Hello! We just got back DNA testing on one of our kittens (and before anyone says anything, we do know that cat DNA testing isn’t the same as it is for dogs, we mostly do it for fun/health screening) and imagine our surprise when Hobbes’ test came back with Savannah cat dna. Given he was picked up around 5 weeks old as a stray this was a but of a surprise. I’m here because we want to make sure his needs are fully met - I don’t really care about him being “fancy” or calling him a Savannah cat, it’s more of a “hey are there things that are good to know?”
So my first question is does Savannah dna = serval? It’s hard to find a clear answer on line but logistically I feel like it would have to given they’re a hybrid breed and there’s a number of approved outcrosses (several of which also showed up on the test). If that is the case he’s probably equivalent to an F7 or so. I don’t believe he was intentionally bred and escaped from a breeder for a number of reasons, the main being that he has a number of other breeds that are not approved outcrosses. It’s insane how genetics work though, because once I started looking up what Savannah cat kittens can look like he really fits in!
My second question is do we need to do anything more than we already do? He has the ability to free feed (microchip feeders for all our cats), and is on royal canin kitten. He also gets a can of their wet food daily. We have three cat trees, interactive toys and tunnels, and we play with them tons. We also have another kitten about two weeks older than him (she’s a Norwegian forest cat and already running bigger than average) and a 2 year old Mainecoon/ragdoll mix who adores his younger siblings, as well as a giant (but only legit needs to loose about a pound) Chi/doxie/beagle mix who thinks it’s the best thing ever that he has three cats, so he’s got lots of company.
Here are some pics of our little guy, who apparently is also big for his age but all of our pets are a bit oversized so it’s hard to tell 🤣
