis (Dahomey and Togo)
The serval cat subspecies like with in many animals in many cases are questioned in credibility.
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Servals are losing their fight for survival in the wild, & have now dwindled down in numbers due to human over-population taking over their habitat & hunting them for their pelts. While Servals pose no threat to humans, people are the main threat to Servals. They are hunted by people for their pretty coats & in some areas for their meat. They are also preyed on by the bigger felines & hyenas (Wild Dog). The sizable felines have been seen hunting & feeding on Servals. Spotted Hyenas are a major threat because they are often in direct competition with the Servals & will kill them.
There’s been records of leopards & lions catching & feeding on Servals in various parts of the continent. Nile Crocodiles & African Rock Pythons pose an additional threat to the adult Servals, while the young are most in danger to the Martial Eagle & other sizable birds of prey. The Serval is not known for attacking anything larger than a bird & will certainly not harm livestock. Although they are sometimes blamed for sheep & poultry losses, jackals are more likely the culprits.
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Servals eat between one & six pounds of meat a day. It is usually regarded as safe to feed raw meat with bones included to servals. While this may go against what lots of people recommend for domestic animals, think about what these servals eat in the wild. Nobody removes the bones for them! However, it would be hazardous for you to feed cooked meat or poultry with bones in it to your serval (or any animal). When bones are cooked, they become more brittle & can splinter. Stomach contents of wild servals have included rats and mice of various types, shrews, moles, hares, birds, reptiles, amphibians ( frogs), crabs, and other creatures identified only as unidentified small mammal. Thing to consider feeding:
The first step when designing the diet for a serval is to research what they eat in the wild, and try to incorporate as plenty of elements of that as feasible in to what you feed. There is no one accepted standard for diet, but a fresh meat based diet is usually thought about to be preferable to a commercial diet. Servals are bind carnivores, which means that they must get virtually all of their nutrients from meat. Under no circumstances ought to an exotic catlike be fed a vegetarian diet. The diet most often recommended is one consisting of raw, bone-in poultry and meat, supplemented with vitamins made for wild felines. I feed a variety of foods, with raw meat, fish, and poultry forming the base of the diet. I supplement this with the Oasis wild catlike vitamins and the Oasis calcium supplement, although I have heard excellent things about Wild Trax vitamins as well. A scat study in the Kamberg Nature Reserve showed that the diet of servals in the area consisted of 80% rodents, 13.5% shrews, 5% birds, 0.9% reptiles, and 0.7% insects. One wild serval was seen catching and eating at least 28 frogs in a 3-hour period. While they sometimes raid chicken and duck pens, they are not known for hunting larger livestock. They do not normally prey on animals larger than themselves, although on rare occasions they have killed flamingos, duiker, and young antelope.
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The Serval is mostly a nocturnal animal but sometimes can be diurnal. They are thought about mostly a terrestrial cat, as it is long legs testify, however it can basically climb trees making it arboreal as well. This is an example of the extreme adaptability of the African Serval Cat. The Serval cat is distributed widely throughout Africa. They are most common in the open savannas, from lightly bushed country to forests, but near marshy places or rivers. They are also found on high mountain moorlands. In the tall grass a Serval performs his signature style of pouncing up & down in pursuit of mice & other rodents. Their ears are not radar’s but close. Servals often listen to their prey & react than reacting to the sight of their prey. The Serval can supposedly listen to the motion of a rodent as far as 20 feet away in the tall grasses of it is natural surroundings. The Serval makes a matchless sound calling out what can be described as a (HOW-HOW-HOW!). This sound actually sounds like the loud chirp of a giant bird over it sounds like anything they would associate with any kind of cat. They also pant much like a dog & unlike most felines. When aggravated the can become “Hissy”. My Servals have made noises much like a repetitive grunt when they get excessively excited playing with a weed or something I am moving about on the ground. In the event that they feel they are cornered or in danger they definitely have a growl as does the lion or the common domestic house cat. However unusual a Serval is to most people, it is still a cat. Each with its own likes & dislikes & with its own individual character. If bottle raised, some are close to a common “Lap Cat” while others, with the same up-bringing, don’t care much for being held for any length of time. When exactly the breeding in the U.S. of the Serval began & the keeping of them as pets in the U.S. began, I haven’t been able to decide with any certainty. But I do know it was somewhere around the turn of the century. As the fur trade boomed in the 1920′s & 30′s, I am definite people took mercy on some & made pets of them. East African Mammals, An Atlas of Evolution in Africa, published by Academic Press, London, mentions that the young will make good-looking pets if reared from infancy. It also mentions Servals in captivity living to 19 years elderly & the females staying fertile until the age of fourteen. Much of the information in this text comes from studies completed on Servals kept in captivity as early as 1951. Servals have been kept as pets historicallyin the past in Africa as well as plenty of other parts of the world for thousands of years as they have been hunted for their pelts in the work of this same time period. I think plenty of of the Egyptian vases, so often seen & displayed, to be fashioned after the Serval. The felines were kept by the Egyptians. I would assume for practical reasons such as to provide a defense for grains by being the great mousers they are. They were also kept to protect a dwelling from the evils of night until the Egyptian sun god, Rajh, arose in the morning light.
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Cat Enclosures are awesome! Is you cat unhappy, acting bad, obsess, overweight and totally grumpy? It might be you kitty need some exercise, fresh air and some TLC that only a cat enclosure can provide. Need ideas or not sure if you need an exotic cat enclosure? Bellow are ideas that range from lower to higher price. It is always a good idea to have an cat enclosure for even domestic cats so they don’t become lazy and over weight which leads to health problems.
There are so many ideas I bet your head is spinning. So please take the time to read this article. I have owned every cat pen, cat cage, cat enclosure of any material. Some work but others fail miserably which can end up in your wonderful cat getting injured or worst killed by busy road traffic, dog or other natural perdtors waiting for your fluffy companion to stray into harms way.
WAIT! Are you concerned that it will cost you an arm and a leg to have you cats in a safe place? Don’t worry I’m here writing this article to show how to make a pen for LOW amount of invest as possible but still be super safe. So what will it cost?
Questions to ask before building a cat enclosure
1. How are you going to clean your enclosure?
2. Where will the trash and potty leftovers go?
3. How will I deal keeping other animals out of the enclosure?
4. Will you be able to cut the grass?
5. Do you have a panic door planned because cats are fast?!
6. How will you cat stay warm?
7. Are the locks and handles cat proof?
8. Is you wire strong enough for a 40+ pound cat?
9. Do you have perches and space for enrichment?
Indoor Cat Enclosures
Designed so cats can play, climb and exercise freely, they are like super cat activity centres. Because indoor cat enclosures allow your cat to exhibit natural behaviours they can help overcome cat behavioural problems. Some cats who have lived indoors for the entire lives, or perhaps are recovering from surgery will not want an outside enclosure. But if you do not want your cat to have the run of the whole house, an indoor cat enclosure can be just the thing. Climbing frames, cat igloos, scratching posts, cat hammocks can all be included. Just add a cat loo – and your cat will be good to go! Time, effort and financial investment are involved in creating a cat enclosure, when you compare it to the emotional cost of losing your beloved pet, or paying out for vet fees if they do get in a traffic accident or some sort of attack, it is overwhelmingly obvious that to obtain some sort of cat enclosure makes good sense all round.
Outdoor Enclosures for Domestic Cats
Designed so cats can play, climb and exercise freely, they are like super cat activity centres. Lets your cat friends play, sleep , climb, explore and enjoy the open-air in a secure enclosure. Outdoor enclosures can have all different levels of platforms, enabling your cat to climb, or sitting in a nap. Adding Vinyl Doors in the base can allow your cat to come and go easily.
If a cat is given free access to outdoors the cats life will most likely be less than 3 years compared to indoor cats that often live 11-16 years. Consider adding a mesh tunnel that prevented your cat from wandering away and is maintained, should be better protected against insect predators. However if you cat is a strong breed a mesh tunnel may be a bad idea and not strong enough to hold the cat safely. No matter what you pick an outdoor cat enclosure provide a way to make your cat roaming in the wild, safe and secure. Now there is always attention to your cat when it comes out.
Outdoor Enclosures for Exotic Cats
Cat enclosures for hybrid cats or exotic cats needs to be heavy duty and ready to be used and abused by your high energy ball of fur. Chain link panels are the cheapest option with the lowest amount of set fees and work. When using a standard 10 Long x 10 wide x 6 high chain link dog kennel you can go 30 feet outward and one ten foot panel wide. Then you place five chain link panels on top, this will go the full length of the enclosure. Its extremely durable and cost about 350 for a four panel set, so it should need 12 panel for the full pen then you will need to build a panic gate. You MUST have a panic gate because you exotic cat or hybrid cat is very smart and will get out if not prevented.
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Serval cats along with every other exotic cat need special toys. A Servals jaw pressure is three times that of a domestic house cat.
Feather toys can be swallowed and often lead to death! You should never leave an exotic cat alone with it’s toy unless its indestructible.
Many toys claim to be indestructible but most are not tested for exotic animals. Kong™ toys that are made for dogs are easy for a Serval to chew on and swallow. Some of the best toys for a Serval are not even meant to be toys! Water bottles that are empty or half full make great toys. Potatoes make an awesome substitute for a tennis ball to play fetch because a Serval can chew a tennis ball apart in a matter of minutes.
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