When I post kittens for sale, I try my best to stick with actual descriptive terms than to use "fluffy" marketing terms. Most of my ad content is describing each kitten's features (long legs, deep-set eyes, warm toned, etc). So, if a kitten has big inky spots, I'll say so. Usually my "pitch" involves pointing out a kitten's best feature in the most straightforward manner possible. So my ad title might be something along the lines of "F5SBT Golden male, huge ears". In the body of the ad I'll include the price (because I hate getting those "how much" emails).
Since I breed F4-F7 savannahs, I have never been concerned with calculating serval percentage. To me, serval percentage is only important in F1-F2, or in later generation males with regards to fertility. Even then I think there is more to look at than just theoretical percentage. i'd want to know if any siblings from the same or similar pairings have proven fertile, and if there is fertility in the line in earlier generation males (f4 for example). I have seen kittens that are calculated to have a higher than normal theoretical percentage that i would never want to see in a breeding program, so percentage is irrelavant to me in that regard. much more important is how close the cat meets the breed standard, and what is the quality of that cats features that i am focused on (ears, legs, eyes, etc). Even if I were shopping for a pet, percentage would mean very little to me, as I'd be looking for a cat that met the criteria of features and personality that I wanted.
"Hand-raised" is a very ambiguous term, I agree. It can encompass kittens that are totally raised by a human with no help from Mom, but I would call that "Bottle-raised". Or it could mean that the kittens get handled once a day for a few minutes to check weight and overall health. Again, for me I try to describe that I do careful socialization exercises for all kittens, that start with early neurological stimulation at day one, to real life practical environment stimulation at 6weeks+ (roaming the house), to sounds, smell, touch stimulation throughout their time here. I want them as ready for life as they can possibly be. However, that usually takes up a lot of text to explain, so in an ad, I will likely say "raised under-foot in our home, with special attention to socialization and early neurological stimulation exercises." Then i'll go into more detail when asked.
Really, I don't think there is any way to standardize marketing terms. People will continue to use ambiguous terms with lots of fluffy and flashes phrases, the same as any other "product line". I try my to stick with honest descriptions, and I think that I tend to get less impulse buyers that way. But, the burden of investigation does fall on the buyers shoulders. If they don't ask questions to sort through all the glitz from sellers that use flashy terms, they aren't really going to know what they are purchasing. Not to say that this excuses sellers that try to make their cats seem more valuable than they actually are, but the buyer needs to be aware that they are out there.
Anatole
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