Savannah Cat Chat - THE Place for Savannah Cat Talk

Welcome to the Savannah Cat Chat Forum! Our forum has been in existence since 2012 and is the only one of its kind. We were here, serving the savannah cat community before Facebook and Instagram! Register for a free account today to become a member! Please use an email program other than Hotmail, since Hotmail accounts are blacklisted by many servers and ISP's. Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site in some of the forums by adding your own topics and posts. But in order to take advantage of the full features, such as a private inbox as well as connect with other members ad access some of the larger topics, a donation of $2.99/mo or $25/yr is requested. This will allow us to continue running this forum!

Considering a Savannah F3 or F4 male

SVSLC

Savannah Super Cat
First off thank you for your time and replies in advance.

After watching a program on animal planet ,which featured the Savannah, I became interested in the possibility of owning one. I have never owned a hybrid cat before, I have owned domestic cats all my life ( 62 years). I have had Siamese and various long and short hair breeds, my last cat was an incredible loving feral I took in.

I am not sure which generation to consider,I I also have had cautions on even considering a Savannah. I am interested in obtaining feedback from owners on the advisability of purchasing a Savannah and which generation would be nest suited once you have read about my situation and home environment.

I am a paraplegic, I own my home ,which is a good sized single level home with a fairly large yard.

I understand the Savannah is an inside cat ,that can be walked on a leash, and great care should be taken to prevent them getting outside. I would like a generation ,which would best suit me and my home. I would provide a loving and stable home, with plenty of attention.Obviously, I do have some limitations, which hopefully would not prevent me from owning such an amazing breed.

It is my understanding that males have a great personality, do not spray if neutered. I would like a cat that clearly shows its heritage,I think the Savannah markings are beautiful. My domestic cats have all been males and good sized, so I would prefer a Savannah that leans to the larger size than a standard domestic. I also need a cat that would be non destructive and be litter box compliant.

Your thoughts and recommendations are greatly appreciated. I am a bit overwhelmed in trying to find a suitable match and breeder. I felt it was best to hear from those that own Savannah's on their
recommendations and experiences.

Yhank you all once again!

Bill
 

WitchyWoman

Admin
Staff member
Bill,
I appreciate your thoughtful approach to the decision. Savannahs, while having their heritage in serval roots, are domestic cats. They are incredibly intelligent and highly energetic. There are people here whose SVs are therapy cats so all of that intelligence and energy makes them very adaptable.

SVs are particularly fond of high places. As long as you or someone else can help them get out of a sticky situation, especially while a kitten, there isn't any challenges to owing a SV that you probably haven't already encountered in a DSH. It's just that SVs in general, are a high octane version of the DSH.

As to which generation is most suitable -- nearly impossible to tell. I think all of them will be challenging as kittens. I have an F6 adult male who is a troublemaker, always on the go, always getting into sticky situations, and I have 2 F2 adult males who, except for twice a day crazy cat time, are mellow couch potatoes.

The best you can do to determine a temperament compatible with your lifestyle is to talk to the breeder you choose (or as many breeders as you want) and ask if they have breeding stock that may produce a mellow cat. Then you have to wait until a litter is born and temperament determined by the breeder. A breeder worth his or her salt will be adept at choosing the right kitten for you. And then it will be up to you to provide an enriched environment to sustain the socialization and temperament of the cat.

If you've read here extensively, you know there is no sure predictor for size. The only thing that is certain is that no matter the size of the body, the size of the personality will be huge.

As far as destructiveness, plan on it. They are not maliciously destructive, but their carpe diem approach to life takes its toll on possessions.

I hope this has been a bit of help to you. Others will add their thoughts also. Keep asking questions. We're here to help as best we can.
 

Xtine

Savannah Super Cat
Welcome Bill, you have found the right place to ask questions and get loving advice. We are newbies to being owned by 2 F3 Savannahs girls. One is almost 4 months old and the other one is almost 8 months old. The older one is the Tom Boy (also loving) and the other one is sweet, dainty and loving and both have TONS of energy. I have also had cats all my life and the only thing I find so far that is different is that it is like having a cat/dog all rolled into one beautiful, very smart cat package. I agree with Deborah (on everything):big grin: that they seem to have a therapeutic quality to them. We used the same breeder for both our girls and they have no problems answering all your questions. We used Select Exotics.
 

Kristin

Animal Communicator
Welcome Bill! Everyone here has amazing advise and will answer all your questions :)
I have an F4 female that is sweet as pie (...usually). She has tons of energy and loves to get into mischief, but is fairly non destructive...she doesn't claw the furniture but she loves to knock things over and turn on the tap :p
 

mhardy12

Savannah Super Cat
Hello Bill and welcome to the site. Savannahs are wonderful cats with a ton of energy. We've had our Taz an F2 male for about 3 1/2 years. I tried to do my research before purchasing, but these wonderful sites were not around that I could find then. Just a couple of thoughts on what I wish I had known before getting Taz. The first 3 years was like having a toddler around constantly. They're very curious and smart so Taz was into everything. He actually drug a 12 pack of toilet paper out of the bathroom, down a short hall and threw it down the basement stairs just to watch it fall. When we first got him (at 10 weeks) I literally played with him for a couple of hours every night to tire him out. The breeders on this site are wonderful and a wealth of information. Unfortunately my breeder was not so wonderful. Make sure they tell you about a quaranteen (sp?) period and any quirks your little one might have. I've never regretted getting Taz, but the high energy is surprising. Good luck with your search and I hope you join the Savannah family.
 

Mischief

Savannah Super Cat
Welcome, Bill. Take your time and do your research. It took me a year before deciding that the Savannah is right for me and the people here are great. They will answer all of your questions no matter what they are.
 

SVSLC

Savannah Super Cat
First off thank you for your time and replies in advance.

After watching a program on animal planet ,which featured the Savannah, I became interested in the possibility of owning one. I have never owned a hybrid cat before, I have owned domestic cats all my life ( 62 years). I have had Siamese and various long and short hair breeds, my last cat was an incredible loving feral I took in.

I am not sure which generation to consider,I I also have had cautions on even considering a Savannah. I am interested in obtaining feedback from owners on the advisability of purchasing a Savannah and which generation would be nest suited once you have read about my situation and home environment.

I am a paraplegic, I own my home ,which is a good sized single level home with a fairly large yard.

I understand the Savannah is an inside cat ,that can be walked on a leash, and great care should be taken to prevent them getting outside. I would like a generation ,which would best suit me and my home. I would provide a loving and stable home, with plenty of attention.Obviously, I do have some limitations, which hopefully would not prevent me from owning such an amazing breed.

It is my understanding that males have a great personality, do not spray if neutered. I would like a cat that clearly shows its heritage,I think the Savannah markings are beautiful. My domestic cats have all been males and good sized, so I would prefer a Savannah that leans to the larger size than a standard domestic. I also need a cat that would be non destructive and be litter box compliant.

Your thoughts and recommendations are greatly appreciated. I am a bit overwhelmed in trying to find a suitable match and breeder. I felt it was best to hear from those that own Savannah's on their
recommendations and experiences.

Yhank you all once again!

Bill
 

SVSLC

Savannah Super Cat
Thank you all for your comments. I am a bit confused about personality differences between generations. I have read about very gentle lovable cats at higher generations, and hyper aggressive cats in the lower generations. Is the personality something the breeder can somewhat predict, is it also determined on how the kitten is initially raised by breeder?

How do you find a good breeder with quality cats? Every breeders ad basically says they offer the best quality, and socialization, is there a way to sort a good breeder from the bad?

Since the kitten would need to be shipped to me, is this a traumatic experience, how do you insure the best possible shipment for the kitten?

Again, thank you for your time.

Bill
 

Trish Allearz

Moderator
I'm not sure where you are reading about hyper-aggressive cats, Bill- unless it's from AR slanted people or people who are working with older rescue cats who may have issues from being rehomed.

The breed- in and of itself- is not an aggressive breed of cat. In fact, I have heard many judges in the rings remark on the personality of Savannahs- they are pretty awesome.

What people do tend to comment on is the intensity of the F1s-F3s- while the F4s and below tend to be a bit more mellow... What do I mean by intensity? I mean- if your F1 has a toilet paper fetish- he will get your toilet paper. You may think he's forgotten about his fetish, but he is just biding his time until YOU forget to protect your toilet paper. They have an incredible intelligence and are very good at biding their time for something they want. The F4s-F8s tend to forget after a while. An F1-F2 won't forget. They'll just wait you out.

The F1s-F3s also tend to either be very very happy or mad- LOL. I'm not talking about aggressive- I'm talking about, 'I'm grumpy- leave me alone". Their happiness- they will share with you to the point of knocking your coffee out of your hand- their grumpiness- they will tell you with a look or a hiss that they don't want to be handled. Mind you- an AGGRESSIVE cat would take it further. All of my cats- happy or not- I can handle at ANY time. I would not be handling an aggressive cat.

In regard to your health issues, I have placed two F6 kittens into homes where their owners were wheelchair bound. One was an older gentleman and the reports from his wife was that Perry loves to sit on his shoulder and go about the house with him. Savannahs- much like certain breeds of dogs- really seem to know what their owners want.

Welcome to our site and welcome to your search!
 

Trish Allearz

Moderator
Thank you all for your comments. I am a bit confused about personality differences between generations. I have read about very gentle lovable cats at higher generations, and hyper aggressive cats in the lower generations. Is the personality something the breeder can somewhat predict, is it also determined on how the kitten is initially raised by breeder?

How do you find a good breeder with quality cats? Every breeders ad basically says they offer the best quality, and socialization, is there a way to sort a good breeder from the bad?

Since the kitten would need to be shipped to me, is this a traumatic experience, how do you insure the best possible shipment for the kitten?

Again, thank you for your time.

Bill

Okay- I'll work on the other parts of your question.

Where are you located? There are several outstanding breeders that participate on this site- in fact, most of the mods are breeders. You can get to know about their personality simply by reading their posts.

Things to ME that are red flags- breeders who are not working to forward the breed (if they're breeding F5s-F6s and have NEVER set foot into a show hall, ask why), breeders who don't provide a CONTRACT on their cats, breeders who are unresponsive to questions, but love to demand their deposit (or payment in full).

I will say- the Savannah community is still pretty stellar. Oh, we have our scammers and we have our crappy breeders, but we have sooo many great, outstanding breeders too.

Shipping is up to the breeder's preference. Some will not ship, some will ask that you fly out, and some do ship. I have been shipping for 7 years now and have had nothing but good experiences using Continental airlines. Is it scary? You bet. Anytime you place your kitten into the hands of someone who isn't emotionally vested into the animal- it's a bit scary. But the kittens really just curl up and sleep and by the time they get to their new homes, they are typically ready to meet their new owners!
 
Top