New Owner with Lots of Questions :)

[snooby]

My wife and I have been interested in buying a Savannah cat for a long time. We searched for a nearby breeder, but weren’t able to find one that worked for us. We looked online, but really wanted to see our kitten in person before we made a final decision. Two weeks ago we were in Chicago for a wedding and decided to drive to Select Exotics while we were there.

Holly and Dale, the owners, were super friendly, had a great facility, and showed us several different kittens. We fell in love with one and put down a deposit the same day. Because of holiday travel and commitments, we won’t be getting our kitten until 1/15, when she will be 20 weeks old. I know that that is a little older than normal, but Holly assured us it would be fine and we did not want to bring the kitten into the house and then have to leave for a week a week later.

My wife and I do not have any other pets and I have never had a cat (my wife had cats growing up). We are very responsible and intend on being great owners, but being new Savannah cat owners, we have a lot of questions! I have read as many books, blogs, and forums as possible, but wanted to ask some specific questions that I haven’t be able to find answers to.

Thanks for all your help and for taking the time to read this!

I have read many recommendations about the 1-2 week quarantine period and I wanted to get some feedback. We live in a one bedroom apartment with one small bathroom. Most of the advice I have read suggests at least 1 week in the quarantine room and the most often recommendation is the bathroom. Our bathroom has only 30 sqft of floor space and I am concerned that that might not be enough room for a cat bed, scratching post, litter box, food & water dish, etc.

The only other option would be our bedroom, which is significantly larger than the bathroom. What are the pros/cons about having her quarantine room be our bedroom? We don’t have a lot of furniture in our room, just a bed, two night stands, a vanity, and a TV stand with a TV.

Given this information, would you guys recommend the bathroom or the bedroom?

If the quarantine period is in our bedroom, does she sleep with us or in her kitten bed? Do most Savannah cats sleep with their owners? If we decide we would prefer for her not to sleep in the bed, is that okay? If so, how do you manage that?

Also, since we live in a small one bedroom apartment and don’t have any other pets, Holly thought only a 3-4 day quarantine period would be necessary before we show her the rest of the apartment. What is your guys’ opinion on how much time she should be in her quarantine period?

Our apartment has two levels and the staircase hand rail has plenty of space for a kitten (or a full grown cat) to go over the ledge. When we introduce our kitten to the whole house, do we need to put up barriers on the handrail so she doesn’t fall from one floor to the next or will she know not to jump/fall from one floor to the other?

In terms of litter, we will be buying a similar litter box and the same litter our kitten has been used to. We eventually want to try and toilet train her. If that is our plan, how soon should we start training her? We don’t want to throw too much at her too fast while she adjusts to her new surroundings. Should we start with the litter box in the bathroom so that she is used to going to litter in the bathroom (which would be a reason to have her quarantine in the bathroom) or does moving the litter box from one room to another (especially since our apartment isn’t huge), not really have a huge impact?

Thank you so much for taking the time to read all of this! I apologize for the long post, but we want to make sure we provide the best environment for our new kitten!

Also, feel free to give any additional advice you may have for new owners!

Hi! Welcome to Savannah cat ownership. I wanted to reply because your setup sounds a whole lot like mine when I first got a Savannah. I had never owned a cat before and also live in an apartment.

Because my apartment was relatively small and I had no other pets/children/etc. I didn't really quarantine my new kitten. I did, however, leave her in the bedroom (door closed) when I went to work during the day for her own safety (this doesn't work anymore as she can open all of my doors now). For now, since you have a two-story apartment, I might leave her in the bedroom until you know she has sorted out heights and such (I've discovered cats are pretty smart).

Before she arrived, I totally cat-proofed the whole apartment. A bit on the overkill side, but I had cord wrappers, things moved out of sight, etc. The only issue she had as a kitten was that she liked to chew and eat my hair ties and rubber bands. She's grown out of this now.

Also, the whole sleeping in the bed thing - good luck! Cats often do whatever they want and then train their humans along the way.

In terms of the toilet training, I thought hard about it, but as others have pointed out, it takes effort and consistency and is one of those things that is more for the people than for the cat. There will also be points where you're going to have to go back to a litterbox - illness, old age, etc. I'm a pretty fastidious person, and I was very concerned about smells and such (small apartment!), but I use a 30 gallon Rubbermaid tub and unscented clumping litter and it's never been a problem. I also clean the thing out religiously. It's tall enough that she can't kick the litter out of the sides and it was cheap. But if you really want to do toilet training, you've got some good opinions here.

In terms of your question on diet - I started out with a mix of wet and dry, but I switched her to a brand of high protein dry food and she won't touch anything else now, so she's on a strictly dry diet at the moment.

In terms of general advice, stay strong! Like you, I had never had a cat before, which has probably been a good thing because I had no expectations. I got a Savannah because I'm more of a dog person and the first few months, I had crazy buyer's remorse - I got kicked in the face a lot between 2-4 AM. But my girl is about 5.5 years old now, and I love her like crazy.

Be prepared for cat hair . . . EVERYWHERE!

And of course, have fun!

 

[admin]

Good luck as far as the bed thing goes...but you can get a cat bed - mine sleep on my bed, but they sleep on cat beds (on the bed)...

A dry food diet is really not what is best for any carnivore...it is more convenience for owners, which I totally get...perhaps try and switch to something like Nature's Variety with raw food bits in it, if you want to continue a dry diet, but please do it gradually. As for free feeding - kittens yes, but as they mature, no or they will get fat!

I have three litter robots and a few rubbermaid totes...my cats LOVE the litter robot...two of my current kittens weigh over five pounds and also use the litter robot...one of the owners has already bought one in anticipation of his kitten arriving

 

[NikkiA]

We have a litter robot and three of our four SV's use it. The fourth just isn't comfortable (he is 20 pounds).

I would recommend QT. It helps with the kitten being comfortable in its new home, and safe in its new home.

It might not be convenient, but I would not skip this step.

Re: dry food, you may want to do a bit of research and then make a decision. I find the articles on kidney failure and risks concerning. You can reduce that risk by having a fountain available for your cat, but that only works if the cat drinks from the fountain. We use dry as a supplement, but our kitties primarily eat canned and fresh or cooked meat. Our bunch would not be agreeable to skipping canned and meat, they would (and have) raid the fridge and/or swipe our dinner from our plates.

 

[WitchyWoman]

Lots of excellent info here http://www.catinfo.org/ to help you decide the best food for your cat.

 

[tdbradin]

This is what I wake up to in the middle of night if Venus is allowed in the bedroom. You can see the ornery written all over her...

 

[WitchyWoman]

You can see the ornery written all over her...

I see a kitten who can't understand why weakling humans need to sleep at night rather than entertaining the resident princess.

 

[Iagox9]

Bungles has arrived!

 

[Iagox9]

She arrived this morning from Chicago. It took her almost 30 minutes to get out of her crate and she was very shy for the next couple of hours. Since then, she has really opened up to us! She has drank plenty of water and has used the litter box twice.

However, she hasn't slept at all or eaten anything. I tried to hand feed her normal food and treats. She wouldn't eat either. I also filled up a bowl and she hasn't eaten anything from it. I asked the breeder about it and she said that she wasn't concerned. She is old enough (5 months) that she knows when she is hungry.

Is it odd that she hasn't eaten or slept? Should I be concerned or is this expected as she adjusts to her new environment?

 

[Savannah Mama]

So sweet.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Carykd7kau]

She has been thru a massive change in her life. She may feel upset enough not to feel hungry. BUT, as the breeder said, she is old enough to know when she needs to eat. I would not worry. Just be calm with her.