SERVAL KITTEN CARE

Bottle Feeding

Serval cats are exotic and have a personality similar to a domestic dog. Although they are large, they are interesting pets in a home. Serval cats are medium in size, the females get up to 28 pounds and the males get to 40 pounds. These cats are higher jumpers, and they like to sit on high place to watch what will be taking place around them. Servals’ curiosity is very high, and you must make sure serval proof your home if you are going to have one. They love to pounce on people's toes and other things that wiggles under the covers at night. 

They are most active during the evenings and mornings. Servals tend to be a one or two person animal, favouring whoever gives them the most attention when they were being raised. They can be trained to accept strangers by allowing them to be around a lot of people while they grow up. I keep toys around the house and when a new person enters the house, I always have them play with the servals first thing. If you start this while the servals are very young, they will become a lot more social. Permits are required at most places for exotic pets like servals. Each area is different in their conditions. Some states and counties want permits to breed, other states need them just to have them as pets, and some have no obligations at all. Certain places make it easy as a mobile phone call and visit by the USDA to scrutinize your amenities. Others have very rigid requests, often assigning hours of training. At any rate, you must provide a secure spot for the servals to live, whether it be inside your home, or out in a large area. Make sure you get a serval kitten at a young age, for them to bond with their human by the time they are 12 weeks old. I endorse at 8 or 9 weeks old. 

Serval kittens also have different personalities, making some more social than others. Possible A few important tricks and steps will be listed to help ensure that your serval kitten will adjust in his/her new home efficiently. First thing to do when you get your serval kitten is take it in its carrier to your bedroom away from people and let them have some time to adjust to the new surroundings. In every corner of the room place a litter box. At the door of the carrier place food and water. Take a shirt with your scent on it and place it near the entrance of the carrier. Open the carrier door and leave the room. Stay away from the room for an hour or two. When you return, just one person should enter the room very quietly with a string toy. Just sit a distance from the carrier and play with the stick toy to get the kittens’ attention. After 30 minutes or so of doing this and the kitten is playing make small attempts to pat the kitten. Do not move too fast and speak in a soft voice. Continue these series of steps for several days until the kitten is comfortable with you. After this you can start to bring one more member of the family in with you one at a time. The trick is to move slow and be patient. After the kitten has become comfortable with you and your bedrooms surroundings then allow him/her to explore the rest of the house. Play with you kitten at least two times a day for at least 30 minutes. Play with the stink toys, teach him to fetch, play tag, tug of war, or keep away. Be creative, be sure to continually expose your serval kitten to new people and new surroundings. When visitors come over, your kitten may run and hide and not come out until after they are sure the visitors have left the house.

 Do not try to force your kitten out for display. If the kitten comes out while visitors are around, make the visitors play with the kitten. Tell them to speak softly and not to grab the kitten. This will help it get used to new people and will teach them to enjoy them. Do not be surprised if your serval starts running to get his toys to meet a total stranger at the door. When you find your serval kitten doing something that you don't want, it is best to warn them with a firm "No" in a deep voice. Body language, and the sound of your voice will become familiar to your kitten and she/he will learn that it means you are not happy. Servals are very smart, also very stubborn, so it may take several repetitions in order for them to learn that they are not always going to have their way. Just remember, not to hit your serval, as they may become scared of you. A good way to correct bad behaviour are time outs in a kennel or small room. Servals love playing with toys when they are young, toys made for domestic cats will be fine. But when they get older, those toys are now too small, and they will quickly destroy most of them quickly. Some toys may be so small that they will swallow them and choke or block their intestines. Serval kittens like to chew like a puppy.

It is a good idea to have plenty of toys that they can chew on. The hard plastic is preferable. The soft plastic can be eaten, which is definitely not good. If you provide them with plenty of toys, they will be less likely not chew on things that you don't want them to. If they begin chewing on electrical cords, a good solution is to spray the exposed cords with bitter apple spray (available at pet stores). This also works on other items that they may chew. As they mature, they usually do not chew very much. Be sure all children are supervised while they are around the Serval. If they are afraid of children, they may develop a fear of children that will stick with them permanently. They are very smart and can tell a child's voice from an adult's voice. Servals usually like other animals. They welcome play with almost any animal once they have time to get accustomed to each other. Once the Serval is close to full-grown however, you should exercise caution when introducing a new small pet, such as a young kitten or puppy. They may think that they are a chew toys or prey and hurt them. Teach your pet Serval to trust you with food, toys, play, patience, and no negative responses. When you are trying to become friends with your Serval one of the best things to do is feed them directly from your hands. This will teach trust. They will learn you are giving them something good when you are reaching for them. Another way to bond with the Serval is to lay down on the floor with their favourite toy. Standing makes them think of you as a predator against them. When you are level with them, eye-to-eye, they are more at ease and they will soon become comfortable with you, no matter if you are standing, sitting, or lying down.

Servals are very playful, as you will soon find out. They will bring things to you for you to throw to them. They are natural retrievers, and they love playing fetch. Some Servals will play fetch for hours. Some servals love water and don't be surprised if your pet serval joins you while you are taking a shower or bath. They will enjoy having a kiddy pool filled with balls and other toys that they can play in their outdoor enclosure.