Malibu, Kali & Odrick

[WitchyWoman]

Abby, Odrick's stinkin' cute! Sue is excellent at sending progress pictures. I don't know how she manages to keep her buyers up to date with pics and do such an awesome job socializing her kittens. She is a great breeder.

 

[Abby2932]

He does look like a little stinker So sweet and innocent in most of the pictures but the 5th pic (DSC_008) makes me look twice. He has those crazy kitty eyes! Kali gets that look too when she runs around the house with the zoomies like a nutso. She's done it ever since she was a kitten.

As soon as I get new updates/pictures, I will share!

 

[Abby2932]

@SV Dad I'm sorry that we share the similarity of our cats having this ugly disease. I hope Mayhem continues to improve and can live happily for years to come. I wish that I had noticed Malibu's issue earlier so we could have tried chemo. He honestly showed no symptoms until it was far too late. Healthy appetite, steady weight, normal bathroom habits, energetic until...he wasn't. I wasn't prepared at all. But I'm digressing...I am rooting for you guys.

 

[Ninja-n-Bear]

He does look like a little stinker So sweet and innocent in most of the pictures but the 5th pic (DSC_008) makes me look twice. He has those crazy kitty eyes! Kali gets that look too when she runs around the house with the zoomies like a nutso. She's done it ever since she was a kitten.

As soon as I get new updates/pictures, I will share!

I'd bet everyone here knows that look, haha! I like pic #6, it looks like he's saying 'no, don't look at my belly'!

 

[SV Dad]

Thank you Abby,
Mayhem's problem was discovered when checking out why he didn't eat for days and a blood test showed a high white count. He was hospitalized for tube feeding and he was scoped. That is when it was discovered he had irritable bowel disease. During the scope the last sample as far down as they could get into his intestine came back hot.
His irritable bowel disease is being treated along with his lymphoma. In another thread I mention his remission is going well. For once in his life he is a good weight for his size and looks the best he ever has. He now has plenty of energy to play with the 10 month SV kittens (R2 is now bigger than him!) It's 6 months now and things are still fine.
Mayhem is the big cat in the avatar along with his minions who were about 6 months in that picture.
My wife and I are grateful we were able to catch this early. I'm sorry you got blindsided. His vet says many cases are symptom-less and very aggressive. We got lucky.... for a while at least.
As you can tell by the other members' posts, we are all excited for your new arrival. We know the joy you will have.
And I will be the first to say, as most of us on these forums know, in a small period of time, you will be looking for the second SV! These cats are that amazing!

 

[Abby2932]

Odrick Update: I woke up to kitty pics this morning! Sue has pictures of all the new babies on her website too so today was the first time I saw his two little sisters. They are all so adorable! They will be 6 weeks old tomorrow so I suppose I'm almost halfway there (if he comes home at around 12 weeks).

I'm fully expecting Odge to be a complete angel and not get into any trouble when he's settling in here. However, just in case there are accidents, I have been kitten-proofing the house. This is what I've done so far:

• window blind cords have all been wrapped out of reach at the top of the windows
• cabinet locks are on every cabinet (kitchen & bathroom)
• all drawers are velcroed so they are difficult to pull open (kitchen, bedroom)
• museum wax has been purchased to secure a couple of things in place (desk lamp, floor lamp, a couple cheap vases on the dresser, stronger hold on the TV sitting on the dresser)
• "electrical box covers" that cover the power strips throughout the house
• critter cord covers & bitter apple spray to deter chewing on exposed cords (I'm still in the process of doing this. I didn't realize how many cords I have in my house!)

I'm SURE I'm going overboard here but I did read The Atticus Diaries, after all. But I also read that there is an Elsa on this forum who is a prim and proper princess so I know there is a broad spectrum of behaviors I should for sure be finished with kitten-proofing everything long before he's ready to come home.

I just can't wait to make out with him and smooch his little face!!! He's so freaking cute Does anyone know what color he is? I'm not well-versed in savannah standards. He doesn't look very "golden" to me but he doesn't look really "silver" either? If you have pics of what color he will look like as an adult, I'd love to see!

 

[WitchyWoman]

I'm fully expecting Odge to be a complete angel and not get into any trouble when he's settling in here.

I snorted hot coffee through my nose when I read that. LOL. Well, as to Elsa....she's an anomaly. There are a few others who claim their SVs are well-behaved but I firmly believe these people were duped and sold domestic shorthairs disguised as SVs. Mine are good boys a few hours a day...when they're asleep...so it's not all shoot 'em up bang bang here...just a mere 20 hrs a day

Atticus was a joy when he first came home. He played gently and slept a lot and grew a lot when he slept. It was after he got big enough to jump on counters and tall enough to reach things standing on his hind legs that the fun began. So you're right, you may have a few weeks to a few months of relative peace but there are no guarantees when he gets bigger. The first year will be the most challenging as he grows physically and emotionally and becomes ever more curious about his environment. Then comes the terrible 2's -- the teenage year -- when he'll push boundaries and test your patience daily and then it's relatively smooth sailing from there.

Odge is utterly adorable. I'd be itching to kiss that sweet face too. If you want to know his color, ask Sue. She's the most reliable source since the mom and dad have produced kittens before and are probably relatively consistent on color. Right now he's still in his fuzzies (my favorite stage) and in the pics he looks cool toned but that may simply be due to lighting conditions. Let us know what Sue says about color. I'm curious too.

 

[WitchyWoman]

P.S. How much does he weigh? He looks like a tank already.

 

[Abby2932]

It isn't the lighting. He's definitely cool-colored, as well as his littermates. With his black spots, he's going to "match" perfectly with Kali =) She's a little black beauty. I didn't ask Sue what he weighs but she did say that she thinks he's going to be a big boy and eats a lot!

When we get a little closer to 12 weeks, I totally plan on asking Sue what food she's feeding & litter she's using so I can make sure I have the exact same of everything on hand. But do you know from your experience if she's a raw feeder? I know he's still drinking milk now haha but I'm just curious.

 

[WitchyWoman]

But do you know from your experience if she's a raw feeder?

She was feeding kitten kibble (can't remember what brand), cooked chicken, and I think raw day old chicks. Atticus refused to eat the kibble for me but he chowed down on the cooked chicken thighs. I poached them in water, tore them into bite sized pieces and served them with the broth. I also added canned kitten food because the chicken alone didn't provide a balanced diet. After 2 weeks I started adding pinkie mice and rats to the chicken as well as the chicks and raw pieces of chicken thighs. He didn't like the rodents too much so I started giving him quail and cornish game hens. As his jaws gained strength he gradually conquered big bones and I didn't have to chop anything up for him. A lot of breeders will feed canned, kibble, and raw so the kittens are used to a variety of foods since there's no way to know what a potential buyer's feeding preference will be. Way more info than you asked. I tend to ramble, sorry.