Savannah

The Savannah is a hybrid domestic cat breed. It is a cross between the serval and a domestic cat. Bengal breeder Judee Frank crossbred a male Serval, belonging to Suzi Woods, with a Siamese (domestic cat) to produce the first Savannah cat (named Savannah) on April 7, 1986. Judee Frank’s Savannah attracted the interest of Patrick Kelley, who purchased one of Savannah's kittens in 1989. Kelley was one of the first enthusiasts who worked towards establishing a new domestic breed based on the Serval/domestic cat cross. He approached many Serval breeders to help in the development of this new breed, and finally garnered the help of breeder Joyce Sroufe to work with him in taking the steps needed to have the new breed recognized. In 1996, Patrick Kelley and Joyce Sroufe wrote the original version of the Savannah breed standard, and presented it to the board of The International Cat Association (TICA). In 2001, the board accepted the breed for registration.