Owning a serval is not like owning another breed of pet. Servals require a lot of care and attention as they grow. Good nutrition is crucial for serval education and overall health. Serval cats are the most active cats. You need enough space to move and walk. A serval needs a huge and safe habitat outside the home. Serval cats should never be pure domestic cats. Their habitats should be at least 8 feet high and 20 by 20 or 10 by 30, the larger they are, the better. The habitat should not be too small, as servals do not give your grass time to grow due to pedestrian traffic. The soil should be clean and not use dirt, because Serval cats are easily affected by pests and cause infestation, so I recommend grass and pine chips. The perimeter of the interior of the enclosure is bordered and has wood landscaping (approx. 18″ away from the fence). We always use pine chips for flooring in this area, as it is still the busiest area, avoid concrete everything if you want to pave with concrete.
Make sure you have another building so your cat can access heating and air conditioning (if your cat doesn`t have access to your home). Then carefully consider whether you are willing and able to build a suitable pen and buy live prey for your serval. If you have reservations about these aspects of serval property, it would probably be better if you looked for a domesticated cat breed. In 2019, the B.C. SPCA seized 13 Serval cats near Kamloops who were living in horrific conditions. After months of specialized care, the BC SPCA received federal permits to send the servals to accredited sanctuaries in the United States. The B.C. SPCA and more than 6,600 supporters then lobbied the provincial director, Fish & Wildlife, to ban the possession, breeding, display and importation of private servals through existing regulations for exotic animals. So far, however, no government action has been taken.
Don`t confuse space with efficiency – just because you have several acres doesn`t mean you can just drop a serval on the property and they`ll take care of themselves. The serval cat is native to Africa, where tall grass and bushes camouflage this stealth hunter and allow it to sneak on its prey. Servals resemble cheetahs, but are smaller and have a shorter tail and larger ears than their cousins. In the wild, servals are solitary and inhabit a reception area that stretches for about seven miles. Ancient art and historical documents suggest that servals were kept as pets by the early Egyptians. Over the past century, breeders have again developed an interest in servals. Some individuals began to breed these cats and promote them as pets. To increase the attractiveness of servals, they were bred with domestic cats to create a new breed, the Savannah cat. They need a place where they can be locked up from time to time, such as when strange animals or children are there, as servals tend to be shy, and they will run or go on the offensive if they feel threatened Although these exotic cats may look like our domesticated domestic cats, they are not pets. Domestic cats have lived with humans for a long time and have been bred for many generations for a higher level of comfort close to humans, but this is not the case for servals. Servals may seem somewhat domesticated when bred around humans, but at their core, they are still wild animals. They have inherited basic instincts that they must satisfy.
Servals do not make good pets and do not thrive in captivity, they are expensive and difficult to maintain. A common veterinary emergency specific to servals is to swallow foreign bodies that settle in their throats or are difficult to pass. Servals are voracious eaters, so they often leave food stuck in their throats, causing them to vomit and consume them again. If belching is not successful, there is a risk of choking with a serval. Serval cats certainly attract attention and are unique, but can they be good pets? To keep content serval and engaged, it may be necessary to turn your home into a real zoo. A seral`s natural instincts force him to jump, climb and explore. Meeting these requirements is likely to be costly and often requires the creation of an entire exterior enclosure. When it comes to their meals, waitresses can`t get by with your average cat food in store. They need a special diet with a variety of meats rich in protein and nutrients. Servals are considered a particularly dangerous choice for homes with young children and/or other pets.
Think carefully about your ability to meet the needs of such an unusual and demanding animal before bringing home a serval or exotic cat. If you want to know more about everyday kittens, check out this popular breed guide. A serval can connect with you and learn to trust you, but it depends on the individual chat. Not all veterinarians accept servals as patients, so be sure to put one on before getting a serval. This article on breeding serval cats as pets was originally published in 2012 and is updated regularly. Its accuracy was last verified and updated on March 21, 2022. You will look like a leopard and you will be surprised to learn that some people have domesticated them and kept them as pets. If you are familiar with zoology or wildlife, you may have heard of the serval cat. Native to the African prairies, the serval resembles a small leopard. They are widespread south of the Sahara and relatively rare in the north. The cat lives a solitary life and mates only to mate before the mothers raise litters alone.
Males and females live and hunt alone once they reach sexual maturity. The Serval`s distinctive pointed ears offer an impressive sense of hearing and their long limbs help them see above the tall grasses of the savannah. With an average lifespan of more than 20 years, servals tend to live longer than their usual domestic counterparts. No problem, you think, I just let my serval cat live in the house and I don`t have to worry about her running away. Well, not so fast. Serval cats are also not easy to keep inside. Tom Harford Columbia is a renowned expert on exotic animals in almost all species and breeds. Thomas Harford Columbia, a college science teacher, pet care instructor, and animal educator, toured the United States. (and even the world) for nearly two decades to educate veterinarians, animal breeders and trainers and pet owners on maintaining the health and safety of their exotic pets. The reasons why serval cats are not good pets can be reduced to a basic concept: they are wild animals. Domesticated cats have had thousands of years to adapt their behavior to life with humans, while serval cats have not.
If you decide to own a serval, make sure you have access to a veterinarian who can take care of exotic animals. Servals need the same annual vaccinations and deworming as domestic cats, but ordinary little veterinarians will be reluctant – or reluctant – to treat servals because they are technically wild animals. While many animal towels are stripped in the interest of preventing human injury, this is a painful practice that can cause infection and make servals vulnerable to confrontations with other animals such as aggressive dogs. It is legal to own a serval without obtaining a license in Alabama, Idaho, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Licensed exotic cat lovers can keep servals as pets in Arizona, Indiana, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Pennsylvania.