lockets?

[Catherine G.]

i wasn't quite sure where to post this, but I figure it is a question for this place would work. I was reading about the type of Savannahs, and wasn't quite sure of what a locket looked like? Does anyone have pictures of this? Any extra information would be wonderful too!

 

[Pam Flachs]

A locket is a patch of white fur, usually found on the neck and under the chin, although they can be found anywhere on a cat. They can range in size from a few white hairs to one that is several inches across. They differ from a "whited throat", and are usually a very bright white in color. In showing, having a distinct locket is a penalty for Savannahs.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Here is my first kitten with a locket... if you look on his upper chest/lower neck there is a small white patch.

As Pam says they can be anywhere from a few white hairs grouped together to a huge patch... my F2 neutered male has what looks like white underpants the locket is so big. Will have to see if I can get a pic of it.

 

[Sue Armstrong]

A locket also can appear in between the hind legs on the stomach area.

 

[DocMac]

Good photo to illustrate the point, Brigitte.

 

[Catherine G.]

Thanks everyone. Are lockets genetic?

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Yes, although the genetics can be confusing for this trait. Robinson's Genetics for Cat Breeders and Veterinarians (a bible for cat genetics) doesn't classify as either dominant or recessive, but thinks it is likely polygenetic. At this time we don't have a DNA test for it either, so it can just pop out when least expected (like in the pic I posted above, neither parents have a locket).

 

[Wyldthingz]

Having a few pale silver Savannahs, lockets won't even show up as their underside is nearly white. I can see a locket being easily carried from a silver parent unknowingly.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

I think it is easier missed in kittens so if the cat isn't a cat that rolls around on its back as adult you could easily not see it if it is small. Kittens have paler undersides in general, even BST, which is why we didn't see it on Babbage until he was an older kitten. The pale underside of his jaw covered it until he started to darken a bit...