It's Been On My Mind...

[ginamarie1221]

I want to start off by saying that I hope nobody takes this post in the wrong way. I love my boy no matter how big or small he is.

My boy is an F3C. Father is a 30# chausie. Mother is an 18# F2 SV. We went to the vet today for his post neuter ck-up and she told me that I shouldn't expect him to get much bigger than what he already is and that he will most likely be a 'tiny' cat.

He is 6.8lbs at 5.5 months and is apprx 10in to the shoulder.

How much validity do you think this vet might have in her guesstimate? I didn't question her, nor did I mention that he was a Savannah (although it should be there in his record), or if that even matters!? I was a little surprised to hear that my guy would most likely not be much taller or longer that he is right now, at 5.5 months. I find that hard to believe.

As mentioned, I love him no matter what, but I just had a hard time understanding how she came up with this guess.

Thanks everyone for letting me vent a little

 

[Mila]

Hi Gina, I have a new little girl from the same breeder as yours and the father of mine is "Goat" and the mother is an F2 sister of Stella, so my guess is my girl might be around the same size as yours. Quick question though, did you notice a huge growth spurt around the first couple months of having yours because my little girl is growing quick.

 

[ginamarie1221]

Hey 'Mila'!
Mikono is fathered by Goat and mothered by Bellissima (Stella's sister). Honestly, I noticed a growth spurt between 4-5 months. He started getting taller more than anything. It's almost like one day after his nap, he got up with a new set of legs. Crazy! I would love to keep in touch with you to compare growth and personalities between our babies! I often wonder if my boy was slow to take off growing because of his respiratory issues. Vet told me that it may just be a kitten thing, or possibly something he will live with. Like allergies. Then again, the vet also told me that my guy wouldn't grow much more than he is now. Hmmm...

 

[Trish Allearz]

Well, Savannahs tend to grow for the first 2 years upward and then outward that last year. Not all kittens follow this trend though.

At less then 6 pounds at closing on 6 months, though, I wouldn't expect a huge cat. Don't care what the parents' sizes are- your better estimate (guesstimate) would be to find out the sizes of grown siblings if this pair has had kittens before.

I don't think your boy will be tiny, but I'd be surprised if he tops out over 12-14 pounds. I could be wrong though :D

 

[Mila]

Yes Gina lets def keep in touch, Iv'e been in contact with Taran about certain issues so any info I get I will be sure to update you and as for your lil guy not growing any more than that seems like a guess to me, I feel like looking at both of the parents of your kitten and mine that they will be atleast near the same size if not more..by the way our baby's are half brother and sister!

 

[ginamarie1221]

Yes Gina lets def keep in touch, Iv'e been in contact with Taran about certain issues so any info I get I will be sure to update you and as for your lil guy not growing any more than that seems like a guess to me, I feel like looking at both of the parents of your kitten and mine that they will be atleast near the same size if not more..by the way our baby's are half brother and sister!

Wouldn't they be brother and sister with the same parents? Am I off? Too much wine maybe

 

[ginamarie1221]

Well, Savannahs tend to grow for the first 2 years upward and then outward that last year. Not all kittens follow this trend though.

At less then 6 pounds at closing on 6 months, though, I wouldn't expect a huge cat. Don't care what the parents' sizes are- your better estimate (guesstimate) would be to find out the sizes of grown siblings if this pair has had kittens before.

I don't think your boy will be tiny, but I'd be surprised if he tops out over 12-14 pounds. I could be wrong though :D

Thanks Trish He's actually 6.8lbs closing on 6 months, LOL! Does that make a difference?!!

All kidding aside, I appreciate your input. I've gotten pics of previous litters from the father and a DIFFERENT mother than my baby's (she's a smaller SV than Kono's mommy), and the cat is quite large. But I can't seem to get any pics of father and TRUE mother. I will just sit back an watch my man grow!

I'll be honest when I say that I am fascinated by the SV's tendency to get tall and long

 

[Mila]

HAHA you might be right, maybe they have both the same parents, I will ask Taran who the mother is for sure I honestly forgot smh

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

In terms of comparing your kitten to half-siblings... I'd point out that Trouble's (the World's Tallest Cat) siblings were not his size. I know that my F2 Bobo (who was never more than 12-13lbs in his life) had a younger sibling that was 35lbs! But the female from that litter was 8lbs. There just is NO way of guaranteeing size in a kitten.

Your vet likely is making an estimate though on how his skeleton is developing... what I have noticed in the Savannah kittens that I have produced that have ended up large cats (and not all have been huge but some have)...is that they do show those large puppy paws, and gangly long legs shooting out at that age that really say the cat is going to grow big.

When you quote the parents' weights are those estimates by the breeder, or weights at a veterinarian? Sometimes people guesstimate that their cats weigh more than they really do too... It can be fun making people guess weights. We did this once for a TV spot on a breakfast show when promoting a local cat show...we showed them a very tall Savannah and my very round British Shorthair and they asked which cat weighed more... and without hesitation everyone guessed the large Savannah. But they weighed the same, the Brit was simply a denser cat! So weights are not ALL the picture...

And in any case, what is important is that you have a kitty that you adore and adores you...

 

[ginamarie1221]

In terms of comparing your kitten to half-siblings... I'd point out that Trouble's (the World's Tallest Cat) siblings were not his size. I know that my F2 Bobo (who was never more than 12-13lbs in his life) had a younger sibling that was 35lbs! But the female from that litter was 8lbs. There just is NO way of guaranteeing size in a kitten.

Your vet likely is making an estimate though on how his skeleton is developing... what I have noticed in the Savannah kittens that I have produced that have ended up large cats (and not all have been huge but some have)...is that they do show those large puppy paws, and gangly long legs shooting out at that age that really say the cat is going to grow big.

When you quote the parents' weights are those estimates by the breeder, or weights at a veterinarian? Sometimes people guesstimate that their cats weigh more than they really do too... It can be fun making people guess weights. We did this once for a TV spot on a breakfast show when promoting a local cat show...we showed them a very tall Savannah and my very round British Shorthair and they asked which cat weighed more... and without hesitation everyone guessed the large Savannah. But they weighed the same, the Brit was simply a denser cat! So weights are not ALL the picture...

And in any case, what is important is that you have a kitty that you adore and adores you...

Thanks Brigitte! I really appreciate your post and learned a lot from it, actually! I was always under the assumption that you could come up with a good "estimate" based on parents and previous litters. But in examples from your litters, I can definitely see that it is not the case!

I tend to get caught up in the true definition of what 'large' really means when it comes to a Savannah.
When I think 'large', I think of TALL and long; not the weight of the cat. This would explain the example you gave with your British Shorthair and your SV.

The weights of the parents were what was told to me by the breeder and I can't be certain whether this was her guess, or if it was actual weights from the vet.

I was certainly thrown off a little by my vets guess on his size because I "thought" that he was kinda gangly, as you put it, and with her guess being a tiny cat, surprised me . She mentioned that since I got him neutered early, I shouldn't have to worry about him getting big. Is that correct? It's sort of like how it was with both my children. I wanted them out of my belly SO BAD because I just wanted to know what they were going to look like, LOL

Thanks again, I will certainly be adoring my 'doggy cat', as I call him.
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