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I am very thankful to have a Savannah who is quite delighted to go camping with us. Nimar was the original camping cat in the house, but his journeys with us were a product of necessity, due to the rigid medication schedule we had to adhere to for him. In his younger, healthy, years, I do not think it would have worked. He was too hard-headed and big enough (and smart enough) to figure out how to get out of the RV... or possibly even swipe the keys and just drive off with everything. The last few years though, he was more mellow, and loved his trips in the camper. We decided to install a partition similar to that in a police car, separating the cab of the RV from the coach. This allowed us to use the truck doors as an entry point, so that we could get in, close the door and then enter the coach itself. This prevented any attempted cat escapes. It also allowed Nimar, and now Siada, to watch us as we drive. We made sure that Siada was acclimated early to camping, with her first trip being to a friend's farm for a July 4th gathering. As usual, she had absolutely no fear, nor trepidation, over the adventure. She eagerly explored the camper, monitored folks on their outside activities, and made loads of new friends. She went on another trip later this summer and we had our final outing this past weekend, to Charlottesville, VA. Here she got to take several walks in the campground to explore and she saw her first campfire.
I will note that Feral Kitten Mode is really something to behold in a tight space! You just need to get out of her way when she is dashing back and forth, and leaping from the floor to the dinette, to the bunk, to the floor again. She also discovered that she can get stuck inside the jack sofa (ugh). Most amusing was our attempts to prep our dishes for our groups' 18th Century themed dinner one night during the trip. She has to be next to the sink if you are doing anything in it, and doesn't like being told she cannot watch you cut vegetables. And meat? Well, she thinks that is all hers. The most comical though, was my attempt to cut French bread on the dinette table. She bounced into the room, jumped to the back of the seat, grabbed the bread with both clawed paws and took a massive bite before I could wrestle the loaf from her. And the newest trick learned on this outing? Well, as we were packing out Sunday, her papa was outside working and she needed to see what he was doing (as always). So I provided a box for her to stand on so that she could see out the window (as I hoped to prevent her from learning that you could climb the upholstered window frames). Well, she was adorable watching from the box, but also learned that climbing is a fun way to get a good vantage point too. #campingkitten #FeralKittenMode #Savannahcat
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Someone on one of the online SV forums recently made a request to see progress photos of people's Savannah cats as they grow. I collected some images an am amazed to see how much little Siada has already grown! Of course, I think this progression is even more adorable. And while I have not gone back through photos to build out a life view of Nimar, I have to include these three. From the time we got him he loved to sit on that monitor... until he totally outgrew it!
Bitty kitton got spayed this morning! Surgery went fine and she is recovering for a bit at the vet's office before we go reclaim her. Now the real worry begins, because keeping this little girl calm for a few days might be the death of me. Here is a video of Nimar just a few hours after he was fixed. NOthing seems to ever phase these cats! In retrospect, I think it was a bit odd for me to start a new blog right before leaving town for several weeks. We are back now though, and little Siada is growing like crazy. She has even claimed the high spots (such as the top of the free standing fridge) and the false wall in the cabin between the living room and kitchen. Nimar loved being up there too, before he got sick, surveying all his territory. Of course, Siada is very different than Nimar. She is smaller, and much more delicate. He had a good bit of Bengal heritage, and despite being long and lean, he was still a very solid creature. My heart sinks every time I see the little girl prepare to leap from the fridge to the floor! 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! 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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