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Serval
Article By Larry Munchrath The Servals are exotic cats with a near domestic personality. They originate from the Savannahs (grasslands) in Africa. Their long legs and large ears aid them in hunting in tall grasses, hearing the smallest insect or rodent, and the ability to jump 10 feet straight up to catch a bird in flight. The cheetah look allows them to be hidden in the tall grasses. In a home, they are wonderful pets, although large. They get up to 35 pounds. They can jump on your highest appliance, and use it as a perch to watch the goings on in your household. They are very curious and you must cat proof your house if you are going to have one. No open China cabinets! They love to pounce on anyone's toes that might wiggle under the covers at night. They get active in the evenings and at bedtime for us humans. They can be litter-box trained if you begin early. Doing this is easiest if you can put them in a large cage or small room with a big litter box. We use tall Tupperware blanket boxes for ours. We keep them in the utility room with the box and they eventually learn to use it. If they start early, it is easy to do. Begin with a large dog carrier and a small litter box inside it when they are kittens. One guy told us that he toilet trained his cat. He did this by putting burlap and cheesecloth over the toilet. After the cat used it for a few months, he took the cloth off and it just stood on the rim and used it. We have not tried this. You can also leash train them with a harness type leash. My sister's cat will come and sit next to her until she puts the harness on it. It loves to go out in the back yard and go near the pond. It is fascinated with the ducks. (I bet) But it does not want to go back inside at times, so it has been known to twist and turn and get very hissy at the idea of having to go back inside. So my sister just grabs it by the scruff of the neck and carries her inside, albeit a quite unhappy cat. But once she is inside, she is purring and fine again. It is just an 'at the moment' tantrum. The cat has never bitten her. The collar type leashes are not liked very much by my cats. They will turn and twist like a fish out of water to get out of the collar. If they are trained with the harness type when young, they will do fine. You must start by just letting the kitten wear it, then put the leash on and let it be dragged around by the kitten. Later you can let the cat lead you and go places around the house, or outside. Don't wait until it is older, or it will not be as easy. Another person took his cat out in the country for romps. He said he attached 200 pound test fishing line to its harness and let it run and play. He would then real it up if it got too far, or real towards it. It loved the freedom and got used to the routine. Eventually, you will be able to lead the cat on walks. Be sure there are no large dogs or strange new things that might scare the cat. A 35 pound scared cat, even declawed is stronger than you can imagine. If it escapes you will have a cat that any Bubba will be glad to shoot for a trophy, not knowing it is your precious pet. You may consider a large 10 x 10 outside pen with a build in jungle gym and igloo type shelter for the cat(s). We put plenty of hay in their house in the winter. It gets in the teens and twenties where I live. Ours started in the house but we put them in a 10 x 20 chain link pen which is also 8 ft. tall. It has a cover because the cats can climb over it in a flash if it were open. The pairs stay together unless the female is about to have her kittens. When it is about a few weeks or so before she is due, we will put the male in another pen, but replacing him about a week after we have pulled the kittens from the mother. The kittens are pulled at about 4 days. That way they get mother's colostrum. They are fed about every two hours at that age. At ten days, you can do a hour shift. Our pair of cats stay outside all the time, now. We can still go into the pens and play with the cats. They have toys, such as balls and things to roll around with. Even the female was having her babies and we were able to enter the cage, take the kittens, put them back, and she would lick us as we are inspecting her kittens. But the male must be kept out of her breeding cage or he may eat the babies, just as he would in the wild. Our original female died, and we acquired another "bottle fed" adult female. She was a terror on claws! But with consistency and patience, she now lets us pet her. She will never be tame like the other one, but she has never attacked us, or tried to bite or scratch. She just growls and tries to look mean. Well, let me backtrack a bit. When she had her kittens, she did try to protect them and come at us with her claws, but did not actually hit us. So we had to trick her and get the kittens away. After that she was back to her old self. She has not been declawed. The cats should be declawed when they are around 3 to 6 months old. They should be neutered or spayed if you are keeping a pet. Some people say they may spray even if neutered, but we have never had this experience. This has been only second hand information we have intercepted. We had ours in the house for two years, fully intact, and never had either one mark territory. Most places require a permit for exotic pets. Each local is different in their requirements. Some require permits to breed, others just to own, and some have no requirements. Certain places make it easy as a phone call and visit by the USDA to inspect your facilities. Others have very stringent requirements, often mandating hours of training in order to get a permit, such as the case in Florida. At any rate, you must have a secure place for the animal to live, whether it be inside you home, or out in a large caged and fenced area. There must be a top on the cage. No place that we know of requires a permit for those who have kittens from a Serval that has been crossed with another cat. The hybrid that results from the cross is called a Savannah. They are around twice as expensive as the Serval, but often look almost identical to a pure Serval. The size may not be as large and the disposition may be a bit calmer. However, that is not to say that a Serval has a wild disposition. The ones that have been treated kindly and bottle raised from a few days old have wonderful dispositions. They are nothing like a bobcat. We believe that they take on the temperament that they are raised with. To discipline them you never hit or hurt them. It is simple to make them mind by the spray bottle method. Get a spray bottle and put 1 part vinegar and 4 parts water. Just spray it at the animal when it is doing something wrong. At the same time say NO! The vinegar has a bad taste and unpleasant odor. This is an easy and humane way to teach your cat to mind. The vet you use should be familiar with exotic felines or not be afraid to call Texas A & M University, or other exotic specialists and get the information they need. A sick kitten should be taken to the vet immediately. There have been some cats killed by misdiagnosis, treatment, and incorrect medications by vets who thought that they knew what they were doing. These cats are NOT just large domestic cats. Even the vaccinations must be special, such as the rabies must be a vaccine called a kill virus. A live one may give the cat the disease. There are a few problems that these cats may have, and you need to be aware of this. Sometimes they are born with heart murmurs. We have had this with some of our kittens, but everyone of them has outgrown this. It is not uncommon, and not a big problem. As I said, they have always outgrown this. Another is that they may have week bones due to calcium deficiency. It is important to feed them a proper diet, and add calcium supplements, just as you would a growing puppy. These cats have long, fast growing bones. At first, the kittens may be difficult to get started nursing. Don't put them on their backs. Put them on their stomach.You may need to hold their heads and stick the nipple inside their mouth, and gently squeeze a few drops of milk in. As kittens, the best milk is KMR, kitten milk replacer. It comes in economical powder, by PetAg. Mix it with a 1 part KMR powder and 2 parts water. Do this about every 4 hours, then after 3 weeks of age, you can let them sleep through the night. Heat the milk the same for your baby. Give with a small nursery bottle, then you can graduate to the larger baby nipple. As they get older they may fight to get the nipple and bite it, or pull it out of the bottle. so ready. It could get messy. You may want to wear gloves, or use a towel to keep them from scratching you. We always put a towel on our lap before we feed. But once they start getting the milk, they will nurse regularly. Don't cut too large a hole in the end of the nipple or they may get milk in their lungs, but allow enough milk to come through so you see, or hear a steady stream of tiny bubbles going up into the bottle as they nurse. Some people have used Esbilac puppy replacer. If you use that you must add Taurine to the milk. If a kitten does not receive this, there is a chance that they will develop eye problems later on in life. We have used both formulas, and like the KMR best. The Esbilac seemed to be best for larger cats, which we used on our tiger when he was a cub. The kittens will not drink cool milk, or will fight the feeding if they cannot get any milk out. I always hum to them as I am feeding them. By doing this they feel your body vibrate and it calms them down, and they eventually begin to purr when you pick them up. They are content when they do this. After feeding this next step is very important. When they are young and nursing, you need to stimulate them to go to the bathroom. When mother is the caretaker,she licks them and keeps them clean, and this stimulates the kittens to urinate, or defecate while she is doing this. You must do this with a soft towel, or tissue each time you feed them. Moisten the towel with warm water. They will get sick and may die if you don't. When they are tiny babies, this is a must. You can get a moist warm towel and gently touch their genital area and they will go in the towel. It will soak up the urine, and clean up the stool. If you cannot stomach this, then wait until the kitten is going on its own to purchase it. In fact, it should be able to go on its own, and in a litter box by the time you buy from a breeder, but you need to ask. After about a month, start mixing pureed cat food in the milk. Gradually you will put either dry cat food with milk sprinkled on it, or meat type foods, such as finely chopped turkey or chicken. What you start them on will be what they will like to eat. Mazuri (made by Purina) pelleted feed is a great food, but its hard to get them on these pellets if they have had any meat products. It is hard to get them to eat dry foods if they have had meat. Zupreem Feline canned diet is easy, and what we use for the kittens. They must have supplements such as calcium and vitamins. Don't go cheap on these. These cats are exotics and have special needs which domestic cats don't have. The domestic cat foods do not have the nutrition you need for your cat. Ours get the calcium powder on their food, and powdered vitamins almost every day. They also may get chicken necks, pounded to break all the bones. You don't have to cook the chicken necks. Give them a variety of things just as they would have in the wild. When worming them, you can cook a chicken leg and put the wormer paste on the meat, or mix it with the canned cat food. That way they will eat it and you will not have to force it down their mouth. Your vet should be able to tell you what's available as a wormer and supplements for your cat. You can also give it the cat flea repellent, or liquid that you put a drop on the skin. Ask your vet. Finally, and most importantly, treat your cat with respect and love,. Give it good nutrition and a good place with lots of room to run and play. You will have a pet for a long time. They may live for 30 years. If you have any questions, email Larry Munchrath at Lmunchrath@aol.com, or Michael Nordin, at Mnordin261@aol.com, call 903.887.6378, or fax 903.887.6464. [Article Taken From: http://www.drzoolittle.com/servalinfo.htm] Article By Plantation Delight Exotics Servals can be very affectionate and playful, they do well with other animals if raised together, or exposed at a young age. But they are a wild animal, and you always need to remember that their wild instincts can kick in at any time. The first serval we owned we raised in the house with domestic kittens. They played, ate and slept together without a problem. One day I bathed one of the domestic kittens and while it was wet it smelled different Makita (serval) picked up the kitten and took off across the room with the kitten in her mouth. I was able to retrieve the kitten before anything happened, but I have no doubt that if let be that kitten would have been lunch. Serval are a feline and do a good job at keeping them selves groomed. They are easily house trained. They tend to like two boxes one for urination and one to defecate in. Females tend to bond to who ever feeds them and will hiss at others where males seem more accepting of strangers- a typical feline personality. They do go through a kitten stage of running and jumping- the higher the better, but they are fairly agile creature and don't do too much damage. I recommend declawing of all four around the age of 12 wks. Their claws are semi retractable and they can do damage when playing. I pull my kittens at 2-3 wks of age and bottle-feed. (Esbilac, yogurt and water) Once they are down to drinking 2 -3 bottles a day and eating solid food they are ready for new homes. This is usually by the time they are 6-8 wks old. It is best the purchase a serval while it is still on the bottle. This will ensure the bonding process. I feed my servals Science Diet Feline Growth until they are 18 months old and then switch to Science Diet Maintenance. Dry Food only. An ideal setup for a Serval is indoor and out arrangement. Where they can spend time in the house but have an enclosed area out of doors the enjoy. Mine use a doggie door that opens to an enclosed area that is 16 ft long 8ft wide and 10 ft high with plenty of shelves and ramps. They love to be out enjoying the sunshine. They also love to play in water- a child's wading pool works great. Servals a wonderful pet but not for everyone. They can be trained to walk on a leash. But they are a wild animal, and in order to keep them you would need the proper federal, state and local permits. Interview with Gary Fulgham and Samantha Martin Positives
of Servals as pets? Negatives
of Servals as pets? Males are prone to spray even when neutered. Females will also spray. Its a 50/50 chance if you will get one that sprays in the house or not. If they start spraying, there is no stopping it and will have to become outside cage cats. They also will play very rough with you while growing up and have to be taught to NOT bite while playing. SM: They are a wild animal, with tremendous jumping ability. They will clear off all your shelves, to use as their own personal perches. They will kill smaller pets...esp rodents and birds (however they are fine with other domestic cats). Mine can be moody and will go from head-bumping me, to lunging at my head. When he was little, I slept with him all the time...I would, however have to put pillows on my feet, because when my toes moved around, he would leap on them and bite them. Then one day, he started getting up as soon as I went to bed. He would perch on a shelf and wait for me to almost fall asleep. Then he would do a four-paw leap/attack and try and bite my face! After 2 or 3 night of this, I banished him. This went on for almost a year. Now he is back to sleeping with me, and there have been no more attacks. I can always tell when he is going to bite, as his right foot starts to quiver. Funny thing, though. He still purrs as he bites. If they get loose outside, they turn into a wild beast and are difficult to catch. They will watch for opportunities for escape, so you have to be on your guard. Anecdotes/stories
about your Serval pet? Do they
have scent glands or an offensive smell? What
is their average life span? Do they
enjoy interaction? What
is their general personality, disposition, and attitude? Are they
sweet and petable, or mischievous and playful? How destructive
are they for an average household? Do they
climb or tear up furniture? Are there
any problems associated with their claws? How messy
are their droppings? Can they
be litter box trained? Can they
be trained? How are
they with other pets, larger and smaller? What
size cage do they need? What
do you feed them? What
vaccinations/vet care do they require? At what
age would it be best to get one? Other
Consideration for owners of Servals? What
kind of person should own these animals?
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