Hello from Toronto! it's me, Janice

[JaniceNatalie]

Welcome Janice, I'm glad you found this forum. I think you've answered some of the questions I asked in another thread

I notice you mentioned that you would like to have an outdoor space for cats - that would probably be important if you are going to keep your cats intact, as both intact males and females will spray, although the boys are usually much smellier

Been there, smelled that!

 

[JaniceNatalie]

Hi Janice. Welcome to you, Miš and your soon-to-arrive mel baby girl. How old is Miš now? He is gorgeous! I love the mels but yes, the spots only really show up well in certain light just like the black leopards. Her spots do show in the picture. How old is she now? Her eyes still look like the indeterminate kitten color.

My Lynx point snow savannah is 17 weeks old. The little girl is about 8 weeks right now. I'm hoping that the lady I am buying her from goes a few weeks past her due date so the kitten can stay with mom a little longer, but I will have to get her when the lady has her baby at the latest. Not ideal, but it is what it is. The picture is probably a week or two old too.

 

[JaniceNatalie]

Question....

Any links for walking jackets for kittens? We bought the smallest one we could find, and it was still way to big for our plump kitten. He is 17 weeks, so I'd like to start trying now. I used to have a siamese who went on walks with us on a leash all the time. We loved it. And she did too! She would run to us when we grabbed the leash off the hook.

 

[Patti]

I've gotten the majority of my walking jackets from Neta at Joykatz:
http://www.joykatz.net/walking_jackets.htm

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

By one year old, chances are your male will have soaked your household. Especially if there will be an intact female cat for him to wish to impress...and she may well join in the pee fest. Neutering/spaying after they start spraying can be risky for actually stopping the behavior. This is a risk you will run. That's just cat hormones. There's a reason we spay/neuter our pets, it makes them better pets and more pleasant to live with.

The miracle of birth for your children could also turn into the reality of birth when something goes wrong... when we want our children to see the joy of new life, I'm not sure we alternatively wish them to experience the sadness of early death, nor the possibility of deformities etc. It's truly nature, and it doesn't always run smoothly. As a biology teacher, I am guessing you know that.

In terms of wishing to know the genetic possibilities of the offspring, you can send off cheek swabs from your two cats and know what genes they carry for color at least. We don't have a DNA test for classic pattern (marble) so that can still be a surprise, but you could find out if your black girl carries for colorpoint (the snow gene) and whether your snow lynx boy carries for nonagouti (solid)... to be able to see what combinations you may see.

You questioned the fate of the Savannahs used in programs? Mostly, good breeders spay/neuter their breeding cats at a relatively early age (I like to spay my girls after 3 litters and before they are 5 years old) and place for a minimal fee (generally the cost of spay/neuter) in a pet home where they can live the majority of their life as a treasured pet. Many ask why the breeder doesn't keep them, and really it if for the benefit of the cat...not to live in a very large pet household as that doesn't suit a lot of cats, they often much prefer the attention of being in a smaller pet household. When the breeder doesn't step up, there is rescue. Savannah Rescue takes any Savannah in need and finds it a great new home. We have over 11,000 people on our waiting list and I think I added up 26 Savannahs incoming last year...they are highly sought after. Not many rescues have such a disparity... it means we can really find fabulous homes for our cats. We have not found that F1/F2s don't do well inside the home. In fact, last year we got an F2 that had been living as a feral cat for a long time (as far as we could tell from his condition)... we thought he might have a long transition to living inside a home, and made arrangements with his new home to have an attached enclosure. Within a week he was spending most his time indoors and WITH his new human...there's a lot of myths and misinformation about how "wild" this breed is and how they cannot be good pets, the facts add up to a very different story.

 

[JaniceNatalie]

I've read that F1 can actually be better with humans than F2 because their mothers are 100% domesticated and they don't learn any fear or aggression whereas the F2 kittens have mothers that are half serval.

 

[admin]

F1 savannahs are 50 to 75% serval... mothers of those kittens can be anything from a domestic short hair to another Savannah... So not sure where you are getting your info...

 

[Snookie]

What is the percentage of serval in an F4 typically

 

[admin]

What is the percentage of serval in an F4 typically

Depending on the breeding and pedigree, mainly 6%...sometimes can be as high as 12%, but not often...

 

[JaniceNatalie]

I think you're asking a lot of good questions and hope that you're taking all the answers as constructive - the breeders on here only want the absolute best for the health of all kittens including future! Without being stern, the seriousness of breeding would be downplayed which is definitely not what anyone wants. It sounds like you're digging to be well informed and I hope you continue to do your research.

I pray for your health and wellness and hope your incoming girl brings you bundles of joy, like Miš surely has! I'm in eastern Canada too but waaay east. Hopefully you haven't been burdened with the same crazy blizzards we got last week. Did you say you were driving to pick up your F4?

Yes, I will have to drive a ways to get the girl. She is just past Barrie.