Diablo
Male Savannah Cat
DOB appx. 1/1/05
Rescued 3/4/08
Moved to Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge on December 14, 2023
Diablo is a savannah cat, which is a hybrid between a domestic cat and an African serval.
This cross-breeding is not only cruel to the animals involved but also produces confused offspring that can not figure out how to be a house pet. Diablo is very unfriendly and has inherited every bit of a serval’s hissy personality. He is also food-aggressive and turns into a dangerous wildcat at feeding time. Diablo marks his territory including his new toys, enrichment, his trees, and dens by spraying them. All of these nasty habits, just for a pretty coat pattern, don’t seem like a wise trade-off.
Because his owners discarded him for being who he was, Diablo will live out the remainder of his life in a cage. While this is sad, at least he will be free to be the wild animal that he is.
Here at Big Cat Rescue Diablo is very loved however all of his caregivers respect his wild side and do not try to treat him like a pet, something he seems to greatly appreciate. He loves his suite of cages and all the foliage provided for him to hide in. He loves lounging on his platform sniffing the gentle breezes coming off Tiger Lake.
He works diligently keeping all of his toys “well-marked!” He enjoys treats and spying on his neighbors.
Sponsor Diablo, the Savannah Cat
You can Sponsor Diablo the Hybrid Cat at https://big-cat-rescue.myshopify.com/collections/sponsor-a-cat
September 21, 2018 – Gift For Diablo
Come along for a ride to see what a volunteer has made for Diablo the Savannah Cat who is very special to her.
March 4, 2020, Happy Rescue Anniversary
Diablo Savannah enjoys some anniversary enrichment! Diablo is very shy but is celebrating his 12 year Rescue Anniversary so Keeper Brittany brought him some spice bags and a perfume tube!
August 22, 2022
DIABLO HYBRID VET UPDATE:Diablo was seen by Dr. Justin at the Humane Society of Tampa Bay this afternoon. He had been inappetent and seen straining to urinate yesterday and today. He had a blockage and a full bladder, which Justin was able to relieve. He will be spending at least a week in the recovery cabana so we can ensure the blockage does not reappear. We will also be trying a prescription cat food with him.
Learn more about the horrible practice of hybrid breeding at https://bigcatrescue.org/hybrid-facts/
How old is Diablo . Is he going to be hard to get in transport and Mary ann
Diablo is approximately 18.5 years old. The cats have been trained in operant conditioning and while some are more compliant with getting into a cage to be transported, they all will by using operant conditioning and patience.
It seems as though an animal that is (you might say) part “House Cat” should have a little more of a sheltered and domesticated area to live out their lives. (don’t mean they should live in a house) Aren’t they more “tortured” in their nature than a typical wild cat???? They must just go crazy trying to figure out if they are Serval or House Cat. No wonder some are so “Hissy”. Their DNA is so screwed up. Doesn’t it put their DNA in a mixer?????
I agree with Inez (above). Also ~ if there were financial and incarceration punishments placed on people who do this, maybe there wouldn’b be so many. Severe punishments added on to those if they have declawed the cat. That’s just plain EVIL and evil people need to be put away.
People who purchase these hybrid cats and then cannot take care of them or no longer want to take care of them should be legally forced to provide a “maintenance” or “surrender” fee for a rescue to care for these cats. It should be in the purchase agreement or the adoption agreement … in the case of surrender or confiscation.
Was wondering how Diablo is doing after his ordeal yesterday. Hope he is eating his new food and drinking and able to urinate without to much pain.
Ashley Bolles Thank you for your honest opinion about your savannah cat experience.
To be able to breed those cats, is needed some servals in captivity. I don't like that.
Different species in the wild don't reproduce, so force 2 cats to mate against their own natural behaviour, is not a good thing to do, in my personal opinion.
Also I think it could be very risky to adopt a savannah cat as a kitten because it could be very difficult to predict if he inherited the aggressive behavior, which may express in adulthood.
This sums up all the problems with animal breeding. It's bad, bad, bad!
Terri, After watching the vid I think I agree more with you than BCR assessment. At the end the vid states that she/he had adopted a human. I think you will agree however with the "pee on everything" statement. You seem to have had good luck with your Savannahs but I don't know that your good fortune and others bad luck make this a good choice of a pet. Just my opinion. I am sure they bring much joy and entertainment to you and your family.
It truly is not right. There is always that one person to ruin it for everyone
Diablo turned out to be a He, but when we arrived we had been told He was a She.
A ban would not result in anyone coming and taking your cat. That is the ridiculous propaganda promoted by the breeders. Bans always grandfather in the animals you have but just stop the breeding and buying of more.
Uneducated owners, make uneducated decisions. Banning an animal because some people don't do their homework first, is not fair to a population that not only loves, but cares for their own, and discarded cats by selfish people. I don't live in California, but it will be a cold day in hell when someone comes onto my property to take something that WAS legal, and tries to take them away. While I support Big Cat Rescue and your mission, this one I don't support, so feel free to block or delete me if my opinion doesn't coincide with the bandwagon you want everyone to be on.
It says male savannah cat but the guy in the video calls it a "she"? Is it the same cat?
I didnt know that sad thing about savannah cats. I thought it was a good way to have a pet similar to a wild cat. Why I didnt know this if I am following BigCat Rescue for a long time? …well luckly is not easy to buy this cats in Chile, so I havent owned one of them yet. A proof that I will not stop learning about bigcats!
Poor little Savannah's
So sad…my wild ones….