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Norwegian Forest Cat vs Savannah

Two cat breeds, side by side. Same data, no favourites.

Norwegian Forest CatSavannah
Lifespan14-16 years12-20 years
SizeLargeLarge
Weight12-16 lb9-20 lb (early generations can run larger; some exceptional F1s reach 40 lb)
EnergyModerateVery high
GroomingHighModerate
SheddingHighLow
With kidsGood with kidsWith supervision

What actually separates them

The honest downside of each

Norwegian Forest Cat

This breed is marketed as a hardy, naturally-evolved landrace with few health problems, which is true for most individuals, but it carries a rare fatal metabolic disease that kills affected kittens in infancy or early kittenhood, and Cornell's feline health center also lists it among breeds with elevated hypertrophic cardiomyopathy risk — a DNA test exists for the fatal condition and there is no excuse for a breeder not to use it.

Savannah

A Savannah is a serval hybrid, and how legal it is to own one depends entirely on the generation (F1 being closest to the wild serval, F5 and later being fully domestic under TICA's standard) and on your specific state and city — some places ban the breed outright, some allow only F4/F5, and a cat that's legal to own in your state can still be banned in your city, so buyers must verify both before they buy, not after.

Read the full pages

Norwegian Forest Cat  ·  Savannah
Health problems, origin and what living with each is actually like.