Need ideas/ suggestions for misbehaving F1 savannah cat

[Lorien]

I was contacted by a woman who wants to find a new home for her F1 Savannah cat (half African serval, half domestic cat). The kitty is very affectionate and loving, but he's nearly destroyed her home/ office. He eats the furniture, tears large chunks out of the towels and sheets, and chews through anything made of plastic, rubber, or vinyl (he also knows how to open doors-not a good thing). She's covered everything in cayenne pepper powder but it still doesn't help.

I'm thinking that he needs an outdoor enclosure to spend some time in every day, but she says that he hates being without people for any amount of time (he was bottle raised). I've sent a message to Big Cat rescue in Tampa asking for suggestions ( I know i'll get an earful about hybrids), but I wondered if anyone here know of any other organizations that might be able to help. Thanks all!

This is what an F1 savannah looks like:





They're very large; here's a four month old kitten:

[ET Awful]

1. Wow. . . what a gorgeous kitty :)

I wish I had room for such an awesome cat. I don't think he'd enjoy apartment life too much though.

[Lorien]

2. Well, I got a reply from big cat rescue :-(

"As suspected, the cat will undoubtedly pass from home to home until he dies from ingesting some foreign body or some other accident and with each change the cat becomes more and more difficult to handle. The accredited sanctuaries are full and the pseudo sanctuaries frequently breed and sell and add to the problem. We always encourage people to take responsibility for their actions, build the cat a suitable, outdoor home and keep the animal until they die.

Sadly, most people will find a thousand excuses why taking responsibility for their actions does not apply to them."

Not terribly helpful, as I suspected. :-(

[superconnected]

4. there are people who will take responsibility.

Hopefully you will find one.

I find that medical professionals - nurses/doctors, as well as people who work in the animal biz- humane society, some rescue centers, have apathy when dealing with ppl/animals. I think they grow insensitive sometimes because they deal with problems on an everyday basis.

I always hated PAWS in the next city over from mine. They're supposed to save animals and yet they are always rude and apathetic on the phone. They refuse to take nearly everything.

I'm not saying all are like that, I'm just saying "I" have certianly ran into that more than once. I won't even start on the medical profession...

Best to stick with real people. DU is a great start.

[superconnected]

3. oh pretty!

I'd love to do something like put one of those cats in with mine. Scare the hell out of them. They're so spoiled and believe they have the dictator rights in running my place, they deserve it. But I won't.

Hope he finds a good home!

[demnan]

5. If he's the only cat

maybe he would be happier in a large area with plenty of outdoor time with others of his kind.

[Lorien]

6. She also has a "jungle bob" that is his best friend

(part jungle cat, part pixie-bob):


The Jungle bob is fine as a housecat, and both are very attached to people. I think I'm going to encourage her to invest in a good outdoor enclosure instead of finding a new home for him. However, that won't be a possibility if she lives in a condo or apartment!

[IndyOp]

7. Might she be willing to build a heavy-duty indoor enclosure?

That seems like as good a solution as any, given that the cat does not want to be away from people.

Also - she might contact someone who works with wild cat rescue/cat sanctuary to ask how to keep the cat mentally & physically occupied. I would not put food in a bowl -- I'd try to find puzzle toys that the cat would have to work at in order to release the food. Cat needs lots of climbing, tunneling, jumping options. She needs to be thinking 'stimulating zoo enclosure'.

Really sky-high idea: Put a glass or plexiglas top on the cat enclosure and put a spacious bird cage on top of it. Make absolutely certain the cat cannot get to or stress the birds, but can watch them moving around. Prey are fascinating.

I wish him and the jungle bob the best -- it makes me angry when people try to make wild animals fit in human environs. Pets are pets because they adapt well to human homes -- if anyone needs 'something' different I suggest that they get creative crocheting wild colorful sweaters for their pets.

[Lorien]

8. I'll have to find out what kind of home she has

from everything I've read, it sounds like what savannahs really need is SPACE, and if she's living in a condo or apartment he may really need to find another home; one that's dedicated enough to build an outdoor enclosure and fully supervise his indoor time.

It's sad; servals are semi-domesticated in Africa, where they sometimes make their homes in small villages because they don't mind human contact and the mousing opportunities are good. The thing is that although they'll sometimes become tame enough to enjoy time with people indoors, they still come and go as they please. They aren't domesticated enough to make the full transition to housecat. I think that breeders originally thought that "fully domesticated" could be achieved with just one cross breeding to a domestic cat-the problem was that most breeders chose Bengals as the "domestic" cat that they would be bred to (Asian leopard cats-which are used to create the bengal-are entirely wild).So now we have a friendly, loving animal who is too intelligent to be content without a lot of interaction and activity, living in a place where wandering on his own outdoors simply isn't an option. It'll take someone with a real dedication to their pet to give this animal a decent quality of life; he's unhappy without human contact, but as you've noted, he doesn't fit into human environs. :-(

[MsTryska]

9. How old is the cat?

is it possible he's teething?

also what about it giving it some raw meaty bones to chew on?

[Lorien]

10. He's two years old

which is "just out of kittenhood" for a savannah (they live well into their 20's). He eats a raw meat diet, but dog chew bones/ toys might help.

[MsTryska]

11. So if he does eat a raw meat diet -

how about getting him some meaty bones to chew on - either for breakfast or dinner (whenever he's the most active in his chewing)


maybe he needs to gnaw on some neckbones or something - or throw him a couple quail, or perhaps a game hen to work on for a meal.

[wildeyed]

12. If he was a dog, I would say more exercise and lots of obedience work.

I guess you don't do obedience with cats, but probably the exercise is applicable.

Why do people breed such inappropriate animals? Half wild, half domestic; they don't really belong in either world, do they?

[Lorien]

13. Good news!

I went on to Catster and found several savannah owners there; I wrote to them about the problem, and received a helpful reply from a woman named Nancee. She asked to post my inquiry on a savannah cat club message board, and I've been getting emails from members all evening. They have a network which will provide emergency fostering if the kitty needs it.They believe that boredom is the culprit here; savannahs apparently need at least one kitty pal and several people, or one person and several kitty pals, to be happy. Dog toys and daily interaction are critical too. It takes real commitment from the cat's person to keep the animal content-a bit like keeping a border collie. I don't know if Michelle, the F1 savannah's owner (F1 means first generation' 50% serval) has the kind of time and dedication he needs. Fortunately the savannah cat club says that they could easily rehome him in a home with another savannah if need be. I hope that I can talk Michelle into getting involved with the group if she intends to keep this animal.

[IndyOp]

15. Thanks for posting the good news --

The original owner should donate a few hundred (or few thousand) to the foster association or new owner that agrees to take on the cat and do what she would not.

:kick:

[Lisa0825]

16. What an incredible beauty he is!!! That's great news!!!

If she was in a place where she had room to give him his own room when left without her, I was thinking of something like this:





I call it the Kitty Palace. Lots of places to climb, hide, sun, etc, but nothing easly destroyed.

I am really happy you got good news via the Savannah group!

Both of those hybrids are absolutely stunning!!! :loveya:

[demnan]

17. You have a lot of cats!

Are they from the same litter? Seems I remember a post a while back where you said you kept a litter.

You're good cat people but I wouldn't want to trade litter box duty with you! :hi:

[Lisa0825]

18. LOL! That's at the shelter I volunteer and foster at:-)

www.whiskerville.org :hi:

[Ayesha]

14. What a gorgeous animal

I have been fascinated by servals/savannah cats since I met one a couple of years ago at an animal fair. I plan on getting several acres of land as soon as I finish grad school - I wish I could help out right now. :(