Does anyone have a serval for a housecat?

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Jeff Miller - 09 Mar 2004 23:23 GMT

I haven't seen this topic covered for quite a while. I was wondering
if there were any educated people who have had experience with regard
to owning an African Serval, as a pet. I am not interested in hearing
the garbage from people who have no experience with owning a serval,
about how they are wild and should be left in the wild. To people like
that, please make your own post, elsewhere. Again, I am interested in
hearing from people who actually own or have owned a pet serval. I
want YOUR opinion on servals as pets.
Thanks,
JeffM

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rpl - 10 Mar 2004 04:40 GMT

> I haven't seen this topic covered for quite a while. I was wondering
> if there were any educated people who have had experience with regard
> to owning an African Serval, as a pet. I am not interested in hearing
> the garbage from people who have no experience with owning a serval,
> about how they are wild and should be left in the wild. To people like
> that, please make your own post, elsewhere.

yeah well good luck with that

>Again, I am interested in
> hearing from people who actually own or have owned a pet serval. I
> want YOUR opinion on servals as pets.
> Thanks,
> JeffM

well personally I want a lynx, though I understand they're not all that
domestic. The problem being that the cat doesn't feel too attached to
the owner, unlike housecats who know a good deal when they see one.
(Size/environment might have something to do with that, dunno). And of
course there's Sigfried and Roy (which despite the news, I think is a
good example of people who take care of abandoned big cats).

Some people here have Bengals which are basically Jungle Cats: their
behaviour pattern is a bit skewed from standard felis domesticus.

pat

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rangitotogirl - 10 Mar 2004 07:11 GMT

> Some people here have Bengals which are basically Jungle Cats:

Well not quite. There was a wild cat (Asian Leopard Cat) in their breeding
several generations back which accounts for their looks. However the wild
cat has to be a minimum of four generations back before they can officially
be called a Bengal so they are very much a domesticated pussy cat with loads
of affection.

>their
> behaviour pattern is a bit skewed from standard felis domesticus.

Yes, you could say a bit skewed in that they have more of an attraction to
water. They are full of energy and they love to play, but then most kittens
are like that. However, I believe they don't really grow out of that (ours
is only 16 weeks so I've yet to find out).

The following site gives more info on Bengals:

http://www.tibcs.com/home.php

To the original poster, sorry I can't answer your question.

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Jeff Miller - 10 Mar 2004 16:30 GMT

> I haven't seen this topic covered for quite a while. I was wondering
> if there were any educated people who have had experience with regard
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> Thanks,
> JeffM

I'm sure it's not proper etiquette to answer your own post but I
wanted to get things started. I have owned a serval as a housecat for
two years now. He is a de-clawed neutered male that is 29lb. He lives
with my wife and I and five children 2,4,6,8,10. He is litter trained
and has never caused harm to anybody. It really hasn't seemed too
difficult to train him. Since my children are homeschooled, the cat
has constant attention and I think that is an important factor. Also,
we got him when he was three weeks old. We bottle fed him and I think
that may have had some impact on him bonding with us. He loves
everyone (except new little kids; he has learned they are somewhat
disrespectful). I use both positive nad negative reinforcement
techniques to train him. It seems as he gets older I need to use fewer
and fewer negative reinforcement techniques. About the only thing I
will do when he really is naughty is tell him verbal "NO" and put him
in his timeout room for about an hour. Of course we are always
praising him for doing good deeds. His favorite word in the world is
"Treat". We have a 2500 sq/ft house and he will come running from
anywhere if he hears the magic word. I've heard so many bad reports
about owning servals as pets and am really surprised, so I wanted to
get others opinions as well, especially some good reports such as
mine. Thanks.

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StocksRus? - 10 Mar 2004 16:48 GMT

>> I haven't seen this topic covered for quite a while. I was wondering
>> if there were any educated people who have had experience with regard
[quoted text clipped - 28 lines]
> get others opinions as well, especially some good reports such as
> mine. Thanks.

Man...if I had a lot of land, I would definately want one.

Signature

StocksRus?

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rpl - 10 Mar 2004 17:42 GMT

> I have owned a serval as a housecat for
> two years now. He is a de-clawed neutered male that is 29lb. He lives
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> has constant attention and I think that is an important factor. Also,
> we got him when he was three weeks old.

Mommy ended up as somebody's fur coat eh? That's sad.

>We bottle fed him and I think
> that may have had some impact on him bonding with us. He loves
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> anywhere if he hears the magic word. I've heard so many bad reports
> about owning servals as pets and am really surprised,

Seems you hit the "sweet spot", servals are one of the few "tameable"
species and you've obviously taken very good personal care of him from
when he was abandoned for whatever reason. Kudos

>so I wanted to
> get others opinions as well, especially some good reports such as
> mine. Thanks.

All my charges come running at the sound of a plastic bag crinkling
(where the kitty-treats are), and I spend a few minutes "feeding the
pigeons" so-to-speak.

For myself I don't like the idea of declawing at all, though 30 lbs of
pissed-off pussy might change my mind (doubt it though), from the sound
of things (he's well behaved) you probably didn't have to,
retrospectively. How is he on "walkies" and curious as to how the dog he
meets react.

pat

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Jeff Miller - 11 Mar 2004 19:32 GMT

> > I have owned a serval as a housecat for
> > two years now. He is a de-clawed neutered male that is 29lb. He lives
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>
> Mommy ended up as somebody's fur coat eh? That's sad.

No, actually we bought him from a breeder in Texas.

> >We bottle fed him and I think
> > that may have had some impact on him bonding with us. He loves
[quoted text clipped - 26 lines]
> retrospectively. How is he on "walkies" and curious as to how the dog he
> meets react.

He does well on walks. Dogs are interested but cautious. Ever once in
a while he will bat the living hell out of a dog. That is always
enough to command a little respect. He has lightning fast paws. He
usually crouches down if he sees a dog in order to hide. We started
walking him and had him on a harness from the moment we brought him
home. He's pretty used to it now.

> pat

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equalizer - 11 Mar 2004 20:47 GMT

<SNIP>

Pictures? We want pictures!

>I'm sure it's not proper etiquette to answer your own post but I
>wanted to get things started. I have owned a serval as a housecat for
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
>get others opinions as well, especially some good reports such as
>mine. Thanks.

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David Witts - 14 Mar 2004 14:31 GMT

Hiya, Group :)

Jeff; I would also have suggested you check out the "always busy" Servals Yahoo
group, where there are some excellent owners... but you're already on the
list... :p
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Servals/

Pat; there's a friendly lynx & bobcat list at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BOBCATS-LYNX/
Might be worth a look, to compare thoughts and understanding, if you're
interested in taking things forward.
Forewarned is forearmed, but an "always learning" attitude is /always/ a plus;
from personal experience.

(both of these lists are well established, with 200+ members)

A fair number of lists exist for other species and interests, too...
For convenience, we keep a list of some of these on the <Phoenix Exotics> group
(networking across interests, in support of responsible ownership; with a wide
profile from AZA employees and sanctuary owners through "pet" owners and
interested public.
All welcome there, too, although "No Email/Read on Web" is recommended when
things get busy ;)

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Phoenix_Exotics/

(We've also published a small "experiences" book for the smaller exotic cats
http://www.phoenixexotics.org/pbooks.html
New printing just out, with other titles to follow...).

(heh, heh... apologies if this ended up sounding like an advertisement :p)

Kindest regards,
David Witts.

> JeffM wrote:
> I haven't seen this topic covered for quite a while. I was wondering
> if there were any educated people who have had experience with regard
> to owning an African Serval, as a pet. I am not interested in hearing
> the garbage from people who have no experience with owning a serval,
> about how they are wild and should be left in the wild...

Reply to this Message

rpl - 14 Mar 2004 16:00 GMT

> Hiya, Group :)
>
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> Forewarned is forearmed, but an "always learning" attitude is /always/ a plus;
> from personal experience.

<g> More a pipe-dream than anything else... other fixtures in the
scenario include a log-cabin and a few hundred wooded acres.

> (both of these lists are well established, with 200+ members)
>
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
>
> (heh, heh... apologies if this ended up sounding like an advertisement :p)

Not at all, I didn't know such a thing existed. I got a kick out of the
title "Small Exotic Cats We've Known and Loved" and the accompanying photo.

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