Everyone wants to buy a Savannah cat—but should they?
The hybrid between a wild African cat and domestic kitty are undoubtedly beautiful and playful—but banned in some places.
With their lithe, slender bodies and attractive spots, Savannah cats have charmed the Internet, garnering 1.1 billion views so far on TikTok alone. But these hybrids between a wild African cat and a domestic cat are also controversial, with bans against owning the pet in certain U.S. states.
The first Savannah kitten—named Savannah, after the African savannah—was born on April 7, 1986, in Phillipsburg, Pennsylvania, to a Siamese mother and a serval father. Servals, spotted and striped cats that weigh between 20 and 40 pounds, are widespread throughout southern Africa. The exceptional hunters use their supersize, radar dish-like ears to locate prey amid the tall grass, and long legs
