The Savannah is a new breed of cat created by crossing an African serval with a domestic cat. The purpose is to produce a special domestic pet with the stunning wild exotic appearance of the serval, but having the predictable litterbox habits and temperament, and the easy care and feeding requirements of a domestic cat. This is intended to fulfill many people's desire for an unusual exotic-looking pet companion without the many difficulties posed by actually keeping an exotic animal.

Savannahs are as a rule, friendly, intelligent, outgoing, and very active and playful cats, with a well-developed inquisitive nature. Some say they are "dog-like" in their devotion to their owner, and often they will want to check out whatever you are doing. They can be trained to go for walks using a "walking jacket" or harness, but should enjoy the outdoors only on the end of a leash or from inside a secure outdoor enclosure. They may like to play "fetch" and larger Savannahs are probably better off with small sturdy dog toys, instead of tiny flimsy cat toys that they might accidentally ingest. They like heights, and some enjoy playing with and in water. Especially when introduced young, they will adapt well to living with dogs, other cats, and well-behaved children. Pets should always be neutered or spayed. Although early generation males are sterile, neutering is healthier in the long run, and prevents some unpleasant habits, like spraying, from developing. Savannahs can range from 8 to over 20 lbs. when mature. Coat colors are "brown" which can be anywhere from golden to tawny brown or a cooler greyish-beige, "silver", solid "black" (melanistic) or "smoke" (black with white undercoat). They may be spotted or marbled, though at this time, only the spotted pattern is accepted for showing.

Some special terminology is used when referring to generations of Savannahs, as a measure of how close they are to their serval ancestor. F1 is the first generation: their parents are a serval and a domestic cat. The F2 has a serval as a grandparent, The F3 has a serval great-grandparent and so on. Males are sterile until the fifth generation (F5), but females are fertile. So F1, F2, F3 and F4 females are generally bred to domestic males. Domestic males used as outcrosses are typically spotted breeds - including bengals, oriental shorthairs, maus, ocicats or some combination of the above. Serengetis (bengal x oriental shorthair) are also used in breeding programs.

F1 Savannahs are rare: the initial cross between the serval and domestic is very difficult, due to differences in size and length of gestation (65 days for domestic, but 66-77 days for servals), so kittens are often born premature and require special care. This explains their relatively high prices. In subsequent generations, this is not so much of a problem, since females are bred to domestic males who are generally a little smaller.

There are only a few hundred Savannahs in the world at this time. As more fertile males at the F5 and greater generations are born, the breed will increase and will be able to retain more of the beautiful serval-like looks in later generations, while keeping that wonderful unique personality, along with the sweet domestic tractability and ease of care.

The first recorded successful breeding of a serval to a domestic cat took place in the early 1980s, when Judee Frank bred her serval to a domestic. The resulting F1 female, named "Savannah" later had some F2 kittens, but the breed did not progress any further at that time.

Though the Savannah owes it's current success to the dedicated efforts of many people through the years, Joyce Sroufe was the first breeder to take the Savannah down to later generations and deserves credit as founder of the breed. In 1994, she produced her first successful litter of Savannah kittens, and has been breeding them ever since. The first Savannah breed standard was presented to TICA (The International Cat Association) board of directors in February 1996, but due to a moratorium on new breeds, the Savannah was not granted New Breed status at that time. In 1997, Joyce Sroufe attended a TICA show in Westchester New York along with a Savannah of her breeding. In part, due to an interview she gave and subsequent media coverage on Savannahs, 5000 people turned out. Joyce has been invited back every year for this show. This was the leading edge of the wave of popularity Savannahs have enjoyed. Savannahs were accepted for registration in TICA in February 2001. A year later, Savannahs at generation F3 and greater became eligible for showing in new breed evaluation classes. The response of judges and the public has been very favorable and the Savannahs, with their elegant and exotic looks and sweet personalities have been a huge hit wherever they go.

Savannah cats are accepted for registration in TICA (The International Cat Association). This is the only cat registry that accepts them at this time. Cats and kittens 4 months and older that are F3 and greater (bred for 3 generations or more away from their serval ancestor) may be entered in TICA cat shows in the preliminary new breed evaluation classes. The Savannah breed expects to acheive advanced new breed status in February 2004. The next goal will be working toward being accepted for championship status. Savannah breeders anticipate reaching that major milestone sometime in the near future.