With their elongated bodies, large ears, and spotted coats, serval cats capture the imagination of many animal lovers. If you’ve wondered whether these wild cats can be kept as pets in Florida, you’ve come to the right place.
If you’re short on time, here’s a quick answer: owing to their wild nature, keeping serval cats as pets in Florida requires permits and proper enclosures. Without proper precautions, they can be dangerous and destructive.
In this approximately 3000 word article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about serval cats and whether they can be responsibly kept as pets in Florida. We’ll look at serval biology and behavior, ownership laws and regulations in Florida, proper care and enclosure requirements, risks to native wildlife, and more.
Serval Cat Biology and Behavior
Physical Characteristics
The serval is a medium-sized wild cat native to sub-Saharan Africa. It has an athletic build with long legs, a lean body, a small head, and large ears. Servals typically weigh between 15-40 pounds and stand 21-24 inches at the shoulder. Their fur is yellowish gold with black spots and stripes.
The serval has the longest legs and largest ears of any cat relative to its body size, which gives it a unique and distinctive appearance.
The serval’s long legs allow it to see above tall grasses when hunting. Its large ears can independently pivot to track prey. The serval also has a short tail and a small head with large eyes and whiskers to help detect prey in its grassland habitat.
Diet and Hunting Habits in the Wild
Servals are carnivores that prey primarily on rodents like rats, mice, voles, hares, and ground-nesting birds. They use their excellent hearing to locate prey moving through grass or bushes. Then they leap high into the air and pounce down with their front feet to kill or stun prey.
Their long legs allow them to leap 9-10 feet into the air!
Servals are solitary hunters active at dawn and dusk. They may hunt in grasslands, wetlands, savannas, and forests. Servals have even been observed catching fish like catfish in shallow streams. They can survive in areas with little water as they get moisture from their prey.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
Female servals reach sexual maturity around 2 years old and males at 3-4 years old. They breed year-round if prey is abundant. After a gestation of 66-77 days, a litter of 1-4 kittens is born. Kittens weigh around 8-9 oz at birth and open their eyes after about 10 days.
The kittens start eating solids at 4 weeks old and are weaned around 2 months. They learn to hunt from their mother at 5-6 months old. Young servals become independent at 12-18 months old but may stay in their natal range. In the wild, servals live for 10-12 years on average.
Intelligence and Temperament as Exotic Pets
While illegal in many states, some people keep servals as pets. Servals are playful and energetic cats that require lots of space and enrichment. Owners often describe them as affectionate and intensely curious, more so than domestic cats.
However, servals are still high-energy wild animals that can be unpredictable. They need large outdoor enclosures and can leap and climb very well. Their instincts make them prone to aggression towards dogs, other cats, and small pets.
Extensive research and planning are needed to properly care for a serval as a pet.
Serval Cat Ownership Laws and Regulations in Florida
Permitting Requirements
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC), Florida residents must obtain a permit to legally own a serval cat or other wild feline species as a pet. These permits are granted to applicants who meet specific criteria around enclosures, safety measures, and qualifications to provide adequate care for the animal.
Acceptable vs. Unacceptable Municipalities
While the FWC provides state-level oversight on wild feline ownership, some individual counties and cities in Florida have additional restrictions or outright bans on keeping servals as pets. Miami-Dade County, for example, does not allow new permits following a 2020 ordinance.
On the other hand, counties like Broward, Clakamas, and Alachua take a more permissible stance in line with FWC regulations.
Grandfathering of Existing Pets
The FWC has provisions to allow Florida residents who currently own servals to keep their pets through a “grandfathering” exception. To qualify, pet servals must be spayed or neutered. Their enclosures also must continue meeting specifications around height, security features, sanitation, and environmental enrichment.
Inspections and Standard Enclosures
| Requirement | Specification |
|---|---|
| Minimum Enclosure Height | 8 feet |
| Minimum Floor Space | 9 square meters |
| Inspections | Annual checks by FWC agents |
Properly Caring for a Serval Cat
Dietary Needs
In the wild, servals are carnivores that hunt small prey like rodents, birds, reptiles, and insects. As pets, they require a nutritionally balanced raw meat diet. Whole prey items like rats, rabbits, and quail are ideal.
Servals should not be fed kibble or canned cat food, which are nutritionally deficient. Their diet should mimic their natural diet and contain 80% meat, 10% bone, 5% liver, and 5% veggies. Clean, fresh water must always be available.
Enclosure Requirements
Servals need large enclosures to accommodate their energetic nature and long legs. The Association of Exotic Mammal Veterinarians recommends a minimum of 800 square feet for one serval, preferably with an outdoor area.
The enclosure should be at least 10 feet tall and have horizontal climbing platforms. Enrichment like tunnels, scratching posts, and toys are essential. The flooring should be dirt, grass, or sand—not wire or concrete. Provide areas for sleeping, eating, using the litterbox, and playing.
Exercise and Enrichment
In the wild, servals can travel several miles a day and hunt frequently. As pets, they need ample exercise and enrichment to prevent boredom and frustration. Provide opportunities to run, jump, climb, play with toys, solve puzzles, and engage their natural hunting instincts.
Supervised time outdoors in a secure, predator-proof enclosure is ideal. Daily walks on a leash can provide exercise and mental stimulation. Training with positive reinforcement facilitates bonding and meets their intellectual needs.
Vet Care and Common Health Issues
Servals require regular veterinary care from an exotic pet specialist. Wellness visits, vaccines, parasite prevention, and emergency care are essential. Common health issues include dental problems, gastrointestinal disease, upper respiratory infections, heart disease, obesity, and cancer.
Servals are also susceptible to stress-related illness. Their average lifespan is 10-15 years with proper care. Pet insurance can offset the costs of medical treatment.
Risks of Keeping Servals Cats in Florida
Threats to Native Wildlife
Servals are skilled hunters that can threaten populations of small native wildlife in Florida like birds, rodents, and reptiles. Though servals mainly eat rodents in the wild, they are opportunistic hunters that will eat whatever they can catch, including endangered species.
One study in South Africa found that over 25 species of birds were preyed upon by servals. Releasing non-native predators like servals into Florida’s ecosystem could greatly disrupt the natural balance and diversity of native wildlife populations.
Servals are able to leap 9-10 feet in the air to catch birds in flight. They can even snatch fish from waterways. With these remarkable hunting abilities, servals could easily decimate local animal populations that have no defenses against this non-native predator.
For example, Florida is home to many endangered ground-nesting birds like the Florida grasshopper sparrow that would be easy prey for servals.
Public Health Concerns
Keeping servals as pets also poses some health risks, both for the servals themselves and for humans. Servals can transmit diseases and parasites like rabies, feline leukemia, and ticks to humans and other household pets.
They can also carry diseases like feline infectious peritonitis that may not be transmissible to humans but could spread rapidly among captive exotic cat populations if one serval becomes infected.
Additionally, servals have very specific nutritional requirements that are challenging to meet in captivity. Feeding inappropriate diets can lead to painful bone diseases and other chronic health issues.
Lack of exercise and mental stimulation in confined spaces causes stress, repetitive behaviors, and high infant mortality rates among captive servals.
Possibility of Attacks or Escapes
No matter how friendly a serval may seem, they are still wild animals capable of inflicting serious injury. While serval attacks are rare, their sharp teeth and claws can cause deep puncture wounds, lacerations, infections, or disfiguring scars if they do bite or scratch someone.
Children are especially at risk.
Even minor provocation like rough housing or startling a sleeping serval could trigger an aggressive reaction. Servals may also instinctively attack if they feel cornered or sense prey like a household pet. Their long-term behavior can be unpredictable.
Escaped servals also endanger the community. According to the FWC, there have been around 50 reports of servals escaping or being released in Florida since 2007. Loose servals may attack pets or livestock. A serval bite can be life-threatening for a small dog.
Recapturing escaped servals is challenging and consumes significant agency resources.
Conclusion
With their captivating appearance yet wild instincts, serval cats present special considerations for exotic pet owners in Florida. By following all regulations and providing proper enclosures, diet, enrichment and vet care, responsible owners can reduce risks to themselves, the public, and native wildlife.
While their beauty intrigues many animal lovers, servals are not ideal pets for first-time exotic owners. Their space, exercise and dietary needs demand substantial commitment. With careful regulations and proper precautions however, they can be responsibly kept by some owners in Florida.
