Serengeti
Bred from the Bengal and the Oriental Shorthair to resemble a serval, with no serval in it. Long legged, huge eared, and it talks like its Oriental half.
Overview
The Serengeti was created in California in the 1990s to look like a serval without using one. It is a Bengal crossed to an Oriental Shorthair, and the result is long legged, large eared and boldly spotted with no serval anywhere in the pedigree.
That matters practically. Because the wild look is achieved from domestic breeds, the Serengeti does not carry the legal restrictions that follow a genuine hybrid, though the Bengal ancestry is worth checking against local rules.
Temperament
Confident, vocal and highly active, which is what an Oriental crossed with a Bengal produces. Serengetis are outgoing with people, talkative and physically ambitious.
They are sociable and get on with other cats and dogs, and they are not shy with visitors. They need a good deal of interaction and they get into things when bored.
Care and grooming
A weekly brush for the short spotted coat. Nothing else demanding.
The Bengal and Oriental ancestry brings both sets of concerns worth asking about, including progressive retinal atrophy and pyruvate kinase deficiency from the Bengal side and the oriental dental tendency from the other.
Living and exercise
Height, space and daily hard play. These are long legged athletic cats that jump well and want to be up high.
The breed remains rare and the population is small, so the individual breeder matters more than the breed record. Ten to fifteen years is the usual expectation.
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