MY HORRORS GO ON THE RAMPAGE AT NIGHT
TANIA MOULDEN, 48, owns a fish and chip shop and lives in Chorley, lancashire, with her partner. They have three cats, including two F2 Savannahs, Archie and Oscar. She says:
WHEN people come to the house for the first time and see Archie, a typical reaction is, ‘Oh my God, what’s that?’ They always want to take photos, convinced he resembles a baby cheetah.
Until three years ago, I had always had Bengal cats but, when two of them died, I wanted something different and came across Savannahs.
I got Archie ( when he was 17 weeks old. He’d originally been bought by another lady who’d returned him to the breeder because he didn’t get on with her other cats.
He didn’t have the same problem with my old Bengal — quite the opposite. As I watched Archie hugging the life out of him, I decided I had better get another Savannah as a playmate.
Archie’s now three, weighs 18 lb and is 16 in tall, while Oscar ( is two and tiny for an F2 male at just 13 in. His growth was stunted because he was unwell when he was first born.
They come to life at night, which is why they are not allowed to sleep in our bedroom and are relegated to the sofa instead. When I’m lying in bed, I can hear them clattering around downstairs, opening cupboards and emptying the contents on to the kitchen floor. Many a morning I’m greeted with a chaotic mess of porridge oats, bagels and shredded toilet roll strewn across the tiles. Oscar also likes to grab the washing-up sponge, dunk it in his water bowl, then throw it on the floor so that he can skid all over the place. We’ve got 14 acres of land and I take Archie out on his retractable lead for daily walks and jogs. I don’t let my cats roam free for their own safety and my peace of mind — plus they would naturally explore further from home than normal cats, and I wouldn’t want anyone to pinch them. If I throw a ball, he will fetch it like a dog. We also have a large outdoor pen where he and Oscar play in luxury if I have to leave the house. It’s got AstroTurf on the floor, a heated bed, swings, a wheel and paddling pool. They eat a raw-food diet, and Archie will do anything for steak and prawns. Both cats are very affectionate and have never bitten or scratched — but they’re boisterous and play like mad.