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African Servals

Family: Felidae

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Leptailurus servalPhoto © Animal-World: Courtesy Hilltop Cattery

     The African Serval Cat is a medium sized species that is endemic to the grassy savannas that cover large parts of Africa.

Hilltop Cattery Care Sheet for Responsible Serval Care

Scientific name: Laptailurus serval

General Information

         Hunted for it's beautiful striped and spotted coat, the serval is now a threatened species. Some fall prey to natives who also hunt the cat for its meat.   As a predator itself, it's a great hunter of rodents, fish, reptiles, and other animals. The very large ears provide great hearing ability, and with a vertical leap of 10 feet, it's a great pouncer.

       Servals primarily hunt alone.   In the absence of suitable small prey they have been known to team up on larger animals.   While servals are well adapted for hunting by jumping and snaring or pouncing, they seem very skilled at probing holes with their long forepaws.   Servals in captivity will frequently stick their paw in ones pocket to fish around for interesting items.

Behavior

    Servals have been associated with man for centuries.   It is reported that the Egyptians kept them either as living idols or as protection for the huge amounts of foodstored in granaries.     The serval has been kept in Europe as a pet for many centuries and has more recently gained popularity in the United States.   Servals are one of the few wildcats that make a good companion.   They bond very strongly with the caretakers.   They do not become aggressive as they mature.   They are extremely affectionate.   For cat lovers they are the ultimate cat.

Care and Feeding

       In the wild, servals eat a wide variety of foods depending on habitat and availability.   Small rodents such as mice, rats and squirrels are commonly eaten. But they will also eat a variety of insects, reptiles and amphibians.   Studies have found that they also consume a surprising amount of vegetable material and fruit.   In captivity they will consume many types of grass.   Some are also fond of vegetables such as corn on the cob and spinach.

Responsible Serval Ownership

       When you accept the responsibility of caring for any animal like a Serval, you must realize that the animal depends on you not just for food, shelter and medical care, but also depends on you for companionship and love.     Each Serval has their individual personalities and quirks, so each is different. A Serval may bond with you and never bond with another person for the rest of its life.   This may make it hard for the Serval if you decide that you cannot care for it anymore.   Not many people want to spend decades caring for an animal that they can't have a relationship with.   Bear this in mind and realize that a Serval may live up to 20 years.   The Serval will depend on you for that length of time.   Some Servals may be able to bond with a new owner but that is not guaranteed.   Even at best, bonding with a new owner takes time. If for some reason you are unable to take care of the Serval, please contact the breeder if you need help in finding a new home.   Always have a back up plan, in case something happens to you like hospital stay or worse.  Have a relative or a close friend become the serval's playmate in case you are ill.

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Latest Comments
A serval is not going to eat a baby! Their game is usually small rodents like mice. A serval is an exotic cat but don't think of it as a tiger or lion! Do your research on them before you post... and I suppose you are against dogs too because there are cases where they have attacked babies. nicole 2009-11-07
Servals shouldn't be pets. They're wild animals, they could hurt a person if they got angrey, or worst case sernario maybe even eat a small person ex. baby. I'm not exactly sure. But my point is servals are wild animals and don't belong in our homes. The same goes for other big cats and other wild animals, they don't belong in our homes and our neighbor hoods! Claire 2009-09-03
I have had two servels and I dearly loved them. I bought them as kittens and they were raised in the house with my family. My grand children played with them. Their names were nan'de and kenya, one was a female and one was a male. I lost both of them in different years. The female got sick, had to take her to OSU medical school for surgery, she later died. Now I have two cougars, but I loved my servels. I could keep them in the house. I got these servels when they were three weeks old and raised them on a bottle. Would love to have another one but can't find one. Jean Good 2009-03-11
I love the serval cat! I have one F2 ALC bengals and she is very sweet! Danusia Pawłowicz 2009-01-29
My grandma has an African Serval and his name is Kossack. He is so sweet and loving. She really loves him and I do too. He has a good home. She has had him since a baby. People should treat servals with respect and give them a home, food. and make sure you take good care of then. mckayla 2008-05-17

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