Not sure if I have a Savannah

[MJ121]

Hello! I am new here and not really sure if I have a Savannah or not. We've had a few people tell us that Gizmo is one, including the vet. Just not sure how this little guy ended up in central Iowa in a box, left to basically die. He was 10-12 weeks old when we got him and weighed 9oz at first vet appt, was dehydrated and had parasites and eye infection. 11 days of antibiotics and eye drops. At his appt 2 weeks later he was up to 1.4lbs and no longer dehydrated. Also received first kitten shot and dewormer dose. I have attached some photos and a video. Any help in identification would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

I don't see a video but the pictures don't tell me anything other than you have a cute kitten. Be aware that your vet is not a breed expert, he's a health expert And tabbies can have the lighter spots on the back of the ears (although generally more dramatic in cats with exotic cat heritage like Bengals and Savannahs) and even classic tabbies can have spots on bellies. Kittens generally have larger ears than they will as adults, in breeds like the Bengal they hope the kitten "grows into" their ears, when of course us Savannah folk hope the ears keep growing with the cat!

Unfortunately there is no DNA test for Serval heritage....so it is really guesswork, maybe more of an educated guess when a person has seen a LOT of pictures of cats including Savannahs. We in Savannah Rescue do a lot of breed identification for other rescues, for shelters etc...

It would be good to see more pics of his face looking at the camera and his body. Being so thin when you found him it might be some time to really see his body type as right now I'm guessing he's really thin and hence might well fill out in the coming weeks.

He is a very lucky kitten to be found and now have a great new home! You are right it is unlikely that a savannah would be dumped like that especially in a state that up until recently didn't allow Savannahs hence there were not any breeders there.

At the end of the day, you can decide his history and nobody can prove you wrong! If you want him to be a Savannah or Savannah mix...

 

[Pam Flachs]

Awww....so glad he is your life now, after such a rough start

I honestly see more Bengal (in his face) than Savannah...but he sure appears to have some big ears! Time will tell if he grows into his ears as he gets older, or if they grow along with him...love the name Gizmo

 

[MJ121]

Thank you for the replies!! I will see if I can get additional pictures of our little guy. He has started to fill out more and his ears seem to be growing along with him. Another thing we have noticed is a chirping sound that he makes - usually when we are feeding him. Don't know if that means anything or not. He also seems to run pretty warm temp wise - felt like I was holding a little toaster oven last night, but he had been playing with our chocolate lab puppy and could've been heated from that - just seems a little warm all the time. I wasn't able to post the video, so got the tummy shot from the video...Thank you again!!

 

[SV Dad]

He "chirped"? Hmmm, that is a savannah trait. Gonna be some real interesting pictures as he grows.

 

[Rafiki]

That is one seriously cute spotted belly!

 

[NikkiA]

Very glad he found a loving home

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

http://pussingtonpost.com/why-do-cats-make-a-chirping-noise/

 

[MJ121]

Okay...he actually sat still long enough (sort of) for a few pictures. I wish I could post a recording of the noise that he makes. It's more of a continuous chirping separate from the purring. Thanks again for all the replies and info!

 

[Rafiki]

I am not a breeder or expert by any means but what would really help would be pictures that show the leg length. That is one of the most noticeable traits on a SV kitten - their legs are really long. If you can, show us a picture of him either standing up or laying on his side with his legs fully visible. And yes.....easier said than done! My kitten pictures at that age are 90% blur!