Serengeti cat
Encyclopedia
The Serengeti cat was first developed by crossing a Bengal cat
and an Oriental Shorthair cat. Recognized and registered by The International Cat Association, no other first generation crosses can be registered as Serengeti . From the Bengal / Oriental cross comes your first foundation Serengeti. Breeders then work with the cat to produce a cat that resembles the breed profile set by TICA .
Created by Karen Sausman of Kingsmark Cattery in California in 1994, the breed is still in the development stages, but the ultimate aim is to produce a cat that looks similar to a Serval
, without using any recent wild cat
blood. (Bengal cats originate from hybridization of Asian Leopard Cats. Most Bengal cats used in Serengeti programs are many generations removed from these origins and possess few genetic contributions of the Leopard Cat except allele
s affecting coat color.)
Serengeti cats are spotted cats, with long legs and very large ears. Males are generally slightly larger and heavier than females and can weigh up to 15 lbs; females generally weigh between 8 and 12 lbs.
They are recognized by TICA (The International Cat Association
) in tabby, ebony silver, ebony smoke and solid black. A group of breeders in the UK are currently working towards getting TICA to also recognise the snow spotted (aka lynx-point) variety.
The tabby is known as the brown spotted in the UK - however spots can be black or dark brown on a tan, light beige or gold background. The silver has black spots on a silver background. Ghost spotting can sometimes be seen on the solid black version.
Bengal Cat
Bengal Cat may refer to:*Leopard Cat*Bengal , a domestic cat breed...
and an Oriental Shorthair cat. Recognized and registered by The International Cat Association, no other first generation crosses can be registered as Serengeti . From the Bengal / Oriental cross comes your first foundation Serengeti. Breeders then work with the cat to produce a cat that resembles the breed profile set by TICA .
Created by Karen Sausman of Kingsmark Cattery in California in 1994, the breed is still in the development stages, but the ultimate aim is to produce a cat that looks similar to a Serval
Serval
The serval , Leptailurus serval or Caracal serval, known in Afrikaans as Tierboskat, "tiger-forest-cat", is a medium-sized African wild cat. DNA studies have shown that the serval is closely related to the African golden cat and the caracal...
, without using any recent wild cat
Felidae
Felidae is the biological family of the cats; a member of this family is called a felid. Felids are the strictest carnivores of the thirteen terrestrial families in the order Carnivora, although the three families of marine mammals comprising the superfamily pinnipedia are as carnivorous as the...
blood. (Bengal cats originate from hybridization of Asian Leopard Cats. Most Bengal cats used in Serengeti programs are many generations removed from these origins and possess few genetic contributions of the Leopard Cat except allele
Allele
An allele is one of two or more forms of a gene or a genetic locus . "Allel" is an abbreviation of allelomorph. Sometimes, different alleles can result in different observable phenotypic traits, such as different pigmentation...
s affecting coat color.)
Serengeti cats are spotted cats, with long legs and very large ears. Males are generally slightly larger and heavier than females and can weigh up to 15 lbs; females generally weigh between 8 and 12 lbs.
They are recognized by TICA (The International Cat Association
The International Cat Association
The International Cat Association, commonly known as TICA, is the world's largest genetic cat registry. Originally a North American organization, it now has a worldwide presence...
) in tabby, ebony silver, ebony smoke and solid black. A group of breeders in the UK are currently working towards getting TICA to also recognise the snow spotted (aka lynx-point) variety.
The tabby is known as the brown spotted in the UK - however spots can be black or dark brown on a tan, light beige or gold background. The silver has black spots on a silver background. Ghost spotting can sometimes be seen on the solid black version.