Q: What kind of cat is she?
A: Menefer is an African Serval. Servals are one step down from a Cheetah, relative to size.
Q: Are Servals endangered?
A: Servals are on the CITES II list, which means that they are not currently endangered but may become so if their trade is not regulated.
Q: Where did you get her?
A: We got her from a breeder in Queen Creek, AZ, which is about an hour’s drive from where we live.
Q: Does her name have a meaning?
A: Yes, it does. Her full name is Menefer Adjatay Ekundayo, which means “Beautiful Princess Who Turns Sorrow Into Joy.” She was named in honor of Fahmien, our beloved Savannah who died at 18 months of age from feline infectious peritonitis.
Q: Do you have to have a special license for her?
A: Yes, we have an educational license from Arizona Game & Fish Dept. We are required to show her 12 times a year in order to keep the license. We have shown her at schools, special gatherings, and she has even been a guest at Starbucks!
Q: How much does it cost to have a show?
A: Shows are free and there are no strings attached. We aren’t trying to sell anything or get anyone on a mailing list. We do this to help educate the public about these wonderful animals. If any of you live in the Phoenix area and would like to have a show, please send me a private message.
Q: How long have you had her?
A: We put in an order for her before she was even a glimmer in her daddy’s eye. We first met her when she was 2 days old and visited her every weekend until she was 5 ½ weeks old, when we were able to bring her home. She is now 5 ½ years old.
Q: How much does she weigh?
A: The last time she was at the vet for her regular physical, she weighed 41 lbs. That was 6 months ago.
Q: What does she eat?
A: The majority of her diet consists of raw chicken thighs with a treat of small pieces of lean raw beef. Occasionally she likes to have a little bit of fruit or vegetables, although we have to be careful with that. Some common fruits and vegetables are toxic to Servals.
Q: Can she bite? (We get this question a lot.)
A: Anything with teeth can bite. However, Servals are very timid. Menefer will run away and hide if a strange person comes to our house. She may growl and hiss, but that is just a defensive posture, then she will go hide.
Q: How come her ears are so big?
A: In their natural habitat on the African Savannah, Servals hunt burrowing animals like rodents and moles. Their big ears enable them to hear the faint sounds of their underground prey. Also notice that she has big white spots on the backs of her ears. Those are “false eyes.” If a predator approaches her from the rear, it looks like those “eyes” are staring at them and they may run away.
Q: She has very long hind legs. Can she run fast?
A: Yes she can, but only for short distances. Her long legs allow her to jump extremely high. Servals can jump 10 feet high from a standing position. In the wild, Servals can take down a large bird in flight. Animal Planet had a show on African cats in which a mother Serval caught a crane in flight and brought it down to feed her babies.
Q: Her markings are very different. How does that help them in the wild?
A: Servals are the only cats that have spots, stripes, and speckles. Their coat serves to camouflage them in the wild so they can more easily hide from predators.
Q: Is she like a regular house cat?
A: She is very much like a domestic cat (only bigger!) but also has some characteristics of a dog. For example, she loves water, likes to jump to catch a toy, and plays fetch.
Q: What is it like to have a Serval for a pet?
A: I must strongly emphasize that she is not a pet. She is and always be a wild animal. Having said that, she is very affectionate, sleeps with us most nights, and follows me around like a puppy. (She likes me best.) Like most cats, she owns us. It’s like having a 2-year-old for 20 years. She can’t be left alone for long periods, so the most we have ever been away from her is several hours, and we never leave her alone overnight. We consider her to be our furry child and treat her as such.
Q: Where can I get a Serval?
A: I do not recommend getting a Serval unless you thoroughly understand the commitment you are making and the sacrifices that are required. For example, you cannot go on vacation and just leave food out for the cat. Also, it is not cheap to own a Serval.
Aside from the purchase price, which can run from about $2,000 to $5,000 and more, they are expensive to feed and the vet bills are enormous. You must find a vet who knows how to treat exotic cats and they can be few and far between. Fortunately, we have a vet who takes care of exotic cats in the zoo. We take her in once every quarter for her well-kitty check and the bill is several hundred dollars. If other procedures are required the bill can be much higher. The vet cannot use many of the common medicines because of lack of research with Servals. Most importantly, anesthetizing a Serval by someone who doesn’t treat exotic cats can be deadly. Their metabolism is different and requires special anesthetic. For the same reason, it is not known whether or not the typical immunizations are effective on Servals.
It is very important to realize that state, county, city, and even homeowners’ associations often prohibit ownership. Even if it is legal, there may be stringent licensing requirements. Our license application was 27 pages long and there are strict requirements for keeping that license. If someone has a Serval illegally, the authorities will confiscate and may even euthanize the animal. If anyone wants to interact with dedicated Serval owners, contact me privately, I can recommend a Yahoo Group that has some of the most skilled and dedicated owners in the country.
Thanks for all the interesting facts about your precious kitty. She is so beautiful but you are right in that she is first a wild animal and needs to be repected as such. Thanks you for giving your time and energies to keep people informed about that. I see too many show on tv about wild animals taken in as pets only to be turned out when they grown up and become unruly. People see only the adorable kitty/cub/pup etc and not the grown animal that it will become.
Again thanks for posting pics of her. She is such a wonderful animal. Big cats are a wonder of nature.
Thank you for all the information on your beautiful kitty and for emphasizing the fact that she is indeed a wild animal. I have read that there are lots of people who try to domesticate wild animals and do not realize the commitment such an adoption requires. It then winds up being a tragedy for both the person and the unfortunate animal. Thank you for educating us and sharing your experience.
wow, thanks for that post and all you do for/with her !
meow hugz
Thank you for all the info !
posted by nanki
3 months ago
It's folks like yourselves, educating the public about animals like these, that prevent the disasters you read about, and see in documentaries showing the fate of those wild animals adopted while they are cute babies, but cast aside when they're grown into an adults with behaviour problems. Kudos to you guys!
Thank you for your enlightenment! I suspected Serval, or Savannah, but was confused. She is very beautiful, and definitely not "just" a "pet" cat!!! Savannahs don't have to have special permits, do they, because they are half domestic cat?
Menefer is soooo cute - very interesting about her heritage - & looking into those eyes does bring joy :)
