The Colorful Savannah cat

When the average cat lover thinks of a Savannah, they immediately picture a golden spotted cat-- they don't consider all of the other wonderful colors that exist within the Savannah cat world.

Let's first start with the brown (black) spotted tabby. This is what potential kitten buyers tend to think of when they first embark upon their Savannah journey. This is a contrasting coat with dark spots that are either brown or black-- however, BSTS range in color from cool coats to warm coats. Cool coats tend to have a greyer background versus warm coats which are more golden in depth.

Next, we have the silver spotted Savannah-- which can occasionally be confused with a cool coat BST. The silver spotted Savannah has black spots with a white base and they were accepted into the Savannah standard to mimic the rare leucistic Serval  found in the wild.

The third color option we have within the breed standard itself is the melanistic or black Savannah. Again, this color was accepted due to the mimicking of the (once again rare) melanistic Servals. Black Savannahs as kittens will often have visible spots on their coat that may or may not fade into adulthood.

Finally, to round out our breed standard, we have the smoke Savannah. The smoke is an anomaly in our breed standard. Due to TICA (The International Cat Association) being a genetic registry, we were required to add smoke as a color into our breed as it's the recessive of the silver spotted Savannah. Not to be biased, but smokes are my favorite of this breed as their uniqueness and rarity make them a showstopper in the show hall and out. In a smoke Savannah, the roots are white and the outter shaft of the coat is smoky black. 

However, just because we have four standard colors doesn't mean other colors do not exist within the world of the Savannah. Due to the initial outcrosses and recessives found in the backgrounds of many cats, you may see anything from torbie Savannahs to cinnamon, chocolate to snow.

Just remember-- Savannahs are not defined by their colors or their spots, but by the breed standard which places more points on the build of the cat versus the coloration. After all, a white Serval is still a Serval and a black Serval still looks just like a Serval. Why? Big upright cupped ears, long leggy build, short tail, and of course, those wonderful moderately hooded eyes tell us the story of the Serval much more than fur color.

Do you own a colorful Savannah? Tell us more in the comments!

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