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5 month old F1 questions

coco

Savannah Super Cat
Hi everyone

I have a f1 girl who is now approaching 5 months old, her temprement is great, very loving, inquisitive and always wants to be by my side

I work from home so she gets attention all day long, she has a large outdoor enclosure and a catwheel etc.......

however last week she attacked me, nothing serious but she seems to have developed a bit of a predetor instinct and enjoys stalking me and pouncing on my legs or arms once or twice a week

its not a huge problem at all, a few scratches are not going to be a problem and when i signed up for a savannah i expected this

my question is, can i teach her to stop ( if i can at all ) , obviously without any physical repremanding........ shes very clever so ive tried to be stern and say no and give her time out when she does this but shes not showing much improvement

Anyone else experience this, once again its not a huge problem and i kind of expected it when i got her and the positives outweigh the one minor negative a million times over, shes completely amazing :)

just looking for advice from anyone who has experienced this with there savannah

or maybe work arounds, ive never trimmed her nails, maybe trimming them once a week so there not as sharp?????????? or will they just sharpen up over night????

thanks again for any advice you can offer


Paul
 

coco

Savannah Super Cat
here she is at about 4 months, shes a stunner and she knows it haha
 

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Patti

Admin
Staff member
You may not think this is a problem now, but it will be a problem when she is older, bigger, and has longer nails and teeth. You need to curb this behavior before it gets out of hand. I have a couple of Savannahs that easily get over stimulated and will grab me with their claws and/or bite me. My first reaction is to yelp - just like a kitten would if it is being hurt - this will usually stop the behavior or at least teach them to be more gentle. If this doesn't curb the behavior you have a couple of alternatives... first you can try a squirt bottle and squirt her with a strong, hard stream of vinegar water... or you can give her a time out by putting her in a crate in a room by herself for five minutes after her mis-behavior. Worst case scenario, if you can't get her to stop you might consider contacting Marilyn Krieger, the Cat Coach: www.thecatcoach.com
 
T

tkymasters

Guest
Something I learned from the Dog Whisperer.. You see her stalking you and you know she stalking you. Give her something to take her attention off from you and unto something else. Carry a couple of cat toy balls with the bell inside. You see that she is stalking you, shake and throw one of the balls in the room. Eventually she will stalk you and wait for the ball. This is a common kitten phase.. I had the same issue with my last DSH cat.. they grow out of it.
 

coco

Savannah Super Cat
You may not think this is a problem now, but it will be a problem when she is older, bigger, and has longer nails and teeth. You need to curb this behavior before it gets out of hand. I have a couple of Savannahs that easily get over stimulated and will grab me with their claws and/or bite me. My first reaction is to yelp - just like a kitten would if it is being hurt - this will usually stop the behavior or at least teach them to be more gentle. If this doesn't curb the behavior you have a couple of alternatives... first you can try a squirt bottle and squirt her with a strong, hard stream of vinegar water... or you can give her a time out by putting her in a crate in a room by herself for five minutes after her mis-behavior. Worst case scenario, if you can't get her to stop you might consider contacting Marilyn Krieger, the Cat Coach: www.thecatcoach.com

ok so she started to stalk me tonight and the moment she grabbed me i squirted her with water, worked perfectly

she ran back to her main bedroom so hopefully after a few times she will learn,

ive a house full of powerade bottles filled with water but hey, if thats what it takes then its all good

thanks again for the advice :)

like you said, if i stop it early on its not going to get out of hand :)
 
S

shelby

Guest
Whatever it takes...she needs to be broken of this habit. If it is allowed at any time...she thinks it is okay. It does sound like it is play for her, but believe me...it will not be pleasant for you. When you see her start the stalk mode...stop and face her. Try to redirect the play in another direction. If she jumps on you...yell as loud as you can...NO. I WOULD SUGGEST IMMEDIATELY PLACING HER IN A CARRIER FOR A TIME OUT. Give her a few minutes to think about what caused the confinement. You will have to be consistent and I think she will be smart enough to figure out that this is going to happen when she does the stalking. Just remember when you are walking away from her...she can stalk...when facing her...the fun part for her has been taken away. It may be happening after you have played with her? You are ready to stop...she isn't ready;>( Although she is a babay yet....if you don't let her know it hurts...she thinks you are enjoying it as much as she does;>) Another thing...she may start to do the same to others and believe me...they will not think it is fun. My suggestion would be to scruff her and place her into a carrier each time she does it.
 

coco

Savannah Super Cat
thanks everyone, shes not tried this again after squirting her with water on thursday, infact she had a little strop for the day and ignored me, shes back to her normal self now, minus the stalking........ theres still a poweraide bottle in every room of the house just incase lol

:)
 
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