Serval

Leptailurus serval

The serval is a small cat native to portions of Africa. An adult serval weighs from 20 to 40 pounds. Its distinctive physical characteristics are its head size (which is rather small in proprtion to the rest of its body when compared to many other cats); its long thin legs (again, when compared to other cats); its large ears (which are huge relative to its head--when compared to most other mammals); and the fact that its coat is mostly spotted, but the spots tend to run together over the back of their shoulders and neck, turning into stripes.

They are unique in terms of their behavior, in that they often use their big, sensitive ears to locate their prey. Then they do their special pounce: up into the air, and often get their prey without even having seen it before their attack. It's said that if it's very windy, servals will sometimes not even try to hunt--as if waiting for less noisy conditions. Their accoustical hunting method and their tall legs have adapted them very well to the environments where they naturally occur: areas where there is much tall grass.

Even though they can weigh up to 40 pounds, their prey is generally much smaller than themselves. They eat mostly rats, birds, and small amphibians and reptiles; but they have been reported to have gone after an antelope fawn on occaision. They can jump 10-12 feet up into the air, and they mostly stay on the ground (e.g., they don't spend much time up in trees, although they certainly can climb them if necessary).

Servals are one of the easier species to live with as a pet, but they do share some common general traits with other exotic cats that a potential owner must be aware of and be willing to accomodate before they even consider buying one:

They may not use a litter box very much (or maybe not at all). This appears to vary widely with individual cats. Expect your pet serval to spray (even if neutered/spayed), and have a workable way to live with it.
When they are young, they will often bond very strongly to one person. They may very possibly never bond or even be willing to trust anyone new if they ever have to be re-homed. So it is imperative that you enter into the ownership of any exotic cat with the solid commitment that you truly will take care of that cat for the rest of its life.
Exotic cats require different food than domestic cats do, and if they aren't properly fed, disease, injury, and death can result very quickly.
Exotic cats need a veterinarian that is either already familiar with the particular species, or willing to do a lot of learning as they care for your cat. And your veterinary bills will be much higher (and more frequent) than with a domestic.

One of the particular problems servals often have is that they will try to eat almost anything they can get into their mouths. If your house is not properly serval-proofed (more difficult than child-proofing), your cat can get an intestinal blockage, which can easily be fatal if not properly diagnosed and fixed in time.

And (of course) it is currently not legal for individuals to own servals anywhere in Nebraska, and so the existence of this website. If you want to help get these--and the other small cats and their hybrids--legal in Nebraska, .

For more on-line information about servals:

Exoticcatz.com is an absolute treasure-trove of information about all aspects of living with a serval.
Feline Conservation Federation
Cat Survival Trust
The Serval Conservation Organization
Serval videos