Tempered Savannah Cat

[Trish Allearz]

Amy doesn't have a choice anymore though, MK- she put down her deposit, signed her contract and I guess the breeder is moving so there won't be a home for the kittens to stay in.

I am glad Amy is here to learn more and to ask questions Just like all other new SV owners!

 

[Wyldthingz]

Amy- we all make mistakes but you were doing what you thought was right. I always tell pet adopter/ buyers when I worked at a vet that the purchase price is the smallest amount you will ever pay.
It is the vet bills, the stuff, the food.... If you go there and this kitten is in a complete panic when you see him, hisses, growls, or looks unwell, it would be wise to walk away from your deposit. However, if your kitten acts fine, is playful, and unreactive to being held- surely he will be okay.

8 weeks is young but not like 5 weeks! I did place one kitten at 8.5 weeks. She was a singleton baby and the mom really didn't want much to do with her after 6 weeks. I was in school everyday and she was alone much of the day. Theybuyer was home everyday and could spend more time with her than I could so it make sense to send her home. She was a bit of a biter, interesting enough later on. I attributed it to not having enough time with her mom and no siblings.

 

[The Cat Coach]

Thank you MK... glad I was able to help.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Amy, I haven't seen anger at you here, did I miss something?

I have seen concern expressed at bringing a kitten home at an early age, but isn't it that kind of information you want to read? We could stick to "cute kitten" comments, but then if you get your kitten and have issues wouldn't you rather have some idea WHY there might be a problem? If you know going into this that the kitten may have some issues and that you will need to be more involved to help the kitten develop properly, isn't that best to know early?

And your kitten may do perfectly fine...either because it happens to be an individual that matures earlier than most, or because you have done your research and are going to be a stellar pet mommy!

 

[Kronos]

My first puppy I bought from an awful breeder. I took him home at 5.5 weeks old... WAY too young for a pup to leave mom and litter mates. He had an ulcer in his eye. I thought we would buy him to "rescue" him. Well this breeder to this day is still in business... I gave them money to continue doing the awful irresponsible breeding

A lot of people get their first pure bred pets this way. It is one of the best ways to learn. Doesn't make you a bad person at all. No one is angry with you! I can't wait to see pictures of your new baby, and if anything does arise, you are already ahead of others in the same situation because you have this network of support here on the forum.

 

[AmyAndSimba]

I appreciate everyone clarifying that they are concerned and not angry. (or if there it is any anger it is toward the breeder, not me.) Thank you for understanding that there is very little I can do about this situation. This is the breeder's last litter of kittens, so don't worry, my money will not perpetuate more kittens going home too early in the future.

Simba will be 8.5 weeks as old when I bring him home, so it is good to hear about that situation where you had placed your kitten at the same age, Kelly. I would like advice, but before I posted today all I seemed to be reading was "don't get a kitten that early" or "that is irresponsible". I have not ready anything that was actually constructive until now, i.e. Marilyn's comment on how to play with a young kitten or deal with one that bites. That is the kind of advice I will need!

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone has ever seen a second cat ever "mommy" a younger kitten.. Simba's "sister' Nala, (yes I named both after the Lion King is about a year old... is it a possibility that she would "mother" him and teach him boundaries or some kitty habits?

 

[AmyAndSimba]

8 weeks is young but not like 5 weeks! I did place one kitten at 8.5 weeks. She was a singleton baby and the mom really didn't want much to do with her after 6 weeks. I was in school everyday and she was alone much of the day. Theybuyer was home everyday and could spend more time with her than I could so it make sense to send her home. She was a bit of a biter, interesting enough later on. I attributed it to not having enough time with her mom and no siblings.

This raises another question for me. My breeder had an adult cat who was actually in the same situation. The mother did not want to raise him, so she ended up hand raising and feeding the cat herself. He was the MOST affectionate out of all the cats I met there, and thought it was because of how he was raised by a human hand. However this would conflict with what most people say about kittens leaving the nest to young...I wonder why this is , does anyone have any thoughts?

 

[Pam Flachs]

I appreciate everyone clarifying that they are concerned and not angry. (or if there it is any anger it is toward the breeder, not me.) Thank you for understanding that there is very little I can do about this situation. This is the breeder's last litter of kittens, so don't worry, my money will not perpetuate more kittens going home too early in the future.

Simba will be 8.5 weeks as old when I bring him home, so it is good to hear about that situation where you had placed your kitten at the same age, Brigette. I would like advice, but before I posted today all I seemed to be reading was "don't get a kitten that early" or "that is irresponsible". I have not ready anything that was actually constructive until now, i.e. Marilyn's comment on how to play with a young kitten or deal with one that bites. That is the kind of advice I will need!

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone has ever seen a second cat ever "mommy" a younger kitten.. Simba's "sister' Nala, (yes I named both after the Lion King is about a year old... is it a possibility that she would "mother" him and teach him boundaries or some kitty habits?

Hi Amy, I'm very glad you understand the care and concern everyone has expressed for you and others getting very young babies For me as a breeder, I know how very important the more time spent with their mother the better off the baby will be long term....

I think you will do fine, and don't be afraid to ask anything you have questions about when your baby come home!

And yes! Other cats sometimes do become surrogate mommies or "uncles". My 6 year old Ocicat is the official "Kitten Uncle" around here. When my babies are old enough (around 7-8 weeks and after have had their first vaccine) they are allowed to interact with Rufus...he is amazingly gentle and patient with even the most obnoxious kitten and teaches them good kitty manners towards other cats, and he really seems to love his job Rufus is priceless to me for what he does and is one of my favorites Of course I do supervise the "lessons". And I also have an older domestic cat that likes to help first time mommies with her babies...a "Babysitter". She will stay with the babies while mom takes a break, and all works out very well....again with my supervision. Moki tends to continue the mothering of other's babies until they leave for new homes, so again, a valuable member of our family!

It is possible that Nala may mother and teach Simba. You know by now that they need to be introduced slowly, especially since he is so young and she could hurt him unintentionally, and he will be at increased risk to disease exposure until he has had a second vaccine and is at least 3-4 months old. The key word here is supervision....I'd give it at least a month before any real one on one contact between the two kitties. Don't be surprised if she does not have the mothering instinct....some do, some don't

Best of luck....I'm sure you are very excited!

 

[Wyldthingz]

Well, not exactly. Bottle fed babies can be very affectionate and bond easily with people. Granted, this is a breeder that has other cats as well so the kitten would have also been socialized with other kittens or cats at some point. Usually, they are bottled until they are weanable then placed with kittens of their own age. I can't imagine anyone with multicats having kept him isolated for long.
Some of the worst behaved cats I have met were bottle babies that were raised alone. My issue with my singleton kitten is that I had no other kitten of her age at the time or even near her age.
It is also a misunderstanding that it is the bottling that makes them social but it is the frequent handling. The same result can be obtained from handling babies as frequently as you would bottle. When bottling, that situation is forced as they are dependent on you and imprint early.
Many F1s are bottled for that reason but I have also heard that F1s that are raised with the mom but handled a lot produces the same effect.

 

[Trish Allearz]

This raises another question for me. My breeder had an adult cat who was actually in the same situation. The mother did not want to raise him, so she ended up hand raising and feeding the cat herself. He was the MOST affectionate out of all the cats I met there, and thought it was because of how he was raised by a human hand. However this would conflict with what most people say about kittens leaving the nest to young...I wonder why this is , does anyone have any thoughts?

My old head vet used to say that most kittens hand raised had no bite inhibition and were a lot more aggressive then kittens raised by their Moms wit their siblings. I have heard this from many other people over the years, but my experience does not say that is necessarily true. I have an 12 year old DSH that was hand raised by me (except she did have a foster Mom to cuddle and keep her warm- I bottle fed her, CB snuggled and cleaned her butt) and she is not that way. Also, it seems contrary because in the exotic community, it is common for the breeders to pull exotics and hand raise them in order to further bond with them- so wouldn't it hold true with exotics as much as domestics? Sorry- I may have confused you more!

Anyways, as far as Nala goes- there is a chance she may choose to mother the kitten and help teach your new baby about life