Considering buying an F1 kitten - does anyone know this breeder?

[Patti]

Congratulations, he's a beautiful boy!!

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Congratulations, he's wonderful!

I don't know that people have trouble with F1 kittens, most of the issues I see posted are when they are older... as kittens they are generally very very social and outgoing and FUN

 

[Kiangagirl]

i dread the day when f1s are for sale at sub 5k prices, as they are a unique and difficult to look after pet, i fear lowering prices will encourage too many implue purchases ( from people who like the look but have never lived with a F1), and subsequent rehoming of an "already difficult to rehome" cat

as a first cat, a f1 is a crazy thing to take on unless you are a working from home or dont need to work at all ( i spend at least 6 hours a day one on one, if you take into consideration the time she is near me and interacting its 22 hours a day )with coco, and am home with her all day, and this is just about enough!! ), a f3 or an f4 is more than enough for a normal house hold.........and less likely to be rehomed, people buy F1s because they are F1s and i fear that lots of F1s are purchased simply for this reason, not because of the cats personality and potential integration into your family ( for the next 20 years )............ they should not be a status symbol as i fear they are becoming.

Logan - your not included at all in this observation and its no critisism of your post, just a market observation...... you sound like your doing the right kind of research before deciding on a f1 and good luck with your search

I agree with Coco on this one. I believe that the day when F1s are available at "bargain basement" prices will be a sad day indeed for the whole breed. I think there will be far more people buying something they know nothing about just because it's "cool"---with the result of many unfortunate Savannahs ending up in situations that are just bad for them. These are not just your every day cat as you all know. They just aren't right for everyone.
One of my pet peeves is the people with a sense of entitlement who whine that they "realy, really want a F1 but cant' afford it" but they will take "really good care of it" so can they have it for next to nothing?
I want a new Mercedes too but I don't think that logic would fly at my local Mercedes dealership. Their attitude would be if you can't afford one then don't waste our time.

Personally I would be surprised if F1s ever become "anyone's cat"---I believe that laws are going to continue to become more stringent, making it more difficult for new breeders to raise F1s. I think they will always be relatively scarce and there's nothing wrong with that.

 

[scorpius]

Upon looking for an F1, I just found them hard to find for the most part. I could find some F2's, F3's and beyond gen's seemed more common for sale. So I think F1 SV demand is relatively inelastic for this reason. I'm grateful to the few breeders that raise F1 SV's...I'm sure a lot of effort and expenses go into their cattery's to do so.

 

[starski]

I am very happy I was able to get an F1 and know that I will spending much more on him then I did buying him in the first place. I know for me it was gonna be something I always wanted and would keep searching for the right one etc until I got one. I have been researching and into Savannah's for over 4 years so it definitely wasn't a rushed decision to get an F1 for myself. My f1 boy got fixed today and is doing really good so far.

 

[SV Dad]

I'm cutting coco some slack. I'm taking that one post as venting. I know I would be very frustrated at the events she has endured so far.
This said, I have appreciated hearing other points of view, and am curious if there has been a general trend in breeding of F1's as to becoming more social and less challenging.

 

[Trish Allearz]

I'm cutting coco some slack. I'm taking that one post as venting. I know I would be very frustrated at the events she has endured so far.
This said, I have appreciated hearing other points of view, and am curious if there has been a general trend in breeding of F1's as to becoming more social and less challenging.

I'm not sure what you are asking, Rascaldad.

Servals are social cats. They are VERY social- pretty amazing creatures. So as long as F1 breeders are using social queens, what else can they do to produce amazing kittens?

As far as F1s being challenging- I'm lost... Really- I'm lost. Either you want a cat with 50% African Serval genetics- which means, yes, you will get a more intense kitty with a lot of brains and a lot of energy- or you don't. The 'challenges' of an F1 is what makes F1s such wonderful cats.

 

[shelby]

I agree with Trish. I have both a Serval and F1s and am at a loss as to the question about breeding to make them more social and less challenging.

 

[SV Dad]

To clarify, I have read that the F1 can be quite challenging and reclusive. They will bond with only one or two persons. They prefer not to socialize with anybody other than the primary caregivers. They tend to be very active and play rather hard. This is from various websites, and was a strong factor in my determination that an F3 would fit best for my home.
Where I was going with the question, is how has the continued breeding programs over the years progressed in the average F1? By controlled selective breeding, has the F1 become more manageable and more out going than in the past, and to what degree?
Trish, you seem to have gotten some of the question. I do realize they will be very active, intense, and intelligent. My curiosity, the first few years of F1 cats (late 1980's) versus the F1's of the last couple of years.
As a corollary question, has selective serval breeding over the years produced servals with relatively more "tame" traits?

 

[Trish Allearz]

To clarify, I have read that the F1 can be quite challenging and reclusive. They will bond with only one or two persons. They prefer not to socialize with anybody other than the primary caregivers. They tend to be very active and play rather hard. This is from various websites, and was a strong factor in my determination that an F3 would fit best for my home.
Where I was going with the question, is how has the continued breeding programs over the years progressed in the average F1? By controlled selective breeding, has the F1 become more manageable and more out going than in the past, and to what degree?
Trish, you seem to have gotten some of the question. I do realize they will be very active, intense, and intelligent. My curiosity, the first few years of F1 cats (late 1980's) versus the F1's of the last couple of years.
As a corollary question, has selective serval breeding over the years produced servals with relatively more "tame" traits?

From what I understand, the pet Serval gene pool is pretty limited (ie the exotic hand raised babies that most people prefer to bring into a Savannah breeding program). I could be wrong- Sue or Shelby may be better with that knowledge- anyways, with those limitations in place, the fact that Servals are not bred anywhere NEAR to the point of Savannahs (there is very limited homes for the pet market for Servals- due to state bans, county bans, city bans, plus- let's face it, many people don't want to own a cat that will hose out of its butt when its happy! Sorry- gotta love Serval spraying!)- anyways, with those limitations, if you are asking if SERVALS have been produced to create 'tamer' F1s- no. There's no way.

Do Savannah breeders prefer Serval babies with certain traits? Friendly, outgoing, etc? Well, I'd have to say yeah- but then again, that kinda describes a Serval baby. They are fantastic- you could just put them on a dish and eat them up with a dollop of whip cream- they are THAT fantastic

Now- so the main control factor F1 breeders would have is what cats they pair with the Serval. From my experience with F1 breeders over the years, I think they wouldn't even waste the time placing an unfriendly cat in with a Serval to produce F1s. They are already jumping through a million hoops to produce ONE litter- they can breed just about anything to a Serval (IF he'll breed the cat)- so why choose an unsocial one?

Hope that makes sense. It might be all over the place.