Help me with my Sbt Savannah. Please?

[Brandy DW]

I took this video a little bit ago to show her room's layout. During the video she's lightly nipping at my toes or sock, each time I said "no" she stopped. I don't want to encourage any form of biting, even if it is play biting. For the video I put her toys in her cat tree or her pet crate so you could see the room she had. I leave her pet carrier in the room all the time so that when I do have to take her to the vet or something she's not afraid of it...

This was taken a little bit after the other video. She does usually bring the mouse back to me fairly easily... I'm wondering if the phone in my right hand was making that less likely today.. Once I put the phone down she was better at doing it, but today she didn't put it right in my hand more of right at my feet of where I was sitting.. Hmm. Anyway figured I'd give you guys some video of the situation.

 

[Jacq]

I'm not understanding why some of her behaviors are freaking you out so much if she doesn't ever hurt you. I'm sure your fear is rubbing off on her and making her more skittish. Just let her out to explore your whole place on her own, and you can follow along to make sure she doesn't get into trouble. One room isn't enough for a savannah to be happy.

 

[admin]

Brandy, I don't know why your vet would think it is not safe for you to get another kitten/cat...lymphoma is not contagious...it sounds like your baby is lonely and bored and seems like the only way you are going to solve these issues long-term is to allow her free run of the house and get her a companion.

Kittens/cats chew on cords...that is why we have threads on here about covering them. Cinny chews on plastic, so I keep all plastic away from all of my cats. Savannahs are just not your average cat...

Savannahs are known to be extremely intelligent, high energy and very curious...even when I had seven kittens running around, when they were old enough, they had free run of the house and did just fine...I had several litter boxes scattered all over the house as kittens will often lose their way, but rarely any mistakes...so what I am trying to say is they need free reign...most savannahs hate being caged or locked up and will get into trouble when they are...or will exhibit other unwanted behaviors because they are bored and lonely.

 

[Patti]

Awww, she is a good girl, I can hear her purring in the video. Her nipping at your toes is very normal, and you are discouraging her in exactly the right way. I agree with the others, I think she is lonely and needs a companion and/or free reign of the home at least when you're home so that she can have more time with you.

 

[admin]

Awww, she is a good girl, I can hear her purring in the video. Her nipping at your toes is very normal, and you are discouraging her in exactly the right way. I agree with the others, I think she is lonely and needs a companion and/or free reign of the home at least when you're home so that she can have more time with you.

She is a good girl, I agree, Patti! And I also agree that Brandy is discouraging her in the correct way.

 

[Brandy DW]

I can give her free reign when I'm home, just make sure to discourage her away from the cords and the ledge that has the 12 foot drop. Maybe get some cat tree's upstairs that way she still has her high place but in a safer spot. During work though she'll be in her safe room. I do not want to come home to a cat with a potential broken leg or at least a hurt leg, or to an electrocuted cat. With Neka I had tried several ways to keep her away from cords and that didn't work very well. Neka I did let have free roam of the apartment I was in for a lot of the time, but she also had a far different personality then Sabriel.. but also far more Pica issues than Sabriel is displaying.

Right now I'm being overly cautious of everything. I got Sabriel a little over a month after I put Neka down, so I just don't ever want to be in a situation where she dies or has to be put down because of something that I could have prevented.

As to another cat - A) a new one could introduce a virus or some other thing that could weaken her immune system B) I'm still not sure if she would even like another cat in her territory C) I don't currently have money for another hybrid (I just bought a new house last year, I'm only 23, and I'm doing this on my own, I have to think of all of the financial issues) and domestic cats from what I read do not like savannahs (they're scared of them more often than not) - and I am not a dog person..

 

[SV Dad]

Domestics have mingled quite well with my SV's. In fact, the first two SV's were "broken in" by domestics. Especially if they are young, I think SV's will generally mix well with domestics.

 

[Brandy DW]

Domestics have mingled quite well with my SV's. In fact, the first two SV's were "broken in" by domestics. Especially if they are young, I think SV's will generally mix well with domestics.

I just put what I've read, both on this site with some posts and other cat forums.

 

[admin]

Brandy, I'm not sure where you heard that domestics are scared of hybrids...that is just not the case...many of us have domestic cats with our savannahs and they all do just fine. I have a 10 yo domestic boy and he spanks my savannahs most of the time - he is certainly NOT afaid of them.

I suggested to one of my kitten buyers that she get the boy she was buying a companion and she did so - adopted him from the shelter - they are best friends...

I understand about being overly cautious, but...that can be taken a bit too far...you can take any kitten or cat you get to the vet and have him/her totally checked out, quarantine that kitten/cat for two weeks and then introduce them...

The other thing you might want to try is working with your girl more...teach her some tricks using treats...i did that with my F4 SBT who is extremely intelligent and needs lots of things to do to keep her occupied and it worked like magic...give your girl some vertical space as well...

 

[Brandy DW]

Brandy, I'm not sure where you heard that domestics are scared of hybrids...that is just not the case...many of us have domestic cats with our savannahs and they all do just fine. I have a 10 yo domestic boy and he spanks my savannahs most of the time - he is certainly NOT afaid of them.

I suggested to one of my kitten buyers that she get the boy she was buying a companion and she did so - adopted him from the shelter - they are best friends...

I understand about being overly cautious, but...that can be taken a bit too far...you can take any kitten or cat you get to the vet and have him/her totally checked out, quarantine that kitten/cat for two weeks and then introduce them...

The other thing you might want to try is working with your girl more...teach her some tricks using treats...i did that with my F4 SBT who is extremely intelligent and needs lots of things to do to keep her occupied and it worked like magic...give your girl some vertical space as well...

I'm still not sure about a companion... I'll be weighing a lot of things on that.

However with the tricks I've thought of clicker training her but I'm still reading though exactly how you do it or start it. She does love treats, so I'll try to figure that out.

Downstairs in the living room area this year I will be getting her a cat wheel, more cat tree type things, and a denim cat hammock that hangs from the ceiling. Probably also be adding some cat tree's upstairs for her to use when she free roams (when I'm home!).