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Meet Zoe... Our F2 Savannah Kitten

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portia

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My husband and I decided that instead of buying each other Christmas gifts this year, we would buy ourselves a Savannah kitten (ok... well... he did end up surprising me with a gift... he''s so thoughtful and sweet!). DH has wanted one of these cats for a long time and we''d kept in touch with a breeder not far from where we live for the past four years. We wanted to take time to watch his breeding program and the cats he was producing. DH finally caught me at a weak moment and we went to see one of the kittens. Of course, we thought we''d just go "look", but I knew there was no way I''d say no to a sweet, cute, mewing little kitten.

Zoe is an F2 Savannah which means that her grandfather is an African Serval (a wild cat found in the African savannahs). These cats are known for their wonderful personality, intelligence and athletic ability. She''s so sweet and smart – very dog-like in her behavior. Follows us around everywhere, plays fetch (and actually brings the ball back) and she’ll get up and play like crazy and then plop down in the doorway to our 2nd bedroon (the “cat room”) half in the room and half in the hallway just like my dog used to do. However, she''s now a month older and is terrorizing our other cats. She has absolutely no fear and jumps on top of our Bengals constantly. She also takes all of their toys as hers and growls when she gets a new toy. At first I was surprised at the growling but she’s not aggressive at all and after doing a little more research I found that this is a common trait in Savannahs. Poor Haley and Ghengis… they''re aren''t too pleased with her at the moment, but I know they''ll adjust to each other eventually.

Here are some photos we took of her first two weeks with us...




BabyZoe_0001sm.jpg
 

portia

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Head shot... she has very large ears!

Zoe_head_sm.jpg
 

Shay37

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Portia, she''s adorable. I could just kiss her whole face.

shay
 

Tacori E-ring

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OHHHHH!!!!!! So Cute!!!
 

portia

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This picture shows her "night eyes", the light colored spots on the back of her ears. There is debate on why Servals have these. Some say that it is to distract preditors from attacking from the rear since it looks as if they are looking backwards.

BabyZoe_18sm.jpg
 

portia

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Sleeping...

BabyZoe_19sm.jpg
 

portia

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sleeping...

BabyZoe_22sm.jpg
 

portia

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... and more sleeping! She slept a lot when we first got her. Not anymore!
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BabyZoe_sm.jpg
 

Tacori E-ring

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I love the sleeping pictures!!!
 

canuk-gal

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HI:

What a beauty!! I love your new baby!!!

cheers--Sharon
 

mrssalvo

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oh she''s beautiful...love her name too, that''s the name of my baby in my avatar
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Miranda

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What a beautiful new baby! We just got a cat, too (a Ragdoll)! I adore cats. My sister thanked my DH for marrying me young when we were together at xmas. She says I''d be a crazy cat lady if I didn''t have a hubby and kids!

Zoe looks like a wild animal! I love those beautiful markings. Our Leo slept a lot at first also. He''s crazy now. Enjoy your new kitty!
 

KimberlyH

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She is gorgeous!!!
 

Dee*Jay

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What a gorgeous cat!!! Portia, would you like to bring her across the river to play with The Demon Dog?
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Tacori E-ring

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Portia, I just showed my DH Zoe''s pics and he is so impressed! He thinks she looks awesome and loves her coloring. Like a little tiger he said. He even wanted to make sure I posted that for him. I think he is a little jealous (in a good way)
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diamondfan

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she looks like a baby tiger! how adorable is she! I am not generally a cat lover, though I had an amazing cat when I was little, but she is just too much!
 

Kaleigh

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She''s a gorgeous cat. Love her name!!!! Enjoy her!!! Keep the pics coming. I love kitties, but can''t have them as my kids are allergic!!!
 

Gypsy

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DF and I love bengals and savannahs. So cool that you have both now! Congrats she''s beautiful and the back of those ears!!! My Noel... pure domestic shorthair shelther rescue... gowls when when she gets a hold of any toy with real fur. Freaked us out the first few times she did it... but we quickly figured out that it was just instinct, she wasn''t aggresive or anything because you (or another cat) could walk up and take it from her and she''d do nothing more than watch longlingly.
 

portia

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Awwww... thanks for all the comments everyone! It''ll be interesting to see how she develops since she isn''t so far removed from a wild cat. The breeder has a ''Watch Me Grow'' section on their website so I may keep a photojournal of her growth and send it to them. If I do that, I''ll post the photos here, too.

Geez... I''m supposed to be packing for a trip and I''m posting on PS. I''m truly addicted!

Tacori - She''s just precious looking when she sleeps. She''s taken to sleeping on my pillow sham so she''s right above my head at night. It''s too cute. Sometimes she touches my head in the middle of the night and then goes back to sleep. And she''s always there in the morning to give a couple of ''good morning'' headbutts!

DeeJay - I have a harness and leash! That makes me dangerous in RN!
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Cat on a leash amongst a *very* large dog population. Ok... I''m crazy! I''m going to attempt to train her to walk on a leash. I may just take you up on your offer! hehe (I probably won''t get further than the patio) They''d look so cute... matching blondes!

Miranda - Well, it''s too late for me... I''m a crazy cat lady! Three cats - yikes! And I''d have a dog too if I were home more and lived in a bigger place. Unfortunately, I got married a bit late for kids (although it''s not entirely out of the question). Is that totally backwards? Pets first, kids later? Ragdolls are soooooo cute and playful! Have you posted any pics?

I''m so glad everyone likes her name. Funny thing is that I picked the name before we even went down there. I told my husband that if we go see her and bring her back, I''m naming her Zoe!

mrssalvo
- Your Zoe is sooooo cute! Love the santa hat!
 

Cind11

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Ooh, she is absolutely adorable and beautiful. We have an Oriental Shorthair whose color is called a silver spotted tabby. He reminds me of your kitten. Very exotic looking.
 

portia

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Gypsy - So glad to hear that someone else has experienced the growling. It did freak me out a bit when I heard it, but like you said, you can just take the toy away and she does nothing. I love bengals, too! They have such amazing coats. The breeder where we got Zoe from also has Safari cats and Habaris (which is a very new breed). Have you ever seen them? I didn''t see any when we visited this last time, but when we went the first time a few years ago a *very* large cat with a *very* deep growl and exotic markings came out of the building to the outside pen. The breeder wouldn''t tell us what it was. Very interesting! Looked like an extremely large ocelet.
 

portia

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Cind11, the cat in your avatar is so cute! I love oriental shorthairs! They are so sweet! We almost bought one a couple of years ago. He had spots, too. They use those in some Savannah breeding programs. There''s a breeder here in Chicago that uses them. Very cute and exotic looking!
 

portia

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Ok, one more picture for now. Here are our bengals in a rare moment. I''d like to call this Bengal Love, but I know better... these two used to fight every day until we got Zoe... now they don''t have any energy left to fight with each other.

DSC_0005sm.jpg
 

Miranda

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Date: 12/29/2006 11:23:38 PM
Author: portia

Awwww... thanks for all the comments everyone! It''ll be interesting to see how she develops since she isn''t so far removed from a wild cat. The breeder has a ''Watch Me Grow'' section on their website so I may keep a photojournal of her growth and send it to them. If I do that, I''ll post the photos here, too.

Geez... I''m supposed to be packing for a trip and I''m posting on PS. I''m truly addicted!

Tacori - She''s just precious looking when she sleeps. She''s taken to sleeping on my pillow sham so she''s right above my head at night. It''s too cute. Sometimes she touches my head in the middle of the night and then goes back to sleep. And she''s always there in the morning to give a couple of ''good morning'' headbutts!

DeeJay - I have a harness and leash! That makes me dangerous in RN!
37.gif
Cat on a leash amongst a *very* large dog population. Ok... I''m crazy! I''m going to attempt to train her to walk on a leash. I may just take you up on your offer! hehe (I probably won''t get further than the patio) They''d look so cute... matching blondes!

Miranda - Well, it''s too late for me... I''m a crazy cat lady! Three cats - yikes! And I''d have a dog too if I were home more and lived in a bigger place. Unfortunately, I got married a bit late for kids (although it''s not entirely out of the question). Is that totally backwards? Pets first, kids later? Ragdolls are soooooo cute and playful! Have you posted any pics?

I''m so glad everyone likes her name. Funny thing is that I picked the name before we even went down there. I told my husband that if we go see her and bring her back, I''m naming her Zoe!

mrssalvo
- Your Zoe is sooooo cute! Love the santa hat!
But of course!!! Leo - here it is. The last pic of your bengals sleeping is precious! Pets first, kids later? Nope...I don''t think that''s backwards! DH and I were looking at old pics from when I was a kid and teenager the other day. Most of them were pics of cats...or me with cats...or dressed up cats...you get the idea!
 

VegasAngel

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Beautiful!

My husband & I considered getting a bengal or savannah but it never happened. They are just so beautiful & smart (& expensive,
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). Then for a while I wanted an Egyptian Mau but alas didn't get one of those either too hard to find. Give her some extra hugs & kisses from/for me
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Tacori E-ring

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portia I hope you have that picture framed! That is so priceless!
 

marvel

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what a cutie-pa-tutie....makes me want another kitten
 

monarch64

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Date: 12/29/2006 8:50:27 PM
Author: Miranda
What a beautiful new baby! We just got a cat, too (a Ragdoll)! I adore cats. My sister thanked my DH for marrying me young when we were together at xmas. She says I''d be a crazy cat lady if I didn''t have a hubby and kids!

Zoe looks like a wild animal! I love those beautiful markings. Our Leo slept a lot at first also. He''s crazy now. Enjoy your new kitty!
Ah, I"m jealous! I started a thread on that breed a while ago, however, DH kinda vetoed kitties and got me another beagle puppy this fall! I love cats, though, and when we move into another larger home we will definitely make room for kitties.

PORTIA: gorgeous kitten you have there! She''s sooooooooooooooooo cute! Congratulations on your new furbaby, and best wishes!
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diamondsrock

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your kitties are absolutely adorable! Makes me want one (husband is allergic though!)
 

Cind11

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Portia, the cat in my avatar is Oliver our Siamese/Javanese "variant". (this from the breeder) I meant to mention that we have had more than one cat growl while holding a toy. The most recent is Bosco our Balinese who sometimes will hold a knit mouse we have and growl. That''s as far as he goes but it''s like he''s warning the other cats to stay away from his prey. It''s really funny. Quite a few years ago now, my daughter who was about 3 or 4 at the time walked toward a cat who was on a harness and leash at a rest stop. She just wanted to get a closer look. The cat took one look at her and started wriggling frantically and was able to get out of the harness. I think he was rather freaked out in general. Anyway, he proceeded to take off like a shot into some woods behind a fence. (we felt TERRIBLE) The owners spent a long time trying to locate him but never got him back. We had gotten the people''s phone number so we could find out what happened. They said he was kind of nervous their whole trip. Anyway, ever since that happened, I haven''t been a fan of harnesses, too easy for kitties to get out of. Just thought I''d mention that.
 
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