HE’S PRONE TO A BIT OF ‘SAVANNDALISM’!
SAMMI ClArk, 29, is a project manager at a bank and lives in Manchester with her husband, their nine-year-old daughter and son, seven. They have an F2 male Savannah named kovu. She says:
Where many women might blow a work bonus on clothes, heels or holidays, I put mine towards buying Kovu, who cost £4,000.
I’ve always had cats and when I stumbled across Savannahs a couple of years ago, I loved the fact they’re described as being more affectionate than cats, and more like dogs in temperament. They’ve been known to play fetch, and adore water.
When my husband saw the price tag, he said I’d have to wait till my 30th birthday to get one. But I gradually wore him down and we got Kovu last September from a breeder in Surrey when he was 12 weeks old.
I had seen him advertised online and fell in love with him.
he has a wonky tail as a result of his mum accidentally breaking it when she sat on him after he’d been born.
even at 12 weeks, he was almost the same size as our six-year-old moggie. he will be one this month, and already weighs 20 lb and is taller than the kitchen work-tops when he stands on his back legs.
Although he won’t grow too much more, he won’t be full size until he’s two.
he might be big but Kovu’s a softie and climbs into bed with my husband and me every morning for a snuggle.
Our children adore him and argue over who gets to sleep with him. he particularly loves sleeping on the end of my daughter’s bed.
his best friend is my grandma’s four-year-old chihuahua, Morph. They live next door, so he comes over to play with Kovu and they make a comical sight together.
Kovu also loves to play chasing games with my husband, and most days we take him for a walk on his leash, picking him up whenever we see a dog because he gets nervous.
We don’t give him free rein outdoors for fear of him being stolen or running off and getting lost, and despite their appearance, Savannahs can be very timid and easily frightened.
Our other two cats are very independent, whereas Kovu likes to be with us constantly. If Savannahs don’t get enough attention, they will become destructive in protest, something owners refer to as ‘Savanndalism’.
We first experienced it last October when we flew home from a holiday in Spain on halloween. After picking Kovu up from the cat hotel, we left him at home while we went trick-or-treating.
By the time we returned, he had unlatched the kitchen cupboard, taken all the eggs out and smashed them on the floor to show his displeasure that we had gone out.