Hello everybody !

[Niels]

Hi all.

My name is niels and i'm a future savannah owner.
In other words... i'm still looking around.
i'm from belguim so my english ain't top notch, but i'm going to make a good effort for your guys.

I hope to learn alot from you guys/girls and get some good advices and see wonderfull pictures.

recently i have been thinking about purchasing a kitten from a breeder close to me.

A male F2 savannah.
The downside is that the owner separeted the mother yesterday.
She did this because the mother will not allow anyone near the kittens and the owner has to socialize the kittens.
The kittens are now 7.5 week oud.
It's 1 male 1 female.
They stay now 1.5 week alone in a room and at 9 weeks i should be able to pick them up
Will i take a huge risk with the male kitten ? I'm afraid for problems with his behavior because he only has been 7.5weeks with the mother.

Some reply's are welcome.
Just Hi's are also welcome

regards,
Niels

 

[admin]

Hi all.

My name is niels and i'm a future savannah owner.
In other words... i'm still looking around.
i'm from belguim so my english ain't top notch, but i'm going to make a good effort for your guys.

I hope to learn alot from you guys/girls and get some good advices and see wonderfull pictures.

recently i have been thinking about purchasing a kitten from a breeder close to me.

A male F2 savannah.
The downside is that the owner separeted the mother yesterday.
She did this because the mother will not allow anyone near the kittens and the owner has to socialize the kittens.
The kittens are now 7.5 week oud.
It's 1 male 1 female.
They stay now 1.5 week alone in a room and at 9 weeks i should be able to pick them up
Will i take a huge risk with the male kitten ? I'm afraid for problems with his behavior because he only has been 7.5weeks with the mother.

Some reply's are welcome.
Just Hi's are also welcome

regards,
Niels

Hi Niels and welcome! I apologize for the misunderstanding earlier and hopefully we can now get on to the business of savannah cats and helping you

Have you looked at the following breeders:

ABC Savannahs
Ajabu Savannahs
http://nevasirags.nl

They are all on savannahcat.com and perhaps they may have a way of breeding that is better for you...

I do not agree with removing F2 kittens from their moms very early on (2 weeks and earlier)...we have a couple of F1 breeders who do so and they have explained why on this forum...we also have F2 breeders here and they do not remove the kittens from the moms...many owners on this forum on F2's who have not been separate from their mothers...

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Welcome, Niels!

I don't think it concerning that the kittens are weaned from the mom at that age, I generally wean my kittens at around then as long as they are all eating solids at that time. They do need to be weaned before leaving home imho, else it is so very hard for them to lose mama as well as siblings as well as their home. At least if fully weaned they are no longer dependent on mama...

I personally think 9 weeks is too young for a kitten to leave home if that is what you mean by being able to "pick them up". Their immune systems are barely functional at that age, 12 weeks is my minimum and that allows for two vaccinations before leaving home so a little more immune protection. I also think that pyschologically at 12-16 weeks they are more confident and outgoing than earlier, therefore adapt to changes easier and accept a new home easier. But you may have meant by "be able to pick them up" that you can then go visit them...and that seems reasonable as many breeders might want the kittens to have had one vaccination before allowing visitors.

My concern might be that it seems that the owner has not been interacting enough with the kittens due to the mother cat being so protective. Nearly 8 weeks old seems VERY late to start doing the human socialization bit imho. I like to handle my kittens from birth and fortunately my mama cats love us to interact with the babies. They love and trust us, so the kittens learn from mama that humans are great.

So for me, the bigger risk is the lack of human socialization the kittens appear to have had. I'd probably want to visit with the kitten first before making a decision for that reason. Hope that helps!

 

[admin]

Ah, I misread...weaning at 7-9 weeks is not a problem for me either...but shipping off at nine weeks was my issue.

 

[Niels]

Hi Niels and welcome! I apologize for the misunderstanding earlier and hopefully we can now get on to the business of savannah cats and helping you

Have you looked at the following breeders:

ABC Savannahs
Ajabu Savannahs
http://nevasirags.nl

They are all on savannahcat.com and perhaps they may have a way of breeding that is better for you...

I do not agree with removing F2 kittens from their moms very early on (2 weeks and earlier)...we have a couple of F1 breeders who do so and they have explained why on this forum...we also have F2 breeders here and they do not remove the kittens from the moms...many owners on this forum on F2's who have not been separate from their mothers...

Yes i have been on the website's of all 3.

The mother cat i was talking about has been bought before from abc savannahs

I often sended emails with nevasirags, they help me alot and give me very good information.
This would be my nr1 choose so far.

They cattery i first talked about just seemed good because it's very close to me and they happened to have a marble kitten. pretty big, i really like his head and has nice big ears with nice ocelli spots on it.
It was also alot cheaper because of the marble pattern.
But a bad socialised kitten will never be a "good deal" ofcourse.

 

[Niels]

if it's important. the breeder is a 20minute car drive away from me and i will be going at the same vet.

 

[Niels]

With i can go pick them up i mean, i can go get them and take them home.

I visited the kitten this monday.

The girl was pretty aggressive and didn't like to be touched.
The boy was easy and i could pet them.

My biggest concern is that the mom ain't in the same room anymore.
Shoudn't she be there to learn him everything ?
If that ain't a problem i can ask the breeder to keep him there 3 weeks longer and i can visit him maybe 2-3 times a week.
But what is the point for him of beeing there without his mom ?

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Normally kittens learn from the mom yes, but also their siblings...when wrestling for example, when one kitten bites too hard the other one objects strongly and the kitten learns not to bite down so hard. We find singleton kittens often have a problem with biting, probably because nobody told them differently.

To me the extra time is NOT just about being around the mom though, it is about keeping in the same environment until properly vaccinated (two vaccines at least two weeks apart) and their immune system stronger and more up to the challenge of leaving home. Also their psychological development as I mentioned before. Those are the points. To have your kitten be healthier and more outgoing/confident and able to transition to a new home more easily.

As I said, the time the mom was taken away is not unusual nor a bad idea. But just because a kitten is weaned does not mean it should be ready to leave home. That is but one step in the process.

 

[Niels]

Normally kittens learn from the mom yes, but also their siblings...when wrestling for example, when one kitten bites too hard the other one objects strongly and the kitten learns not to bite down so hard. We find singleton kittens often have a problem with biting, probably because nobody told them differently.

To me the extra time is NOT just about being around the mom though, it is about keeping in the same environment until properly vaccinated (two vaccines at least two weeks apart) and their immune system stronger and more up to the challenge of leaving home. Also their psychological development as I mentioned before. Those are the points. To have your kitten be healthier and more outgoing/confident and able to transition to a new home more easily.

As I said, the time the mom was taken away is not unusual nor a bad idea. But just because a kitten is weaned does not mean it should be ready to leave home. That is but one step in the process.

Oke,

I'm really glad with your information so far.

Can i make the following conclusion ?

If the breeder agrees to keep the kitten 3 weeks longer (untill 12weeks) there together with her sister, then it still will have a good "education".

I know the female kitten was already planned to go to her dad.
If he has the 3 weeks of patience...

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

It may depend on how much time the breeder intends to spend with the kittens too... it's not a simple equation and yes if the other kitten has left and your kitten will be alone in the room except for mealtimes and cleaning the room then yes taking it home might be a good option. It is not the same as if the kitten was to be reared the optimal way which would be to stay there until 12 weeks, two vaccinations and all the time with siblings and people too!