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Soon to be Savannah family with questions

Emmi

Savannah Super Cat
Hello everyone!

In 5 weeks we will adopt our first Savannah. He is a beautiful F4 SBT baby boy.

Now I have a few questions, that I would love to get your input on, being experienced Savannah owners!

As far as I know, not all Savannahs are as affectionate as others. While I will definitely respect his personality, I am wondering how I can stimulate this while he's still growing up. At the breeder is is already in regular contact with adults, children and dogs. His mother (F3C) is honestly one of the most sweet and adorable cats I met. He will be the only cat in the house by the way, we do already have a dog.

In the summer months, we are staying abroad at family for a period of 1-2 months and I would definitely want to take him with us. We would be going by car (3 hours) and airplane (around 3 hours). Also, there is already a cat there, a 2 year old (neutered) Bengal.

Do any of you have experience with taking your Savannah with you? I would love to make it work so he can be with us at all times. Especially since we are working from home and he will be used to having us around all the time.

best wishes from Europe :)
 

admin

Paige
Staff member
HI Emmi,

Welcome! Even though you have no other cats, it may be best to quarantine your new boy for a few days in a smaller room, for bonding purposes and for him to get acclimated to your home. It sounds as though he is being well socialized, so I would just continue to do as the breeder has done. Perhaps get him used to a harness and leash and when he is ready, take him out walking...this way he will get used to noises and other people and animals.

Just spend lots of time with him, play with him and let him be himself. You may be surprised and he may turn out to be a lap cat - one never knows :)

As for traveling - not sure how it works in the EU - depends on the country...some countries only allow F5 SBT and later, so you will need to check on that.
 

Emmi

Savannah Super Cat
Hi thank you for your welcome and answer.

Yes I am planning to have him enclosed in our working room the first days and then gradually introduce him to our dog. And yes I'm definitely planning on letting him get used to a harness so we can take him with us on warmer days and when he is a bit older of course.

On itself, he should be accepted by the airline companies we use, they do have a maximum weight policy. For that, we will have to wait how big of a boy he will grow into :) What I am more interested in, is his well being during the flight and our stay elsewhere. He will probably not be as sensitive for change as F1-2 generation Savannah's but I do want the best for him despite my own wish to take him with us.
 
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WitchyWoman

Admin
Staff member
He will probably not be as sensitive for change as F1-2 generation Savannah's
Don't count on that. It is a universal characteristic of any cat to dislike change. The degree to which they react to change differs. You'll have to wait and see how he does as he matures. He may not like travel when little but tolerate it when adult and vice versa. Or he may not tolerate it well at all. It may be very difficult for him to be taken out of his territory (home) and placed in the territory of another cat. If you decide to take him with you, he may need to be confined to his own room depending on how he reacts to the Bengal and how the Bengal reacts to him.

If you can't take him with you, what happens to him during the 1-2 months you'll be gone? It would be a good idea to find someone who can stay with him during that time or at least check on him several times a day for feeding and play. And if that is what you end up doing, it would be good to introduce the cat to whoever will care for him during your absence well before your first trip. Have that person spend a few nights at the house during the course of a few months and give him his meals and give the kitten time to get used to that person.
 

Patti

Admin
Staff member
It's hard to say how a cat's personality will develop, and hard to know how much environment can influence it (this goes for all cats, not just Savannahs). Some kittens are just too busy to be interested in a lap or cuddle time, but as they mature this sometimes changes and suddenly at 3 or 4 years of age you suddenly have a lap cat. Others never find the value of a lap.

As for traveling abroad, you will need CITES to take an F4 out of the country which can take several months to obtain, so you might want to start working on that right away. You will probably also need an international health certificate and I would be sure to have a five generation pedigree as well, just in case. Not sure what else you will need, it would be best for you to talk to the US Fish and Wildlife office in your region to find out what other requirements they will have, then speak to whatever comparable organization is in place at the country you are traveling to, to find out what requirements they have in place for bringing in hybrids.
 

Emmi

Savannah Super Cat
Hey thank you for your answers

If you can't take him with you, what happens to him during the 1-2 months you'll be gone?
Our neighbor will be more than happy to help out if we can't take him with us after all. So he would be in his own place with someone he knows.

The Bengal has had visitors before, dogs and cats, and from his side, there were no issues. He was very sweet and playful with them. But there is plenty of room to separate them if it would be needed.

We will start taking him on short trips out of a few hours when he is a bit older, and see how he reacts to that.

As for traveling abroad, you will need CITES to take an F4 out of the country which can take several months to obtain
I live in the EU and will stay in the EU so rules may be different. I contacted 2 airlines for more info and they gave me the same answer. I will dig a bit deeper though, thank you.
 

WitchyWoman

Admin
Staff member
I live in the EU and will stay in the EU so rules may be different.
You will need to check the laws of each country and city/region you visit or will travel through to see whether the cats are banned or whether certain generations are banned as well as whether there are vaccination and/or quarantine requirements.

There are states in the US with confusing laws about SV ownership -- some cities ban them but they are permitted outside of those cities. Some states have county-by-county laws regarding them. I hope the EU is more organized in their approach than the US.
 

Emmi

Savannah Super Cat
Oh my, that sounds confusing to be honest.
Luckily laws apply per country here - nation wide. Or how to say that correctly in English.

Savannah cats of all generations are indeed allowed there. For vaccination and other requirements I will contact a local Savannah Cattery there, they should be able to help me with that information.
 

Patti

Admin
Staff member
I live in the EU and will stay in the EU
Sorry, my Yankee arrogance just assumed you were in the states when you said you would be traveling abroad. I believe many of the EU countries recognize the pet passport, which I believe is much easier to obtain than the traditional import-export paperwork.
 

Emmi

Savannah Super Cat
No problem!
Yes the pet passport is usually recognized, however, I am not too sure about vaccination policies which might actually differ from country to country. I wrote a breeder an email about it with questions.
We still have months to go, but I rather be as informed and prepared as possible.
 
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