SpongeBob Savannahs

Our F3B Savannah kittens Dale, Ellie, Max, and Meica have learned to practically stand on their heads on top of their SpongeBob scratching post. It's an old footstool that we took apart, recovered with carpet, then put back on at an angle to make it easier for our younger kittens to crawl up. We call it SpongeBob because it reminds of of the cartoon character by the same name. The kittens couldn't care less what we call it, they love to play on it.



When Ellie was little, she'd stand up on her hind feet, front feet on SpongeBob, then crawl up to the top and look down on Dale. Of course, Dale would just walk up at the same age, he's always been such a large kitten. He uses it to launch himself off to get a headstart on Meica when she's in one of her running fits. Dale and Meica are very bonded and it's precious to watch since there's such a huge size difference. Dale is three weeks older than Meica, but he's a horse (ClydesDALE), and Meica can almost walk under his tummy. She's not small, just that Dale is that large.

Meica, left, and Ellie right, each look exactly like their mothers. Meica is from F2B Savannah Cori, and Ellie is from Komari, Cori's sister. Our F1 Savannah cat Ayo is grandmother to both kittens.



Meica has her mother's huge, distinctly contrasting spots and expressive (and large) ears. Meica is a spitfire who absolutely loves to race around the room with ANYONE in trail. She loves to run and plays with reckless abandon. Ellie definitely inherited her mother Komari's extremely long legs and distinct spots. Ellie is elegant where Meica is exuberant. Ellie loves to be cuddled and loved and would rather be kissing Jason than chasing Meica. Meica runs and plays and wears herself out, then comes to us to be cuddled. Both girls are beautiful F3B Savannah kittens. We're most proud of their personalities and loving temperaments.

It's good that Dale is so huge, or he'd be in trouble between Ellie and Meica. Dale below, with Max in his favorite perch in the background.

Chaos in the Cathouse

So much for the AJSavannahs daily blog... but I have been able to get Sophia and Oliver's blog linked here, and through our AJSavannahs Testimonials pages. Also have new photos for Dale and Ellie, who are growing so fast, it's impossible to keep their photos current.

And Liberty... she is growing, active, loving, attitudinally charged. Liberty was not happy playing on the bed this afternoon. We had a new quilt on the bed, appliqued by my grandmother. (Who would have likely had heart failure if she was still alive at the sight of an unruly Savannah kitten playing on all her painstakingly hand stitched flowers.) Liberty was as disturbed. Today is the first day she'd seen this particular quilt. And at first, she was not happy walking on the "flowers". She jumped, and twirled and Serval leaped over every large applique. I should have the movie posted Thursday afteroon. She was precious.

It's been difficult to update the blog this week, because our central air conditioner went out and we're having a new unit installed, along with all ductwork and returns. It's loud. Very loud.

But Gabatta and Calla are oblivious, and we were worried most about them since Calla is so young. She's exploring her small world, playing with her mother's tail, and playing to the camera, and could not care less that there are elephants in the attic! I have posted a new movie of Calla and Gabatta on our YouTube channel. And finally got it to post on Calla's Testimonial page!

The three AJSavannahs Angels have decided it's their turn to take over the master bedroom since they can't have the upstairs with workmen here. They're having a blast, Brie is trying to sit on top of the (thankfully heavy) wooden blinds. Lucy has taken over the top of the television, although I cannot imagine that she's cold with the air conditioner out. And Tessa has made her nest tucked between the pillows. They've slept all day, in spite of the installation noise, mainly because they kept us up all night playing Bed Mouse!

Featuring... MAX and Friends

I did get lots of photos taken today, of Max, Meica, Dale, and Ellie. Max is gorgeous, as you can tell by the photo. Max is far left, playing to the camera, as usual. Then Ellie, Dale, and Meica.

It's hard to choose the most typey, they're all very beautiful early generation Savannah kittens. Max and Meica are two months younger than their cousins Dale and Ellie, but think they're every bit as mature. Savannah cats do tend to have an attitude, but in a very good way. AJSavannahs Savannah cats and kittens are loving and inquisitive, never arrogant.

Our F3B Max is headed to New Jersey to join his new family. I plan to get Max's Testimonials page up this weekend. He's out of the Fuzzy Uglies and his spots are beautifully clear AND he's keeping that hot base coloring.

Max has also decided he likes to talk, even more than normal. He makes a small chirp/meow/grumble noise when he wants our attention. He's probably one-third to one-half larger than his sister Meica -- and afraid of nothing. Which is why his new family knows they will have to limit Max's cat tree climbing activities til he can develop good (any?) judgement. He would dive off Jasons' shoulder if we'd let him.

Max and his sister Meica are from AJSavannahs F2B Cori and F6A Mbau. Max and Meica both share their grandmother Ayo's enthusiasm for life and reckless abandon when it comes to playing and play hunting. Thankfully, Ayo has developed better judgement as she's matured. We hope Max will, too.

Max Discovers Water Sports

I think our F3B Savannah kitten Max has been online and read our new poll, What's your Savannah's Favorite Water Sport?, because he's learned to fish!

Savannah cats love to play in water, of any type, and we use very heavy ceramic water dishes. Because a Savannah's definition of play is to fish in, splash out, and dunk toys. They'll also curl one paw around the edge and pull (or push) their heavy water crocks all the way across the room if they can build up enough momentum.

Max has discovered all of the above, and unfortunately, he's taught his sister Meica, too. So I've spent the last hour cleaning up from Max and Meica's newest antics. Max has been talking and cooing and loving me -- and helping (ha!) me the entire time -- there's no way I can be upset with him for doing what comes naturally to an early generation Savannah cat. Meica has been running laps around the small nursery, taking short breaks to bop Dale on the nose before going back to wiffle ball soccer.

Liberty is Destructive (not really)

Just wrote Brittany and Scott with an update for Liberty, thought I'd share here, especially since we've posted new photos (from Tuesday evening). Liberty is VERY mischievous. She sits in Jason's hands and puts her paws on either side of his nose, kisses him, then grabs his glasses when he's not expecting it. He wears the rimless style, they're four years old and cracking from kittens -- and we do NOT want to have to replace them. So far, Liberty has been able to grab them off more than any other kitten. I think it's because she has such a sweet innocent face, suckers him in, then strikes. She is a doll and knows how to use it to advantage.   Dale is ready to go home. He's our Door Dasher and can make it from one side of the house to the other in under two seconds. He comes straight to my desk, jumps in my lap, plays on the keyboard, and generally disturbs whatever work I'm engaged in. He is so loving, there's no way I can be upset when he dumps an entire annual report. Mainly because I've learned to save every two minutes with Savannahs in the house.   Dale is the largest F3 kitten we've had yet. At first, he reminded us very much of Konga, but now I find myself calling him Oliver. He's gorgeous, very typey, and looks more like an F2B Savannah than the F3B he is. We've turned down many, many families for Dale, all security-related issues since he's a major Door Dasher. Spencer holds that record, but Dale is a very close second. Photos of Dale on our AJSavannahs Kittens page. Lots of movies available upon request.   If you're looking for a loving, huge, laid back... did I mention loving? Savannah male, then Dale would be your choice. Meica is totally bonded to him and they'd make a perfect pair. Five AJSavannahs families have added a pair of Savannahs to their home. Savannahs are amazing creatures. And also addictive!

Calla is Walking (like a big cat)

Calla is definitely her mother's daughter. She's only 15 days old, but she's already up and walking. Not crawling, or propeling, or toddling... she is WALKING. Like the big cat she's going to be. Poor Gabatta, because now all she gets done is try and corral Calla and keep her in one place. And Gabatta much prefers the sofa to any other bed or nest or chair -- or wherever. Gabatta is our diva and what Gabatta wants, Gabatta gets!

She was lounging on the sofa with Calla until Calla became truly ambulatory. We'd look in and Gabatta would be laying in a half arc, with her back to the front edge and Calla safely between her and the back. And Gabatta is huge, she easily stretches over half the length of our seven foot sofa. (She was less than two years old in the photo above, and nowhere near full-grown.) We watched one drama unfold that made us very nervous. Calla kept moving closer to the edge. When she got within a few inches, Gabatta stood up, stretched, then walked over, took Calla in her mouth, walked back to her original spot and dropped Calla unceremoniously to the cushions. We decided Gabatta had it under control.

A few days later, Gabatta began pulling the extra cushions from under the sofa where we had them stored for safety (she carries them around in her mouth as if they're small throw pillows). But Gabatta had pulled the cushions out, left them just near the front edge -- as if she was preparing for Calla to make her first unplanned jump (fall?). If Calla dove, we didn't see it. Thankfully.

And, thankfully, LaVon knows Gabatta is our diva, and that her babies have a LOT of attitude, just ask Michelle (Katie), Deborah (Oliver), or Teri (Moja -- formerly Holly). Linda (Konga) and Jennifer (Ivy) swear that their babies are perfect angels. We think they have their owners very well-trained!

Liberty Learns to Jump

Liberty has learned to jump into her chair, a very big achievement. We thought she was scrambling up, like the photo to the left, til she decided to launch herself while we were watching. She misses as often as she makes it, but it's softly upholstered, so she can't get hurt trying to fly. Ayo watches, and waits til she's up, then leaps to the seat without effort, lays down, and pushes her baby off the edge. We think it's payback for Liberty biting Ayo's tail every chance she gets. She has a ton of toys, but nothing entices her like her mom.

She's also decided to jump Up! Up! like a two-year old, wanting Jason to pick her up in his arms. Which he does, of course. She's a bit spoiled, but in a good way. She already understands No, and while she's going through the mouthing stage, we can tell her No, offer her Mini Orka (dog) chew toy, and she'll happily chew on that, forgetting what she was up to just a few moments before. We laugh that Liberty has ADD because of her short attention span, but it's really LKS (Little Kitten Syndrome). And that too, will pass as she matures.

Calla It Is

Gabatta's baby now has a name. We had a flurry of voting early this morning and Calla won over Aurora by only four votes. Jason was hoping for Aurora, but wasn't able to rally enough votes to make it happen. Calla doesn't care either way... she's happy to nurse on demand and pose for her glamour shots. New photos are up, taken Sunday morning.

After her photos were done, Gabatta left Calla on the sofa and took a break to love us. If you look closely in the third photo on the kittens page, you'll be able to see Gabatta watching Calla through the sides of the sofa. She's never far from her baby.

Don't miss our new poll, What is your Savannah's favorite water sport? And check the website often Sunday, we're updating with new photos for EVERYONE -- including AJS's Angels -- Jason's new name for Brie, Lucy, and Tessa. Charlie's Angels is what he really calls them, but we don't need the copyright infringement issues!

It's the Angels reference because Jason LOVES '70s Retro (lucky me)... for our friends and families who know the back story. Sorry, you're probably laughing so hard you're crying by now!

Gabatta's Baby Poll Closing Soon

Gabatta's baby poll ends Sunday at noon eastern. If you haven't voted yet, please take time before the poll closes. Click on the subject to go directly to the Kittens page. We'll post the results early Sunday afternoon. Have a favorite name? Email the link to a friend -- or friends -- it's a close race between Aurora (Jason's choice) and Calla (my pick).   Regardless of her name, she is a HUGE kitten, just under one pound at only 12 days of age. And as beautiful as her mother. Watch for new photos and movies on her Testimonials page later this weekend. As well as her name announcement. We do not want her to develop multiple personalities, poor thing.   Thanks, LaVon, for allowing everyone so much enjoyment, helping to name your new baby.

It Works

Thanks to all our AJSavannahs families who've waited patiently for me to get this active. Updates for Liberty and Aurora (Calla?) will be on their Testimonials pages later today.

We're Finally Live!

It's taken me awhile, too much else going on. But I finally had time to get the new blog published. It's supposed to integrate into the AJSavannahs website and be transparent. Hope it works as expected.