Is there a useful info list to take to your vet?

[Tort518]

Is there a list of useful information about the breed that can be taken to a vet to be included in the cat's records and to educate the vet on what to be aware of when treating Savannahs?

Something like that would be very useful and would be a good thing thing to pin to the top of the health forum.

Jim

 

[admin]

Is there a list of useful information about the breed that can be taken to a vet to be included in the cat's records and to educate the vet on what to be aware of when treating Savannahs?

Something like that would be very useful and would be a good thing thing to pin to the top of the health forum.

Jim

Good idea, Jim...maybe you can start one? And then one of us can pin to the top...

 

[Tort518]

Good idea, Jim...maybe you can start one? And then one of us can pin to the top...

I wouldn't know where to begin. I know from reading here that Ketamine is brought up often, but beyond that unresolved discussion I know too little to start the list.

 

[John Popp]

What Brigitte stated yesterday about the low percentage of fat is extremely important, and combined with the thought they are simply cats like any other is a good start to having your vet think of their care properly. That totally set a lightbulb off for me, and once I mention that to our vet it will save us both from a lot of awkward conversations.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Exactly, I don't think they have veterinary needs different from any other cat breed...beyond considerations of where they fit in the broad kitty spectrum.

Much of what a new vet will focus on is the "wild blood" and how that might affect things, but as far as I can determine Servals get pretty much the same care. The only difference is that Servals look way different and can be more difficult to handle. If a Savannah is a very large cat then it can be harder to restrain in certain cases... just like a larger dog would be. I wish we could have them all speak to my vet who has been seeing my Savannahs for over 12 years now... and the vet techs who tell me they are more worried a Persian will bite them than a Savannah.

In terms of behavior at the vet, they are high energy kitties that hate to be restrained. But then I imagine Abyssinians are the same. You can't take a hand off them on the exam table without expecting them to be on top of the computer monitor checking it out.

But in terms of medical care, they are the same as any domestic. So far our breed does not have any specific issues to be concerned about. You will get the same split of opinions from breeders on killed versus modified live vaccines as you would get in any other breed. Same with anesthetics and dislike of ketamine. I've sat on the general "Fanciers Health" yahoogroup for some years to learn how similar our breeders' views on such things are to other breed's breeders.

 

[Tort518]

Those are some good bits to add to a list and Wikipedia seems to have some very basic info. As we get a little bit more in this thread I will start to pull together a rough list and build on it as we go.

Regarding taurine, what store foods are best for savannahs, and should those be augmented? Also What taurine supplement is recommended as a food additive and how should it be done? Passing this to a vet would help as well I suspect.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

http://www.revivalanimal.com/Fel-O-Taurine.html

The taurine is tasteless so easily mixed into food. The vet cardiologist I consulted for my cat with a heart valve defect said ~500mg a day would not hurt and might indeed help. Remember that commercial cat foods are likely going to only add the minimum of most supplements to cut production costs... and likely cats require a range that may not be covered by that minimum amount.

The same store bought foods are good for Savannahs that are good for all cats, imho. All cats deserve a good quality cat food

 

[John Popp]

Taurine is one of those things that you can definitely use liberally. Toxicity levels are so high that you would need to have absolutely ridiculous levels of it to have a problem, far more than your cat would ever ingest. It's water soluble so anything not absorbed is passed through the urine.

I'm sure there are some fine pet products out there for supplements, although for my liking I prefer human grade supplements. The regulations are just too sketchy for pet companies and opposed to doing a bunch of research I simply opt for human grade.

Also, I tend to add a fair amount of hearts to my raw food mixtures which is a good source of taurine and still add some powdered taurine on top of it. Especially with rabbit as there isn't a lot of taurine in bunnies so I double the amount of rabbit hearts in comparison to my chicken recipe and still add a little powdered taurine. Vitamin E is also a necessity as it helps with Taurine absorption. Someone else will need to shoot quantities out as I don't have my recipe(s) in front of me.