New Cat!

[Katy]

Hi, all

I'm new to the forum - in the UK, and have recently acquired a rescue Savannah. Although looking at the pictures of all your lovely lot, I'm really not sure that's what he is...

Backstory - he's approximately 2 years old, and rescued from a cat hoarder, who had 60 cats in a small house. She contacted a savannah breeder in the UK when the local council told her she had to get rid of some of her pets. They took him in, and we picked him up about two weeks later.

One week after getting him home, and having secluded him from our other cat, he escaped out of a window and went feral for nearly three months. We live on a farm with hundreds of acres of woodland and as he didn't know who we were, or how to get back in the house, we had a terrible time finding, and then catching him. We bought a cat trap and that eventually did the trick.

6 weeks after being home, he escaped again. This time for only 10 days or so, and we've had him back now for 24hrs. He's settled back in, and knows all his favourite places, though the other cat is less than impressed, having thought she'd got rid of him!

We don't believe these were genuine attempts to escape, but rather curiosity getting the better of him.

I have some questions, if you'd be so kind:

1) Do you think he actually is a savannah? he has a lot of Abyssinian-looking traits (we've had an Aby in the past). The rescue place seemed sure, but they did not bred him. Some pictures below, sorry i don't have much to offer in full side-on shots! We really don't care what he is, as he's the most beautiful thing, but he's a long way from the pics of the pure breed i've seen.

2) Are they happier as indoor cats? We do intend to let him out, as soon as we can figure out how to teach him about the cat flap without him buggering off into the sunset. Even if he doesn't want to go out, i'd like him to know how to get back in if he escapes again! I've a Loc8tor tag on order.

3) He's very vocal - lots of talking, and he seems to talk to himself a lot. Could this be because he'd been used to lots of other cats? Or he's bored/lonely? I have been spending a lot of time with him (working from home etc) so he gets a lot of play, but our other cat isn't remotely interested at the moment and I'm concerned he's lonely.

Sorry for all the questions!

many thanks in advance

K

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[Ashley]

Ok.. I haven't read your post yet because I just wanted to say YOUR CAT IS GORGEOUS & I am uber jealous.

Ok.. going to go read it now.

 

[Ashley]

Ok now that I've read:

Seeing as we are fairly new to the Savannah community I don't feel confident saying he is or isn't a Savannah. Regardless, like I said before, he is GORGEOUS!

Have you tried putting him on a harness or purchasing an enclosure? Kovu has never really had a life outside without a harness. He nearly escaped yesterday, but thank God he has a long tail. I hated to grab him by it, but I'd hate it even more if he got out & we weren't able to catch him. :/ That being said, that is the first time in the 10 months he's been here that he has tried to escape. I think he is content with being an inside cat. Especially when its raining. To me, it just seems so much safer.

Also, I've owned a lot of cats in my lifetime. Most of which were just DSH from the local rescue. Kovu is our first purebred cat. He is VERY vocal, which I've heard can be a Savannah trait. My cousin just moved up here & he meowed at her for 20 minutes the first time she came over. He also will talk your head off when he is hungry..

 

[SV Dad]

To me, it doesn't matter what he is. That's a nice CAT! The ears are closer than average and taller, which is suggestive of Serval influence. He might be escaping because he wants to go home. Hang in there. I think he will adjust and like the increased attention. It takes time to figure out what makes the cat tick.

 

[Anne]

That wee face is "love me lots" ... he is beautiful!!

 

[Tina Kinsley]

OMG those eyes! They're aquamarine. What a beautiful animal.

 

[Wyldthingz]

There are VERY few actual Savannahs in the UK but what there are, many have been these colors that are considered a non-standard color. He is a blue spotted tabby. If it were me, I would contact the local breeders that have produced these colors. If you can get the fellow's name that owned him, you may be able to find that he purchase a cat from one of the breeders there. I am sure they would want to be helpful.
He could be a Savannah with a lot Sergengeti influence. It is hard to say but it would be interesting to find out. Savannahs are typical troublemakers so it is not surprising that your cats aren't fond of him! He runs the risk of getting into dangerous trouble outside however it seems like he has fair okay so far. I can't really council you on keeping him in or out but for the sake of the bird population, I would say keep him in.

 

[Per Lausund]

That is a CAT! A boootiful cat with some of the traits you find in Savannahs. Now, the only way to make sure whether he is a SV or not is to find out his parentage. If there is Sv on at least one side, there you go. If not, he´s "just" a beautiful cat. And make sure he knows where he lives before letting him out! Good luck,
p

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

He's a lovely blue spotted tabby

As Kelly says, it does seem that there were quite a few nonstandard colors of Savannahs being produced in the UK, at least one UK breeder was complaining about that on one of our breeder lists so that's really all I know. I do Rescue here in the US, and I'm not sure if that came into a shelter that we'd think "Savannah", but that doesn't mean he's not a less-typey example. I'd try contacting breeders in the UK and see if any have produced blue spotted tabby Savannahs. He does have a discernible spot pattern and those are unique to each cat so you might even be able to match the pattern to a kitten picture if they have any... Good luck!

As to letting him outside, Savannahs really are NOT good candidates for that. They just have too much energy, intelligence and curiosity. They will wander for miles chasing one thing after another and only then look up and have no idea how they got where they went. I'd instead spend some time making the house a nicer place for a kitty to hang out in...lots of scratching posts and shelves and cat trees so that he's happy just staying inside

 

[Pam Flachs]

Welcome, Katy! Now that is one gorgeous cat...just stunning! Like the others, I think it possible he may be a non-standard colored Savannah with a Serengeti or Oriental Shorthair background.

If you can find out if he is indeed a Savannah, great! If not, then consider yourself very lucky to have found him What is his name?

I would not let him roam about outside, unless in an enclosed area. He is so handsome, someone else may decide to take him in or meet some other unknown fate.....

You may want to consider another high-energy playmate for him, too, if your other cat is not interested in becoming his best friend.