Help me with my Sbt Savannah. Please?

[Brandy DW]

It sounds like Sabriel is making steady progress. Not meaning to sound like a snob but a rescue such as PetsMart is probably the worst place to look for a kitten companion if you want to avoid diseases, since rescues typically have a high incidence of rhinotraceitis (feline herpes) and other communicable diseases.

Trust me Patti you don't sound like a snob and I think the same way. My vet also made a comment about our humane society, meaning I'll never get one from there. The cats from petsmart are from a different rescue group but I agree they are more likely to carry diseases. My family and some of my friends are telling me if I get another cat it should be a rescue cat - so that way I'm saving a kitten, but there are so many issues there of not knowing it's background, health, what it's been exposed to, etc. I made a comment on my facebook last night about just thinking about getting another savannah in the future and I had different people getting on my case about it. In the end though it comes down to my house, my money, and pet's that will become my family. If I could find a rescue cat that I knew 100% didn't have anything wrong with it and wasn't a carrier of anything, and was active enough for Sabriel I'd probably jump at the chance but that likely isn't going to happen. I donate to different cat/dog rescue groups in the area in my mind that's enough..

 

[Brandy DW]

I don't think that with ANY of my Savannahs I can pick them up and go sit down and expect them to stay on my lap. It can work with my British Shorthair as long as I am petting him but he's a cuddlebug and a completely different type of cat. Some of mine DO come to me and settle on my lap or beside me or under a lap rug when watching TV though...and in bed they all want to be curled up close.

Yeah, for some reason animals seem to gravitate more towards people who are asleep it seems like to me. Last year I was at my brother's house for a week (he lives in ND, I live in SD) and in their house they have 5 people, 2 dogs, 4 cats, 2 ferrets, a bunny, and they had a tree frog until it died, oh and fish. Thankfully they have a rather big house, but all of their animals get along surprisingly. Anyway one of the mornings I woke up there I had there dog sleeping next to me on the couch with her head on my stomach, one of the older male cat's laying on the back of the couch like right above my head, and Jade their oldest cat who's around 15 was laying on the arm rest above my head. I hated getting up that morning, I wanted it to last for hours lol.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

It is common for people to suggest rescuing rather than buying, the perception is that any kitten you purchase is a life you could have saved from a shelter. But it is not that simple. You may wish for specific characteristics hence are just not going to get a mixed breed domestic cat, so you are not going to go to a shelter to take a random bred kitty anyway. Purebred cats are not the problem causing overcrowding in shelters, feral cats and irresponsible pet owners that do not spay/neuter their cats are the issue. Tell your friends and families to put their energies and funds towards sponsoring low cost spay neuter clinics (and feral trap/neuter/release programs) if they wish to change that situation.

Now I place more rescued kitties than I breed kittens, and I love the satisfaction of it too. But we have WAY more people wishing to adopt a Savannah than we have Savannahs coming into Rescue. So, realistically a rescued Savannah is an unlikely option. Add to that, it likely would be an adult you'd need to introduce, and possibly one surrendered for behavioral or health issues. So it's not truly a toss up on rescue or purchase as they are very different scenarios!

Add to that, with most shelter kitties you cannot know their background both in terms of heritage (and different breeds may have different characteristics that you want or don't want) and health. Feral cats have HCM just like many breeds of cat do for example. Shelters are hotbeds of disease, there's just so much they can do about that as you have mentioned. And same for many rescue groups, anytime you congregate a number of cats from random sources... while of course a breeder is going to pay more careful attention to any cat that comes into their cattery and doesn't take in the continual volume of cats that a rescue does. You could search out a good rescue group that you feel takes more care on the disease issue... here in Northern California there is a great group called Purebreds Plus that I have worked with, they run a really tight ship with their foster homes etc.

 

[Dantes]

When I got my Ragdoll my parents were incredulous. They thought paying $500 for a cat was ridiculous. And did they go on and on about how pedigreed cats have so many more problems than rescues lol (I don't think I told them how much my DSH Simba cost in vet bills, they probably would've put my baby boy to sleep.) Yet they have always had pedigreed dogs...German Shepherd, Royal Standard Poodle, Shih-tzu, etc. Talk about hypocritical. They'd probably poop their pants if they knew what I paid for Duma lol.

My cats have always been what I call "pound puppies" and I loved them like heck, but this time around I spent months at the shelters and didn't connect with any. Then I fell in love with Ragdolls and through a Ragdoll connection became intrigued with SVs. Nobody has the right to criticize my choices, especially hypocrites.

Next time someone tries to tell you you should adopt a shelter cat over a bred cat, ask them why they didn't adopt their children instead of breeding them.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Exactly, Dantes! It's okay to buy a pedigreed dog and to have your own biological children but not to have a pedigreed cat? And then have they ever bought a car that was not used, and just the base model with no extras? Are all their clothes from a secondhand store? We all make choices on how we spend our money, yet people think it okay to criticize this choice to invest in a companion that will give you daily love for ~20 years....

 

[Dantes]

And then have they ever bought a car that was not used, and just the base model with no extras? Are all their clothes from a secondhand store?

Haha, these are good ones! Although I love the 2ndhand stores where I live, and I do drive a used, stripped-down model of honda Maybe I've already paid my debt?

The irony here is that from reading these message boards, pedigreed cat owners seem more than likely to be supportive of shelters, doing fosters, rescue, etc. It's not like the two things are mutually exclusive.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

It shouldn't be mutually exclusive... but I think some people are happier thinking in black and white terms so shelters=good, breeders=bad.

 

[Brandy DW]

Yeah my aunt and uncle have gotten pedigree dogs for $500+ and no one said anything to them. It is pretty hypocritical in some ways. My sister in law did get two of her cats from shelters, but then she also got a Vizsla. In her defense she and my brother were supportive when I got Neka, but then they also saw how I lost Neka and how much it crushed me. They were happy for me when I got Sabriel, but apparently from what she commented last night she doesn't think I should get another... for now I'm going to ignore the comments because I'm not even getting one now.. I was very specific about saying "in the future". It's a discussion for a later day.


Side note: Sabriel didn't have any poo issues today

 

[Kiangagirl]

~~Background Information first~~
-Okay so I've had Sabriel since October 16th, 2012.
-She's a sbt savannah.
-She was born in late may or early june of 2012.
-She was bread at A1Savannahs.
-She's an only pet (no other animals at all in the house).
-I'm the only person in the house too.
-She has a cat safe room for when I can't supervise her. (In the room is 2 cat tree's, 2 cat beds, a crate with blanket and small hammock in it, litter box, food/water bowl, turbo chaser toy, several soft/plush like toys. Also a window that she has a good view from to look outside.)
-She eats blue buffalo dry food (1/2 a cup a day).
-I had one savannah before this - also a sbt savannah from A1Savannahs but she died when she was 1 and a half from lymphoma, I got a replacement cat from A1Savannahs...


~I made a thread about Sabriel before, about a week after I first got her, mostly about her play biting and her not letting me hold her.

~Well here are my issues now:
1. She does still play bite sometimes but usually not hard.
2. She won't let me trim her claws, but her claws have gotten ultra long sometimes and she at least doesn't claw me.
3. When I take her to the vet, and the vet tries to open her mouth to check her teeth and stuff she really tries to bite him. (not sure if there is a way to fix that..)

--Within the past week, she'll take her poo out of the litter box and then bat it around her cat safe room (which has vinyl flooring at least), I just don't know why she's doing it. The poo is already hard so I'll pick it up with toilet paper and throw it away. Last night I finally had the time to get an enzyme cleaner and go over her cat safe room with it. Hopefully now she'll quit getting poo out of her litter box.

---This past week when playing with her, I sat on/in one of her large cat beds, which I btw have NEVER seen her actually use, more of just move it around. She didn't like it that I was in ~her~ bed and at first started attacking the bed, and then half attacked my foot. I of course stood up and at first she was still attached to my ankle like she was trying to attack me but she wasn't actually biting me. I was saying "ouch" loudly and "no" loudly and finally got her to let go after 3 tries. After that I closed the door and left her alone for a bit. I went down later that night and played with her and thing seemed fine. ~~~ Then a day or two later she wrapped her paws around my sock like she was going to attack it, and I said no and she backed off right away. ~~ She hasn't done it again since but I'm kind of afraid she will. I don't want her to turn to really biting me or hurting me...

---When I first got her in october about a week or two after I got her I had started getting irritated skin, and everyone in my family had kept saying I was likely allergic to her. So from October to December (when the skin irritation stopped for some reason, still don't know what brought it on or made it stop) I didn't play with her really up close all the time. I usually tried to use pole toys or through toys for her. I'd pick her up some but usually she wouldn't like it and I was also afraid of more skin irritation. Since the irritation has gone away I've been trying to be more affectionate but she seemingly will have none of it. She also doesn't like when I put her back in her room so when I'm done with the toys she'll run away from me. I'm afraid I really screwed up with her socialization because to this day I still can't get her to sit in my lap at all, she'll always want to run off...

--- But when I first greet her each time she'll rub between/around my legs. She'll also let me pick her up and hold her for a bit without squirming to get down right away but it's not long, long period's of time. When playing with toys she'll let me be around her easily and will let me pet her, and she'll roll on her side to play with stuff and show her belly sometimes.

---Toys I use:
-Several pole toys, including da bird.
-Toys that have catnip in them that I can throw for her.
-Crinkle type toys.
-she has her turbo toy to swat a ball around in her room all the time.
-Balls, some with bells and some without.

-I've noticed she reacts a lot better and is less skittish sometimes when I sit on the floor. Which is good for the throwing toys but horrible for the pole toys. I always try to make it so that she ends up right in front of me with them so I can pet her and such. But whenever I try to put her in my lap she'll have none of it - am I doomed to never have her sit in my lap at all? During the time when my skin was irritated did I mess up by not being more affectionate with her and make it so that she's not as social as she should be? But even then she wasn't a lap cat. I'm not looking for a lap cat but I would like her to sit in my lap for short periods so I can pet her then... Maybe if I keep at it she'll let me eventually, I mean she's gotten better at being held but I had to try that everyday (as in pick her up for a bit and then let her down soon after she started struggling, then repeat - she's gotten a lot better about being held).

Overall my three issues are:
1. The poo, hoping that's over with now but if it's not I'll try something different.
2. The potential for her play attacking me - or really attacking me at some point and how I prevent that... So far all I really do is distract her with a toy after saying "no" in a loud voice because it's what I've read elsewhere.
3. Wondering if I socialized her wrong or not enough and how to fix it and if it did do it wrong if it still can be fixed.

Also I work 8 hours a day. Everyday before work I play with her for about 20 minutes and feed her. Then after work I play with her for about 20 minutes and feed her. Then at night before bed I usually try to play with her for a hour but if it's been a long day I may only do it for 30 minutes. Should I try to get more time in? Between work, sleeping, cleaning, playing with her, and trying to have a bit of a normal life too. I'm wondering if I should get more play time in with her or if it's enough.

---On a big plus side today when I brought her to the vet - in the car ride (which in the past she would cry the whole time she was in the car) I was able to say in a soothing voice "it's okay sabriel" or "it's okay" and she would be quiet for a few minutes. Or I'd say "it's okay" and put my hand back by her kennel and she'd be good for a while too. To me that was encouraging that she seemed to feel safer with my voice or by smelling my hand. Then at the vet she was good with me and with them trimming her claws, it wasn't until the vet tried to open her mouth to check her teeth that she almost bit him hard. Then after that he just lifted the corners of her mouth and she seemed fine. When we got home she seemed okay too and I gave her a treat for being good and hopefully to encourage her to like her kennel (potentially). I keep her kennel/crate in her room all the time so that she's not afraid of it when i have to use it, so she's at least easy to get in there...

Sorry for the long story/ramble. Any responses would be great and thank you.

P.S. Do you think those "calming" treats at petco would actually work? They're all natural so they at least shouldn't harm a cat... I gave one to Sabriel last night to seem if she would be less skittish. She was less skittish and still had her usual energy so I think they should be fine... But would like to know what other savannah owner's think. Because a savannah cat and a domestic cat are very, very different...

P.S.S. I love Sabriel, I really do. I love her personality and I wouldn't change her for the world...

P.S.S.S. With my first savannah I actually ~meowed~ at her and she seemed to get me more and respond to the meows and would meow back. I've done this with Sabriel since I got her, and she's never meowed back which is fine, but I'm wondering if maybe she doesn't get or doesn't like it because she doesn't seem to respond to it.. she just looks at me like I'm crazy.. ( I meowed with my old domestic cat too and he liked it and would respond.) So is it a personality thing or is she potentially seeing me as another cat threat/alpha or what.. I'm trying to figure out if I should just stop... But maybe she does like it and just doesn't meow back, but associates me with the meowing... and blah. My brain is going round and round with this so I'm just going to post and get input.

I think Sabriel (and you) would be happier if she had a companion kitty to be with during the day. Savannahs are very social and they really, really hate being left alone.
When one of my kittens play bites to hard, I yell "ouch" and abruptly get up and go away or put the kitten down on the floor if I am sitting on the sofa. I never, ever allow a kitten to play bite any part of my anatomy including my feet even with shoes on.
As for her not wanting to be a lap cat, that is a very common Savannah trait and my best advice would be to accept her just where she is right now, stop trying to force her to be something she isn't ready to be and focus more on just having fun with her and let her come to you. Savannahs like to be wooed---they prefer to have things happen at their own pace.
Be patient and just enjoy her---you will be amazed at how she will warm up to you if she feels it's her choice.

 

[Patti]

Now I place more rescued kitties than I breed kittens, and I love the satisfaction of it too. But we have WAY more people wishing to adopt a Savannah than we have Savannahs coming into Rescue. So, realistically a rescued Savannah is an unlikely option. Add to that, it likely would be an adult you'd need to introduce, and possibly one surrendered for behavioral or health issues. So it's not truly a toss up on rescue or purchase as they are very different scenarios!

However, if you would consider an adult many times you can find a retired Savannah breeder for the cost of speuter and transportation. I have a couple here myself just waiting for the right home. It's always a bit dicier to introduce an adult into the family, but it can be done as long as the adult has been socialized with people and other cats in the past.