Adopted a F3 male Savannah cat and I have so many questions! Please help!

[Abby]

Hello everyone! I am new I am new here and I am not sure if I am posting in the correct section. I couldn't figure out how to make a post. My name is Abby and I have a 18 month old male F3 Savannah cat named Aldo. My friend couldn't keep him anymore so he asked me to take him and I did. I currently have 3 other cats (Bombay - Chloe, Maine coon mix - Big Black and a Russian blue named Binxy) I also have a gentle giant German Shepherd who is 9 years old named Rex. So I have had Aldo for a week now and have him in his own room with his own litter box and food and all that good stuff. Aldo is not neutered and I plan to have him neutered as soon as possible. He does not let me touch him at all, as soon as I enter the room he runs under the bed. He will come out once in a while when I am in the room and will lay on the foot of the bed as soon as I try to pet him he will run away. He also has been peeing on the floor and not in his litter box. I am assuming this is him marking his territory? I bought calming spray to spray the bed in the room and I also bought the feliway diffuser for marking and it hasn't helped. The other day I bought this litter that is supposed to attract him to the litter box and it worked but he is also still peeing on the floor! I don't know what to do. Will this always be a problem? Will he ever trust me and love me? What can I do to help with gaining his trust? I have been in the room reading my book out loud so he can get used to my voice. I am just really concerned about him peeing everywhere. My friend said that he hasn't done that at his house and he comes from a multi cat home. My friend had 5 cats. Any advice is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

 

[Rob1984]

first thing i would do is neuter him and i would use the same litter he was using at his other home

eventually im sure he will come around i had my f6 for 2 months before he finally wanted some pets

 

[WitchyWoman]

He's under stress from the new environment -- new sights, sounds, smells, people & cats that he doesn't know. The way you describe it, the peeing doesn't sound like territory marking. They usually spray urine in various places when they're marking. You have to clean the areas where he pees outside the box with a heavy duty enzyme such as Anti Icky Poo or Unique Distributors. They are available only on-line. The stuff sold in stores is inadequate for removing all odor.

It's a good sign that he comes out when you are in the room, even if he won't let you touch him. It shows that he is adaptable, curious, and most likely just needs time and your patience for him to complete acclimate to his new life.

You should be using the same type of litter and litter box as he had at his other home and slowly transition him to whatever litter you use if it's not the same and only when his peeing outside the box is resolved.

There's lots of info here for you to try:
https://www.catvets.com/guidelines/practice-guidelines/house-soiling
http://www.savannahcatchat.com/thre...ed-acclimating-your-new-sv-to-your-home.1959/
http://www.savannahcatchat.com/threads/introducing-a-new-cat-into-the-family.4746/

 

[Abby]

first thing i would do is neuter him and i would use the same litter he was using at his other home

eventually im sure he will come around i had my f6 for 2 months before he finally wanted some pets

Thank you!

 

[Abby]

He's under stress from the new environment -- new sights, sounds, smells, people & cats that he doesn't know. The way you describe it, the peeing doesn't sound like territory marking. They usually spray urine in various places when they're marking. You have to clean the areas where he pees outside the box with a heavy duty enzyme such as Anti Icky Poo or Unique Distributors. They are available only on-line. The stuff sold in stores is inadequate for removing all odor.

It's a good sign that he comes out when you are in the room, even if he won't let you touch him. It shows that he is adaptable, curious, and most likely just needs time and your patience for him to complete acclimate to his new life.

You should be using the same type of litter and litter box as he had at his other home and slowly transition him to whatever litter you use if it's not the same and only when his peeing outside the box is resolved.

There's lots of info here for you to try:
https://www.catvets.com/guidelines/practice-guidelines/house-soiling
http://www.savannahcatchat.com/thre...ed-acclimating-your-new-sv-to-your-home.1959/
http://www.savannahcatchat.com/threads/introducing-a-new-cat-into-the-family.4746/

Thank you so much! I just ordered the Anti Icky Poo. He was sleeping and I approached him slowly and he actually let me pet him for a few minutes today! How long would you recommend keeping him in a separate room? Until the peeing outside the box is resolved?

 

[WitchyWoman]

How long would you recommend keeping him in a separate room? Until the peeing outside the box is resolved?

Yes and ideally until he's neutered and healed from the surgery. There are things you can do for a semi-introduction to your other animals after the new boy has been in quarantine for at least 2 weeks -- such as putting up baby gates in the doorway to his room (see the "introducing a new cat...." link I gave earlier). But, he should be completely comfortable with you first. By that I mean that he continues to allow you to pet him and he should be consistently using the litter box.

 

[Abby]

Yes and ideally until he's neutered and healed from the surgery. There are things you can do for a semi-introduction to your other animals after the new boy has been in quarantine for at least 2 weeks -- such as putting up baby gates in the doorway to his room (see the "introducing a new cat...." link I gave earlier). But, he should be completely comfortable with you first. By that I mean that he continues to allow you to pet him and he should be consistently using the litter box.

Sounds good! Thank you SO much for your help!!!

 

[WitchyWoman]

Thank you SO much for your help!!!

You're welcome. We're here to help. Keep us posted on his progress. I have 4 of these spotted demons and I always recommend keeping large bottles of Advil and vodka on hand

 

[Abby]

You're welcome. We're here to help. Keep us posted on his progress. I have 4 of these spotted demons and I always recommend keeping large bottles of Advil and vodka on hand

LOL! That's awesome. Will do!

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Witchy gave you great advice

One thought I had is that if he is timid and hiding under the bed, where is the litterbox from there and I wondered if it was out in the open and felt too exposed for him right now? Are you using the same type of litterbox as the previous owner and maybe the same type of litter? Often it helps to keep those things as similar as possible at least initially...