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Can a dsh be great pals with a Savannah?

Treywi

April
Was wondering how many have SV's that get along great with your run of the mill mixed kitten? We possibly might be adopting a kitten from our local animal shelter. Went in to drop off supplies and donation and silly us fell in love with this adorable male black kitten. (Told you those mels would get me in trouble) ;)

We decided to take the weekend to decide and thought I would ask the best source of people on SV's I know. You all. :up:


Would we be crazy to bring in a new kitten of mixed origin? He is 4 months old and we spent about an hour playing with him. He seems to have plenty of energy (of course most kittens do) and a wonderful personality. Took to both my husband and I with rubs, purrs, and not scared of anything attitude. Reminded me of Triton when we brought him home.

He would be our 4th cat with us already having the 2 Bengals and 1 SV.

So...what do you all think?
 

John Popp

Site Supporter
With Halloween right around the corner I think you need a black cat!

black-cat-before-halloween-moon.jpg
 

Brigitte Cowell

Moderator
Staff member
I think it can depend on the individual personalities. Our British Shorthair does great with the Savannahs but the two DSHs we had 12 years ago (nearly 13 years ago) when we got our first SV ended up going to live with friends as they really didn't do well. Everything was fine for the first nearly two years... but the SV was still very playful and I think initially they cut him slack for being a kitten and eventually got fed up. And irritated. So I usually advise those with middle aged to elderly domestic kitties to think twice about an earlier generation Savannah. But getting a kitten might not end up with that dynamic, especially if you are sure that kitten is all energy and playfulness... just consider your existing cats, how hard they play and how persistent they tend to be and make your decision from there :)
 

Mischief

Savannah Super Cat
My dsh Mischief and my Siamese mix Valentino get along great with Missy Whiskey. They love playing with her and running around together. And Mischief has tried on more than one occasion to copy her jumping but has failed.
 

NikkiA

Site Supporter
Everyones experiences are different.
That said, before we adopted D, we adopted a kitten from a kill shelter. We had planned on buying two SVs, and had deposits in for two SVs with our breeder, but I went to an adoption event, and met her, and she was scheduled to be put down the next day, and I had to take her home.
Her name is LeeLoo.
I adore her. She is a tiny little ball of happiness.
She is 2 years old now, and 5 pounds full grown.
We think she was about 6 weeks when I adopted her. Unfortunately, it turned out that I was highly allergic to her. I am recovering from a serious lung injury, and she would not tolerate baths, and my lungs could not handle the allergy I developed. She now lives with a family member (our Aunt Pat- they adore each other although I miss her terribly).
We had to give her to Aunt Pat to try to keep me healthy; post-injury, my lungs just couldn't take it.
It broke my heart, even though I can still see her and she is happy, and it broke D's heart too. He cried for days and went on a hunger strike when we took her to NYC and Aunt Pat. The deposit we had with our breeder for a second SV went towards Jarvis, and he has been a good fit, but the little 4 pound (at the time) shelter kitten did just fine with her (now 15 pound) f5 brother. Don't be afraid to adopt a shelter kitten to be your SVs friend. Our 4 pound (at the time) baby did just fine.

When we brought her home in October 2011, she was 1.3 pounds. When she moved in with Aunt Pat in May 2012, she was 4.2 pounds.
 

John Popp

Site Supporter
I think it can depend on the individual personalities. Our British Shorthair does great with the Savannahs but the two DSHs we had 12 years ago (nearly 13 years ago) when we got our first SV ended up going to live with friends as they really didn't do well. Everything was fine for the first nearly two years... but the SV was still very playful and I think initially they cut him slack for being a kitten and eventually got fed up. And irritated. So I usually advise those with middle aged to elderly domestic kitties to think twice about an earlier generation Savannah. But getting a kitten might not end up with that dynamic, especially if you are sure that kitten is all energy and playfulness... just consider your existing cats, how hard they play and how persistent they tend to be and make your decision from there :)

That was the same as our experience, although we always intended to get a second SV to burn off the unwanted attention the seniors were getting. The Seniors welcomed the addition every bit as much as as our still young first SV did.

With Chongo, the search for a DSH would have been pretty tough because his energy level is so high and he plays pretty hard. By the time he was a year old and some weight on him, his play was viewed as nothing short of abusive to the Seniors although he ruled the roost before he even weighed 5lbs. Not that the right DSH wouldn't have fit, but it would have been an exhaustive search.

As much as you can parse things before a new cat or kitten enters your household it's really tough to figure out what happens afterward. Chongo is not the same cat he was before he had a playmate and his interaction with the older cats is now quite different. Those few moments when him and I are playing together alone, he still shows his assertiveness, confidence and reckless abandon but when with the rest of the crew he is much more subdued. It's been great so far and profiling the confidence level of the new addition was what made it all work.
 

SV Dad

Savannah Super Cat
Two out of three of my SV's get along great with the DSH. They were all young together. The youngest SV, Mayhem, tends to get into the DSH's face. The DSH is a quiet cat, and hisses at Mayhem when he playfully passes by. Mayhem takes this as disrespect. But this situation is very slowly getting better.
SV's are cats, just high energy cats. I really don't think it will be any different than trying to mix any other two breeds of cats. Cats all have their own personality, which is the real determinate of compatibility.
 
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