Savannah Cat
DOB 11/11/12
Arrived at Big Cat Rescue 11/13/17
On Beacher’s 5th birthday his owner gave him the gift of his freedom…well, the most freedom he can have anyway, as an F1 Savannah Cat.
Beacher had been purchased as a 7 week old kitten from the Drinkwater cattery in Pasco County, FL who held themselves out to be “responsible breeders.” The owner really did her homework first. She researched everything she could find on hybrids and Savannah Cats. She visited Big Cat Rescue and said, despite the fact that we told her and everyone else on the tour how hybrids never work out, long term as pets, she felt that she could do it. She had the money, the resources and the time to be with the cat all day, every day.
She paid $15,000 for Beacher and built him an indoor / outdoor room with koi pond that cost her over $10,000 just to ensure they would have everything necessary to live the dream. She spent bonding time with him at the breeder’s facility from the time he was born, until he came home with her at the age of 7 weeks. When I asked her how old Beacher was when he first showed his true colors; as the wild cat he is, she said the very day he came home he really scared her with how aggressive he could be.
Covered in scabs from his razor sharp claws and teeth, she had him declawed on all four paws and neutered, but that didn’t help. She said she would never declaw a cat again, but was at her wits end trying to give him a forever home in her house. She said he never wanted to be cuddled, but would tolerate her petting him. No one else was of any real interest to Beacher, except as prey for him to stalk and attack.
Now she was getting married and Beacher was lurking under couches and around corners to take out this interloper. He had landed some pretty nasty bites and things were just escalating. Beacher had managed to escape several times and each time she was worried sick he’d be hurt since he had no claws.
Today, with tears in her eyes, she brought him to Big Cat Rescue to give him what freedom she could. With your help Beacher will have a long and happy life.
Beacher’s New Outdoor Wild Life!
He’s in the 2 x 4 wire cage for a day or two until we are sure he can’t slip through 4 x 4 wire. Once we are sure 4 x 4 will hold him, we will open up the cage to the other section to give him much more room to run, jump, splash and hunt.
Updates on Beacher
12/3/2017 – Beacher is on Recovery 3 because he got vaccinated by Dr. Justin and we are testing him in the 4 x 4 wire to see if he can get out. If he cannot escape the wire, then we will put him back outside and open access to his much larger area of 4 x 4 wire, in addition to the 2 x 4 wire section he’s been in. He absolutely hated being kept inside.
12/7/2017 – Beacher passed the 4″ x 4″ wire test and he is back outside loving the extra cage section he has been given, now.
12/8/2017 – Beacher gets a heating pad. It doesn’t get very clod here in Florida and the cats have cozy dens but a few of the cats like to have heat, so those cats get heating pads.
12/14/2017 – Beacher has been cleared to begin getting pager enrichment such as spice bags etc.
12/15/2017 – Afton made a new video about Beacher: How is Our Newest Savannah Cat Settling In? We took in Beacher the Savannah cat about a month ago. So how is he settling in to his new forever home at the sanctuary?
Update on Beacher
2/5/2022
February 10, 2022
Beacher went back outside today to a new enclosure that has more grass and less palms for him to eat. After fluids and medications he is doing much better. He will now be living in the enclosure next to Diablo Savannah. They have lived next door to each other in the past so we think they will enjoy catching up and being neighbors once again.
I’m so happy you saved him and gave him a safe furever home! ❤️
Would like to know if you have anymore rescue savanna or bengal cats and how much? want all the info i can get about them up keep what they require as time etc on these cats thank you
God Bless you all for what U do. I have a harem of cats. 4 rescues and 4 Savannah’s (2 F4, 1 F3 and 1F2). I would advise anyone not to buy a hybrid. Mine are loved and well taken care of, but I worry if anything ever happened to me what would become of them if I died or something? No one would have them. All have spraying issues although fixed. I have replaced flooring and furniture about 5 times now. 2 have BID. 1 has severe allergies. They are all vet cared of, but the issue is the vet wants to gas them. They get special food. Up to date on all shots, fecals, blood work, flea prevention, dentals, ect…I live alone with them in a near 3K sq. ft. home, they have 3 enclosures wrapped around house to enter/exit with my supervision. One of is a 20thousand Sq. Ft. enclosure with pool as they love to swim. Indoor only, but enclosures when I supervise the days with them. The enclosures were built to hold up to 180 lbs specially as no escapees. All doors double entrance locked. U go out one, U lock it, then your stuck in between the two doors, then U unlock the other is special designed so no one gets out. Here is my issue…My 8yo female recently had her teeth cleaned. Now the vet is supposed to know that Savannah’s can’t have Katemine as it causes neurological problems in this breed. So, he used a drug in the same family. Same effects. My 8 yo girl died, they did CPR on her near an hour, It took months for her to raise her head and rehabilitate. She is now blind. I slept in the broom closet at the vets every day for opening hours with her to try to stimulate her recovery. She is home now and gets around well being blind, but this things should never ever happen. I know anesthesia has different effects on humans and animals, but when U know someone is not supposed to have katemine, why would a vet do this? I am so Thankful I still have her, but this should never have happened. Do you at cat rescue know of any vets locally that don’t gas an animal to treat them. Mind U, she was not gassed, but given a drug that kills Savannahs. No one will touch my animals without gassing them. This is inhumane and cruel and detrimental to their lives. I am deathly afraid of going to a vet with them now as this is not the first time this happened. My boy of 7 years was gassed for shots, yeah, he came home, had seizures, died on me, I did CPR and it took him months for his eyes to come back from in his head to where his eyes should be. He is fine now. I have my 4 yo now due for shots and I am scared to death to take her to a vet. I know they must have vet care, but not the vet care that kills your animals. Please, if U have any suggestions I am all ears. I love them with my life. TU and sorry so long. Just want to let people out there know when they pay for a wild cat, this is what U get. They are wild and should never be breeded. Mine are lucky they got me as I would do anything for them. I just need a vet that is not going to kill them. That is all. Any suggestions for me???????? I am at loss here.