Lately I have noticed a number of posts about HP Savannah kittens and cats and serval percentage, so I wrote a short article about it – simple, factual and to the point…hope it helps clear up some of the confusion going on…
HP (high percentage) and Serval Percentage in Savannah Cats and Kittens
When a serval is bred to a domestic cat, the kittens from this breeding are 50% serval – half of the genes from the domestic and half from the serval. This is the only breeding where the serval percentage is known.
Breeding an F1 Savannah from a domestic pairing of serval x domestic, does not necessarily yield a 75% F1 kitten. Breeding an F1 Savannah from a Savannah x serval breeding still does not necessarily yield a 75% or higher serval percentage, but there is a good chance the kitten would be 75% or greater. Why you may ask? The reason is that no one knows what percentage of serval genes are passed on to the kittens and what percentage of domestic genes are passed on.
Genetics are theoretical – no one knows the percentage of serval in any Savannah kitten – there is no DNA test to prove it. So when you see breeders posting percentages with their Savannah kittens, it is just a marketing tactic – not based on factual information, which can be misleading.
You can have 6 kittens in an F2 litter – some get more serval genes and others more domestic genes, which a discerning eye can usually tell. So just pick the kitten you love and don’t worry about something that is theoretical!
Written by Paige Dana
Savannah Cat Terminology