PREPARING FOR YOUR KITTEN
What you need to know before bringing your new family member home!
What to have ready for your kitten...
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A cozy little bed
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A litter box with pine pellets for litter
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Cat toys....their favorites are feather teasers, crinkle tunnels, plastic balls and a cat tree or cat condo with a scratching post
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Food dishes. A fresh flow water fountain is recommended but not necessary
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Dry kitten food. Choose a good quality brand that is high in protien. Some recommended brands are Innova, Acana, Taste of the Wild, Blue Buffalo & Orijen
Prepare your home...
•Prepare a comfortable room in which your kitten will feel safe. Give your kitten a blanket for it to be comfortable. You must also make sure that its food, its water and its litter box are all in the same room for it to see them.
•It is very important to verify all the plants that you have in the house to see that they are not poisonous plants for your new kitten. We recommend you to eliminate all of the poisonous plants to avoid any danger for your new kitten.
•Place all the drugs, the poisonous products and the cleansing products in an area where your new kitten will never get access.
•Hide all cords and electrical wires for better security of your new kitten.
•Put away all plastic bags and small objects that your new kitten could chew and swallow.
•Never leave your toilet lid open, a bath tub or sink filled in with water without someone watching. Kittens can drown.
(Please beware when opening or closing a door including the refrigerator and freezer and the washer and dryer. They can get in quite fast.)
•Make sure that all small crawl spaces are blocked to avoid access for your new kitten.
Feeding your Savannah kitten...
A Savannah requires pretty much the same care and diet as any domestic breed of cat. A premium brand of high-quality kibble, or raw and/or homemade diets properly supplemented with balanced vitamins are all acceptable ways to feed your Savannah. It really depends on what you prefer to feed, and what the cat is willing to eat. Look for premium high quality, high protien food. You may also choose to add some poached chicken breast to his diet. This will aid in good digestion. Do not feed too much wet canned food to your kitten. One tablespoon in the morning and one tablespoon for dinner. Over feeding of wet canned food can cause diarrhea, and often a kitten is too small to endure a bout of diarrhea. (Please contact your vet ASAP in the event your kitten gets severe diarrhea.) Keep a fresh supply of water at all times. Cats have a tendency to be perpetually dehydrated and not drink enough. You will need to encourage your kitten to consume enough water to keep their kidneys healthy. Keep a close eye on him the first few days to ensure he's eating and drinking well.
Keep your Savannah kitten confined to one room for 2 weeks when you bring him home...
There are several reasons for this. First, it is important that your Savannah bond with you, rather than with the other pets in the home, and by having only contact with you for the first few weeks, you become the center of your new cat's world. Also, if you have other pets, it is important that they are kept separate in case your new kitten/cat has brought any illnesses with him. Two weeks will be enough time for most illnesses to surface. If you have other pets, it is important for them to be introduced slowly and in a stressfree manner. Bringing a kitten into a home that they have never seen before, after being separated from their mother and littermates, can be overwhelming. By confining the cat to one room, you make him more comfortable. An en-suite or a bathroom often works well. Also in the case of a kitten, it is easier to maintain good litterbox habits. If a kitten is allowed to roam an unfamiliar house or apartment with many rooms, they can become lost and unsure of where the litterbox is. When a kitten has to go, they have to go NOW...they'll need to be able to find the litterbox a.s.a.p.
Bonding with your kitten...
It is very important to bond with your new kitten. You'll want to ensure he has a quiet and relaxed environment. When you first arrive home place the carrier on the floor in the room that you have set up for him with his litter box, food, water and bed. Open the carrier door and let your kitten come out by himself. When he's ready to, he'll come out. Don't force him. You can try to entice him out by using a toy. Let him become familiar with his new space for a few days with his carrier still in the room. Keep the door open for him. Sit on the floor at the same level as your kitten when you play and socialize.
Litter training your Savannah kitten...
Your kitten will already be using a litter box when you bring him home. You may want to have a few litter boxes throughout your home so that he will always have easy access to one. A young kitten my become disoriented in his new home and if he feels lost he may not be able to find his way to his litter box in time. If your kitten messes somewhere other than the litter box do not scold him. Instead, take him to the litter box and praise him while he is using it. This will reinforce good behaviour of using the litter box. During his first few days home put him in his litter box many time a day so that he gets familiar with it. It's important to leave the litter box in the same room with him for the first few weeks. It is recommended to use pine litter. Clay or clumping litters may get ingested and cause blockages in your Savannah's intestines. Keeep it clean. Dirty litter is another way for germs, bacteria and parasites to multiply and spread. Keep it clean!
Play time with your Savannah kitten...
Predatory instincts can be seen in Savannahs at a young age. They will
instinctively seek to hunt, even if it's only imaginary prey. All kittens are
born with stalking insticts, and these natural instincts are enhanced
through play. Pouncing and crouching low to sneak up on that toy mouse is
not an uncommon sight and watching a Savannah in predatroy play can
stimulate visions of their beautiful Aftrican heritage. The Savannah kitten
can go from sleepy and curled up to carefully stalking and circling that
feather toy dancing in front of him! With precise speed and agility the
Savannah pounces an impressive height and covers a wide span in a single leap!
Savannahs are a very interactive breed. They thrive on attention and opportunities to play. We are grateful that they have graced our urban jungle. To satisty their instintcual needs, provide them with cat trees furnished with cubbies to accommodate their sneak attacks, as well as somewhere to hide their treasures! They love to be up high...provide them with shelves they can "catterwalk" up to higher heights. If not provided for them, don't be surprised to find them jumping on top of doors and walking along curtain rods. Cats provided with adequate opportunites and places to stalk and hunt will be far less likely to get into mischeif, while doing what comes naturally to them.
Before making the final decision to adopt a kitten...
When you bring your Savannah kitten into your home you are making a committment to that kitten to always meet his needs. Savannahs can be very active and can live up to twenty years. Before choosing any pet make sure you can care for it properly for its entire life. If you do end up choosing a Savannah he will reward you with love and loyalty for years to come.