F3 savannah sisters

[Loni]

Hi, I'm hoping someone can help me. I recently bought two f3 savannah sisters. They are beautiful & so much fun! But from all the pics I've seen, I thought they had bigger ears than normal cats, especially being f3's. My brown girl does, but the silver girl has normal sized ears & looks more like a regular cat except for all her spots. The brown girl has more coarse hair, where the silver has soft hair. The brown girl is long & lanky, where the silver is more compact. Is it possible they could have lied about her being a savannah? The breeder also sells bengal kittens. Any help is appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Rob1984]

did they come with papers? if not there's pretty much no way to tell

 

[Loni]

did they come with papers? if not there's pretty much no way to tell

I'm supposed to get the TICA registration when I send her proof of having them spayed.

 

[WitchyWoman]

You can get a lineage chart from TICA once you get your registration papers. I can't remember if you have to pay for the chart. You can ask the breeder what the lineages of the kittens are. How closely a savannah resembles the serval depends on the outcrosses in the lineage and a genetic roll of the dice. Did you see pics of the parents and past siblings which would have given you a baseline of what to expect from your girls?

If you scroll through the pics here http://www.savannahcatchat.com/threads/f3-pics.268/ you'll see all kinds of ears on F3s.

 

[Loni]

You can get a lineage chart from TICA once you get your registration papers. I can't remember if you have to pay for the chart. You can ask the breeder what the lineages of the kittens are. How closely a savannah resembles the serval depends on the outcrosses in the lineage and a genetic roll of the dice. Did you see pics of the parents and past siblings which would have given you a baseline of what to expect from your girls?

If you scroll through the pics here http://www.savannahcatchat.com/threads/f3-pics.268/ you'll see all kinds of ears on F3s.

Yes, she sent me pictures of the mom & dad. The mom is an f2, tall, skinny, big ears. The dad is an f6, larger than most cats, still big ears but not like what you see when you look up pictures of Savannah cats. Thank you for the information about lineage! I guess I just thought because I had seen f6 & f7's with really big ears, I thought f3's would definitely have them. And the differences between the sisters is a lot, so I just wasn't sure.

 

[DumaLove]

I have 3 sets of Savannah siblings, and I can assure you that there can be MANY differences even between litter mates. In both looks and purrsonality. Did you not see pictures of your girls prior to getting them to know what to expect? I also don't think the silver girls ears are that small, they just aren't as big as her sister are.

 

[WitchyWoman]

Yes, she sent me pictures of the mom & dad. The mom is an f2, tall, skinny, big ears. The dad is an f6, larger than most cats, still big ears but not like what you see when you look up pictures of Savannah cats. Thank you for the information about lineage! I guess I just thought because I had seen f6 & f7's with really big ears, I thought f3's would definitely have them. And the differences between the sisters is a lot, so I just wasn't sure.

Several years ago, there was a breeder (can't remember who) who had what she called a rainbow litter -- snow, gold, red, chocolate -- and it was quite a surprise to her. Despite best efforts to produce to the breed standard, total control of genes is up to mother nature. I've seen siblings from the same litter that look so different I've wondered if an alien cat somehow got in with the queen LOL.

My first SV is an F2 with Bengal somewhere in his lineage. He as great deep black spots, the coveted black nose and tiniest ears and feet. He looks like a frankenkitty made of spare parts. His brother got all the good genes

My other F2 is a silver F2A (father is an Egyptian Mau). He has a rough coat, unimpressive ears and is long and lean.

My F6 is small -- 11 lbs -- but has a beautiful puffy nose and large cup-shaped ears. Of the 3, he is the closest to serval in body type but his spots aren't that great.

My F1 is spectacular. John Popp, who is a member here has his brother from the same litter and they are quite a bit different from each other. John also has a brother from a different litter (same parents) and he is closer in looks to my F1.

One thing they all have in common is the savannah personality -- fun, loving, trouble making, pain in the butts.

 

[Carykd7kau]

I have a very lovely 6 year old F3 female ( Azidi )who has the body size and shape of a typical Domestic. She has small ears but she has the coloring and spots of a typical Savannah. She weighs less than 9 lbs. She is a registered F3, so it all depends of the linage.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Yes, she sent me pictures of the mom & dad. The mom is an f2, tall, skinny, big ears. The dad is an f6, larger than most cats, still big ears but not like what you see when you look up pictures of Savannah cats. Thank you for the information about lineage! I guess I just thought because I had seen f6 & f7's with really big ears, I thought f3's would definitely have them. And the differences between the sisters is a lot, so I just wasn't sure.

With any generation past F1 the breeder and the program can be very important, it's very very easy to lose certain traits of the Savannah down the generations. Funnily enough it is easier to keep spots than it is the nice big upright ears. So no, when you see F6s and F7s with impressive ears that reflects a careful breeding program to get those cats. No guarantee that even an F2 will have huge ears, there have been some F2s with really awful small ears.

Kittens are individual and inherit different traits/genes from their parents. Theoretically they could even be genetically unrelated if you consider they get half heritage from each... although in most cases there is common heritage. So not all kittens in a litter will be too consistent. Some lines seem to be more consistent than others, again likely due to the selection by that breeder. So it is completely possible that one of your kittens inherited more of the traits you wanted than the other did...

 

[SV Dad]

I have two F3 full brothers, different litters. I was hoping for a clone of Rascal. I got a Mayhem. Both have huge personalities but quite different personalities. They do not look the same. You would not say they are related. Rascal is larger with a fat tail. Mayhem is the long skinny cat with a narrow tail.
Brigitte says its apparently easier to keep the spots than the ears. For the most part of the forum members anecdotal accounts, it seems the personality makes it thru even better.
Most of us will tell you, once you have them for a few months, you forget about the spots and the ears. The huge personality wins you over, and eventually you obtain a herd of them. BTDT!