Hello Everyone... My name is Melissa and this is Isis

[Melissa C]

I am three weeks new to Savannah “Mommydom” and I must say it has already been an experience. We picked her up in Florida on November 10 th and drove her back with her to Maryland. She took to my other half right away. Sitting on his shoulder while he drove, helping him to steer and sleeping in his lap. She loves to ride. Every time he would exit the car she would start crying after him. I on the other hand did not seem to exist. Halfway through the trip she decided to give me equal time. She was 10 weeks old then. Once home the fun began…
For the first 2 weeks she was constantly yelling at us. Now she pretty quiet unless she really wants something. She is so curious. Nothing escapes her notice. Everything is new and requires investigation, and I mean everything. The first thing we noticed (even on the way home in the car) was that she had to put both paws in her water dish. It is the strangest thing. When we arrived home that didn’t change. She has to get in the shower and the sink every morning when we are getting ready for work. She loves to play in the running water and splash around in the puddles. She plays hide ‘n seek for hours at night. (That’s when she goes viral and is up all night) If you have something in your hand she wants to know what it is and won’t leave you alone until you let her see it , smell it and or taste it. She spends most of her daddy time on his shoulder. It doesn’t matter is he is sitting or standing. If he is standing and he ignores her she will climb his pant let onto his back to sit on his shoulder (the funniest thing). She hates being on the floor. She has to be up where we are. She always wants to be with us. She is right under our feet. I think she needs a playmate but I don’t know if I can take having two. She is a handful and has to be the center of attention. Right now we are her playmates. I’m exhausted.
If it is a cabinet, she can open it. All I can say is it’s like having a two year old on steroids… LOL We have had her now two weeks and she has already doubled in length. Makes me wonder how big she will be when it’s all said and done. She is like no other cat I have ever had. She keeps us jumping… she is always into something. She is FEARLESS.
We love her to death but we do have a couple of issues. Her room has been out small bathroom. She has a bed, toys and a litter box in there. When we go to work that is where she stays. We let her out when we got home and she is free to be where we are. We watch her closely and take her to her litter box when we think she needs to go. On a couple of occasions we have allowed her to come play in our bed and it does not matter if she has just used her litter box she will pee on my bed. I don’t understand it… it’s not like she can’t get to the litter box from our bedroom. The other issue I have is her need to climb my legs. I can’t tell you how many times she has ripped my flesh with her claws. Can anyone help me with these two issues? Nothing I do seems to phase her.

 

[Sue]

Welcome. I have seen other postings on this site about cats peeing on the bed. A lot have said that if the comforter is Down filled, you may experience this. We have not had an issue with the quilt on the bed.

 

[WitchyWoman]

Having a full grown cat climbing your leg or choosing to jump on your shoulder at her whim will not be fun. Best to break her of the habit now. Pluck her off your leg with a firm "NO" and put her on the floor. If you see she is thinking about climbing your leg, same "NO". If she doesn't behave, put her in a 30 second time out in a dark room. Using a spray bottle with water & vinegar on full stream, not spritz, is also a good deterrent. Spray her with the water whenever she does something she isn't supposed to and say "NO".

I have no advice about the bed so hope others will offer some tips.

She is very cute and will use that to her advantage but your house will be more peaceful in the long run if you set boundaries early on. Getting her another high energy companion will take stress off of you and give her a playmate when you and DH aren't home.

 

[Melissa C]

Thank you so much for your responses. I will continue to correct her with a strong NO and add the water spritz. Does the timeout really work?

The comforter is not really down but is really fluffy and soft. I guess I could try another type of bed clothing and see if we still have the problem. I'll also look up other discussions regarding the subject. Thanks again

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

I agree with the plucking off your leg with the firm no, but it is important that your other half does the same if she tries to climb you. The rules need to be consistent...she can't be allowed to climb one person's leg but not another.

I think timeouts are useful if the kitten seems to be just overexcited and beyond reasoning, just like a small child. But realize that some Savannahs can be very very persistent and determined, so you have to focus on being calm, patient and persistent in showing them what is allowed and what is not. So if you have to pluck her off your leg five to ten times in a row, just do it. Eventually she will get that this is not going to get you up onto your shoulder. You can try to redirect her energies when she is off your leg by picking up a wand toy and running her around a little bit too... once a bit more tired out, she may be more content to just perch and watch you. Put a little thought into perches too, kitties do better if they have higher spots to watch you do your thing also, I have a cat tree at the end of our kitchen island. The cats are allowed to sit there and watch me cook, but are not allowed on the island. But they have a place to perch, if it wasn't there I am sure it would be continually pushing them off the island bench.

As to the bed, as some have mentioned down comforters do attract some cats to pee, so you can try a down-alternative. Additionally, what are you using to clean it? Many think they need to then bleach the comforter to "sanitize" it, when in fact the smell of bleach can attract some kitties to pee so make the issue worse! Use a good quality enzyme cleaner (Unique Distributors Odor Eliminator or AntiIckyPoo are really good ones) and soak the comforter in a solution of that for a few hours (or overnight) and then launder as normal with a preferably fragrance-free laundry detergent. If that doesn't work, consider putting a plastic sheet over the bed to protect it, at least until she has learned not to do this. That could be a plastic tarpaulin, but there are also waterproof sheets used for incontinence available too. The other motivation that can be working here is rumpled bedding, something about that says pee on me please...so when you wake up, making the bed to smooth the covers can fix the issue for some people, some put a sheet over the comforter so they can smooth and tuck it in, and that works.

Hope some of this helps!