AJSavannahs F2B Harvey

Visit our AJSavannahs website and Facebook pages for new photos of Harvey as well as Walter, Gertie and Marie. You can also follow AJSavannahs on Twitter.

AJSavannahs Kevin, Now Taz (Tazara) is HOME

Flew with Kevin, now Taz Thursday and delivered him to his new family. He got lots of attention going through security, had to carry him through in my arms while his Sherpa bag went through the scanner. He was a sweetheart, just sat in my arms and soaked up all the "Ooohs and Aaahs" over his beauty. Of all Kboo's kittens, he looks most like his mother. Which is why I named him Kevin, to duplicate the "Kuh" sound of Kboo.

He slept on both flights, under the seat ahead of me and wrapped snugly in one of my Pashminas to keep him warm. I admit to shaking his bag to wake him once, he was sleeping so soundly -- and the lady in the seat next to me was concerned that he was okay. He was, of course, all our AJSavannahs kittens have been fantastic travelers. Except for Cary who is the reason I travel with a back-up Sherpa bag in my carry-on.

Cary tried to chew his way out, but would quit when I would lean down and talk to him. Had a very sore back and neck, but Cary stayed in the bag, thank goodness! So now my entire carry-on is filled with back-up pet bag, kitten food, collapsible litter pan and kitty litter in case we get stranded. Security always does a hand-check because the litter shows up on the x-ray and they can't identify it.

For an adventure in traveling, and to learn more about our biggest F2, AJSavannahs Harvey, please visit our AJSavannahs kittens page, scroll down to see Harvey, then link through to his Las Vegas adventure. NOT something I want to repeat!

AJSavannahs JET Update from Teresa and Jimmy

Teresa gave permission for me to share this. We read it late Saturday night, laughed so hard it hurt. Then reread Sunday and Monday and just had to share. Jericho goes by JJ now, he's actually AJSavannahs Jericho from our F1 Ayo and F6 Wari. Ellie is an F3B Savannah from our F2B Komari and F6 Wari. Tater is a gorgeous domestic shorthair, rescued at just a few days of age, and a survivor against terrible odds. Except that he was fortunate enough to be found by Teresa and Jimmy.

JET Update from Teresa:

JJ has been changing lately. He actually sat in my lap on the couch last night and wanted lots of tummy rubs. He loves his chest and belly scratched and has started headbutting. He would always raise his head but now he is starting to smack you one. He is so sweet, gentle and softly spoken......THEN there is Ellie.

In your face, LOUD and opinionated. She has started trying to jump into my arms if I don't pick her up fast enough. That has made for some ugly flops on the floor as she is so uncoordinated. I was standing by the island doing a quick check of the newspaper and this cat head came flying up through it. Scared the heck out of me. Needless to say I didn't get her caught. Didn't thwart her further attempts.

Such a little trouble maker too. Devilish little girl and you can see the mean little thoughts swirling through her head. So easy to read. If I am on the couch reading with the book in my lap she just jumps on top of it or pushes it off. But I don't mind, she is the little lap cat I wanted. She rules the house and that is the way she likes it. Us girls have to stick together around here as we are outnumbered.

Also do they chew as much as dogs? JJ luckily only chews on his toy like the one you brought with him. BUT he has gone through 5 of them. Chewing the plastic into rings but not chewing the strings. He will chew for 10 to 15 minutes at a time. He still drags it to the food dish and chews, eats, chews etc. Has to have it to eat with or he almost won't eat. Had Jim pick up a bunch of them at Petco so he wouldn't run out.

I wish I had a video of JJ the other night. We were in bed and I was throwing his toy into the bathroom for him. He flew off the bed just as Tater was coming out from under the cat tree and JJ landed right on top of him. Scared them both and with some scared hissing from Tater, JJ went flying into the spa tub.

A minute later I saw, through the tears in my eyes from laughing, JJ's head slowly pop up over the edge then disappear, then slowly reappear and gone again but his little paws were always on the edge. When he thought the coast was clear he came out of there at mach V and about took me through the bedroom wall when he hit. He was running to mama fearing the worst from the old man. Tater tolerates most everything JJ does but he and Ellie are still on rocky terms most of the time.

They have been helping me a lot in the office.....I have finally had to rearrange everything so that there is enough room for me to work and JJ to lay on the desk. That requires a lot of space.
 

Saint Valentine's Day Massacre (of my foot!)

Bella getting ready to nibble Jason's ears a bit more. Kevin had just taken his glasses. Michael wants to nap, in Jason's lap, of course. He's very much a lap cat. Bella would be considered a shoulder cat, I suppose! That's her favorite perch, snuggled in against his neck.

But ALL of Kboo's kittens and Oscar had a blast today between trying to take the bandage off my toe, hit my bruised foot (torn ligaments again), steal my Moto Droid, play hockey with the camera, leap off my shoulder to the cedar chest, pierce my ears, help sweep, supervise changing litterboxes, block me from escaping. You get the idea! They were wound up and focused on the weakest in the herd and boy is that me. Just published 35 new photos on our AJSavannahs Facebook page.


We cut claws after these photos, foolish on our part, should have done it first, and I was trying to stand on one foot like a flamingo while holding a kitten for Jason to cut claws. It was funny, as always, to see them try and climb my jeans after having nails trimmed. Such sad confused looks when they don't have any traction to shimmy up. We're in the process of teaching them not to climb, but it's always harder when you have five siblings. Collective short attention span is hard to overcome!

They slept hard for about four hours this afternoon. Tried to sneak back up for more photos, but they can hear me coming up the stairs with my foot hurt. So I gave up and was grateful for these shots.

Have an 11-minute video that I need to process next. Will try and edit, but WHO do I cut out??? Will try and upload tonight on our AJSavannahs YouTube channel.

Kboo's Kittens, Just 20 Days of Age

AJSavannahs F2B Kevin, left and Eric, right.

Bella, Eric and Kevin, below.

Getting Ready to Update the Kittens Page

Took this Sunday evening about 5:15. Left to right: Berta, Kevin, Michael, Eric and Bella. And proud mama, of course.

Oscar is Our Gabatta Diva

Oscar is going to look like his (F1) Aunt Gabatta. Long, long, long legs, short tail, huge ears, fantastic personality. Just posted a new Oscar and Henry AJSavannahs YouTube video yesterday and Oscar is our acrobat AND a total sweetheart. He goes from 90 to nothing in about two seconds, recharges, then starts off again.

He's also very vocal and a bit of a diva-drama queen like our F1 Gabatta. But in a good way! Henry, now Henri, is going to Florida to live with Becky and Jerry who have our F2B kitten JoJo (formerly Vester). It's just impossible to separate them for photos or movies.

We often receive questions about whether our females or male kittens are more affectionate or bond better with other pets. We can't tell any difference, all our Savannahs are equally loving and everyone lives in multi-cat or multi-pet homes with no conflict, animosity or drama.

That stated... all our families have faithfully maintained our mandatory two-week quarantine and introduced their new family member slowly, and it's worked beautifully. If your current pets are not Tasmanian Devils who hate everyone, then you should not have any problems adding a Savannah to your home.

Hope to get new photos of Kboo's kittens up Sunday. Their eyes are open and they're starting to toddle around, big time, so the movies won't be so boring!

Oscar in October. Henry Happily Harangues

They are miniature adults, not kittens. Oscar is already running and leaping around his crate, pouncing on Henry or on imaginary playmates.



You'll see his pink lower lip in the photos. Jason watched him run full-blast into the side of the crate, shake his head, then take off again.



We've had several kittens who did the same thing, Dale and Ernie, both F3Bs with Ayo as their grandmother. So maybe it's an Ayo-thing.



Henry LOVES to talk, talk, talk... constantly. He always has something to say and we have to listen. If he could take his paws and turn my face to his, to make certain I'm listening, he would do it. He roams around, but is not nearly as Indiana Jones as his brother.



These two are so much more mature than JoJo and his brothers. They did not want to be weaned and Ayo kept them babies longer. Oscar and Henry are ready to conquer the world. Part of it is that they're not with Ayo 24/7 since she carries them around, then bathes them to distraction (Jason says destruction). We lock her out of their Great Dane crate -- but still in their room -- except when we're with them to supervise.



Poor Jason has been on a round-the-clock, two-hour feeding schedule for the last 23 days. Think they were five days old when we realized Ayo was over-cleaning them. I don't know how he does it. I couldn't handle the routine or laying on the floor.



He has them even more spoiled than usual. Not bad, just extremely people-oriented.

A few of our AJSavannahs families had asked for the webcam for streaming video; we took it in this morning and Ayo did not like having anything new near her kittens. We'll plan on setting up the webcam in two weeks when they're weaned.

F2B Kittens Oscar and Henry

Sorry about the watermark. If you got here from our Kittens page, then you already know that several of our photos have been stolen and are being used in a Portland, Oregon pets for sale ad. The scammer has Harvey as an F1 and at only 19 pounds. Almost 10 pounds off his true weight! Guess I should be glad they're not listing me for sale, too, since I'm in three of the four photos. So now you're all stuck with watermarks on photos as well as our AJSavannahs YouTube videos. I'll just need to remember to leave more border to not cover kittens when I add the logo.

F2B Kittens Sambu and Toki

Sambu (Terry) and Toki (Jimmy) are very happily settled into their new home with David in California. He's not set up on the AJSavannah Family Blog yet, so I just had to share these photos. Sambu is flying from his cat tree and landing on a very soft king-size bed about eight feet away.



Sambu and Toki are F2B kittens from our F1 Kboo and F6A Mbau. This is the same pairing that gave us my sweet Harvey. Their brother Howie is as beautiful, just that our other David, in Florida, (who also has our F2B Tessa from Kboo and Mbau) hasn't sent recent photos! (No pressure there...)



Age five months in these photos, Sambu already weighs 13 pounds, Toki a bit less. We wanted these boys to stay together and were very happy when David obliged. This is the delivery that stranded me in Charlotte, with Andrew coming to our rescu. Andrew has our F2B kittens Zeus from Gabatta, Fina from Kboo, and F3C Isis who is Ayo's granddaughter.



Toki , above, showing off his Happy Tail, below, his beautifully contrasted coat. Although smaller than his brother (who isn't???) Toki has always managed to more than hold his own in any altercation, real or imagined.



Sambu has Kboo's sweet face and I think he's almost as pretty as Harvey. We expect him to be about 90% of Harvey's size when full grown, based on his birth weight and weight at age five months. Toki will be a large Savannah, but always dwarfed by Sambu. Even though Toki has the much larger personality.



We're expecting F2B kittens from Gabatta and Mbau late October. And should know in about a week if Kboo is pregnant, also from Mbau. If yes, her babies would be due mid-November.

Harvey's Daily Hat Trick

Harvey is still stealing and dumping his huge ceramic water bowl at least four times a day. Jason made a copper band to hold it to the wall, similar to the clamps you use on a dryer vent. Harvey still manages to take the heavy crock out of the band and play hockey with it, dumping water everywhere. I think we're doing at least one additional load of laundry each day, just for the towels we use to clean up the water.

He's so big and clumsy, his coordination hasn't caught up to his size yet, that we can't let him dump water because his feet get wet. Then he slips when he tries to run or jump from the furniture to the floor. Dangerous for him. Nerve-wracking for me.

Next thing we're going to try is to invert a large plastic cooler and cut a hole in the bottom, the diameter of his ceramic water crock, just below the lip. We'll put a concrete block, maybe two in the bottom of the cooler and latch it, still upside down. Then we'll set his heavy ceramic crock into the hole we cut and resting on the lip. He shouldn't (ha!) be able to lift the crock out, or be able to push over the cooler since it will have concrete blocks in the bottom.

Shouldn't... but he's extremely intelligent and extremely large and does what he wants. He's still a kitten and plays like one. Just that his toys are larger than everyone else's.

We're surprised he hasn't taught the others to dump water. Everyone else puts toys in water, or stands with front feet in the dish and splashes water out. But no one dumps the water dish. And no one plays hockey with the heavy ceramic crocks. Just Harvey.

Jason just asked me to weigh a crock to give you an idea of Harvey's strength. Empty, the crock weighs 4 pounds 2 ounces. With water, 2/3 full, it weighs 6 pounds 12 ounces -- almost SEVEN pounds -- we should get him a bowling ball, but then he could do real damage. We've never caught him taking the crock out of the copper band, but we've sure cleaned up his spills!

The joys of living with an F2B Savannah... he's worth it, he's also rotten. And thank goodness he's better at creating mischief than he is at teaching our other Savannahs how to misbehave!!!

More Harvey, 10 Months of Age

He's a big baby... already 25+ pounds at 10 months of age and as loving as when he was tiny. I can barely hold him but he doesn't understand and still jumps into my arms or onto my shoulder. Except most of the time now, he goes right over because I can't stay upright. His newest game is to jump to the sofa table, then leap OVER my head and land about six feet beyond me. He's very proud of that achievement, but it doesn't have quite the same effect as when he did it the first time!

AJSavannahs F2B Harvey Helps with the Folding

Harvey is from our F1 Kboo and F6A Mbau. He's not even 10 months old and weighs over 24 pounds. Our F2B kittens tend to be huge, lots of photos on our AJSavannahs Testimonials pages, but Harvey is a Gigantor among giants!



Hard to remember he's just a kitten.



Harvey tried to help fold dishtowels this afternoon. The side table is 34 inches tall and his shoulders are at least five inches above it when he stands up on his hind feet.



We're hoping for F2B kittens in September, please review our Pre-Screening Questionnaire on our AJSavannahs Kittens page for an idea of our placement requirements. And don't miss our AJSavannahs YouTube channel for videos of our early generation Savannah cats and kittens.

Follow AJSavannahs on Twitter.

JoJo (Vester) is First Again!

It's appropriate that this newest post is about Vester (now JoJo). He went home this week and took over as if he'd been there forever. He was purring and stomp purring and taught himself to fetch while Jason was visiting with Becky and Jerry.



JoJo was always the first of Ayo's kittens to do anything: he was the first "over the wall" of their kitten bed; the first to purr (and the last to stop purring); the first to pounce on his mother; fly off the cedar chest; jump into my arms... he just leads the way into every adventure.

Received this email a few minutes ago. And once again, JoJo is the first of our kittens to fetch in this manner. He's very intelligent, and gorgeous (he's blossoming fast), and I'm prejudiced!!!

From Becky (fantastic photos are hers, too):

"Jerry and I were just playing fetch with JoJo. I was sitting on the floor in the bathroom, and Jerry was lying on the bed.

I threw the toy and JoJo jumped up on the bed and gave it to Jerry, Jerry threw it and he brought it to me, I threw it and he took it to Jerry, Jerry threw it and he brought it to me. This went on over and over again until he just plopped. He never got confused and returned it to one of us twice in a row, he always alternated.

A cat playing fetch is amazing enough, but how JoJo plays fetch is absolutely incredible."

We are SO happy Becky and Jerry fell in love with our Vester (previously Vesper, we THOUGHT we had a girl...), now their JoJo.

I think Becky needs her own blog!

Another Feather Frenzy Movie

New movie of our F1 Gabatta and her sister Ayo's F2B Savannah kittens on YouTube, watch it on the AJSavannahs Kittens page.

Aaron is a wild thing and has to be in the middle of everything. He wound up in Jason's arms so the other kittens could play.



Olivia is still recovering from her spay surgery, so she's not in the movie.



Emmett is like his Aunt Gabatta and would talk his prey to death, always announcing his approach.



Vester can almost fly, throwing himself around and changing direction in midair.



Jericho prefers to stay back and watch for his opportunity to dash in and make off with the feather toy. He is very, very fast, using his paws like a prizefighter landing a series of punches on an unsuspecting opponent.



And Murray... who LOVES to run up, tap me on the leg, then take off full-blast before I can grab him... Murray was surprisingly low-key with the feather toy. He leapt like Vester, punched like Jericho, twisted like Aaron, and was very thoughtful in his play. Murray usually runs in with total abandon, then zooms around the room til someone, anyone, decides to chase him.

Murray is available and we expect him to look very much like his mother when he's mature. He certainly plays like her, with wild abandon. And he has her huge, gorgeous upright ears, sweet face, very long legs and short thick tail that's in a perpetual state of Happy Tail (fulled out like a bottle brush). Given the size of his feet, along with our history of very large F2B male kittens, we also expect Murray to be a large cat when fully grown at three years of age.



They were worn out after playing so hard, I don't think anyone moved til morning.

I still have another 10 minutes of video that I need to convert. Everyone but the kittens' new families will be totally bored. But if you're waiting for your baby to come home, then every second is absolutely riveting!

Vester Vies for Visibility

Vester is an absolute sweetheart, outgoing, light-hearted, totally oblivious to the Blazing Saddles final scenes chaos churning around him with the other kittens. He does a Snoopy Dance trying to grab the antique brass keyhole on the low cedar chest. Doesn't give up even when he can't "catch" it.

He never meets a stranger and it's as if he knows he's a duckling now (but he'll be a swan in about a year), but that he knows he has to make up for his transformational stage with his personality.

If you've seen photos of Aja (we called her Audrey) on the Testimonials pages and on the Aja and Shombay Blog... Audrey had the same huge ears, thin coat, not high contrast when young, delicate face as Vester.

We knew Audrey was going to be spectacular when mature because we'd had one other kitten with the same attributes and he grew into a gorgeous Savannah. And both are the most affectionate, bonded, sweet creatures you can imagine. Very typey at maturity although not when younger. But you can't anticipate their beauty unless you've watched someone with similar attributes blossom.



Vester is endearing. Outgoing, engaging, interactive, never intimidated, always happy, carefree, oblivious, he shares well, plays well with everyone, including us. He's very mature, physically and emotionally, and he purrs if you talk to him from across the room.

When he winds down, Vester drops in place, curls up like a lamb, puts his head on his front paws and is out hard til he recharges. You have no choice but to fall in love with him.

We're in the process of making our final choices for our kittens and it appears that Murray may be available, too.

Murray is in the back, playing with Emmett's tail. Murray runs non-stop, tail totally fluffed out, fur fluffed, full-speed, and dances sideways, up on his toes, at the other kittens inviting them to chase him. He also drops in his tracks, but it just takes longer for Murray to wind down than it does for Vester. Murray has striking gray eyes and will look very much like his mother Komari when mature, but has Cary's long, long legs. You can see his happy fluffy tail in the bottom photo.

Fox NFL Sunday... and Kboo's Kittens???

For the new kittens... all three are boys and I've named them Terry, Howie, and Jimmy, for the Fox NFL Sunday crew, needed a few more to round it out, but Kboo wouldn't cooperate.

Our AJSavannahs families know I'm a huge football fan, Packers of course. My sister and I went to the San Diego game at Lambeau Field (WOW, everything I'd dreamed and more), we went September 23, 2007, the Sunday between Brett's big record-breaking weekends. We had seats on the 50 yard line, Packers side, just a few rows up. It was almost heaven. Better than I'd dreamed all these years. My sister thought I was nuts, she's a Broncos fan. Poor thing.



And when I delivered Audrey and Jack to their family, Rita and John were so generous and delivered ME to the Pro Football Hall of Fame where I spent a fantastic afternoon.



Back to the new guys. Jimmy is the smallest and his coloring is like Tessa's only a bit richer auburn. Jimmy was walking within a few hours of birth and talks pretty much all the time. Even worse when he wants to eat or when Kboo is beyond his touch. With those attributes, he had to be named for coach Jimmy Johnson, of course.

Howie is the middle kitten. He's huge with a thick body and has gorgeous contrast. He had to be Howie because I love Howie's personality... and physique (duh!). I've heard from reliable sources that the real Howie is a true gentleman, generous of spirit, and every bit as kind and engaging as his on-air persona. Hope Howie the Savannah takes after his namesake.

Terry is our narcoleptic kitten (not really, he just likes to eat and sleep and doesn't fuss like Jimmy) but if you've ever read about Terry Bradshaw's concussions (they brought him back strapped to a door, laid on top of the airline seats after one game, and didn't do any tests til the next day), but after all those concussions, it's no wonder Howie and Jimmy carry on about Terry being a bit slow. Our Terry isn't slow, but he does love to sleep. He's also huge and his contrast is beautiful. Terry's coloring is not as warm as Howie's.

Hope to have new kitten photos soon -- for those who couldn't care less about football. Sorry. But I have my Brett Favre autographed SI magazine in my office (thank you! GK's family!!!), a Brett Favre Steakhouse menu that my sister had framed for my birthday, and my (framed) G Force Proud 2B Loud towel from the game. Yes, I have ALWAYS had it bad. (You can rename the kittens...)

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.

Stranded in Las Vegas with Harvey

Have been trying to catch up for two months.

Harvey and I left for San Jose Wednesday, December 17th, at 11 a.m., held for 30 minutes for bad weather and got in late to Charlotte. Ran for the gate. Huge headwind and the five hour flight to Vegas took six. We were one of the last flights to land.

Headed for our next gate only to find that all flights were cancelled. Immediately got on the cellphone to USAirways and couldn't get rebooked out of Vegas to San Jose til Thursday at 4 p.m., an entire day, then not out of San Jose to come home til Friday at 6 p.m.

Stood in line for two hours in Vegas, outside in the snow waiting for a taxi. Line wound back and forth like Disney World and the hotel shuttles took as long. Even renting a limo was out of the question, everyone had the same idea.

I had two shawls wrapped around Harvey's bag to keep him warm, which left me nothing. There were a lot of people in the same mess, we expected to change planes and never leave the airport. Only to find ourselves trapped in Vegas' first major snowfall in thirty years.

I manaaged to book a room at Microtel, discounted courtesy of USAirways for being stranded. The roads were HORRIBLE, there was no restaurant at the hotel, and I had the taxi go through McD's and picked up three broiled chicken sandwiches. Had two cans of cat food and litter for Harvey but needed dinner and lunch and something extra since Harvey is a very big boy.

Got to the hotel at midnight Eastern and stood in line an hour to check in. Left one shawl in the taxi, it belonged to Mom, must have gotten snagged as I slid out. Left two messages with the taxi service lost and found, but they never called back.

USAirways sent an email confirmation for my rescheduled flights, but I called Thursday morning to reconfirm, just in case.

And... they had it all wrong. Had me leaving San Jose when I was still in Vegas, then leaving Denver the next day when I wasn't even going to/through Denver! and ending my trip in Charlotte.

So I was on the phone another two hours getting my flights locked in. Finally got to San Jose a full day late, Harvey oblivious to everthing as he was in his travel bag, wrapped snuggly in two shawls and tucked up against my body for the entire trip. He was an exceptionally good traveler and he had an absolute blast in the hotel room, jumping fron bed-to-bed, then to the window seat, then tearing into the bathroom, sliding on tile into the side of the bathtub, then repeat. Kept me entertained on the long holds with USAirways.

Finally got to San Jose, met Mike and he was thrilled with Harvey, his Humungous F2B male. Harvey curled up on Mike's lap, then went back into his bag for the final two hours' of travel. Our 13 hour trip turned into a 38 hour odyssey.

Thank God San Jose has a USO since I had seven hours from checkout til my flight left for home. I had five Christmas movies on my Ipaq and watched every one.

Had a three-hour layover in both Phoenix AND Charlotte, those were the only flights available after all the cancellations -- and it was less than a week before Christmas.

When I got to Phoenix, the airline was begging people to voluntarily bump. Offering free tickets, hotel, a wonderful TWO-DAY layover in sunny Phoenix. I wasn't even tempted, and that was a good decision, as bad weather moved in and I would have been stranded again. I don't mind unless I'm traveling with a kitten. Then it's always an adventure.

I did buy another neck pillow before I boarded in Phoenix. That made four neck pillows -- one for every time I've been stranded. It didn't matter, as I wound up in the emergency exit seats that don't recline and tried to sleep sitting up for the five-hour flight from Phoenix to Charlotte. No such luck.

Had another three-hour layover in Charlotte, again, thank God for the USO. Of course that only works on the way home, when I'm by myself.

Finally arrived 38 hours after I left. And I've been behind ever since, as you can tell from this "Daily" blog that hasn't been updated for two months!

But... I did update the AJSavannahs website today, both Kittens and Testimonials pages, and posted a new poll. Please visit and vote and browse all our new photos for Wilbur, Moja, Ellie, Calla, Jack and Audrey.

Are Dale and Ellie Loving?

We get asked this question all the time. Is (fill in the blank) loving? Our kittens are extremely affectionate and bonded to us, and they bond immediately to their new families. Dale is still with us because he's a Door Dasher, although he's getting much better.

Our precious Ellie... we're not sure why Ellie hasn't found her perfect home yet. She is such a loving baby. Sweet-natured, gentle, beautiful spots and big ears and long legs. She's precious. We think it's because Dale dwarfs her. Ellie is not small, Dale is just huge. And everyone wants a big cat and totally misses Ellie's huge capacity for love--

But rather than keep repeating, Loving. Loving. Loving. When asked about our babies' temperament, we thought we'd show you! We broke each segment up with photos because five minutes of Dale or Ellie loving Jason gets pretty boring. Two movies below, taken between September 15th and 19th.

Dale's movie revised, no duplicate video clips...

Featuring Ellie



Featuring Dale (Revised 11 p.m. Eastern, Saturday)

The Angels Take a Road Trip

Our three AJS' Angels are worn out tonight. They took a road trip today to meet a new family who might want to add one, or two of them, to their home.

Lucy was the center of attention this time -- and the reason for the road trip -- due to her extremely loving nature. While all our kittens are affectionate, Lucy is possibly THE most cuddly Savannah we've had. Brie and Tessa went along for moral support and we were happy to hear what we've known all along... that others also think Brie is much more beautiful in person than in photos. She's a beauty.

Brie left, Lucy right in photo below.



Lucy was her usual unflappable, regal, elegant self, meeting and greeting, then exploring her new domain with alacrity. Brie sprawled on her side and waited for someone, anyone, to come to her, then reached out a paw toward her wiffle ball, and practically demanded we roll it to her. She could not be bothered to actually get up and grab it herself. She's BRIE...

And Tessa, our poor outnumbered F2B Savannah kitten shown below, Tessa played fetch and jumped and rolled and did everything she could to make it all about her. But to no avail. The F3C Savannahs stole the spotlight.



They were wonderful travelers today. Our kittens start taking short road trips when they're about eight weeks old. Just to the corner to start with, then to Dairy Queen, and always secure in a pet carrier and strapped into a seatbelt. So the slightly longer road trip today was not a big deal. Although they did sleep soundly on the way home!

Just checked on them and all three Angels are asleep on our king-size bed. Brie is curled between the pillows, Lucy reclining with her shoulders and head against my pillow, and Tessa has burrowed under the covers.

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.