Safari cats are one of the rarest cat breeds in the entire world. They are a hybrid cat meaning they are a cross between the pure exotic. At this time only 80 or so safari cats are registered with The International Cat Association or TICA for short. Safari cats compared to a savannah cat are smaller in size with small ears. Compared to a bengal cat they normally come in less color variations. The difficulty with breeding the Safari cat is that the Geoffroy’s cat has 36 chromosomes while a domestic cat has 38 chromosomes. Breeding safari cats has been around since before the Bengal breed began which was in 1975. Little success has been accomplished with the safari cat for this reason.
Geoffroys cats
Geoffroys cats are from South America. Almost pelted into extinction less than a handful of private breeding facilities have geoffory cats. The average weight is between six pounds to ten pounds. Normally they have slender build and a big attitude come with it. As the saying goes “the smaller the cat the big head” geoffory cats don’t know they are at the smaller end of cats. Geoffry cats are 18 – 30 inches long with tails that are 9 – 15 inches long. A geoffory cat’s base coat goes from gray to golden orange or even melanistic which is black with black spots. Geoffroy’s do requires a special diet and care plan. They are NOT easy pets, in fact they are as hard to own as an Asian leopard cat. Like I mentioned before they have a “big head” often being head strong with stubbornness to boot. That being said the Geoffroy’s is a beautiful wonderful cat, they are extremely smart. Without a significant amount of daily training and human contact the pure exotic Geoffroys cat will revert back to being wild in nature. Few adult Geoffrey cats will remain social with more than one or two people as they mature. They should not be raised with young children around.
Safari cats
Safari’s cat are the alternative to the Geoffroys cat that as stated before was once close to extinction. The Safari cat requires no permits or special care but some states do not allow hybrids of any kind. Safari cats are a result of breeding a Geoffroy’s with a domestic cat. If breed correctly and raised correctly they are sweet companion if fixed. Just like most hybrid cats safari cats are high- energy but are a hands on F1 hybrid cat. Safari cats are trained to use a litter box. A sarfari cats diet needs to be fed a high quality dry food with high protein. Remember the Safari cat is a hybrid of a domestic cat to the South American Geoffroys cat so you need to check local and state laws for ownership rights. The first Safari cats are thought to be bred in the early 1970’s. In looks the Geoffroys is like a smaller version of the Margay or Ocelot both of which are highly endangered and illegal to own. In the wild safari cats would eat small mammal such as rodents, reptiles, birds and insects. Although the geoffory cats is only eight to twelve pounds the safari cat normally weighs 25 plus pounds.