People can own servals but not most people. It would be a crime to buy one and not provide it with a proper cat safe outdoor enclosure. Also be aware they may never use a litter box and can become aggressive once they hit sexual maturaty whether desexed or not.

If you plan on getting a serval... Hope for the best but expect the worst. No ditching the cat later if it starts hissing and peeing everywhere once it is no longer an adolescent.

If you expect to keep this cat on your home without an enrichment large enclosure.... You are doing this cat a disservice. I have Bengals but they don't have the same needs as a serval. Any one breeding f1 Bengals should have their wild cats properly housed too imo. I would give them the same preach.

Serval and ALC -100% wild blood. My F9 bengal - 13.77% wild blood. There is a huge difference!!! Bengals are not considered wild cats. They are hybrids. There is a difference.

Sure, but you didn't get an F9 Bengal without having an ALC in the first place. Being critical of competent people owning wild cats is silly when we have pets that wouldn't exist without those people.

I am certainly not being critical of anyone. Municipal laws govern people owning wild cats. I cannot own an ALC. I can't own an F1 through F3 hybrid cat where I live ... unless I go through Fish and Wildlife and get a special permit to own one! Actually, I would never attempt to own a wild cat. Someone else may want to and that's fine ... but ALCs and Servals have their challenges. Just be prepared!

@7Deadly$ins
You seem to be the only one critical of anything on these boards. Apparently, you would prefer that we all throw caution to the wind and embrace any opportunity to own a wild cat, without regard to whether it is legal, whether it requires a permit or whether it is fair for one of these noble wild creatures to be owned without special outdoor enclosures.

Without a level headed reality check, a starry eyed cat lover could fall into the trap of of owning a wild cat which could have an unfortunate ending for both human and cat. Please don't be critical of Sherry or anyone else offering those cautions with a great deal of insight and love.

Most of us Bengal owners are well-mannered and quite domesticated. But like our cats, we have claws and teeth, and might find cause to use them if provoked.

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"I have no problem with people owning wild cats provided they know what they're in for and take proper care to pamper the animal."

As I said. I never said they're a piece of cake, and I never said anything about ignoring legality. The post I replied to said "you are buying into a trade that should not exist." How can anyone not see the hypocrisy in such a statement while holding onto their pet bengal? If wild cat ownership shouldn't exist, neither should Bengals.

The problem is the OP didn't even know much about the bengal cats coat they posted, I am to believe they know how to properly care for a Serval? It honestly looks like a rushed situation to me.

Probably, yeah. But I was addressing a point brought up in the post immediately ahead of mine, not OP.

But being able to evaluate coat quality has nothing to do with caring for an animal, either....

7Deadly$ins
You made the hypocrisy remark TWICE. And I am not sure the post you originally objected to was out of line. Not all people know what they are doing, and the OP certainly did not inspire confidence in the regard. It sounded as though you were criticizing Sherry's level headed comments.

I have respect to those who have been trail blazers, and worked towards creating the Bengal hybrid we all love and enjoy.

When it comes to unethical sales and purchases of wild creatures, those who would use the possession of a wild animal as some kind of status symbol, I do not have respect. In my mind, that is not being hypocritical, but having a healthy set of values when it comes to owning (being owned by) animals.

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Yes, because I am talking about hypocrisy. If it's not cool to own wild animals, we should all have gotten Ocicats and Egyptian Maus, but we all got Bengals instead. I get that not everyone is equipped to handle a wild animal, or even an EG Bengal or a Bengal at all. But to have to defend the ownership of wild cats on a Bengal cat forum is just silly.

You are right coat color does not = care but it doesn't instill confidence I guess. It seems to me the OP was going to buy a cat and then decided on a serval just like that. Considering spraying, aggression, ect is a real possible issue, needing a wild diet, ect... I would certainly want to make sure they know what they are getting into. Servals can live 20 years and people get these pets then down the road want children and never considered how to make it all work and coexist with an animal large enough to be a possible danger (even accidental).

I may be a little touchy on a subject because the bengal rescue near me has a lot of EG's showing up. An F1 was just pulled out of an animal shelter yesterday, 4 paw declawed!!! and looked absolutely terrified. Another one was trapped after it escaped from living with its owner in a car with 5 other cats....in a parking lot. Like what?

Of course I don't like declawing for any cat or think they should live in cars. It's just that these animals have a lot harder time adapting and being rehabbed than a domestic cat.