Serengeti Grooming
Built to look like a serval, from two entirely domestic breeds
About the Serengeti
The clearest case there is of a cat built to look wild without being wild.
The Serengeti was created in the 1990s to look like an African serval: very long legs, very large upright rounded ears, a long neck, a spotted coat and an upright athletic carriage.
It was built from a Bengal crossed with an Oriental Shorthair, both domestic breeds, with no serval used at any point.
So it is the Ocicat approach applied to a different wild cat: get the look from domestic genetics and take on none of the consequences.
The practical result is a cat with a five minute coat, no legal restrictions anywhere, and no reason for a cattery, groomer or insurer to treat it differently from any other domestic shorthair.
The Serengeti has a double coat that regulates its own temperature. Shaving it does not keep the animal cooler, removes the protection against sun and insects, and the top coat often grows back patchy or never returns correctly. A thorough deshed takes out the undercoat and does the job the owner was actually asking for.
What the Serengeti is crossed from
The look without the consequences
Cats that look wild and cats that are wild get confused constantly, and the difference is worth being clear about.
The Chausie page states plainly where wild ancestry is real and what it costs: generation based legal restrictions, a shortened intestinal tract, and facilities that fairly decline the cat.
The Egyptian Mau, the Ocicat, the Pixiebob, the Highlander and now the Serengeti are the other side of it: a wild look built from domestic cats, with none of that attached.
A Serengeti has no serval ancestry, no restrictions in any jurisdiction, and an ordinary domestic cat's digestion, diet and temperament.
Say so if a boarding cattery or an insurer hesitates, because the appearance genuinely does prompt questions.
The look tells you nothing. The pedigree does.
That distinction matters more than any grooming instruction, because it is the one that decides whether a cat can legally live somewhere.
Five minutes a week
The coat is short, dense and close lying with a fine springy texture, and there is little undercoat.
Comb once a week with a fine metal comb or go over the cat with a rubber grooming mitt. That is the whole coat routine.
Shedding is low, matting does not happen, and there is no reason to bathe or clip a healthy cat.
Do not use a slicker or a deshedding blade on a thin coat.
The spotted pattern comes from the Bengal side and the contrast is part of the breed's appeal, so the weekly session with a mitt keeps the gloss that shows it off.
A dull, greasy or scurfy coat on a cat this sleek is a signal rather than a grooming failure, and it usually means the cat has stopped grooming itself, from dental pain, arthritis, obesity or illness.
Warmth after anything wet, since a thin coat over a lean body loses heat.
Claws every two to three weeks, teeth brushed or checked, and a monthly weigh.
A tall cat that goes up
The very long legs are the breed's defining feature and they are normal legs, not a mutation: the Serengeti is simply built tall, in the same way the Toybob is simply built small.
Neither has a skeletal gene doing anything to it, which is worth stating in a site that has covered several cats where the shape does come from a mutation.
Practically, a tall athletic cat with an Oriental's energy and a Bengal's drive goes upward. It will be on top of the wardrobe, and it needs real vertical space, sturdy shelving and something to climb.
They are also vocal, highly social and demanding of attention, which is the Oriental inheritance, and they do badly ignored.
For handling that is good news. A confident, people focused cat is easy to comb, easy to clip claws on and easy for a vet to examine, provided the handling starts in kittenhood.
The breed is new and the gene pool small, so ask a breeder about outcrossing and testing. There are no documented breed specific disorders, and it inherits the general health of two reasonably sound parent breeds.
Judge the coat, not the cat
A Serengeti is the clearest argument there is for ignoring how a cat looks and checking what it actually has.
The look tells you nothing. This one was built to resemble a serval and has no serval in it, so the wild appearance carries no legal restriction, no special diet and no unusual temperament.
The breed name tells you little either. What decides the grooming is the coat: its length, whether there is an undercoat beneath it, and how much of itself the cat can reach.
Length on its own is not the problem. A Persian cannot maintain its own coat because a dense undercoat sits under all that length. A Balinese is just as long and barely mats, because there is nothing underneath to hold a knot. This cat is short coated and has neither problem.
So before deciding what any animal needs, put a hand in the coat and feel for the undercoat. That answers more than the pedigree does.
What to tell your groomer or vet
Say there is no serval or any other wild cat in the breed, and no legal restrictions anywhere.
Ask for a comb or rubber mitt only, with no bathing and no clipping.
Say no slicker and no deshedding blade on a thin coat.
Say the long legs are normal legs and not a skeletal mutation.
Ask for claws tipped, the mouth checked and the cat weighed.
Say the cat is vocal and demanding by breed rather than distressed.
Keeping the coat between grooms
Comb or mitt, five minutes
Short, dense and springy with little undercoat. Nothing here mats.
Weekly
Say there is no serval in it
The look prompts questions from catteries and insurers. Answer them early.
Every visit
Give it height
Long legs, Oriental energy and Bengal drive. This cat goes upward.
Daily
Watch the gloss
A sleek coat losing shine means the cat has stopped grooming itself.
Weekly
Common Questions About the Serengeti
Is a Serengeti part serval?
No. It was created in the 1990s to look like a serval using only domestic cats: a Bengal crossed with an Oriental Shorthair, with no serval used at any point. That means no legal restrictions in any jurisdiction, an ordinary domestic digestion and diet, and no reason for a cattery, groomer or insurer to treat it differently. It is the Ocicat approach applied to a different wild cat, and the appearance genuinely does prompt questions, so it is worth saying.
How much grooming does a Serengeti need?
About five minutes a week with a fine comb or a rubber mitt. The coat is short, dense and close lying with a fine springy texture and little undercoat, so nothing mats, no bathing is needed and there is no reason to clip. Avoid slickers and deshedding blades on a coat this thin. The rest is claws every two to three weeks, teeth, and a monthly weigh, plus warmth if the cat ever gets wet.
Are the long legs a mutation?
No, the cat is simply built tall, with normal legs in normal proportion, in the same way a Toybob is simply built small. That is worth saying because several cat breeds do get their shape from a skeletal mutation with real consequences, and this is not one of them. What the long legs do mean practically is a very athletic cat that goes upward, so it needs real vertical space, sturdy shelving and something to climb.
Similar breeds
Same coat, same schedule, or the breeds this one is crossed from.
Oriental Shorthair
A Siamese in every color there is, with even less coat and even less padding
Oriental Shorthair
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