We have been doing an ongoing investigation over the past month on the regulations around wild cat ownership within the UK. It's been a lot of work. There is a lot of difference in opinion when it comes to "What is a Dangerous Wild Animal (DWA) and what security arrangements must be in place to ensure not only the animal is safe and secure but also to guard the public as per the Dangerous Wild Animal Act 1976".

Unfortunately for us (meaning all of you too), as wild animal owners, the difference of opinion is actually down to the Veterinarian who inspects us annually. These "Professional appointed persons" are the ones who may have never seen a wild cat in their life, let alone actually cared for one whether that be medically or in terms of providing daily care. Some of them have great knowledge on the cats and what environment they need to be kept in for their welfare, others simply revert to colleagues in the field or...google (heaven forbid).

Recently, we decided since we are constantly inundated with requests for Servals, Caracals and F1 Savannahs who must be kept with a licence, and realistically we have no real good information on every council in the UK to offer them that we would take it upon ourselves to source an overall set of information on every council within Scotland and England.  

There is a common misconception that because someone else has a set of rules (or lack of them) that the same set will be applied on the applicants licence. It really is down to a vet to decide if what you have constructed (or again, perhaps not even bothered to construct) will be approved as a secure environment for your DWA. What we really want to address here is WHY there is so much scope for variation on rules for the same animals. We asked several licence holders about what they are required to do with the DWA's and what rules apply. We have seen several licences. The range of rules, or again, lack of, is completely unacceptable to those who feel they are being dicriminated against just because the vet who has processed their licence, doesn't agree with a vet across the country and applies a completely different set of rules. 

We recently had DEFRA come to the house to review our quarantine site. They went through all our paperwork and discussed the enclosures with our licensing vet and animal health officer from the council. It was good to have all three parties there at the one time considering it's a rare occasion to have them all present to explore and discuss issues face-to-face.

What is concerning here is, my cats are deemed wild animals which DEFRA have advised me that if the DWA cats must go to the vet or, we move them into different enclosures for mating purposes then we had to obtain a "Carrying Agents Licence" - (“authorised carrying agent” means a person authorised by the Minister under Article 10 of this order to carry animals, The Rabies (Importation of Dogs, Cats and Other Mammals) Order 1974). This was not an easy process. This involved us having to re-fit the car with anchor points, securing chains, padlocks, double-cages (where one is fitted inside the other for double security), metal mesh, perspex and gloves. It means we can transport cats for rabies purposes who are entering the UK for quarantine - the exact same licence that is required to move the DWA cats on the same premises to a different pen.

This brings me to some of my questions, which are;

1. Why should some parties require all of these licences and adhere to strict conditions under the requirements of DEFRA when there are DWA licences issued without these requirements elsewhere in the UK.
2. If it is so important to keep wild cats and their offspring secure, then why are other people sleeping with their servals on their beds or walking their wild cats on a lead? Is it fair for those who replicate the exact same situation to be refused a licence...because their vet which did the inspection deemed it appropriate, whereas ours didn't?

It is not particularly convincing that people are being treated fairly and equally given that licence holders are often very secretive and don't want to say what they can and can't do because they have a fear of it being removed from their licence due to a complaint, which appears to be rife within the wild cat ownership field. Also, there is the flip side of this where you have people claiming that their cats are permitted to be in their house living life as part of the family, when in reality we have just been lodged with e-mails as part of this study showing that those same people are in fact only licenced for their enclosures; for example one council replied, "not in the house under any circumstances". Some councils in England are "not really bothered if they are in the house as long as there's a double door at each exit", according to one DWA licence holder.

I don't understand why some holders have to have heavy duty mesh, one that you could in fact jump on without it breaking, when there is chicken wire being used in another enclosure or simply just two entry doors. Bearing in mind that these cats are really clever and can open doors (even doorknobs), I can understand why this is simply not secure enough for licensing under some vets supervision. 

If DEFRA advise us to have a licence to move the cats, then why are there others who are able to walk outside with their cats freely only on a harness.

Recently, we were reported to Child Protection Services because we had our Son inside our Caracals enclosure for some petting. This was our choice and of course the licensing department in the council advised us against this. There are other people with similar cats in the UK who have their wild cats with their children at all times, even unsupervised. Different rules, different regions. It's completely unacceptable that we should have to keep our animals in their enclosures at all times unless they are nursing kittens or until they are a certain age, whereas others have an easy come, easy go licence.

Upon contacting the council, we have submitted the following: 

We have yet to put everything together and form a detailed result on the information we have received to date. The information we have received is actually data which is owned by the council and therefore we cannot physically publish e-mails received. We will however be forming a table with the responses within each area and what requirements they have, if any. It will also detail if each council are happy for the wild cats or F1's to be kept within the house or outwith the home for walking purposes or, if they have currently got licence holders in the area with house access. The aim of this is to enable us all to be able to keep these cats under the same set of rules - it also means that when someone gets one of these cats or plans to, they will know what will be acceptable or not within their region and plan if it is still something they want to pursue. It is part of gaining equality for us all as owners. Acts and legislation should be transparent and rigid meaning there is a set minimum standard for these vets to use or perhaps a checklist with more detail to ensure we are all treated with the same respect instead of being discriminated against.

We will take the data to DEFRA and try to ensure that we can all enjoy ownership of our cats indoors since this has already been permitted. We will fight for equality - we will fight for you.

More information can be seen below.

​

Family Felidae:
All except--
(a) the species Felis silvestris, Otocolobus manul, Leopardus tigrinus, Oncifelis geoffroyi, Oncifelis guigna, Catopuma badia, Felis margarita, Felis nigripes, Prionailurus rubiginosus and Felis silvestris catus;
(b) a hybrid which is descended exclusively from any one or more species within paragraph (a);
(c) a hybrid of which--
(i) one parent is Felis silvestris catus, and
(ii) the other parent is a first generation hybrid of Felis silvestris catus and any cat not within paragraph (a);
(d) any cat which is descended exclusively from any one or more hybrids within paragraph (c) (ignoring, for the purpose of determining exclusivity of descent, the parents and remoter ancestors of any hybrid within paragraph (c));
(e) any cat which is descended exclusively from Felis silvestris catus and any one or more hybrids within paragraph (c) (ignoring, for the purpose of determining exclusivity of descent, the parents and remoter ancestors of any hybrid within paragraph (c)).


All cats including the bobcat, caracal, cheetah, jaguar, leopard, lion, lynx, ocelot, puma, serval and tiger.

The following are excepted:
(i)the wild cat, the pallas cat, the little spotted cat, the Geoffroy’s cat, the kodkod, the bay cat, the sand cat, the black-footed cat, the rusty-spotted cat and the domestic cat;

(ii)a hybrid cat which is descended exclusively from any one or more species within paragraph (a);

(iii)a hybrid cat having as one parent a domestic cat and as the other parent a first generation hybrid of a domestic cat and any cat not within paragraph (a);

(iv)any cat which is descended exclusively from any one or more hybrids within paragraph (c);

(v)any cat which is descended exclusively from a domestic cat and any one or more hybrids within paragraph (c).


Source: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2007/2465/schedule/made

We contacted the 32 councils in Scotland and await their response.

Please stay tuned for the results of the DWA information within each area relevant to you. Thank you for those who have taken part in this and supported the investigation into equality of licence distribution.

We will publish data on those councils which have stated "up to the vet at the time", "under no circumstances", "under some circumstances - more details" and those which "allow" to give a clear picture of each area. 

I have been asked by a few people recently for help with feeding their serval and caracal kittens. I thought I would compose this guide to make things easier for you instead of you having to recalculate daily and getting all flustered!

Firstly, congratulations on your new baby and hello to those who are here as part of their research on owning one of these beautiful animals. I would also like to recommend this guide to those who have asked how much milk to feed a Savannah kitten or how much to feed a newborn kitten.

I will also include some recommendations on what you can purchase to support the feeding routine of your serval kitten in the UK. This includes teats, bottles and methods which we use to feed our kittens.

Generally, we recommend that as soon as we have established a good feeding routine with a serval or caracal kitten, that it comes to you to start the bonding process. We recently visited fellow 'feline slaves' at Cat Haven in California, USA (Dale Anderson) and we were discussing the age of which it important for these kind of cats to make the transition to their new owners. Dale and I both agreed that by waiting even past 6 weeks can really impact of the bonding process which you will have and the trust that can be built from a crucial stage in their emotional and sensory development.

I always recommend that your serval or caracal kitten vaccination is not normally carried out until at least 16 weeks of age due to the slower rate of growth. This is why the feeding requirements are crucial because you become Mum or Dad; you become the only source of life for these kittens and it's crucial you get it right.

Many of you who follow serval and caracal groups on social media will have read recently of a number of servals who have been suffering from a calcium deficiency where, in layman's terms, the bones fracture in the legs and the kittens become unable to support the weight of their bodies on their legs. Many of them have died. There has been a number of deaths of serval and caracal kittens which have been delivered with broken legs over the past few years, not only in the USA but in Europe and this rate appears to be increasing as people buy servals, often related, then breed them to make a quick buck. None of these breeders appear to know or more importantly care what they are doing. These servals are arriving with CITES papers with Savannah written on them and we have been contacted by people who are living in fear that their cats are illegal and fear of them being seized and destroyed. Two breeders which we urge to err on the side of caution (or basically just set your money on fire) with are in Russia and Ukraine. You do not want to go through the heartache that several people have been through with these breeders. Even more recently, servals are being sold from the UK without any paperwork at all and sent abroad in the hope that they won’t get caught or seized. This becomes more about the money than the animals. BE CAREFUL.

As you know, I am very keen on supplementation and diet research for all of our cats. Some breeders heavily stress by feeding a mixed whole prey diet, that your serval or caracal kitten would be perfectly healthy and this is true to an extent. Often cats in captivity do not eat the whole prey which they would in the wild because they know that their next meal is coming by sunset. Feeding your serval or caracal kitten on chicken drumsticks and mixed minced meat is NOT sufficient for their diet. They need much more than raw meat and some bones. We always recommend you buy Keizebrink Organ Mix to add to your meat and we ALWAYS use carefully measured supplements which are like multivitamins for cats - the main ones are here. It is important that once your serval kitten is weaned that you still add some milk to their meat for the first 6 - 9 months of their life as kittens. Many will still feed them bottles to keep that bond - and that is perfectly okay also. If you do not want to feed a bottle to a serval or caracal then this is not the right kitten for you. This is a major part of the 'breakthrough-barrier' in getting them used to living in captivity alongside you. 

So here are some details that should hopefully get you started.

1. Since each ml of water weights 1 g, 0.1 liters of water = 100 grams. 1 kilogram (kg) = 1000 grams. This means 100 g = 0.1 kg.·    
2. So, 10% bodyweight of a 150g kitten is 15g of powder with 30ml of water per day – since 30g of water weighs 30ml. 20% bodyweight is 30g of powder with 60ml of water, per day divided into equal feeds – at least 5 but preferably more up to 12 for smaller kittens at this weight. You can put milk in a saucer twice per day once they are feeding.
3. The heavier weights, before using a saucer, are more indicated towards servals and other larger cats, since it’s important that they get their nutrients from milk for longer due to the slower rate of growth than a domestic kitten. You can switch to a saucer once your domesticated kitten eating food.
4. We would recommend this guide for use in feeding F1 Savannah Kittens.
5. Powders are in a 1 : 2 ratio of powder to water.

I’ve given you a minimum and maximum range to help those who want to check what the daily healthy range is for their kitten.
 
Weaning
 
We recommend that you start to wean on a mixture of Animonda Carny Kitten “Baby Paté” and then onto the mixed varieties. This is because there is a good quality meat within these tins and there is much less risk of bacteria growth than raw meat. We also use Purrform Complete Raw Meat which must be supervised at all times to prevent the spread of bacteria potential. The best thing you can do at feeding time is place the meat on a plate on top of a puppy training pad, this way it can be disposed of immediately after feeding and a bath can be given to the kittens feet and face.
 
You can buy the Animonda Kitten food on Zooplus and Purrform is directly from their website.

Animonda Carny Kitten is a well-balanced moist food for growing cats. Your kitten needs lots of good quality protein to ensure that it has a good start in life and grows in a healthy way. This is why the Animonda Carny Kitten recipes only contain selected premium meat varieties. The freshly prepared varieties are gently cooked to preserve nutrients and fulfill the nutritional needs of growing cats.
These foods only contain fresh muscle meat and offal, so that the structure of the meat is maintained, providing your cat with a healthy dose of natural taurine. All of the varieties are grain free, making them suitable for cats with allergies and intolerances. Animonda Carny is also free from artificial additives and soya.
 
Animonda Carny Kitten has a natural, authentic meat flavour that cats love. The label shows which meat types are included, so that you know exactly what you are feeding to your pet.
 
Ingredients:
Beef, Chicken & Rabbit: Beef (33%, lung, meat, heart, kidney, udder), chicken liver (20%), rabbit (12%), calcium carbonate.
Beef, Veal & Chicken: Beef (32%, meat, heart, kidney, udder), veal (17%, lungs, liver), chicken (16%, liver, neck), calcium carbonate.
Beef & Turkey Hearts: Beef (50%, lung, meat, heart, kidney, liver, udder), turkey hearts (15%), calcium carbonate.
Poultry: Beef (39%, lung, meat, heart, kidney, udder), chicken liver (14%), turkey hearts (6%), duck hearts (6%), calcium carbonate.
Additives:
Nutritional additives /kg:
Vitamin D3 (200 IU), iodine (0.2 mg), manganese (1.5mg), zinc (10mg).
 
Analytical constituents
 
protein 11.0 %
fat       6.0 %
fibre    0.3 %
ash      1.7 %
moisture         80.0 %
taurine 0.8 g/kg
 
You can buy the Animonda Kitten food on Zooplus and Purrform is directly from their website.
 
How to start
 
You would ideally feed from a teaspoon (silver spoon) and wedge just under the front teeth at about 4 weeks old. Your kitten will show resistance to this, but once they get a taste, they will likely start to nibble it off the spoon. You may find whatever you get into their mouth they just push back out again with their tongue. This is a normal part of weaning and don’t lose hope. Keep trying twice a day and continue with bottle feeds as normal. Once they take it easily off the spoon you can lure them to lean down to the bowl with the spoon. You might find they only eat the bits you scoop onto the spoon but keep encouraging them to follow the spoon to the bowl and they will soon be eating from the bowl without your help.
 
You should only need weaning paste for about a week at the most and then you can move onto more chewy, thicker textures. Be very careful about giving him chicken drumsticks as they don’t really have that much goodness in them due to the fact that the cats need organs in their diet to be complete. The chicken meat and bone is good but they will be too little to chew the bone. The better alternative is day old chicks. They are GREAT fun. Very tasty, high in nutrients and fun to throw about for an hour before eating. The bones are soft in day old chicks and so easy to eat.
 
AT NO POINT SHOULD YOU GIVE YOUR SERVAL BISCUITS/ KIBBLE. IT IS NOT A NATURAL FOOD FOR THEM.
 
Junior Diet
 
You can feed your kitten up to 6 - 10% of their body weight per day for good growth.Once your serval has got to 4 months they should be ready to eat quail and larger whole prey. You can give this to them gradually by cutting them in half with a butcher’s knife and serving in parts. Be careful not to leave uneaten food lying around for too long as the bacteria grows at room temperature and you do not want a sick baby serval. By the time they have got to 4 months of age you really do not need to give them any bottles but can continue to do so for bonding purposes.
 
Adult Diet
 
You can really mix it up to make it interesting for your serval or caracal cat. You can tie food on string to the roof of their enclsoures so they have to find a way up to it, you can hide it inside cardboard boxes or up a tree! They enjoy 1 quail and 5 day old chicks in the morning 0800 hours, then they have around 500grams/ 1.1lbs of meat at night for dinner at 2000 hours. You really want to stick to around 3 – 5% of their bodyweight in meat per day depending on their metabolism.
 
A pregnant serval or caracal should be allowed at least 2 – 3 times the amount they would normally eat on a daily basis. They will need it for the growth and feeding of the kittens after birth. We always continue to feed our servals this amount for 3 months after the birth of their kittens even though the kittens are hand-reared by us from 3 weeks of age for socialisation purposes. This helps to bring mum back to perfect condition. A “working” serval male will also require a good diet to keep his energy levels high.
 
Servals and caracals do become lazy if overfed, so try and keep them in a nice lean condition.

This is copyright and watermarked. You may contact us for a copy of this table for personal use.

A milk replacer and nutritional supplement fortified with vitamins and minerals to be used in feeding wild and exotic non-domestic animals such as Squirrels, Rabbits, Opossum, Wolves, Lions, Tigers, Pumas, Servals, Caracals, Binturongs and all Rodents. Part of an integrated system designed to let you virtually match any mammal’s milk.
​
Mixing Directions:
Reconstituting milk replacers with water is most accurately accomplished by weighing the individual components. If weighing is not possible, use the following volume measurements to reconstitute Milk Matrix 33/40 powder to the indicated concentrations:

A volume is a measurement such as a teaspoon, tablespoon, cup, etc. Suggested powder:water mixing ratios for various species:
1:1 Rabbit. Most Rodents
1:1.5 Squirrel, Opossum
1:2 Serval, Caracal, Lion, Tiger, Puma, Wolf
1:3 Binturong
​
Milk Matrix 33/40

Weights determined by scooping powder from the container and leveling. These values are only guidelines and can vary 5-10% due to variation in production.
Milk Replacer: Milk Matrix 33/40 may be used alone or blended with other products in the Matrix family to formulate a milk replacer with nutrient levels that closely match a species’ natural milk.
As a general rule, liquid or reconstituted milk replacer should be fed at a rate of 10% to 20% of the bodyweight daily or as tolerated and required for steady growth and proper stool condition. Divide the total daily amount into 6 to 12 feedings per day, depending on age, condition, species and staffing.
Reconstituted milk replacers should be refrigerated and used within 24 hours. Feed at room or body temperature depending on size and condition of animal.
Weaning Food Supplement: Because of its highly digestible milk nutrients, the formula used during suckling is an excellent supplement during weaning as a transition from milk to solid food. Add to the diet at the rate of one teaspoon of powder per 10 lbs. of bodyweight.
Calorie Content (calculated)
The calorie content (ME) is 740 kcal/kg or 11.1kcal/tbs when powder is reconstituted 1:2.
Unblended product: Refrigerate after opening. Discard if unused after three months.
 
Blended powder: Refrigerate for up to three months.
 
Note: To extend storage life of opened or blended powder, freeze in sealed container; discard after six months. Unopened product may be frozen to extend shelf life for six months beyond expiration date.

Guaranteed Analysis
 
Crude Protein, min. 33.0%
Crude Fat, min. 40.0%
Crude Fiber 0.0%
Moisture, max. 5.0%
 
Ingredients
 
Vegetable oil (preserved with BHA, BHT, propyl gallate and citric acid), dried skimmed milk, casein, egg yolk, L-arginine, DL-methionine, calcium carbonate precipitated, potassium phosphate monobasic, lecithin, dried corn syrup, calcium hydroxide, salt, monocalcium phosphate, sodium hydroxide, choline chloride, potassium chloride, silicon dioxide, magnesium carbonate, taurine, magnesium sulfate, vitamin A supplement, zinc sulfate, vitamin E supplement, ferrous sulfate, niacin supplement, copper sulfate, calcium pantothenate, vitamin B12 supplement, manganese sulfate, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid, riboflavin, thiamine mononitrate, calcium iodate, pyridoxine hydrochloride.
 

RECOMMENDED FOR F2 SAVANNAHS ONWARDS.

Storage

Opened powder should be stored in a cool, dry place. Reconstituted KMR must be kept refrigerated for up to 24 hours. Opened powder must be refrigerated for up to 3 months, or can be frozen for up to 6 months to preserve freshness.

Ingredients

Dried skim milk, casein, vegetable oil, butterfat, corn syrup solids, mono- and diglycerides of edible fat-forming acids, lecithin, L-arginine, choline chloride, calcium carbonate, potassium chloride, monopotassium phosphate, magnesium sulfate, salt, carrageenan, tricalcium phosphate, dipotassium phosphate, taurine, ferrous sulfate, dicalcium phosphate, ascorbic acid, zinc sulfate, niacinamide, vitamin A supplement, copper sulfate, vitamin E supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, potassium citrate, thiamin mononitrate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin, potassium iodide, vitamin B12 supplement, folic acid, biotin.
​
Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein, min
42.0%

Crude Fat, min
25.0%

Crude Fiber, max
0.0%

Moisture, max
5.0%

SERVAL KITTENS UK

We have a crazy waiting list at the moment for boys. As much as we love getting to know you all and chatting with you in PMs, without a copy of your licence, we cannot legally sell you a serval.

We also expect you to have gained a reasonable amount of knowledge either through our website http://www.stylisticat.com/blog/dwa-licence-questions
or other avenues, understand basics on what serval dietary requirements are, the specialist veterinary care you require, imprinting process and if you plan to become a licensed carrier to take them to the vet in your vehicle (yes you need a licence for that too) and when our baby comes to you it needs to be their forever home and had experience either visually or at another owners.

http://www.stylisticat.com/blog/dwa-licence-questions

We will not sell a serval to breeders of Savannahs with less than 3 years breeding experience, this to ensure you are truly in it for the long haul.

And are you ready to give up your holidays away from home? Your baby will need you and that could possibly mean only you!

We won't ship them outside the UK> 16-30 weeks is too old for them to imprint.

We won't fake dates on vaccinations to enable you to get them overseas very young like breeders in Ukraine, Belgium other places in Europe and Russia.

Chances are if you get CITES paperwork it will be fake as there are no CITES for a serval to the UK from the EU. Check the CITES, does it say Savannah when it's supposed to say serval?...

"But they are cheaper overseas". Yes, they are a lot cheaper but there is a reason why our prices are what they are. Importing a serval or a cheap F1 Savannah to the UK means:

1. Not meeting the holder or seeing the facility.
   
2. Not meeting Mummy and Daddy.
   
3. Not being able to do weekly visits from 4 weeks old for bonding time.
   
4. Waiting for 12 weeks before vaccinating for rabies
5. Waiting a further 3 weeks to pass before rabies clearance will be given and entry to the UK allowed.
6. Hoping that the kitten won't have an adverse reaction to the vaccine.
7. You need to pay for an approved DEFRA-APPROVED Rabies Carrying Agent to go and collect the kitten and transport it to a quarantine facility in the UK.
8. You will be required to pay VAT at 20% on the overall travel cost plus the cost of the kitten at customs. For example if you pay £6,700 for a serval and £1,200 transportation. Your carrying agent will be required to pay HMRC £1,580 upon landing at the UK Border for you.
9. This is not just for servals - you are required to pay VAT on the purchase price and the travel cost on any cat.
10. There are no commercial quarantine facilities in the UK with a DWA licence legally open to the general public, only private holders.
11. You can expect to pay £2,000 for quarantine, yes, even an F1 Savannah requires quarantine.
12. Once you have paid in advance for all of this, your kitten is required to serve 4 calendar months in quarantine. 
13. Once everything has been completed by the book and you've paid the example costs of £6,700 + £1,580 + £1,200 expenses, your serval or F1 is ready to come home at 8 months old.

By 8 months old you really have missed the boat in getting to know the kitten and them getting to know you. There is a very high chance, in my opinion around 99% chance that you will not be able to handle a serval who comes to you at this age, and likely will never have a close bond.

This is why buying from the UK makes all the difference as we make sure that your serval is with you in time to imprint on you. You become their one and only.

F1 Savannah Cat for sale....no, not worded correctly. I’ll try again.

Not really the ideal sales advert or the ideal solution for either the cat in question or myself.

Owning early generation hybrids and wild cats means that you really do need to be responsive to their needs and change things to suit them where possible. Sometimes when a group have been friends through a juvenile period, after becoming Mothers themselves or even approaching adulthood, the hormones can really upset the balance in a cattery environment, even in large enclosures. We always aim to keep the cats occupied through various enrichment experiences and change things up regularly within their enclosures. Sometimes when the cats take a dislike to each other, they can stay in their “mood” for weeks and even months at a time. You, as a responsible owner, must take the sufficient steps to ensure there is a balance at all times.

Emira our F1 Savannah has always been the most stand-off-ish out of our F1’s and a bit less predictable. She was completely un-socialised when we got her, which meant she was absolutely terrified to come near us. Our advice when we received her was, “here is some Supermarket branded pouches with gravy, she likes those best and kibble along with a couple of mice”. I kept her on the Tesco value sachets and biscuits for the first few weeks as I didn’t want to make her feel even worse. We then moved to what she should’ve been on and that was raw meat. The breeder had also kindly included a blanket – for comfort of smell you would think? No, the blanket was for picking her up with, it was for our 'protection', not for the comfort of the kitten. We were advised not to look her in the eyes and put the blanket over our hands before picking her up, ideally from her backed into a corner so we could control her spitting fit. “She is an F1” we were told. “This is what they are like at 10 weeks, totally wild but will come round through time”.

Emira was our first F1, we were very naïve and didn’t realise that she was far from what a socialised and loved F1 should be like on arrival. Thankfully all our other F1’s were raised in the family home and loved dearly before they came to us. They purred! Purring is something we never got from Emi until she was with us for about 6 months. I wouldn’t give up on her.

After time progressed Emira came round, never really enjoying male human company despite the endless nights of playing without eye contact and reaching out to her without force from my Husband. She has always been so striking in looks and produced lovely kittens for us. She got on with my female serval so well when she was introduced as a playmate as a kitten. They played great together and even slept beside each other in the indoor sleeping house.

After Emira had kittens, she decided she didn’t like the serval anymore. The serval grew bigger and Emira just ‘felt different’. We resisted the sale of Emi for so long and tried changing the cats round, but then it left everyone else upset. She gave my serval a hard time and then as the serval grew, she got it back twice as hard. “I’ll have to rehome her, it’s the only option to rework the balance”, I said to Gordon. “She just hates this serval and I don’t know what else to do”. I asked a breeder who owns Emira’s sisters at her cattery and she said, “I don’t want her. We have enough problems with her sisters!”. I thought, well, at least Emira is not causing any problems when she is not with the serval, so that is a bonus!

F1 Savannah cats are notorious, along with servals for imprinting on one (to two at the most) human. They do this from a young age, within the first few months of their life and that is why getting an F1 no later than 12 weeks is advisable. Getting an F1 after 12 weeks old could be too late and mean that they won’t accept you without a tremendous amount of work, sometimes to no avail. Moving them to a new home can be catastrophic for them and the new owners. I had heard this for years from several breeders, namely of servals and F1's, where they said they would keep all their cats for life…until recently we were told that several breeders cats had been offered for free as an “off-load” to make way for new cats. Along with advice on how never to advertise on certain listings and just to give them away cheap to make it look like you are in demand. They advised me on not selling cats unless they were excellent type and to give away those ones less than perfect, which would ensure your image was perfect because of the way of customer perception. “Everyone is full of shit”, I thought. "I'm my own person, honest, first and foremost and I can make the right decisions for my own cattery". The people who have done this for way longer than us, that preached the best way to care for early generation hybrids and wild cats in the beginning, were doing exactly what they told us never to do - rehoming! You now see their own advice not applying to the person giving it but happy to deceive everyone through hiding the less-than-perfect parts of breeding. I thought to myself, who-ever I decide to home Emi with must have vast amount of experience and be willing to put in the work to bring her round to trusting them. How else could we work out the situation to accommodate, most importantly? But who can I trust?

I reluctantly advertised her. The advert was the largest post I have ever written for an advert on a cat for sale. I boasted about her type, my darling baby, so perfect in every way, the perfect cat. “Doesn’t get along with my serval”, I wrote. I thought this is absolutely killing me.

I received loads of e-mails every day about her. People saw it as a bargain.
“I don’t have a licence but I’ll get one, how much is it?”
“I breed blue puppies because I get £1,000 more a puppy than regular puppies – breed removed- so I’d like an F1 Savannah 'cause they make the most”
“I’ll give you X for her as she is less valuable than a kitten”
It was ALL about money, no-one had a *swear word removed* care about the difficulties in mating F1's. How can I even consider discussing the TYPE of home on offer when we can’t even get past the financial ‘interest’. This isn’t working. To be honest, she is a really friendly F1 now when she is not kittening and I had no concerns with her temperament on a regular day. No-one was really ever going to understand the difference of an F1’s temperament when they have kittens and how to suit/ adjust things to suit an F1 queen which has kittens, when they were more interested in the financial outcome of such kittens. And what happened when they realised how hard it can be to produce F2 kittens or to have live F2 kittens even AFTER a mating has been successful? The thing I most interested in for my F1 was TRUST.

We sat on the bench one evening, as we do, while I have a cup of tea and a chat with the early generation Savannah girls. They know all my stories and secrets. They chat back to me. Emi was reaching up and pawing my face so I would lower it in order for her to reach and give me a head bop. “Ma-ma”, she meowed and I just burst into tears.

I just can’t let my girl go. She is my child and I am her Mother, her world. I have to make this work, there must be another way.

Revelation moment and total re-evaluation of the setup. We pulled together and brain-stormed, drew up plans, put ideas across to each other.

Emira has a new fantastic enclosure pictured above where she now lives happily with some of our other F1’s, her best friends.
 
The plans were drawn up, the enclosures were all re-worked and within 2 weeks of re-working it all, the equilibrium that we once had, was restored. We now have other enclosures drawn up to ensure that we can move any more girls if required. They are our babies and I couldn’t ever imagine them going anywhere else. 
 
Hallelujah!!!
 
What do you think of your new enclosure Emi?
She just looked at me, just like in this picture below.

Absorbent Bedding
We prefer vet bed for travel but it can be messy. The best thing on the first few hours of your journey is puppy training pads as these can easily be put into the bin and replaced if a toilet break has been required. Generally after a few hours the introduction of your pets favourite blanket or bedding can help relax your animal and encourage them to nap the journey.
 
Litter tray on not?
We use extra large carriers on our long distances. This enables us to have a litter tray and a bed side by side. This is to make sure that the cat feels comfortable to be able to go to the toilet.
 
Access to Water and Food
Bowls which clip onto the carrier are the best as this way they are unable to be stood on or knocked over. They are very cheap to buy and some even come with the carrier as standard. Your pet may not feel like eating or drinking but water is the most important offering on a journey because the stress can make your animal become dehydrated, alongside the heat.
 
Familiarity
Make sure you leave the carrier beside the animal a few weeks before the journey to ensure it has their scent and the have got used to the idea of going inside it to nap. We also offer food inside it so that the cat feels comfortable eating inside – this encourages them to eat on the journey. Toys inside also help them feel safe.

Sometimes it may be necessary to have a courier transport your animal for you. We always recommend fully vetting your courier before paying any deposit or in full before having them transport your kitten. There are many things you should consider when selecting a courier for your kitten.

Firstly, is the animal insured to be travelling with the courier?
Are they giving you a contract for the transportation of your animal?
Will the animal be alone or travelling with other pets?
What's the infection control process to ensure your pet is kept safe and secure from infectious diseases?
Do they have secure carriers for your pet?
If they are transporting a DWA animal - do they have a carrying licence for the animal?

We are Defra-Approved registered carriers for the transportation of Dangerous Wild Animal cats and can carry rabies-risk/ quarantine cats. Generally, we hand-deliver all of our kittens where possible and collect any new cats ourselves with relevant paperwork for border control inspection.

You must have a passport of equivalent paperwork for your animal you wish to travel with, import or export. Generally most animals fall into the Pet Travel Scheme set by DEFRA, the UK Government, but it is worth bearing in mind that some do not. In order to cross the border at some countries you may also require an additional licence granted by CITES. The purpose of the passport is to make sure the microchip matches the passport and vaccinations are up to date.

In our case, for Savannahs, you can import and export anything to/ from the UK with no CITES required provided it's within the EU. A brief guide below:

• F1 Savannah:- No CITES required - see notes. Quarantine required at a DEFRA-Approved facility for 3 months in Scotland, 4 months in England. Transportation of the animal must be done through a licenced carrying agent, such as ourselves. You may not transport an F1 Savannah in your car without a carrying agent licence (even to the vets!).
• ​F2 Savannah:- CITES required - see notes. Rabies Vaccination.
• F3 Savannah:- CITES required - see notes. Rabies Vaccination.
• F4 Savannah:- CITES required - see notes. Rabies Vaccination.
• F5 Savannah:- CITES required - see notes. Rabies Vaccination.
• F6 Savannah:- Pet Passport only required with rabies vaccination.

​IMPORTANT NOTE: Under the above EC Regulations there is effectively free movement of CITES listed animals within the European Union so no export/import permits will be required.  However, we would advise that you travel with proof of legal ownership in case challenged by Customs; this could be in the form of a receipt or a copy of an invoice. You should also contact their colleagues in Carlisle to discuss applying for an import health certificate and also any quarantine issues.  Their telephone number is: 01228 403600 or email: imports@apha.gsi.gov.uk and pettravel@apha.gsi.gov.uk

Congratulations to the wonderful Emira on the birth of her baby boy. He is a big healthy bouncing boy, golden in colour with jet black spots. The spots from this kitten will stay as defined as he gets older as there is no rosetting in this mating. This boy also has a lovely clear face with really interesting features. I can't wait to watch him grow. Welcome to the world wee man. 

-------
Kayleigh
Stylisticat UK

​http://www.stylisticat.com/upper-respiratory-infection-screening-in-cats.html

Its going to to be an exciting year. We have some wonderful cats coming to join us into our breeding programme from the USA and Europe and we have successfully rehomed ones that we decided to no longer use in our programme.

We have been getting to work on our new concept of the Feline Centre which we hope to open either at the end of 2017 or early 2018. This centre will be based at our home and only be available to visit through private arrangements for a one to one hands on experience with an array of cats. The purpose of the centre will be to support the reintroduction and preservation of certain species which we have been offered to work with, even the privilege of supporting some endangered species, which we will be helping to support the breeding programme with our Zoo colleagues, private owners and colleagues within our own facility.

It is very exciting and we can't thank the people enough who have shared their time with us, forming good working relationships and some friendships within the professional wild animal field. The dedication and determination on our part has helped to demonstrate the passion to work with the cats and that has been worth its weight in gold in achieving certain goals. It is not an act or falsified in any way to portray an image for commercial purposes. That's the beauty about being a small team of Wife, Husband and some extended family members. The friendships are closer with those who we call friends and they know they mean a lot to us. This also means that when people come to us for advice we can give them it with a heart felt response. If someone asks us for a certain thing which doesn't fit with our vision and goals then we won't offer it - even though it could be very easy to do things and make a quick buck. Working at the Zoo is also a massive milestone and as I'm going afterwards to do Veterinary and Zoo related studies, it all seems like we are on the right track.

We are very much looking forward to being able to provide people with that much sought after "experience day" where they can come and be a keeper of our wild cats for the day and really get involved with the husbandry. We feel that this will be very educational in itself to allow people to properly identify if wild cat ownership really is for them and provide the opportunity to ask a load of questions. Some of the big cats may not be suitable for the hands on experience as much as the smaller cats such as our servals and caracals but we do aim to work on that.

For those who decide to apply for a wild cat from us (or others) we will be aiming to provide a days course where they will be given the dwa requirements and a chance to run through their own plans for their enclosures, experience the cats hands on, prepare food and learn about the techniques of smaller wild cat feeding, learn about diet and nutrition, help with the cleaning of the enclosures and discuss environmental enrichment, discuss breeding plans and receive support and guidance on getting started.

It will be amazing to show people how loving our tame wild cats are and be able to show them how to get their own wild cats to grow up in the same manner of mutual respect and love (something which is often overlooked when buying a wild cat). Behaviour training and understanding is one of the most important aspects of wild cat ownership because without creating respect for each other you could simply have a wild cat which gets no enjoyment from living in captivity, you don't get the chance to enjoy the cat and the whole idea of having a bond becomes a distant dream. We hope to help people get it right from the word go and really enjoy the experience it can bring.

As a secondary additional service the centre will take any wild cats or hybrid cats which need a new home but one cannot be sourced from the current owner or the cat requires to be placed in emergency respite until paperwork clearance comes through.

​We hope to work with behavioural issues if necessary putting the feline behaviour management qualification into place and also putting our work in Africa with cats to good use. We will always aim to rehome any cats that fall into the DWA category. This service is currently active but we are in the process of making it all more official through registration as a separate entity and not part of Stylisticat.

Hope you enjoy your Easter break! We'd be happy to have any volunteers who would like to come and help us do some groundwork and spring cleaning. (Cat cuddles guaranteed) ;) and remember: chocolate is poisonous to cats so make sure you keep those eggs safely stored.

Sincerely yours,

Kayleigh McIntosh-Lowrie
Stylisticat UK

Next up for HCM heart health evaluation scans are:
F1 Bugatti 
F2 Shiloh
F6 Chima
Medal - African Serval
We believe we are the only HCM scanner of servals in a Savannah breeding programme in the UK. HCM is known to occur in any cats - even wild cats. We aim to prevent breeding from heart defects.
We are lucky enough to have a good network of Veterinary Surgeons whom we adore and work closely with. This means we can also ensure our wild cats are looked after just as easily as our other cats. If you decide to own a wild cat it can be hard to get a Veterinary Practice to agree to care for them. Specialist services are even rarer for wild cats unless you are a Zoo facility.
If you would like help with wild cat veterinarians in Scotland then please get in touch and we would be happy to support you and their care.
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