Pure kitten play. Something bigger than him is making moves and he's showing off his stuff the same way he would if were playing with another kitten.
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Smitten with a kitten
- Thread starter Moggieslegacy
- Start date
Just remembered that you said you got him at 9 wks old right? Kittens should stay with mom at least until 12 weeks old as they are taught much about being a cat, their environment, and dealing with cats/humans during that time as well as building confidence. You're the one, instead of mom cat, from whom he'll learn those lost lessons so you can expect to see some development behavior that you may not have experienced with other cats.
Moggieslegacy
Savannah Super Cat
Ah! Thanks very much for the interpretation! I haven't had a kitten in decades! I can now claim my 10 and 3/4 wk old kitten beat the stuffing out of a small tiger. I have noticed he is able to recognize other cats on youtube and responds to them much more than humans. My last kitty who I considered surprisingly smart in some ways thought it was all just moving color on a screen.
Moggieslegacy
Savannah Super Cat
I am feeling bad that he just has me. I am pretty sure other kittens I have had were young too. Decades ago when kids giving away kittens in the park that was the norm. But as he is higher energy and unlike past kittens is not yet allowed out to find rodent entertainment, I have been full on playing with him at least 2-3 hours a day, interacting and /or cuddling all day, so I am noticing things more. I really want him to have a good start & avoid any problem behavior.
Moggieslegacy
Savannah Super Cat
Thanks for the kind words Val.
I just got my first happy to see you poofy tail with purrs, just because Moggie was glad to see me come in the door! I have seen this before when we were playing, but have never been sure if it was that he was feeling so excited he was also a bit frightened.
I have found the information in this group really helpful. Even though it is somewhat possible my kitten has no Savannah heritage at all, it is kind of a situation of where if it quacks like a duck, swims like a duck, looks like a duck, and lays eggs like a duck, and was said to be a mongrel part duck, it should probably be taken care of like a duck.
I named him Moggie not because I am thinking he is "just" a Moggie, but because I think he is pretty special and if he wasn't a Moggie he never would have existed, and I certainly would never have chosen a Savannah. Or even a 1/2 Savannah if he had been advertised as being one...
Before I decided to try and find an ordinary tabby cat, I had considered getting a non moggie kitten through a breeder. I was thinking a Russian Blue or British Short hair would be a good match for me. (I know..ha ha ha... HA!!!) But the waiting list for these pure bred cats here is more than a year, and spending that much for a kitten, for me, seemed extravagent as any kitten I bond with is special. I never cared about whether a cat is pure bred. But I like Russian Blues, so then I was looking for a 1/2 Russian Blue, but even those kittens are well over $500, and the people with them live a days travel away and generally want money when they are 2 weeks old just to hold them. So I decided to try and find an ordinary tabby I could travel to meet and take home the same day. And I ended up getting Moggie. Who I really love. But he is not the kind of cat I was expecting to have in my life!
Anyways.. I am slowly working out how to enclose the perimeter around my house to provide a safe outdoor space but also access to rodents, and day dreaming about someday maybe expanding this to include an enclosed cat tree house. There is also rats living in the wood shed and it would be pretty easy to make a cat walk from the open air porch I already have cat proofed, over to the 50 foot high maple tree in front to the wood shed. So the wood shed and to some extent the tree could be within another enclosure. I still hope someday he will be able to come and go as he pleases, same as all the other cats in this neighbourhood, but I am surrounded by 50 - 150 ft tall trees, and I have never had a cat that LOVES climbing like Moggie does. He seems to know not to climb up past where he can also climb down, but when he is playing he miscalcualtes and falls off furniture all the time. That is not something I want happening if he finds a easy to climb up and down slightly leaning 100 foot tree. And there is many trees like this in the area. It is going to be a while before I can trust him not to do something silly and seriously hurt himself. In the meantime, I need to make sure he is entertained. Today he seems very content hanging out on the cat proof porch, laying in the sun, watching birds and catching and eating flies. And with the old wood and fencing materials I have sitting around I can extend this to some good rat hunting territory for under $200.
I just got my first happy to see you poofy tail with purrs, just because Moggie was glad to see me come in the door! I have seen this before when we were playing, but have never been sure if it was that he was feeling so excited he was also a bit frightened.
I have found the information in this group really helpful. Even though it is somewhat possible my kitten has no Savannah heritage at all, it is kind of a situation of where if it quacks like a duck, swims like a duck, looks like a duck, and lays eggs like a duck, and was said to be a mongrel part duck, it should probably be taken care of like a duck.
I named him Moggie not because I am thinking he is "just" a Moggie, but because I think he is pretty special and if he wasn't a Moggie he never would have existed, and I certainly would never have chosen a Savannah. Or even a 1/2 Savannah if he had been advertised as being one...
Before I decided to try and find an ordinary tabby cat, I had considered getting a non moggie kitten through a breeder. I was thinking a Russian Blue or British Short hair would be a good match for me. (I know..ha ha ha... HA!!!) But the waiting list for these pure bred cats here is more than a year, and spending that much for a kitten, for me, seemed extravagent as any kitten I bond with is special. I never cared about whether a cat is pure bred. But I like Russian Blues, so then I was looking for a 1/2 Russian Blue, but even those kittens are well over $500, and the people with them live a days travel away and generally want money when they are 2 weeks old just to hold them. So I decided to try and find an ordinary tabby I could travel to meet and take home the same day. And I ended up getting Moggie. Who I really love. But he is not the kind of cat I was expecting to have in my life!
Anyways.. I am slowly working out how to enclose the perimeter around my house to provide a safe outdoor space but also access to rodents, and day dreaming about someday maybe expanding this to include an enclosed cat tree house. There is also rats living in the wood shed and it would be pretty easy to make a cat walk from the open air porch I already have cat proofed, over to the 50 foot high maple tree in front to the wood shed. So the wood shed and to some extent the tree could be within another enclosure. I still hope someday he will be able to come and go as he pleases, same as all the other cats in this neighbourhood, but I am surrounded by 50 - 150 ft tall trees, and I have never had a cat that LOVES climbing like Moggie does. He seems to know not to climb up past where he can also climb down, but when he is playing he miscalcualtes and falls off furniture all the time. That is not something I want happening if he finds a easy to climb up and down slightly leaning 100 foot tree. And there is many trees like this in the area. It is going to be a while before I can trust him not to do something silly and seriously hurt himself. In the meantime, I need to make sure he is entertained. Today he seems very content hanging out on the cat proof porch, laying in the sun, watching birds and catching and eating flies. And with the old wood and fencing materials I have sitting around I can extend this to some good rat hunting territory for under $200.
Last edited:
Moggieslegacy
Savannah Super Cat
So... an update to my plan to keep my kitten within a safe enclosed perimeter around my house...
That ship has sailed though I still hope to use this at night when I can't be around to supervise. And even when I can be around to supervise... Oh My!
As I mentioned, I spend a lot of time out in my yard and garden doing stuff I have to do and keeping a really social kitten in the house watching me through the glass, crying all the time while I dig, weed, build, etc. just was not working. I don't have running water and have to carry it from a hand pump in the yard in buckets. I have just wood heat and have to bring in firewood. I am in and out constantly and between my kitten starting to get an attitude and door dashing it became clear Moggie is not going to be an indoor cat. I had been walking him around the yard in his harness for over a month and he was quite familiar with the territory and there is no major dangers in this area. (except the stuff he does)
Anyways, wanting to join me he jumped the barrier that was keeping him on the porch, and kept managing to get past me when I came in or went out and would always run to his favorite climbing tree and go up that 6 feet. And I would take him out and put him back in the house. One evening he did this 3 times and the last time, even though it was still daylight his eyes somehow caught the light in a way they glowed an amazing green, like I have never seen a cats eyes do before. It was like he was showing me his spirit is the same as the trees. May sound silly, but after that I just couldn't keep grabbing him stuffing him back in the door when I am outside.
So for the past 10 days or so, he comes out with me when I am out. And in when I go in. He seems happy with that. He usually stays within 30 feet of the house or where I am. 9 times out of 10, if he is out of sight, he comes when I call him within a minute. A few days ago he took 10 minutes to come back, and I was getting really worried. And then later he began wandering too far again and I went and got him. When I picked him up he began biting and scratching. Not breaking the skin but clearly letting me know I was interfering in his fun. I grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, scolded him and stuffed him back in the house for the rest of the day. he seems to have understood and has been sticking close & coming when I call ever since. Not sure how long that will last though.
He is not a very good hunter. He gets excited watching birds and dragonflies, but he is used to toys dangled in front of him and quickly looses patience and wants me to play with him instead.
And he is slowly getting introduced to my neighbors cat who I sometimes feed. I have been hoping they will become friends and reading here about introducing new cats to each other has helped me have an idea how to facilitate this. There has been a bit of "I feel threatened " noises when they run into each other, but I am always close to intervene before things get silly, talk nice to both of them, and today the 2 of them spent about 20 minutes 30 feet apart watching each other, Moggie playing and my neighbors cat looking interested and not showing any aggression.
The only concern is Moggies climbing. Twice I have frantically cleared an area under a tree of rocks and sticks in case he fell from 12 feet up, (he didn't) and after watching me on a ladder cleaning the gutters on the porch, today he managed to get up on the porch railing (1/2 way to the gutters) (15 feet above the ground) and jump to the second story window sill, and get back. He does do overly adventurous stuff that scares me. And no other cat I have had here has ever gone up on the porch railing, much less jump from there to a window sill 2 feet away.
But he also has scared me just in the house. The other day he jumped over 4 feet from one counter top to another one of hard tile. If he had missed, he probably would have been hurt. But he does seem to be getting more coordinated...
He is 16 weeks old today!
Just needed to share my kitten dramas...
That ship has sailed though I still hope to use this at night when I can't be around to supervise. And even when I can be around to supervise... Oh My!
As I mentioned, I spend a lot of time out in my yard and garden doing stuff I have to do and keeping a really social kitten in the house watching me through the glass, crying all the time while I dig, weed, build, etc. just was not working. I don't have running water and have to carry it from a hand pump in the yard in buckets. I have just wood heat and have to bring in firewood. I am in and out constantly and between my kitten starting to get an attitude and door dashing it became clear Moggie is not going to be an indoor cat. I had been walking him around the yard in his harness for over a month and he was quite familiar with the territory and there is no major dangers in this area. (except the stuff he does)
Anyways, wanting to join me he jumped the barrier that was keeping him on the porch, and kept managing to get past me when I came in or went out and would always run to his favorite climbing tree and go up that 6 feet. And I would take him out and put him back in the house. One evening he did this 3 times and the last time, even though it was still daylight his eyes somehow caught the light in a way they glowed an amazing green, like I have never seen a cats eyes do before. It was like he was showing me his spirit is the same as the trees. May sound silly, but after that I just couldn't keep grabbing him stuffing him back in the door when I am outside.
So for the past 10 days or so, he comes out with me when I am out. And in when I go in. He seems happy with that. He usually stays within 30 feet of the house or where I am. 9 times out of 10, if he is out of sight, he comes when I call him within a minute. A few days ago he took 10 minutes to come back, and I was getting really worried. And then later he began wandering too far again and I went and got him. When I picked him up he began biting and scratching. Not breaking the skin but clearly letting me know I was interfering in his fun. I grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, scolded him and stuffed him back in the house for the rest of the day. he seems to have understood and has been sticking close & coming when I call ever since. Not sure how long that will last though.
He is not a very good hunter. He gets excited watching birds and dragonflies, but he is used to toys dangled in front of him and quickly looses patience and wants me to play with him instead.
And he is slowly getting introduced to my neighbors cat who I sometimes feed. I have been hoping they will become friends and reading here about introducing new cats to each other has helped me have an idea how to facilitate this. There has been a bit of "I feel threatened " noises when they run into each other, but I am always close to intervene before things get silly, talk nice to both of them, and today the 2 of them spent about 20 minutes 30 feet apart watching each other, Moggie playing and my neighbors cat looking interested and not showing any aggression.
The only concern is Moggies climbing. Twice I have frantically cleared an area under a tree of rocks and sticks in case he fell from 12 feet up, (he didn't) and after watching me on a ladder cleaning the gutters on the porch, today he managed to get up on the porch railing (1/2 way to the gutters) (15 feet above the ground) and jump to the second story window sill, and get back. He does do overly adventurous stuff that scares me. And no other cat I have had here has ever gone up on the porch railing, much less jump from there to a window sill 2 feet away.
But he also has scared me just in the house. The other day he jumped over 4 feet from one counter top to another one of hard tile. If he had missed, he probably would have been hurt. But he does seem to be getting more coordinated...
He is 16 weeks old today!
Just needed to share my kitten dramas...
Moggieslegacy
Savannah Super Cat
I am wanting to share some pictures I took today. Moggie will be 19 weeks old tomorrow and I am running out of lap. He is a small cat now but also very long and likes to spread out. He is more than 30 inches when he stretches. I am tall and when he stretches he is longer than my legs. Not knowing much about his parents makes me wonder how big he will be. I guess I will find out1 Still smitten! He is maturing and is getting easier to live with. He even appears to have maybe figured out the rules about a bed covered with mosquito netting. No it is not a hilarious invisible barrier that needs to be challenged!
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Moggieslegacy
Savannah Super Cat
He is a sweety. It was kind of you to take the time to say so! I seem to be making up for not having grandchildren with this 1 kitten...
But it is amazing how fast kittens grow! This is a picture from his first night here 2 and a 1/2 months ago. I could cover 1/2 his curled up body with my hand! I am assuming the growing will slow down a lot now! ?
But it is amazing how fast kittens grow! This is a picture from his first night here 2 and a 1/2 months ago. I could cover 1/2 his curled up body with my hand! I am assuming the growing will slow down a lot now! ?
