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Rarer Cat Breeds Profile – June

:: Serengeti ::

General Description:

The ideal Serengeti cat is a medium sized cat with long legs. It should be in excellent physical condition, strong and muscular. It should appear as a graceful, statuesque, squarely built cat with a very upright posture. Also noticeable is the long neck that which blends into the base of the skull without tapering. Strikingly large, round tipped ears equal to length of the head are one of the main features of the Serengeti as are its bright, round eyes. They should have a gentle, confident, outgoing and alert temperament.

History:

The Serengeti cat was created by Karen Sausman, owner of Kingsmark Cattery in California and a professional conservation biologist. She decided to create a domestic breed of cat that was partially modeled on the beautiful African serval. However, unlike the breed known as Savannah cats, the Serengeti cats have no serval blood and have been developed from crossing bengals and oriental shorthairs. A project to create the breed started slowly in 1995 and now Serengeti's are being bred by individuals around the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia and even Russia. Serengeti cats are TICA registered and can be shown as a preliminary new breed.




Personality:

The ideal Serengeti cat has an open, self-assured and friendly temperament. While they might be shy for a few moments in a new location, as soon as they warm up to their new owners and home they can become like Velcro, always wanting to be with you helping with every endeavor. These are extremely agile cats and very active. They love to get on high places and enjoy running through the house at full speed. They can be vocal, which comes probably from their oriental ancestors, and gladly talk with you about almost any subject. If properly introduced, they get along well with other pets.

Appearance:

The Serengeti is a medium boned, long-legged domestic cat. They have a short, tight coat with a silky texture. Serengeti's come in yellow to gold with a pattern of distinctly, widely spaced black spots. They also come in solid black and they may also be a cold grey with black spots and bright, white silver with black spots. The ears of the Serengeti are very large, rounded on the end and placed directly on top of their skull. Their large round eyes are usually gold to amber. In conformation and body type, the Serengeti is more similar to the oriental short hair but with larger boned and longer legs. They are also much more upright in their posture. Male Serengeti cats can weigh between 10-15 pounds and females weigh usually between 8-12 pounds.



<sub>Breed Standard:

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

The ideal Serengeti cat is a medium-sized cat with long legs. It should be in excellent physical condition, strong and muscular. It should appear as a graceful, statuesque, squarely built cat with a very upright posture. Also noticeable is the long neck, which blends into the base of the skull with tapering. Strikingly large round-tipped ears, equal to the length of the head are one of the main
features of the Serengeti. They should have a gentle, confident, outgoing and alert temperament.

HEAD:

Shape: The head is longer than it is wide; a modified wedge, starting at the nose and flaring out in a straight line to base of ears forming a triangle with a slight break at the whiskers. Cheeks should not be prominent. Ears: Wide and deep at the base with rounded tips. Strikingly large, equal to the
length of the head. Set upright and close together on the top of the head. Eyes: Round and large. Neither protruding nor recessed. Separated by a broad nose. Much more than an eye width apart. Gold or yellow eye color preferred, hazel to light green allowed. Chin: Strong and lines up with tip of nose in the same vertical plane, neither receding nor excessively massive. Muzzle: Medium with moderately full and rounded whisker pads. With a slight break at the whiskers. Nose: Moderately wide, even width throughout the length. Profile: Straight line from the nose to the brow, then gently sloping to the top of the head, flowing into an arched neck. Neck: Long in proportion to body. Thick
with very little to no taper into back of head.

BODY:

Torso: Semi-foreign and solid. Rump
and shoulders should be the same level giving a very upright posture. Males may be somewhat larger than females. Legs: Extremely long with medium boning and musculature. Feet: Medium, oval. Tail: Thick and tapering slightly from the body to the end. Medium short, ideally short
of shoulder when laid along torso. Boning: Medium leg boning with a substantial torso of good depth.
Musculature: Long and lean.

COAT:

Length: Short and even. Texture: Fine textured, dense, with some
loft.

COLOR:

Tabby Division: Any shade of brown with high contrast between the ground color and
spots. Light to white underbelly, chin and front of muzzle. Back of ears with eye spot. Glitter acceptable. Solid Division: Black solid, ghost spots may be visible. Silver/Smoke Division: Black spots on a clear silvery body; black smoke.

PATTERN:

Random spotted or solid. In spotted cats preference given to random high contrast spot pattern, spot pattern on shoulders and hips extending down the legs and black rings around the tail. Two-toned spots (rosettes) should be penalized.

OTHER:

Balance: Square build with level top line. Condition: Well-muscled. Temperament: Confident. Must be unchallenging.</sub>

* From TICA.org



Where to find a Serengeti:

Serengeti Breed: Breeders Directory
Right Pet: Serengeti Breeders
Cat Breeds Junction: Serengeti Cat Breeders Directory

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Rare Breeds of 2012:

March: Khao Manee
April: Singapura
May: American Wirehair

Previous Rare Breeds from 2011:

August: Selkirk Rex
July: Siberian Forest Cat
June: Toyger
May: Nebelung