New kitty coming home soon and I have so many questions!

[Traska]

Hi there!
I have my first savannah coming home Sunday with me. His name is Artex and he is an F6 SBT from Platinum Paws.
So first question, I talked to all the references she gave me and it might be too late for this but does anyone have any experiences with her or know anything about her cattery?

What supplements do you recommend for your kitties? She uses Kitty Bloom and does anyone know where else I can get this besides their website if this is a good option.

I will definitely follow the quarantine rule so hopefully he will acclimate to his new family just fine but does anyone have experience on acclimating a 2 year old cat? I'm assuming it might be harder than a kitten?

Toys that I HAVE TO HAVE?

I'm so excited?!

 

[WitchyWoman]

Congratulations on getting your 1st Savannah and welcome to the forum. I don't know anything about Platinum Paws. Didn't see them on the list TICA registered breeders. That isn't necessarily a bad thing. Hopefully some breeders who are familiar with this cattery will chime in.

As far as supplements, it depends on what the breeder is feeding the cat and what you intend to feed after you have slowly transitioned the cat to a new diet if that is what you choose to do. With a high quality cat food (preferably canned rather than kibble) there isn't any real need to supplement. After trial and error, I found that my cats prefer the taste of Mazuri. There are two options for Mazuri -- one is made for diets/food containing calcium, which would include most commercial brands, and one is made for raw diets containing meat but no bones.

Depending on the personality of the cat, it could very well take a bit longer for a 2-yr old cat to acclimate to new owners and a new house. You may have to extend the quarantine beyond the usual 2 weeks. It could take a month or longer. If the cat is well socialized with a confident personality, it may acclimate in no time at all.

As far as where to get Kitty Bloom, Google it and a list of retailers should come up.

Toys? I've spend hundred of dollars of hundreds of toys that my cats will play with but their favorites are bits of paper, pencils and pens, eyeglasses, almost anything that you wouldn't consider fun. Things they can chase such as balls and jingly toys are good as well as feather wands. And I've yet to meet a cat who doesn't go insane over a cardboard box. My guys especially like ping pong balls because they bounce well off of furniture, the ceiling, and human beings.

Is your cat a retired stud? If so, has he been neutered long enough for the hormones to leave his system so you don't have urine spraying issues? I'm assuming he has already been neutered. If not, that is something you'll want to do asap.

 

[Traska]

http://www.tica.org/component/k2/item/1615-cattery-platinumpaws is their page on the TICA site. Does that mean they are registered or just paying for advertisement?

She's doing Orijen kibble left out all day and 1 can of tika cat canned food daily. Would that one can be enough to drop the supplements or should it be an all wet food diet?

She was selling him as a stud or pet and it seems like no one has been interested in him? But he is intact. She says that he has no issues with spraying but I will be getting him neutered ASAP.

 

[WitchyWoman]

OOps, my bad. I didn't see them listed on TICA, sorry. No issues spraying at her place (which I find kind of unusual) doesn't mean he won't do it at yours so that asap neuter will keep you a lot happier.

It's the quality of the food that matters not the amount. When you evaluate food, be sure that the first 3 ingredients are meat or meat-based and the food should be grain-free. Orijen is an ok food. Kibble is not my preferred food for cats. You can learn a lot here about preferred options http://www.catinfo.org/. Canned is much better if you are not comfortable feeding a raw or whole prey diet. Even if you feed kibble but also treat the cat to some raw beef, turkey, chicken, cornish game hen from time to time is better than kibble alone. There are a lot of folks who feed kibble exclusively to their cats with no problems and you have to decide what you are comfortable with and what you can afford. Again, if the food is high quality, you don't need to supplement. If you feel better supplementing, any good cat vitamin will do.

 

[Rafiki]

It looks like Paige is credited with designing the website so hopefully she knows them.

I currently use Kitty Bloom supplements for my raw diet as Mazuri contains a minute amount of chicken for flavoring and I have one cat allergic to chicken. I am unclear as to why she is supplementing if she is using commercial cat food.

Personally I would slowly transition him off the kibble. It is nice and convenient but dry food is not the best, particularly for male cats. Orijen is one of the better brands but can still cause issues if your boy does not drink a lot of water.

 

[admin]

I know Kim who owns Platinum Paws and she is a very good, ethical breeder. I'm not sure why she is not neutering him though - he is two years old and should be neutered, but I guess you have worked that out with Kim?

 

[Traska]

I just assumed it was up to me? I've never worked with a breeder before so I have no idea what the norms are.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

As a 2 year old intact male it isn't just the spraying you might be concerned about. Hormones in a male cat can result in unpredictable behavior, they can snap in an instant if they feel threatened. Even if the breeder is selling him because he hasn't proved fertile, they don't have to produce viable sperm to be producing hormones and behaving like a stud male.

So please DO get him neutered asap, this will settle him down and make him much more interested in being a great pet.

As to supplements, it really isn't necessary if feeding a commercial diet, and I agree with the others that advocate increasing the wet food and phasing out the dry...especially for a male cat.

 

[Traska]

I am definitely getting him neutered ASAP and will be switching out dry food to wet food only.

Should I wait to make the neutering appointment after he's acclimated?

 

[Patti]

I agree with the others, Artex should be neutered asap, preferably before he comes to you. As Brigitte has pointed out, an intact male can be unpredictable in his behavior so the sooner the better. I would not wait for him to acclimate (personally I would be driving him directly to the vet from Kim's for his neuter)!

I also agree that supplements should not be necessary if you are feeding him a commercial diet.