I will EVENTUALLY be purchasing a Savannah and just wanted to know...

[SV Dad]

I will end this with a warning....stopping at one is near impossible!

Don't most of us know that!!!

 

[RobBBQ]

Hi Bob- very nice to hear from you. I don't have as much experience with Savannah cats as many of the others do, but we do have a little F2 kitten. My experience with her would be more like our Bengal cat in terms of being more high energy, but of our 3 cats (a European farm cat, a bengal, and now herself, the F2 savannah), she is the most immedaitely adaptable, she is the most immedately affectionate, and she is the most "lap cat" of the three. Actually our farm cat is the wildest and most unpredictable acting of the 3, with the bengal and the savannah being more interactive and social and generally cool with their surroundings. That might not be what generalisations would tell you to expect, though I suspect most generalisations are just that and perhaps our little one is more an exception to that rule. I can't comment to what expectations would be going forward as the cats mature because I haven't experienced it yet, most likely the others here will help you with that one!

 

[SavannahDreamer20]

Thank you guys so much! All your answers have been extremely helpful! I have a few more questions as well if you don't mind.

How many toys does your savannah have? How essential is a scratching post and how large should it be in order to keep my savannah well entertained? How well does your savannah get along with other dogs, do they enjoy large dogs as well? Are you ever worried about either animal being injured when they play?

Not that I am considering this (it's more a question of curiosity) do any of you guys own any other exotic pets along side your savannah?

Do you guys recommend having a second savannah eventually to be a well suited companion for the first? or would a dog or regular cat provide this? I only ask because I currently have two dogs (A great dane boxer mix and a Chocolate lab. I am planning on waiting to get the savannah until my house is more manageable) The lab was very close to dying and had lupus. The doctors said if I wanted a new pet to start looking now since she wouldn't last the end of the year. I found a rescue great dane and adopted her. Her and the chocolate lab are doing great and have been for about 3-4 years now since the doctors told me my lab should have died. They said that having another pet can sometimes improve the health of the other. So just wondering if any of you guys recommend this.

 

[Tort518]

Thank you guys so much! All your answers have been extremely helpful! I have a few more questions as well if you don't mind.

How many toys does your savannah have? How essential is a scratching post and how large should it be in order to keep my savannah well entertained? How well does your savannah get along with other dogs, do they enjoy large dogs as well? Are you ever worried about either animal being injured when they play?

Not that I am considering this (it's more a question of curiosity) do any of you guys own any other exotic pets along side your savannah?

Do you guys recommend having a second savannah eventually to be a well suited companion for the first? or would a dog or regular cat provide this? I only ask because I currently have two dogs (A great dane boxer mix and a Chocolate lab. I am planning on waiting to get the savannah until my house is more manageable) The lab was very close to dying and had lupus. The doctors said if I wanted a new pet to start looking now since she wouldn't last the end of the year. I found a rescue great dane and adopted her. Her and the chocolate lab are doing great and have been for about 3-4 years now since the doctors told me my lab should have died. They said that having another pet can sometimes improve the health of the other. So just wondering if any of you guys recommend this.

Cat toys. Answer - All of them. They can turn anything and everything into a toy. Official cat toys, somewhere around 70 in rotation. Nearly two dozen, maybe more, are hidden by the brats.

Scratching post. Must haves. Good ones, more than one. Encourage their use and scratch on them while the cats can see you do it. They can learn by example.

How they react to dogs. - Yuki hates dogs based on how she growls at them. I don't know about Yeti and Paz. I do know that dogs and cats can become close and your two types should be good candidates for a kitten to get attached to as long as they like cats.

Exotic pets. Freshwater tropical fish. Not exactly good to have cats as playmates.

 

[Kristin]

Thank you guys so much! All your answers have been extremely helpful! I have a few more questions as well if you don't mind.

How many toys does your savannah have? How essential is a scratching post and how large should it be in order to keep my savannah well entertained? How well does your savannah get along with other dogs, do they enjoy large dogs as well? Are you ever worried about either animal being injured when they play?

Not that I am considering this (it's more a question of curiosity) do any of you guys own any other exotic pets along side your savannah?

Do you guys recommend having a second savannah eventually to be a well suited companion for the first? or would a dog or regular cat provide this? I only ask because I currently have two dogs (A great dane boxer mix and a Chocolate lab. I am planning on waiting to get the savannah until my house is more manageable) The lab was very close to dying and had lupus. The doctors said if I wanted a new pet to start looking now since she wouldn't last the end of the year. I found a rescue great dane and adopted her. Her and the chocolate lab are doing great and have been for about 3-4 years now since the doctors told me my lab should have died. They said that having another pet can sometimes improve the health of the other. So just wondering if any of you guys recommend this.

Zeddie has so many toys...to many to count. She destroys them all, so I am constantly buying new ones. She has a 7 foot scratching tree, and that keeps her completely entertained, she does not scratch anything at all that she isn't supposed to.
Zeddie HATES dogs. My fault...she got chased by a Golden I was dogsitting and has never forgiven any type of dog. Even my sister's dogs, who come over often, get smacked by her. She smacks them completely unprovoked...she is a brat.
I have 4 parrots in addition to my Savannah, and she gets along really well with them. She doesn't hunt them, she cares more about what they eat. She loves eating their pellets...I have no idea why, as they are just fruits and vegetables. She is a weirdo.
Zeddie has a dsh brother, and she looooves him. I want another sv so she has someone to play with that has her energy level, but I think it just depends on the cat. I know Zeddie would not be satisfied with just dogs, but she doesn't NEED another sv. I think it is always nice to have multiple pets though, even different species so they don't get lonely when you are away/busy.

 

[SavannahDreamer20]

Yeah I have seen some really nice scratching pole designs that go from flood to ceiling which definitely seems like a good idea in order to keep the savannah from scratching up anything. I would also of course put in the time to at least train him or her that scratching other things is not an ok behavior.


This is more of just a frivolous question but I'm still interested. Has anyone seen a melanistic F1? I really love the Melanistic SVs and was wondering what the highest generation you guys have seen was. I am not sure why I like them so much (It may be because I have seen a few black panthers in Florida and both were just stunning so the Melanistic have that same appearance to an extent) I know it would be an extremely rare case which is why I'm asking. Also do the breeders on this site reduce the price for melanistics? or potentially raise it for the newer generations because it's such a rare occurrence? I have seen some people lower the price for them and others raise it so I was wondering what you guys personally would do.

 

[NikkiA]

Exotic pets.
Our F5 SV and our conure did not do well together. He is a born hunter, and after months of trying to get Trix (our conure), he finally succeeded. She was not injured, but she was terrified, and as a result was relocated to my parent's house.
We also have saltwater fish.
Our F3 SV has been known to go fishing after he removes the cover from the tank.
Dogs.
Our boys do fine with dogs, we have friends who frequently brings their french bulldog when they stay over, and the cats and dog do fine together. They also do fine with my brother's rescued pitbull.
Two of our three boys do not ever scratch the furniture. The third scratches when he is upset. We have four scratching posts, one of which is a 6' cat tower.
Cat Toys.
We have too many to count. More than 100. We both work, and giving them lots of toys, and constantly buying new ones, helps keep them occupied while we are at work. They are also thieves, they will steal things and turn them in to toys (pencils and pens come to mind).

 

[Lesley]

Agree about toys. We both work as well and try to get as many puzzle and interactive toys as possible to keep them occupied. Still spend at least 1-2 hrs at night and half hr in the morning playing with them. Weekends...forget about it. All savannah all the time. Love it!

 

[Sue]

Tink is an F6. She has 2 cat trees, each 4' in height. Hyendry toys are great. The little furry mice are great but end up under furniture in just a few minutes, thus you can never have enough. She plays catch and fetch with them. Keeping her quarantined was a challenge. She broke out within 48 hours , since you are in Fl., Tink loves wandering around the pool cage, jumping ans climbing the pool cage, chasing lizards. Make sure the screens are the pet screens, they will hold up better. She eats Fancy Feast elegant medleys and dry food in a self feeder. The more time you spend. With them, the more attached they become. I was still working the first 2,5 years, thus she was more attached to my husband. Now that I am home, she comes up to me for petting and will lay down next to me.. Sue

 

[Mischief]

I have alot of toys for Whiskey from balls to mice to a cute little circle toy. When I first got her, we would do play time together and even now, I still play with her every night. I also have 2 scratching posts/condos that I got from ebay but I want to get a better one from Petsmart. You will find that when you do get a Savannah, you will become very obsessive about yours. I think I speak for alot of SV parents (including myself) that brag about their Savannah the way parents of human children brag about their human child. As far as exotic, my Linus is part Bengal and him and Whiskey love each other like there is no tomorrow.