The Savannah breed traces back to 1986 when the first Savannah kitten was born to a domestic queen and a male African Serval.
According to the International Cat Association(TICA), the first Savannah cat was born on April 7, 1986. The kitten, named Savannah, was the result of a cross between a wild African Serval and a domestic Siamese. Other domestic cats used to develop the Savannah breed include the Oriental Shorthair, Egyptian Mau, and domestic shorthair.
The breed gained official recognition and was registered with TICA in 2001. Still today, however, the Cat Fanciers’ Association does not recognize the Savannah cat as a registered breed. This is partly because Savannah cat breeders have not applied for registration, Keiger says, but also due to the CFA’s stance on hybrid cat breeding.
“CFA does not condone the cross-breeding of wild to domestic cats,” Keiger says. “It can be very dangerous or even deadly to the domestic cat being bred.”
While the Bengal cat—a hybrid cross between an Asian Leopard Cat and a domestic cat—is registered with the CFA, Keiger says they only recognize cats from the F6 generation and beyond, as “the cat should be far enough removed [from their wild ancestors] that problematic behaviors are much less apt to be present,” she says.