Newbie

[ambiente18]

Wow, Beautiful Albums and very nice cats. That's quite an entourage you have there! An F2, F3 and a F5. I bet there's Never a dull moment in your apartment. Do you have guests over to visit? If so it must be really something with all those SV cats jumping around. I'm certainly interested in how you take care of SV's in Russia (I'm sure we all are!). For example what do you feed them over there? What type of cat litter do you use? Do you ever take them outside? (weather permitting of course) Are SV cats common in Russia or is it a "new thing" there. Are Russian pet shops selling SV cats or do they all come from the U.S.?
Kind Regards,
Rob

Hello Rob!
About SV in Russia - the savannahs isn't popular yet in Russia I think number of savanna's - 100 - 200 cats, but I think that it is less. You never will see the savannas walking on a lead, you will never see savannas in pet-shops and at exhibitions of cats.
Now, in Russia are popular - servals, caracals, ocelots and other wild cats more than savannahs...






If you appeared in Russia now - you returned to you past Welcome
Kind regards

 

[ambiente18]

Wow, Beautiful Albums and very nice cats. That's quite an entourage you have there! An F2, F3 and a F5. I bet there's Never a dull moment in your apartment. Do you have guests over to visit? If so it must be really something with all those SV cats jumping around. I'm certainly interested in how you take care of SV's in Russia (I'm sure we all are!). For example what do you feed them over there? What type of cat litter do you use? Do you ever take them outside? (weather permitting of course) Are SV cats common in Russia or is it a "new thing" there. Are Russian pet shops selling SV cats or do they all come from the U.S.?

Kind Regards,

Rob

Hello Rob!
Excuse me, I had problems with the Internet yesterday.
So - in Russia it isn't enough SVs. The majority of SVs arrives to us from the USA, but now appeared intermediary firm which delivers SVs from Austria - all generations of SVs.
Today we have only one company which produces F1 SV. This company also makes Chaoos F1 and servals. There are also intermediary companies which delivers servals, caracals, ocelots and ALC. And it seems to me that they (Servals...) are more popular in Russia than F1 SVs because they are cheaper and all people know the size of servals, but nobody doesn't understand the size of SV F1 or F2 ( I hope you understand - what I would like to say). So SV is "new thing" in Russia. But I sure that all generations of SV's will be popular in Russia. About food - we have many different forages from Europe (dry and soft) .I feed my cats with the ground chicken with the bones, forage in banks - Gourmet Gold (France) and dry - Hills i/d (USA)
Kind regards
sorry for my bad English I would like to write you more but it is difficult

 

[Shabbis]

Hey fellow SV owners. Just wanted to say hi as I just joined the club about a week ago by adopting a 12 week old silver F6 male. I have forgotten just how crazy kittens are. When he's awake it's non-stop playing and meowing. He does crash and sleep through the night in my bed though. He's also very forward, quick to adapt, social and a constant talker, to the point that I think he's going to lose his little voice (will it ever end?). Been leaving him alone in his safe room each day with increasing interval lengths, but he is going through some separation anxiety issues being used to all the other cats around (I am sure my downstairs neighbor is happy about that). Hopefully he'll adjust to the alone time at some point.

Any advice for keeping a little kitten occupied would be welcomed (besides the "just get another one" response, not sure I could afford a 2nd right now) or any other SV advice beyond normal domestic cats.

 

[Patti]

Getting a second cat actually is the obvious choice if your kitten is having issues with being alone. I don't know what your arrangements are (house, apartment, etc.) to even consider this, but if it is feasible then I think you should be able to find a companion for your boy... it definitely doesn't have to be a Savannah, but you can find retired Savannah adults for the cost of shipping so even that is feasible (I have a few myself). Other active breeds that do well with Savannahs are Bengals, Chausies, Abyssinians, or even a a rescue kitty from your local shelter (just evaluate the personality to make sure it can handle an active companion).

Aside from that, try to spend as much quality time with the kitty as possible, provide him with plenty of enrichment - Savannah safe toys, cat trees, climbing toys, TV (Animal Planet is a favorite with some) or DVDs made specifically for cats, etc.

 

[admin]

I agree with patti...one of my kitten buyers adopted a kitten from her local shelter, so perseus would not be alone and it has worked out beautifully. But first she bonded with my kitten and then introduced him to the new kitten. One of my kitten buyers has Dracos and he is alone and not liking it very much, so Dracos will have a buddy soon as well.

I had seven kittens in the litter and seems that they do like company and do not want to be alone all day...

 

[Shabbis]

Thanks for all the advice, the breeder has a couple kittens left from his litter, I might break down and get one of his litter mates soon as I want him to be happy, even if that means I need a second kitten. He's been away from his litter mates for about a week now, would there be any issues re-introducing him to one of them at my house?

 

[Patti]

I would recommend you give him a good two weeks or longer alone with you to cement your bond with him - same with bringing in any new kitten, they need to be isolated from your other kitten so that they can bond with you. The introductory period into a new home is the most essential period of time for you to establish a relationship with your new family members on a one-on-one basis.

 

[Shabbis]

@Patti, good idea on the introductory period. We are only about a week into ownership so far. I'd really like to have just one SV, but if he's not happy and he won't be able to adjust to being alone, I can get one of his litter mates.

Kyan tends to settle down in his "safe room" after a couple minutes after we leave, but when we are home, he seems always nervous when one of use even just goes into another room with the door closed. Not sure if this is just a kitten phase, or if this is an SV thing and that he'd do better with a mate. All other domestics I've owned (they were also classic indoor/outdoor cats) seemed to be content being alone, and adjusted after about a month as a kitten. He really goes crazy for about five minutes when someone leaves through the front door.

He's good at night, sleeps next to me all night without waking up. He's good when everyone is settled down to watch tv, play a game, read, etc... and/or playing with him. He gets at least an hour of play time in the morning before he has to be in his "safe room during" the day. And he gets around 2 hours of play after work before bed. But when the house is busy, planning dinner, getting ready to leave, washing dishes, etc... he's constantly talking and following everyone around. Would a mate solve this odd behavior?

We do live in the upstairs of a duplex, but I haven't heard any complaints from the neighbor yet on all his talking/crying. We are planning to move at the beginning of the year to a full house though.

How have others here with just one SV coped? Was the kitten phase tough? Are they fine being solitary like other "normal" cats? Or do they really need to have a mate?

I apologize in advanced for all the newbie talk. I did do a ton of research before adopting, so I kind of knew what to expect, for the most part.

 

[Patti]

It sounds more like your boy is going through separation anxiety rather than needing another fur companion. If it's only been a week I would give him more time to settle in and learn to trust his new humans. Realize that he is completely at your mercy, and those who were in control of his life before have 'abandoned' him, so he needs to learn that you are not going to do the same but will be with him forever, and he will not end up at another strange place or all alone. This is not specifically a Savannah thing, just a frightened kitten thing. IT sounds like you're doing all you can to reassure him, just keep it up and hopefully he will settle down in time.