"He is probably temperamental because of his breed.."

[Ashley]

when Taj was a kitten, he was sweet as sugar...and then he grew up! he is still a good boy, but is very, very strong and it take 4 people to hold him to do anything...he talks and talks, but they understand him TG! Zuri was also sweet as a kitten and can be a beast now at the vet...but she does not bite or scratch or anything...

lol, yeah, Kovu has never bitten or scratched either. But he does tend to get vocal. I just thought it sad that she had such a pessimistic view of Savannahs.

 

[Trish Allearz]

I will say- that I think sometimes the issue with vets and Savannahs comes from the fact that a lot of people still seem to purchase from very large breeders who aren't very interested in socialization or health or anything else except for making money. That's JMHO- because I've heard the same at my vet before (not from my vet or the vet techs who work on my cats), but they've been surprised at even my F1's personalities because I can do ANYTHING with my cats. For example- if I get an ultrasound on one of my F1 girls, I will cradle her and hold her for the vet to check out her tummy. I guess the Savannahs they saw rarely before me were not of the same personality as my crew.

BUT- this is something with any breed of animal. If you see one or two bad apples initially, it will color your experience forever if you let it.

 

[WitchyWoman]

My F6 is the only one who can be examined without sedation. He is a holy terror at home but meek at the vets. The vet wants my F2s sedated for visits simply because they are big and very strong and she doesn't want to risk them or anyone on the staff getting hurt when the cats decide to be uncooperative at any point. And they always choose to be uncooperative.

 

[Wyldthingz]

Some Savannahs will react to restraint. If the vet understands this, less restraint is better. If they get really bent, some sedation is helpful to prevent injury. I had one cat that would get so stressed, she would turn blue! It was better to give her a sedative before we did much. However, she was a sweet girl otherwise. Cats are cats. You just never know how being fearful at the vets will effect them.

 

[Wild Tafari]

Our vet and their staff love our kittens and always look forward to our visits, so we are lucky in that aspect. Our Savannah kittens are wonderful when they go to the vet. We've had kittens to be shipped internationally that require a rabies titre test, and even when having blood drawn from the big vein their neck, are still purring during the whole process. This is what makes our vet and the techs melt.

Now on the other hand, an F2 Queen we have requires a chain mail suit with hawk gloves layered just to examine her....... O_O

 

[Wild Tafari]

I happen to agree with you wholeheartedly. It's quite unfortunate. We hear about this type of thing happening more often than not.

We had a lady contact us one day that had purchased from one of these "very large breeders" and after receiving a very unsocialized, sick SV kitten, they shipped the kitten back. They then proceeded to get an F5 SV kitten from us and after receiving and falling head over heels in love with their purring baby, turned around and purchased an F3 also.

It's sad for any customer that spends so much money and receives an unsocialized kitten, but even more sad for a kitten that has never had proper health care, or enough TLC that it feels comfortable and safe with it's family or in a social setting of any time.

I will say- that I think sometimes the issue with vets and Savannahs comes from the fact that a lot of people still seem to purchase from very large breeders who aren't very interested in socialization or health or anything else except for making money.

 

[Wyldthingz]

There are equally enough small breeders that have poorly socialized kitten, sick kittens, kittens with fleas, earmites, and known parasites that the breeder pretends is healthy. I think the fault lies with the buyer that doesn't complain and lets the breeder get away with selling cats that get no handling. I get many emails like this as well. They buy a kitten from someone else then go to me to complain and to help them, or give them a "deal" on a properly socialized cat because they got taken.

 

[Wild Tafari]

I agree with you there as well Kelly.

 

[DocMac]

How sad, for the great breeders AND for the unaware customers AND, especially, for the cats who never know absolute unconditional love as a warm family member.

 

[AundreaLea]

My vets love my Savannahs! They are all very well-behaved there; from kittens for their first visit to my shy, skittish F3 girl. She is calm and quiet there. They have told me horror stories about DSH cats biting, putting up a fight....I love my vets and the staff's attitudes that Savannahs are just any other cat, and not some potentially "dangerous" exotic....

My Bonaparte is one of Pam's kittens. His first trip to the Vet was a big adventure for him. After a few minutes in the exam room, he was jumping from table to sink to table to window. Having a ball. Couldn't stop purring and head buttin the vet during the whole exam. The vet didn't want Bonaparte to associate her with bad things, so she had her tech give him his shots. Didn't phase him one bit. Just started head butting and purring for the tech!