Savannah cats by Tarantela

The Savannah is a cross between an African Serval and a domestic cat. Savannahs have tall and slender bodies, large pointed ears and striking black spots. They look incredibly graceful. They are one of the newest breeds in the world. The first Savannahs were bred in the USA in 1986. I am so excited to be one of the first breeders in the UK. At Tarantela we will not use outcrosses in our breeding programme, all Tarantela kittens will come from Savannah to Savannah matings.

Like Bengals they have been given 'F' numbers to indicate how many generations from the wild Serval they are. An SBT is at least 4 generations removed from the Serval and is only then a true Savannah. The Savannah colours accepted by TICA are black, brown spotted tabby, silver spotted tabby and black smoke only.

As bred through the generations the size of the cat has decreased from the first generation of around 15 to 25lbs to an SBT weighing around 12lb-15lbs., but keeping their longer legs and large ears and wild appearance. Savannahs don't reach their final size until around 3 years of age.

Savannahs are adaptable cats, and get on well with other cats and dogs, they make good family pets. Savannahs are very curious, assertive and active, seeking interaction with humans or other cats. They will bond strongly with their human family, they have a great temperament. Like Bengals they love water and want to join in everything that is going on. Savannahs can be easily trained to walk on a harness. They eat the same as any other domestic cat and use the litter tray.

For those who would like to know a little about the wild Serval (Leptailrus Serval). They are not an aggressive animal and are classified as a "lessor cat" and should never be grouped with the bigger cats, they feed on rodents and birds. They weigh around 35 lbs and have golden coats with bold black spots, long slender legs and large ears with oceli (white spots on the back of the ear), and a shorter tail. Serval's habitat ranges from the tall grasslands, savannahs, forests and marshes of Africa.

Purebliss Ghost Rider - out of USA Imports
(A1 Savannhs Princes Made x A1 Savannahs Illusion)

I have acquired a beautiful Savannah boy Purebliss Ghost Rider to be one of Tarantelas new foundation studs. He is a lovely boy, I have always loved the wild elegance of the Savannahs and when I saw Illusion the mother of my boy I just fell in love and knew I had to have the opportunity to breed and help advance this beautiful new breed.

The temperament of Ghost and all my Savannahs is just wonderful.

The picture right is of Ghost as a kitten and the pictures below are Ghost taken in April, he has matured and has a real wild looking head.

We now have our 2nd foundation Savannah Stud;

Purebliss Predator - out of USA Imports;
(A1 Savannahs Volcano x A1 Savannahs Phoenix)
Predator is the second beautiful Savannah male I have acquired as a foundation stud for my new lines. Predator is a black or melanistic Savannah which is accepted as a standard colour by TICA, they are modelled on the black (melanistic) Serval which is sometimes seen in the wild. Needless to say they are very rare.
You can see Predators large black spots in the sunlight, on his shiny black coat. We are so pleased to have him in our breeding programme.

Black (Melanistic) Serval sometimes seen in the wild.

F2 and B2 denotes 2 generations from the Serval. It can also indicate 2 generations from an outcross . We have only imported F2 girls from the Serval and are only doing Savannah to Savannah matings so we keep the look of the wild cat. The temperaments of these cats is suberb.

We have two stunning F2 Savannah girls from Kristin Filseth, DVM of Demdar Savannahs in the USA. Both girls are home reared and have great temperaments, and definitely have the look of the Serval. These girls bring new pedigrees to Tarantela and the UK.

Demdar Lady Sabrina

This stunning wild looking black spotted girl is everything I wanted in a foundation girl, the photos speak for themselves.

Demdar Lady Lolita our F2 (second generation from the Serval) baby girl. This beautiful F2, the younger of the two, is developing beautifully with a great head, tall rounded ears and shorter length tail, stunning markings - and a cheeky look. We really have the Savannah head in this little girl and I couldn't resist putting in the last picture of her when she was a kitten.


Right Kita; Both the above new Savannah girls come from the line of Kita the Serval who passed away in 2005.