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Tano ~ F2 Savannah
Tano at 9 weeks
Tano's first day home was exciting and nerve racking at the same time. "What are we getting ourselves into?" "Are we ready for a WILD child?"
"Will he like us?" And then, I saw him.....sitting in Dale's lap and
I thought, "This is what I paid $3000.00 for?" I actually remember
saying that to myself, "It's just a kitten." Let me tell you,
Tano is no ordinary kitten! I can honestly say, that I have never
once, since that time, questioned the cost of this gorgeous creature
or even dared to think that he is simply some "ordinary kitten."
At nine weeks old Tano weighed 2.3 lbs., he was full of energy and was busy trying to convince our other cats, who weigh more than 11 pounds each, that he would not hurt them if they would just "please?" play with him. He fell instantly in love with the Dog and within his first week, tried his hand at "Bronco Busting," although he would not perfect this skill until weeks later. Within the first week he also had each and every one of his humans completely wrapped around his paws.
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Tano at 3 months
Tano is 3 months old in these pictures and he weighs in at a whopping 5 pounds! He doubled his weight in 3 weeks. He is growing like a weed, looking more and more like a teenage boy...long and lanky....and
feeling more at home. He has made a best friend in our 1 1/2 year old
Maine Coon (Rocky) and even has the 8 year old domestic warming
up to him (something Rocky could never accomplish). Tano is into
everything, including our bath tub...while we are in it!
He is convinced that something awesome lies at the bottom of every
garbage can and believes that when we sweep the floor it means play
time for him.
He spends most of his awake time running about the house, going one-hundred miles an hour. He loves playing with the dog, well, he loves playing "fetch" the dog! He has learned to "sit" on command (it's amazing what a wee piece of steak will do for these guys) and spends just as much energy loving as he does playing. When it's time for love, look out! Kisses, head-butts, kisses, more head-butts, more kisses....sometimes I swear he is trying to push his way into our bodies. He has for sure pushed his way into our hearts.
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Tano at 4 months
Tano is now 4 months old and what a BIG boy he is! He weighed in at 8 pounds, but you would never guess it. He is still long and lanky but when you pick him up, you better have his front half and his back half. If you try to grab him behind his front arms, his butt just swings low and you realize where all those 8 pounds are! He is solid as a rock! He is jumping now more than ever, jumping onto the back of the couch from the floor, onto the kitchen table, and will jump almost 4 feet straight into the air when chasing a mouse on a string. His new favorite toy is the dog. He can be found enjoying a simple game of
"Bronco Busting," the rules of this game are as follows: (1) Lie in wait for the unsuspecting dog to pass by and (2) Leap from the couch or end table straight into the air and come down, all fours spread eagle, onto the dogs back (3) HOLD ON!!! It is quite the site, very funny, not to mention the times he winds up being thrown into doors, furniture, or people. He just shakes it off and gets into position for another round.
He is an absolute joy to have around, he is learning not to nibble on our chins or noses when giving us kisses and finally learning that "NO" means "NO." These Savannahs are frighteningly smart....We are beginning to suspect him of scavanging through our bathroom cabinets, but can't prove it yet! He is a rascal! He can be a handful at times, whether it's his run in with the paper shredder and the thousands of paper strips in our basement or his delight in waging war with the broom bristles (not caring that in the mean time the handle is taking out everything in it's path!), he is constantly entertaining us. Luckily, he throws
the afterburners into neutral once in awhile and comes to us for love....he can't get enough of us at these times.....and he's lucky! He's lucky that one minute of that rumbling purr box kissing us all over and rubbing against us with such fierce abandon makes us melt.....One minute it's, "Oh...Tano.....you little homewrecker!".....and the next it's, "Awwwe, he's so cute....he loves us so much." I know, I know.....you may be wondering who owns who by now.....Savannah's own their humans.....and we should feel privileged that they choose us to love........at least that's what Tano will have us think...lol
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Tano at 5 months
Tano is 5 months old now and weighs 10 pounds! We are feeding him
small neighborhood children that have wandered away from home.
Just kidding of course! He is growing like mad though and two days
following his fifth month Birthday he was neutered and declawed.
What a trooper he was! He came home the next day full of kisses and
head butts for us. Within two days of the procedure he was back to
normal. We are noticing some changes in his personality,
he is learning his way around the other animals, learning to respect
their space and backing off when they are not in the mood to play
(although he usually convinces them that they ARE in the mood with a
few flying lunges) and becoming much more affectionate with us.
He has always been loving, but I would say his need for "play" and
his need for "love" are becoming equal.
Now that his claws are out he has free roam of the house and is entrusted to roam all night without supervision. ARE WE NUTS??? LOL!!! We did have a flower arrangement on top of an antique Buffet, but Tano the Tornado hit last night and now we have a vase with green stems! Oh, and a floor covered in petals. He did not, surprisingly, eat the flowers. He merely plucked each and every one from it's stem! LOL! What a hoot! I also took him to PetCo for the first time. He was a perfect gentleman. He sat in the child part of the cart the entire time (well, for the most part) and was THE center of attention. One time when we were in the cat toy aisle and my back was turned talking to a lady about where I got this "gorgeous creature," he reached out with his long arm and grabbed the end of a long cloth toy on a wand. By the time I turned around, I knew seven bucks were down the drain. He had chewed and chewed and chewed on the thing till it was slobbery, soaking, nasty, you name it. I bought it! Then, I was attacked again by two other customers dying to know where I got my "baby cheetah" and Tano very quietly crept out of the cart onto some hamster cages, darted across the Exerciser Wheels, through the Bird seed and I caught him out of the corner of my eye........Stalking the Cockatiels! We made it home safely and I didn't even have to buy a bird! LOL.....He is getting to be so much fun!!!
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Tano at 6 months
Tano is 6 months old now. He weighs in at 11.5 pounds. He is 16"
long from his shoulders to the base of his tale. He is 14" tall
from the floor to the top of his shoulders and his front leg is 9"
long from the toes to the elbow. He changes so much in looks and in
attitude that I literally drive home everyday thinking about what
sort of cat I will encounter when I open the door.
His personality continues to amaze us. A neighbor came into the
house the other day. This man stands 6'3" tall and has never been in
our home before. Tano walked right up to him and started weaving
in and out of his legs, head butting him, and finally flopped down
right in front of him as if to say, "Okay. While you're here,
you might as well pet me." "Are you sure that isn't a weird looking
Dog?" our neighbor asked. Well?
Tano is teething now and loves the Peanut Butter Basted Rawhide Straws,
so maybe?
He really does have an awesome personality. No fear, no hesitation, inquisitiveness, intelligence, a fierce and intense ability to bond with humans and other animals, and an unfaultering self-confidence are just a few of the traits that make this cat
THE most awesome creature I have ever known.
"No, Dale! You can not have him back."
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Tano at 7 months
Tano celebrated his 7 month Birthday with a trip to the Vet.
He weighed in at a whopping 12 pounds and gave the Vet loads of
kisses on the nose as he leaned down to listen to his heart.
The Vet was simply amazed at his growth rate and was shocked to
see how tall Tano had gotten. Tano can now easily rest his
head on the dining table while standing on the floor.
We don't quite know if this is a good thing or not, it used to
be he needed a chair to get his head at table level, now all he
has to do is stand up. YIKES! Earlier tonight at dinner, we narrowly
rescued a chicken breast from Tano's grasp...He is becoming quite a
character. Well, a little THIEF actually! One night I was sitting
on the couch, watching a ball game, with an open box of breadsticks
on my lap. I sense movement out of the corner of my eye and turn to
see Tano in "stealth" mode as he is slinking away from the couch with
an entire breadstick! Oh, the spoils of the hunt! You should
have seen him gnawing on that breadstick, a very proud moment for
our little hunter!
It seems that he is going through some pretty intense growth spurts right now and it is not uncommon for him to spend two or three days doing nothing but eating and sleeping. Then one day he is back to his "hyper" self, playing with the dog and chasing through the house with Rocky (Maine Coon). When we sense him going into one of these "growing" phases we always wonder how much bigger he is going to be when he comes out of it in a few days. It seems silly, but he is literally growing right in front of our eyes! Family members or friends who have not seen him in a week or so, go absolutely nuts when they do see him. "I can't believe it!" "Look how big he is!" "What are you feeding him?" The easier question to answer would probably be, "What are you not feeding him?"
This cat will eat anything, and I mean anything! In all ways, personality, behavior, appetite, and disposition this cat is more like a dog than any cat I have ever seen.
- He will come when he is called.
- He will give kisses on command.
- He will do almost anything for a treat.
- He runs to the door when the bell rings.
- He is right there checking out whoever enters our home.
Here is the best part.....he looks like cat, is easy to take care of like a cat.....but that's where it stops.....We like to think of him as our DOG without the BARK!
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Tano at 9 months
Well, Tano is still a dog trapped in a kitten's body. He is growing like mad, but still appears to simply be getting longer and taller without really adding weight at this point. He has gained a full two inches in height and length in two months time. He is still eating us out of house and home and keeps us on our toes at all times. He is so awesome to look at, you think, "Wow, he looks so Graceful." NOT!!! He is the biggest KLUTZ! I have ever seen. He can NOT enter or leave a room without banging his noggin on something on the way out or in. It is amazing that he is not unconscious half the time.
We are having quite a battle with the little man right now. He has gotten used to being fed breakfast at 4:30 a.m., but our work schedule changed and now he is getting fed at 5:30 a.m. Well, we think he is getting fed at 5:30. He, on the other hand, is up at the CRACK a dawn licking feet, faces, kneading, pouncing, purring, meowwwwing, crying, whining, and all out pestering us until we CAVE to his every desire and FEED HIM. Just to get him off our backs.
He remains the MOST AWESOME little TANO MAN ever!
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Tano at 1 Year
We think we have solved the early morning feeding frenzy problems. Tano still pesters sometimes, but for the most part, accepts the fact that he must wait an hour for his meal. We are happy about this because we were beginning to think we had a ROOSTER trapped in a Kitten's body instead of a Dog.
Things around here are very hectic right now. We have decided to put our Christmas Tree up this
year, COME WHAT MAY???!!!....It is a constant thrill to walk through the door each night to
discover what is left of our festive decorations. The electronic Santa Claus singing "'Twas
the Night Before Christmas" with live action reigns and two beautiful, life-like Reindeer were
probably not the wisest purchase I ever made. We had a Bookie taking bets for us daily on what
part of the Reindeer would end up missing and the TREE! OMG!! THE TREE!!!..........The top 1/3
portion was beautiful, gorgeous, nicely decorated, festive, lighted, and well, pretty much out
of Tano's reach. The lower 2/3, on the other hand, was decimated, you think Charlie Brown had
a sad little Christmas Tree? You should have seen ours after Tano the Tank spent eight
uninterrupted hours a day playing like the RED BARON and dive-bombing the poor thing.
I will have to admit though....that I did have to pull all three cats out of it at least once,
so Tano wasn't the only cause of the disaster. He was just the most destructive.
In his defense, I will say, that he did nothing different from the other domestic kitties.
He simply wanted to sleep in the tree. HIS BIG BUTT broke the tree!....Oh, and those light
thingies and that garland stuff....EXTREMELY COOL to cats. Don't forget it.
I don't know.......To me.......this guy is not only handsome, wild looking, exotic, and just
plain ole cute, but he is FUNNY. I don't know how to describe it. His body is unlike any cat
I have ever seen: very long legs, very long body, small head, large ears, thick bones, huge
toes and feet.....He looks wild and when you see him, you really this of him as "exotic," but
if you hang around long enough to see him in action......you have to laugh your butt off.
He is such a clown. Sometimes I just think of him as hopelessly awkward in his body, and at
other times, I actually believe his is doing it on purpose. He knows how to get a laugh!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR SWEET BABY BOY! -
Tano at 1 year of age weighed in at 16 pounds
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He measures 20" from base of neck to base of tail (not including Tail!)
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He stands 18" tall and his ears are just shy of 3" tall.
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Select Exotics
Holly Hummel
3980 N 1500 E Rd
Cabery, IL 60919
E-mail: holly@savannahcatbreed.com
Phone: 815-949-1730
Cell: 815-405-4111
Holly's Cell: 815-405-4116
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