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Savannah cats are the best helpers you could have for any project. At least they think they are, even if humans sometimes do not agree. Nimar, for example, was always on the ready if you needed to plunge the toilet. And that time when his papa needed to fix the flapper in the toilet tank? Well, Nimar did the pre-work inspection by leaping in the moment the tank lid was removed (this, of course, prompted a yell for me to come remove one very large, wet cat so that the work could commence). For example, you can see Nimar here helping me to cut out a dress. (Incidentally, this was the very same day he got neutered. Clearly nothing phased him... and this makes me worry about how rambunctious Siada will be when we have her spayed in a few months!) Siada is also turning out to be a grand little assistant. Her efforts started with sewing. I think she will shortly be a pro at all of this and I have to wonder what her next hobby will be! Kitton quarantine is mostly over, and so far, everyone is still alive.
Recommendations vary for introducing a new feline member to your family. Most of them include quarantine for a period of time. This allows the kitten to feel safe (in a small area) while making the adjustment to a scary new place and people. It also serves to protect other pets, in the event that the new kitten brings parasites or some other cooties into the household. Siada was confined to the back bath and hallway when we got her. For the first several weeks I slept with her her there. Isis got used to her smells and noises from the other side of the door. Siada, well, she doesn't really seem to be phased by most so this particular Kitten Quarantine was less about her than it was about the sanity of everyone else in the house. She still is in exile while we are at work (there are way, way too many potential targets for Savandalism if she were to roam free and unsupervised all day), but the last two nights she has been allowed free. There has only been one minor feline explosion each night (can I add that Reeseses seem to be the natural enemies of Savannah cats everywhere, lol), and the three of them seem to be taking turns sleeping with me (one of the aforementioned explosions took place on top of me... now that screech of a pissed off Reeses will wake you out of a coma even). Despite my lack of sleep over it (why do I alway seem to be experiencing a cat-induced lack-of-sleep???), the transition seems to be going well. Today is an exciting day for Siada. Her new, snazzy custom walking jacket arrived!
As I mentioned earlier, the earlier harness is actually meant for ferrets. It is now too small (I had to use a second one to extent the strap around the ribs). She has another coat waiting, but it is yet too large. So I ordered one from Hyendry (who specifically makes walking jackets for cats). She looks amazing in the burgundy embroidered jacket and has no issues with wearing it while she runs around the house. I cannot wait until we take her back out for another social visit to PetValu this week! Yes, she does walk on a leash. She has been outside once so far, but has been inside walking around many places. She even went to the race track this weekend where here papa had an event. She met lots of folks and explored the facility before retreating to her crate to watch everyone. Of course, she is a Savannah, so it is important to note that she walks great on the leash as long as you are going in the direction she wants to go. Her curiosity and fearlessness are working in our favor with all of this. I also think it might get us in trouble at some point! lol If you are interested in getting a walking jacket for your feline companion, I highly recommend this style of walking jacket rather than a strap style. There are a number of vendors on Etsy that sell products like this. I feel they are much more secure, and if fitted correctly, can be harder to back out of than some other styles. One of the appeals of Savannah (and Bengal cats) is their wild patterning. These hybrid cats get this from their wild ancestor (the Serval for the Savannah and the Asian Leopard Cat for the Bengal). The Serval typically has a clear gold or tawny coat with small inky black spots, while the Asian Leopard cat has patterns of rosettes like a larger leopard. The breed standards for both detail what type of spotting is permitted in the cats (for show purposes). For Savannahs, they can be penalized for having Rosettes in their coat, as the breed standard (according to TICA) for coat pattern is "SPOTTED PATTERN ONLY. The spotted Savannah pattern is made up of bold, solid dark-brown to black spots, which can be round, oval, or elongated. A series of parallel stripes, from the back of the head to just over the shoulder blades, fan out slightly over the back and the spotting pattern follows the line of the stripes from the shoulders continuing the length of the body. Smaller spots will be found on the legs and feet as well as on the face. In the black Savannah ghost spotting may occur. A visible spotting pattern on the smoke Savannah is preferred. In all divisions, any visible pattern must be spotted." The reason rosettes show up in Savannah coats, is that when the breed was started, Bengals were sometimes used as outcrosses. They are no longer acceptable in the breed, but, some lines carry strong markings that give away their Bengal lineage.
For me personally, I love the bengal heritage. I think it is largely because Nimar (who was born in 2006) had a Bengal cat for a mother, his face and build were very much Savannah, but he had a bit of an orange tinge to his coat and a few hints of rosettes in his patterning. He was beautiful and perfect to me, and I admit freely that I loved those rosettes. Siada has lots of rosettes, and a pattern that looks like lace on her shoulders. It is unlikely that she would have been chosen by someone as a breeder, but we were looking for a certain personality, giant ears and a pretty face. Rosettes, despite being unwelcome in the breed, were actually a bonus for me. TICA Standards for Savannahs: http://tica.org/cat-breeds/item/260-savannah-introduction TICA Standards for Bengals: http://tica.org/cat-breeds/item/184 Kittens are tiny. I actually forgot that. Isis was 6 months old when we got her from the rescue corner of a TICA cat show. Reeses was 1.5 years old when she was discovered by us at PetSmart. Nimar came to us at 16 weeks, but he was 4.5lbs at the time, and also, that was 10 years ago and he was SO big for so long that I just for got what it was like to hold a tiny kitton! So yes, Siada looked so bitty to me when she came home. Not only because she was a baby, but she already was forming that lanky, lean Savannah cat build and just looked fragile. (Note that she certainly does not act fragile as she goes blazing through the house bouncing off of things!) She was 2.3lbs, we learned, as we took her to the vet on June 3rd just for a quick kitten check up. And she had no fear at all at the vet. She stood proud in her little ferret harness (as all the kitten and puppy ones were just far to big on her little kitton self) while the vet examined her and listened to her heart. Oh, and the harness? We had no issues putting it on her. We tried for years to get Nimar to wear one. We tried pretty much everything and that little dude could Houdini right out of any contraption, toss it back at you and flip you off as he stroll out of the room. Even after he got sick and became much more laid back, it was just a no-go with him. We had made it our mission to work her into it early. Get her into it (rewarded with treats) and would let her wear it for just a short span of time a day. She surprised us by taking instantly to it. She rarely fusses over it and does all her normal cute kitten things while wearing it. This is just delightful because it means traveling with her is (so far) no stress at all! She was not done with the surprises though, she apparently is a total lap (or shoulder, or belly) cat! On the very first day she pretty much passed out on her papa's shoulder! Savannahs are well known for being independent and totally stubborn. The early generations often bond very strongly with one or two people, and can sometimes be hesitant with strangers. Nimar was very good with people, but we were definitely THE people in his world. Even so, he was not a lap cat. He did have to be near you (and always sat next to his papa on the sofa), but not much for laps. Siada, on the other hand, seems to prefer the warmest seat in the house for her naptime. t all started with Nimar NimarusRex, the cat that was more than a cat and who proved that my world needed spots to be complete. I will share his story later, but I do have to note that Siada's story starts with losing him. There was a hollow place in my heart (which is still there) and an emptiness in the home, and so we started looking for another companion to fill it. I love all of my cats, but Savannahs, well, they are special. If you look at any of the sites dedicated to them, or any of the breeders' descriptions of the breed, they note that there are personality traits common to the breed. Included in these are descriptions of "dog-like personalities" and comments about how intelligent and social they can be. These things, as well as the wild looks that come from a Serval ancestor are what draw most people to the breed. Nothing could bring joy to my darkened world the way a spotted kitten could. So Nimar was our first. He was an F1, which means that his father was an African Serval (making him 50% serval) with a Bengal cat mother. Little Siada is an F3, meaning her great-grand father was a Serval (as well as several other more distant ancestors). She was chosen because of her giant ears, sweet face and the breeder's description of her being a fearless, 100mph kitten (we wanted those crazy Savannah antics). The breeder is located in Illinois, and we are in the mid-Atlantic area, so the options were to go there and get the kitten or have her flown to us. I will confess that I was terrified about the idea of putting a baby kitten (only 10 weeks old at the time) on a plane alone! We were trying to work out either driving there or having me fly out there to get her, but the breeder soothed my fears about the process. She only uses certain airlines that have a PetSafe system. There is a special cargo area that is climate controlled for transport. They are even in air conditioned or heated vehicles going from the terminal to the plane! We were told that in 15 years, they had never had an issue (and they ship kittens to new homes frequently), so we decided it would be safe. I think Friday, June 2 might have been one of the longest days ever. We arrived too early and had to kill time while waiting for our new little kitten. When she finally arrived, we were greeted with a tiny face in a little kitten crate. She was seated on a pile of shredded paper towels and was eagerly peeking out at the world around her. She truly had no fear at all! I thought at the least she would be hesitant (as Nimar was when we got him) about new places, smells, noises and people, but she showed no signs of hesitation. She chatted at us on the drive home (still in her crate), and took turns looking out the sides at us, and further shredding the paper towels. At home we had a Kitten Quarantine Area set up in the back bathroom (as it is best to let kittens adapt to a new home a bit at a time). When we arrived we opened the door to her prison and let her step into her new world. I think there might have been all of one second of hesitation, though in reality, I might even have imagined that as after only a minute out of the cage she was happily trying to play with a feather wand and was ready to start exploring her new home.
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AuthorSavannah Caretaker who is honored to do the job. The Merry Rosette participates in the Amazon Associates program and a small commission is earned on qualifying purchases. This revenue goes towards helping to feed the Furrals!
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