Ayo's Kittens are Ambulatory

Jericho, Emmett, Murray, Vesper


Murray and Jericho


Jericho


Emmett, Jericho, Vesper


Vesper and Emmett


Emmett, Murray, Jericho, and Vesper

Harvey Can't Duck the Duct Tape

Harvey continues to entertain us. We're remodeling our master bathroom and he believes he absolutely has to explore every time the door opens. It's a construction nightmare right now, not at all suitable for a Savannah, much less a huge, clumsy, uncoordinated giant baby like Harvey.

Since I'm not feeling well and not as fast as usual (and everyone who knows me is laughing at this point, for even considering a "fast" reference!), but Harvey managed to get past me this morning and made a dash for the far reaches of the master bath.

Since he was just neutered last Thursday, I couldn't just grab him and haul him back to safety. He's recovering. Delicate. Sore.

So... I lunged after him, almost had him until he crouched down so far he looked like a tricked out low rider. And with that last shrinkage, he managed to avoid my grasp and made the right turn that would take him straight into the heart of the tools and trash.

Jason was right behind me, yelling to, "Grab him!" and trying to help me. But he's a tall man and had no chance of following Harvey anywhere without getting stuck himself.

Harvey knew he was safe at that point and decided to stop and explore and give us accusing looks for not having allowed him in before today.

We were worried about screwdrivers and trowels and scrapers and nails and saws and drill bits and... everything.

The last thing we even considered was the duct tape. We don't know why there was a length of duct tape unrolled. At least neither of us will admit to it if we do.

But Harvey was attracted to the smell of the adhesive. First he snuck up on it, then he reached out and did the air-touch gesture, then he tried a serval slap, connecting to nothing.

All the while, I'm trying to move anything I can to get to him.

And then it happened. Our clumsy huge baby actually managed to hit what he aimed for. And a horrible chaos ensued.

The duct tape stuck to Harvey's right front paw. He panicked. I panicked. He jumped straight up in the air like an unbroken bronco. I yelled for Jason. Jason yelled at me. Harvey morphed into a rodeo steer, jumping, twisting, turning, bucking. To no avail. The tape was stuck not only to his pad, but to his lower leg from all the contortions.

Then he decided to run away from the tape. But it kept chasing him. And there was nowhere to go, the master bath was a maze of tools and cabinets and everything you need to remodel from a stripped out shell.

He made it to the small ornate iron side table we had removed from our bedroom and stashed in the master bath to keep him from hurting himself on the railings. He landed on the lower shelf, balanced between and on the rails, still waving his right front paw wildly, trying to fling the duct tape as far as possible.

We couldn't move the table and risk him catching his foot in the openings and breaking a leg.

Finally, after what seemed like 10 minutes, but was probably only thirty seconds, he wove his way to the freedom of our bedroom, tape even more firmly attached from the fight.

We managed to corner and calm him... and Jason would not rip the tape off Harvey's paw. He didn't want to hurt him. Seeing no other choice, I grabbed an edge and pulled fast and hard and Harvey lost some fur, a lot of dignity, but was finally free.

He's a very good boy, which is a very good thing.

Because then we had to clean off the tape residue and inspect him for any injuries. He laid on his back in my arms while Jason cleaned his paw, trimmed some fur to get the worst of the tape out, and felt all over for any breaks. Harvey purred and chirped to me the entire time. Just give him attention and he'll do anything for me. Jason says it's sickening. I love it, of course.

Harvey is fine. No injuries, fur will grow back, he hasn't been near the door to the master bath and we don't expect he will. But we forget he's a baby because he's so big. So we may do this again tomorrow. Short attention span. What?

But I hope we don't do this again. Today is special, a one-time event. Do you think Harvey knows it's my birthday? After that adventure, I certainly feel my (advanced, especially compared to Jason!) age.

New (old) Videos on YouTube

My goal is to load three to five older videos each weekend. For everyone who wants to know how Ayo and Gabatta's kittens may mature, please see the videos of Grant, Grace, Audrey, Spencer, Brie, Chloe, Nissa, Abbi, and Lucy. For their families, you may not have seen some of these movies yet, so don't miss seeing your baby when she WAS a baby!

Little Tikes and Tunnels

Finally got the kittens page to update. Olivia has decided she likes chicken. Aaron would rather be held. But both kittens AND Gabatta love their Little Tikes tunnel. Olivia went right up the ramp and down the other side. Aaron was more cautious. Gabatta fussed that her babies were out running around unattended.

Just published quite a few photos on the kittens page. Each gallery includes photos from birth to present. It's amazing how much they change in such a short period of time.

Personalities and Body Types

No new photos yesterday, we tried but no one was cooperating. In part because Vesper's eyes are open, finally! She's catching up on her exploring and would not stay put for even two seconds. She's going to have a beautiful face, at this point, we think very similar to our F2B giraffe, Cary. And she's going to be a very large F2, she weighs more than Olivia at the same age.

Murray is going to have Cary's long, long legs, as you can tell from the photos in the last post. His face reminds us of our F2B Komari, also from Ayo and Wari. He's very outgoing and people-oriented already. Murray always comes to me, even if he's close to Ayo. Vesper used to come to my voice, but now she'd rather explore. Murray is starting to catch up to his siblings. His weight is just a bit less than Aaron's at the same age.

Emmett is staying very vocal. He seems to enjoy talking and starts as soon as he hears my voice. Emmett also comes running but he's figured out how to make it over the lip of their crate without tumbling. Probably because he has to wait for me to take the barrier down and has time to slow down before he goes over the edge. Ayo does NOT want the barrier down because each kitten takes off in a different direction and she can't keep them herded together. Emmett is a big boy, too, and weighs almost as much as Jericho. But Emmett has a very tightly packed, taut, spring-loaded body type so he appears smaller than Jericho. Emmett's style is similar to our F2B Oliver from Gabatta and Mbau.

Jericho is a bit larger than Emmett, but not by much. Jericho has that very fluid, drapey, laid-back body type like our F2B Spencer, also from Ayo and Wari. Jericho is very relaxed, to put it tactfully. He would rather curl up against Ayo and eat than to greet me, explore, play with his siblings. It's eat, sleep, grow for Jericho!

Olivia and Aaron have been introduced to solid kitten food and Gabatta is very glad since both kittens' baby teeth are coming in. I put a tiny bit of food on my fingertip, offered to Olivia and after the second lick, she decided she'd try to take a bite instead. I can commiserate with Gabatta, for the sharp teeth! I kept moving Olivia closer to her flat food dish, as she followed the food on my finger, and she caught on right away. She was eating next to Gabatta almost immediately. Aaron isn't interested yet. He'd rather nurse. The boys usually take longer to catch on... maybe on purpose? If he's like most of our boys, he'll be about five days behind his sister for learning to eat, use litter, everything. Except for being photogenic. Aaron has everyone beat when it comes to playing to the camera.

Both kittens are exploring their room and we'll add a small Little Tikes toy for them later today. Probably the covered slide because they can go under and play hide-and-seek til they figure out how to make it up the slide. They'll be able to play with the rings on each side and play with Gabatta through the portholes. Everyone seems to love the Little Tikes toys. Ellie's family got her a very nice, large playhouse fort and she loves it. She went in almost as soon as she saw it and knew she was home.

We have a variety of sizes and shapes for our smaller kittens. Even our F1s love the Little Tikes. It's always funny to see Gabatta trying to balance on top the tunnel while her babies are playing below.

Jason is starting to feel better, but I'm not feeling too well. We'd wear a mask when we handle the babies, but Ayo and Gabatta would NOT be happy. Especially since Ayo was upset at Jason's lower voice a few days ago.

Eyes are Open, Except for Vesper

Emmett left, Jericho right. Totally different coloring but both are huge with huge spots. Jericho is quieter, preferring to eat and sleep. Emmett is VERY vocal and is driving Ayo crazy checking on him every time he fusses.



That's Jericho in the background. Ayo decided to check out the camera and all I got was whiskers and a wet lens.



Vesper doesn't want to see the world yet. Probably a good thing her eyes are still closed. The kittens push and shove and kick, all over a favorite nipple. Vesper isn't as assertive as the boys, but that may all change once her eyes open.



Caught Murray stretching and Jericho wandering off looking for Ayo.



Murray's sweet face, He was ready for a nap by this point and I was still bugging him with the camera.



Aaron had just wakened and is still frumpled in this photo. I keep calling him Jack, he reminds me so much of Jack (now Shombay) from Kboo and Mbau. Jack is a gorgeous F2B Savannah, photos on our Testimonials pages.



The next photo is a few days old, but is so precious, I couldn't remove it everywhere! Aaron loving mom, Olivia eating greedily. Gabatta is ready for a nap, too.



Olivia fussing because I won't pick her up.

Emmett's Big Adventure

Jericho has finally opened his eyes and now he's going full-blast, much to Ayo's chagrin. Vesper has one eye open and looks like a sweet kitty pirate, right down to her auburn hair. Emmett and Murray are the troublemakers of the crew. Emmett comes running from the back of their crate when he hears my voice. He did that a few minutes ago, screaming at the top of his lungs the entire time. He got to the raised edge, managed to climb over, did a somersault, struggled to upright himself, then fussed til I picked him up. Murray was about four steps behind the entire evolution, but he's not a horse like Emmett, so he didn't make it over the ledge til I scooped him up. Murray is very expressive, with his facial expressions. Emmett is all voice. Poor Ayo thought he was hurt and kept giving me accusatory looks.

She was not happy that two were out and two were in... we've made a half door for their Great Dane crate, basically cardboard on two posts that sits in the bottom opening and allows Ayo to come-and-go but keeps her babies corralled. We don't usually need to add the door til the kittens are at least three weeks of age. Olivia and Aaron are still not venturing over their ledge. They only leave if Gabatta decides it's time for a road trip. But Ayo's Emmett and Murray have staged a rebellion. So their barrier went up a full week earlier than usual.

When I turned out the lights, Ayo had finally rounded them up and had all four nursing happily.

Gabatta's kittens are much more mature, it's amazing what a difference 10 days makes. Olivia runs to me when she sees me and tries to stand up against whatever is close (including Gabatta), begging to be picked up. Aaron takes his time about coming over, he's usually trailing Olivia, and he waits with his head tilted, sweet look on his face, til Olivia is done with us and we can scoop him up to be cuddled. They are all very affectionate kittens.

Jason has a sore throat so he's staying away from the kittens. He talked to Ayo from the doorway earlier today and she was very upset. Because he looked like her Jason, but his voice is bad from his sore throat and he didn't SOUND like her Jason. We could see her trying to process the different inputs, familiar face, threateningly deep voice. She finally gave up and just hissed at him and went back to her babies, then came out and head-butted and kissed my face once he left the room.

We have everyone put to bed and we're not far behind. Will try to post new photos tomorrow (or later today, now). Apologies to all who wrote about multiple visits to the website looking for new photos...

Harvey

You were expecting kittens? Our F2B Harvey is only a few days over five months of age, so he IS a kitten. Just that he already weighs 17 pounds! Harvey will be staying with us. We had always intended to keep one of our big boys, we just thought we'd wait til the girls were ready to retire. But Harvey had other plans. Apparently, he bonded to me during our Stranded in Las Vegas adventure (blogged, if you'd like to read the details) a few days before Christmas. It was very obvious to Mike after two months of trying, that Harvey was always going to love me best... so I flew back to San Jose (didn't get stranded this time) and when Harvey heard my voice, he started chirping. He exploded out of his crate, threw himself into my arms and rubbed his face all over mine, purring so hard he almost choked. He's been pretty much glued to me ever since, he sleeps with his head on my shoulder or if I stretch out my arm he'll put one or both paws into my hand. I'm spoiling him badly and driving Jason crazy making him come "See what Harvey is doing". Kboo, Harvey's mother, is as bonded to me as her son. Harvey is going to dwarf his mother and she averages 21-23 pounds and can stand up against me and almost touch my collar bone -- Gabatta CAN reach that high. I'm barely 5' tall. All of our kittens have transitioned perfectly to their new homes and all live in multi-cat or multi-pet homes. It usually takes about 15 minutes before each kitten is running around playing with toys and exploring, then cuddling and bonding to his new family. Harvey was 12 weeks old when we got stranded. Even our kittens who go home at 12 or 13 months of age have bonded immediately. Check out Spencer, Kai, Audrey, Nissa, Brie, Lucy, Moja and Ellie, all on our Testimonials pages, to read about a typical transition. Since I fly with each kitten in-cabin and hand-deliver, there's very little stress associated with their move to a new home. Unless we get stranded in Las Vegas with the first snowstorm the city has had in 30 years! While we were stranded, Harvey spent every minute of each hour either in his carry bag tucked under my arm and against my side. Or he was with me in the hotel room, serval leaping from one bed to the other, then running up and patting me to chase him, then sliding across the desk, then playing in the bathtub while I tried to make new flight reservations, then kissing me just to make sure I was still there. In short (not!), he imprinted on me, big time, due to the sounds and smells and stress of being stranded. I just didn't know it when we met Mike because Harvey sat in his lap, purred, acted like all our kittens after we make a long coast-to-coast flight. But then he got home, woke up and I wasn't there, and decided he was not going to stay. And he didn't! We offer a lifetime buyback guarantee to insure our kittens are never given away, sold, traded, surrendered to a shelter or rescue organization, that they will always come back to us. This was the first time we've had it happen. We refunded Harvey's entire purchase price and paid for the airfare to retrieve him and he'll stay with us forever. He's made his choice. Mike waited almost two years for Harvey, for his Humongous Boy. To see some of our other gentle giants, please visit our Testimonials pages and see Konga, Oliver, Cary, Spencer, Moja, Izzy, Bruce, Jack, our beloved Dale and Ozzy... and Elwood and Calla are still growing. Our girls tend to give us very big boys (and girls!) who are extremely loving. But back to Mike -- he knows us and our kittens -- and knows this was a Las Vegas Snowstorm fluke... so he will likely take Jericho from Ayo and Wari. Depending on how Jericho matures. And we have at least three other AJSavannahs families who want Jericho, as well as Oliver's aunt, and four new families. Mike will break hearts if he decides on Jericho. And I'll get to make yet another 13-hour cross-country odyssey! But Harvey is home and he's MINE. And thankfully, he loves Jason, too. And as most of our readers (and all our AJSavannahs families) know, I am VERY bonded to all our kittens. But Harvey is special, mainly because he thinks I'M so special. So thanks for humoring me as I go on-and-on about MY "new" baby. I sound like all our new families. Isn't it GREAT???

Peek a Boo! and Eat, Sleep, Poop???

Aaron and Olivia are becoming much more ambulatory, which means more difficult to get good photos. Aaron is still totally photogenic and plays to the camera. Olivia has been talking the last few days, very insistent for attention and very LOUD. She's going to take after her mother in that respect.






Both kittens have wonderfully contrasted LARGE spots. Showing off a bit, here.



Vesper, Jericho, Emmett and Murray are starting to venture a bit further from Ayo, but they wear out fast, as you can see. They're usually all piled together even though we keep their room at a sweltering 84 degrees... we know they're not cold, just social! I managed to move them apart for photos, Emmett loves to show off his white belly.





Posting new photos on our AJSavannahs kittens page next. Too many to choose from, will likely add more here later today.

Ayo is Restless Today, Gabatta Ready to Strangle Me!

Ayo has decided she wants to move kittens today. She waits til Jason is distracted, then grabs a boy, usually Emmett, and carries him over to the bottom shelf of the Mission-style end table. We keep her room at 82 degrees so the short journey -- til Jason puts him back in bed -- isn't too traumatic. Moving kittens is a very serval trait. Gabatta loves to move her babies and it's a multi-day battle before she decides she wants to be right where she started. Ayo usually makes the rounds for a day or two then settles in.

Jericho, far left, is very protective of his sister Vesper. At least that's what we project. He's really just too big to fit in comfortably and has paws flung everywhere. Murray is third from left and Emmett is staying well clear, hoping to avoid another road trip!



I woke Aaron and Olivia for their photo shoot, as you can tell by Olivia's nodding head. Gabatta was not happy with me for waking them, she was sitting on top of their Great Dane-size (no door) crate, looking over the edge. Very reminiscent of Snoopy's
Vulture-on-top-of-the-doghouse pose.

Aaron Loves the Camera

Olivia would rather sleep, at least for now. Aaron rolls onto his back, puts his little paws in the air and plays with my fingers. He is VERY photogenic. Most of our kittens squint or put ears down (of course these babies' ears aren't even UP yet), but most put their ears to the side when they see the camera. Not Aaron. He's a ham.



Only 12 days of age in these photos. More photos on our AJSavannahs Kittens page.

Gabatta and Ayo's F2B Kittens Have Arrived

We have kittens! Ayo finally decided to bless us after 73 days. She typically carries her kittens for 72 to 74 days and these babies are active! Emmett is almost walking, Jericho has no patience if he can't get the nipple he wants, Murray latches on and dangles if Ayo stands up, and Vesper, our only girl, manages to stay to the side, out of the fray.

Olivia and Aaron look absolutely HUGE even though they're only 12 days old.

Hope to catch up on the blog soon. Delivering Elwood to Texas and seeing Greta (Kai), delivering Ellie to Oregon, Ernie to Tennessee and spending time with Ken and Deborah (and Oliver, Sophia, Boomer, and Lucy!).

Many adventures made better in that I got to visit kittens' families, and our adult kittens, of course!