SAVANNAHGANS® Interview with Paul Casaudoumecq of Savannarana About Breeding, Ownership Tips, and the Future of Savannahs

June 15, 2020 Debra Roberts

How'd you get started with Savannahs?

I came across a picture of a Safari Cat on Select Exotic's website. It was a fantastic picture, so I did some research and quickly realized new Safari kittens didn't exist for the most part. Later, I went back to Select Exotic's to look at their Savannah Kittens and purchased an F3. They advertised the kitten as having a "crazy play drive," She lives up to the billing. She's all energy, all the time—a perfect pet.

I've visited your cattery, and you have more than one Savannah! How did you go from one to a cattery of Savannahs?

My first Savannah was so energetic that I had to get her a 2nd Savannah to keep her company. My 2nd Savannah thought my 1st Savannah was a jerk and buddied up with my 18-year-old domestic cat. So, I got a 3rd Savannah to play with my 1st Savannah. A few months later, I got a 4th Savannah for my 2nd Savannah, but my 4th Savannah teamed up with my 3rd Savannah, leaving my 1st Savannah mostly alone; we were back to square one. By the time we sorted that out, they'd reached breeding age.

Do you have a favorite exotic cat website?

Ironically, I probably see Silver Storm Bengal's website more than any other. They have a lot of "Wow" cats!

A "Wow" cat? What's that?

A cat you look at and say, "WOW." A cat that grabs your eye instantly.

If you put two "Wow" cats together, will they make an off-the-charts "Super Wow" cat?

Not necessarily, at least not that I've seen. You try to visualize what a litter will look like, but you never know until you try. If a litter appears ordinary, you stop there. If a litter is spectacular, you repeat—simple stuff. I once put two "Wow" cats together, and their offspring were pretty ordinary.

What about Savannah Cat websites? Do you have a favorite?

Not really. I see all the Savannahs I'll ever need to see in the various Savannah Facebook groups.

Where would one go to see a "Wow" cat within the Savannah Community?

Every cattery that's been around three-plus years almost certainly has produced a "Wow" cat or two. Laura Lawson's "Holli Jo," Peri Hughes's "Fubuki," Keri Libbe's "Echo," Spotitude's "Dreamkeeper"…there are many more. I've always liked Snow Canyon's "Cassie," which was a "Wow" cat off the top of my head.

What's the difference between a "Wow" cat and a "Grand Champion"?

In theory, all Championship cats should have very similar attributes. Whereas a "Wow" cat would be unique.

What's the best tip you ever heard from another breeder?

Wean your kittens at eight weeks to make them more social.

What's the biggest weakness of the Savannah breed?

In my opinion, it's the production of too many Savannah cats with weak spots. Nothing says, "I'm not an exotic cat," like faded spots. That's my pet peeve. Ask this same question to 100 breeders, get 100 different answers.

What's the biggest strength of the Savannah breed?

Their "personalities" are their strength, for lack of a better word.

Do you recommend people try breeding Savannahs?

I don't recommend, nor do I discourage. It's a free country. Whatever you do, do it well.

What's the best part about breeding?

Meeting and interacting with people across the country and watching their Savannahs grow up to be important and valued family members.

What's the most crucial thing a breeder does?

Breeders should raise healthy cats that live long lives and find appropriate homes for those healthy cats. Both are equally important.

What should new breeders know about breeding they probably haven't considered?

I think people underestimate the complexity of owning a stud. They can be very noisy. As in, your neighbors will call the police on you; that level of noise. Also, they mark territory by whizzing on everything. So, you have to put a lot of thought into how you'll deal with these issues and give your stud the quality of life he deserves.

Is marking territory a phenomenon that's limited to stud cats?

No, not at all. Some intact Queens can be just as bad, if not worse--sort of a "Bell Cow" syndrome.

What's Bell Cow Syndrome?

In a herd of cows with no bulls, they sometimes put a Bell on the alpha female's neck. 'The Bell Cow.' Where she goes, the herd goes, so they can always locate the herd by the bell sound. The Bell Cow tends to adopt traits of a bull such as protection, marking territory, and so on. I've seen this same phenomenon in Savannah cats when there's no stud cat around. The intact alpha female can mark many territories, not always by any means, but possible.

You're able to call your cats from a distance, and they come! How do you do that?

Training!

What's the training process?

Like dogs, domestic cats take visual cues from their humans, so you want to make eye contact when you work with a cat or dog. Call your cat by name and if your cat makes eye contact, immediately reward them.

What sort of rewards do you use?

I'm just kidding. With dogs, it's food, affection, or playtime that motivates them. With Savannahs, I've found chicken inspires them! So, start with that. If your Savannah isn't motivated by chicken, see a vet. If they are uninterested in chicken, try some other food, or try playtime, affection, or a combination.

So that's all there is to it?

No, that's just how you get them to stop thinking about whatever they're thinking about and lock their eyes on you. It is a simple process; as simple as 1, 2, 3: Say their name, wait for eye contact, and give a reward.

Next, you start giving the reward only when your Savannah locks eyes and moves towards you. The movement towards you merits a reward.

Distance becomes the goal once you've mastered eye contact and movement towards you. So you start by calling their name from 4 feet away. Eye lock plus movement towards you equals reward. Then try 8 feet, then 16 feet, and so on.

Is there any other critical information we should know? It sounds too easy!

It's easier than it seems, but two things need to happen for this to work. First, NEVER use your cat's name when you're upset with them. Just use the word "No" or something similar when you disapprove of their behavior. Your cat's name should be only be associated with positive events.

Second, the whole family has to buy in. Everyone has to use the exact words and the same techniques.

You take pictures with your Savannahs outdoors. Everyone must ask how you do it?

Yes, they do.

What camera gear do you use?

Canon EOS 70D.

Is it necessary to have a professional camera to take good pictures?

Nope, if you want good pictures, get the best starter camera/lens combination you can afford from Canon or Nikon. There's a massive difference in results. Relying on your iPhone won't work.

Do you use your iPhone for pictures?

I've only forgotten once in five years when I drove my F3 Trigger to Table Mountain on a long curvy mountain road. He had motion sickness for the last 20 miles. When we arrived, I realized I'd forgotten the camera. There was no way we'd drive two hours back to get it, so I busted out the iPhone. It was a blazingly sunny day, and the glare made it so I couldn't see what I was snapping. We got lucky, and they turned out great.

What do you do to get the vivid backgrounds?

Many of those pictures are in spring, and the super vivid ones are almost certainly on a cloudy or partly cloudy day. Colors tend to 'pop' with a cloud screen above you.

Could the average Savannah owner take nice outdoor shots?

Sure. Get a harness and a leash and someone to walk your cat while you take pictures. Get out there early in the day or late. Mid-day is no good. Have the sun behind you as a general rule. See what happens. Remember, your camera doesn't see color and shadows the way your eye does. Your natural vision is far more nuanced than current CCD sensors can replicate. So, you have to experiment a bit.

What about indoor shots?

Grab your camera, turn on the lights, and your flash. More light is better. Remember, your Savannah is probably earth-toned, so having an earth-toned background makes for a muddy shot. Liven it up with some high contrast background.

How do you get your cats to come with you when you shoot outdoors?

I've trained my cats for the outdoors. We've no cars, no people, no traffic, no neighbors, no swamps, no rivers. There's nowhere to go and nothing to spook them. So they follow me. We take pictures, then go back to the house or catios.

So, what do you think about outdoor cats?

In 95% of the USA, there are two kinds of outdoor cats: Ones eaten by coyotes and ones about to be eaten by coyotes.

That raises an interesting question. What happens when a cat slips out the door?

As you know, our first rule here is we don't chat in the doorway--get in or get out--but no chatting at the entrance. That way, nothing gets out. But occasionally, they do, so my advice to folks whose Savannah slips out the door is to cancel dinner, cancel whatever plans you had, drop everything, and find your Savannah. Time is not your friend.

Have you taken up raw feeding?

Yes and No. I bought a specific meat grinder for the job. I've probably made 100+ lbs. of raw food over several weeks. But to be honest, my cats didn't like it. So now my meat grinder is acting as a paperweight in the kitchen.

What do you make of Cat Shows and Competitions for Savannahs?

I think if you're an Owner or a Breeder, and that appeals to you, definitely go for it and give it your all. TICA wants the breed to be more active at shows.

What's this rumor I'm hearing about discontinuing F1 Savannahs?

TICA has created a rule to phase out the registration of new F1's in September 2020 and, by extension later, F2s and F3s. The Savannah Breed Committee has been working on a solution, so we'll see what happens.

What do you think about these phase-outs?

I'm not a fan. Look around. Do you see any F2 - F6 Savannahs that look anything like a Serval? Where are the F3, F4, F5s with Serval coloring? Please tell me where I can buy an F2 with a butterscotch Servally basecoat coloring--not taupe, not crème, not sandy brown, not eggshell white, not earth-toned. Where are the dark inky spots and butterscotch coloring of a Serval? Until I see 50 - 100 F2's that look like that, we shouldn't discontinue using F1's in breeding programs.

So if there were 100 F2s with the butterscotch coloring and high contrast spots, you'd be OK with phasing out F1s?

I think the case to phase out F1s might be stronger if that were true, but I would still vote "no." I have no issue with F1s. F1s aren't for me, but they're a critical resource for the breed and should never be phased out by TICA, in my opinion. People will breed them anyway, so phasing them out encourages Savannahs' production's lawless ethos. The bad policy will yield bad results.

It would be one thing if this movement for change were coming from inside the Savannah community. It's not. The action is coming from folks at TICA with an animus against the breed. That's a huge problem.

Paul getting a head butt from F4 "Bond"

What about phasing out F2s and F3s?

Of course, I'm Highly Opposed to this at any time in the future. To me, F2s and F3s are stand-alone animals. They possess traits, looks, personalities, and quirks you can't replicate at the F4, F5, F6 level, and so on.

No matter what we do as a breed, no F4 is ever going to equate to an F2 or an F3. You might be able to replicate one or two aspects of an F2, at say, the F4 level…but not the "whole package." If someone says, "I have an F4 extremely close or superior to an F2 in looks and behaviors,"--they don't know what they're talking about.

Ultimately in my view, people should always have the option to buy F2s and F3s sanctioned by TICA. If not, I suppose some entity will begin to sanction F1, F2, F3, F4A – F4C, F5A – F5C Savannahs.

I've heard the Savannah community uses the wrong terms for F1, F2, F3 and it should be G1, G2, G3, etc.?

Maybe so, but getting several hundred breeder websites and 25,000 Savannah owners to change their lingo is a waste of everyone's time and would sow mass confusion into the Savannah marketplace. The intent of language is to convey specific concepts--so you know exactly what I mean when I say particular terms. In this case, when I say "F2," 99% of Savannah breeders and owners know precisely what I mean. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

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