A hybrid cat is created by breeding a domestic cat with a wild cat species, not native to Canada. These hybrid animals often capture attention with their bold markings, athletic builds, and demanding personalities.
While they share genetics with their domestic cat parent, hybrids often look and act like their wild parent, making their behaviour and welfare needs far more complex than those of domesticated house cats and challenging to care for in a home environment.
Wild exotic cats are not domestic animals and do not belong in homes. Their unpredictable nature, strength, and specialized needs make them difficult to contain in an enclosure or house. They are a serious health and safety risk to the community and other animals and may experience poor welfare if they escape.
Wild vs. exotic animals – what’s the difference?
Wild animals: Animals that live in their natural habitats, such as forests, deserts, or grasslands, and may even venture into urban areas. These animals have not been domesticated, although some have been bred in captivity. Examples of wild cats found in B.C. include cougar, lynx, and bobcat
Exotic animals: Wild animals from other countries that are brought to Canada, often through the pet or zoo trade. There are many welfare concerns associated with the keeping of exotic cats, as well as health and safety concerns. Exotic cats can be used to create new hybrid species that may be more desirable for their ‘exotic-looking’ features in the pet trade. Examples of exotic cats include serval, leopard cat, and caracal.
Generations of hybrids
Creating wild-domestic cats begins with the first generation of kittens, commonly referred to as the ‘F1’ generation. An F1 hybrid cat has one domestic cat parent and one wild exotic cat parent. When an F1 hybrid cat is bred with a domestic cat, the resulting kittens are classified as the ‘F2’ generation. Breeding an F2 hybrid cat with a domestic cat produces F3 kittens. These three initial ‘filial’ generations (F1 through F3) are known as the ‘foundation’ generations. When an F3 hybrid cat is bred with a domestic cat, the resulting kittens are called F4 hybrids. F4 hybrids are then bred with a domestic cat to create the F5 generation.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is an international agreement that helps protect wild animals and plants. CITES protects endangered and threatened species by implementing a list with varying levels and trade restrictions. In addition to their wild parent, both Bengal and Savannah cats are protected under CITES until the fifth generation. This means that F1-F4 benefit from CITES protections and are subject to CITES permitting requirements. CITES-protected species may still cross borders with their owners however, they must be accompanied by the appropriate CITES permits.
Some hybrid cat breeds that resemble a wild cat (e.g., Ocicat and Toyger) are created by only breeding hybrid cat breeds together rather than breeding entirely exotic and domestic cats. However, well-known hybrid cat breeds like Bengal or Savannah cats rely on having ‘foundation’ generations, which require keeping an exotic cat in permanent captivity for breeding. It is challenging to meet the welfare needs of exotic cats in permanent captivity, which can lead to stress, frustration, and potential medical issues.
Breed specifics
A Bengal cat is created when a domestic cat is bred with an exotic leopard cat, a wild cat native to Asia.
Leopard cats are small wild cats native to Asia. They are approximately the same size as domestic cats but tend to have taller and more slender legs. Leopard cats are known for their two long black stripes that run from their eyes to the back of their ears and their ‘rose-like’ circular pattern on their fur, also called rosette spots. They are solitary cats who are naturally nocturnal and often cover ranges of up to 37 square kilometers. They are skilled climbers and capable of swimming, skills that make them expert hunters of mammals, lizards, amphibians, birds, and insects. These behavioural traits make them unsuited to captivity.
A Savannah cat is created when a domestic cat is bred with a serval, a wild cat native to Africa.
Servals are larger than domestic cats and can be the size of a medium-sized dog. Native to the savannahs and wetlands of Africa, these wild cats are known for their tall, slender bodies, oversized ears, black spots, and short, ringed tails. Servals are agile jumpers capable of leaping several meters to catch prey including birds, reptiles, insects, and small mammals. They are also skilled diggers, using their sharp hooked claws to excavate burrows, making them especially skilled at hunting rodents. These cats are also highly territorial, marking their areas with scent such as urine, and have home ranges as large as 32 square kilometers. These behavioural traits make them unsuited to captivity.
For more information on servals, check out Do serval cats make good house cats?
Issues with breeding servals and leopard cats
Servals and leopard cats are wild animals from countries with large home ranges and different climates from those found in B.C. There are many welfare concerns with keeping them in captivity, either as exotic pets or for breeding purposes;
- Wild natural instincts: Servals and leopard cats have strong prey drives. They are powerful, fast, and agile with high activity levels that can make it difficult for them to adapt to living in small spaces found in a home.
- Housing and enrichment needs: Wild exotic cats require a large amount of space, stimulation, and complex enrichment to simulate their natural habitat. This can be hard to achieve in a house setting, leading to stress, anxiety, and frustration.
- Nutrition: Wild exotic cats are obligate carnivores who hunt their prey, including small mammals, birds, reptiles, and insects. Meeting their nutritional needs can be very challenging, leading to poor welfare.
- Veterinary care: There are limited veterinarians who are able or willing to treat wild exotic cats. They are difficult to handle, making exams and treatment riskier.
- Territorial behaviours: In the wild, exotic cats mark their territory by spraying urine or rubbing their scent glands, which signals their presence to other individuals in the area. This natural behaviour is undesirable in a home setting.
- Incompatibility: Wild exotic cats and domestic cats have vastly different behaviours, social needs, and reproductive cycles. Forced breeding can harm the domestic cat and cause significant stress for the exotic cat.
- Abandonment and surrender: When exotic or hybrid cats become unmanageable, breeders turn to animal welfare organizations as there are no accredited sanctuaries to house these animals in Canada. However, animal control facilities, shelters, and rescues are not equipped to meet their needs.
The BC SPCA does not support the keeping of wild or exotic animals as pets or the breeding of wild or exotic animals with domestic animals, due to their complex welfare needs and risks to public health and safety, the environment, and other animals. For more information, please read our Position Statement on Wild-Domestic Animal Hybrids.
The importation, breeding and keeping of exotic cats such as leopard cats and servals, used to create hybrid cats, should be banned under the provincial Controlled Alien Species Regulation of the Wildlife Act. The BC SPCA encourages all municipalities and governments to adopt exotic pet laws that prohibit the keeping of wild cats.
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