Marketing Terms

[Trish Allearz]

Hand raised, like every other descriptor is subjective. To me it means the kittens were well human socialized in that they were touched, petted, played with humans as soon as possible. That they enjoy human interaction. That they do not hide or avoid humans.
51% serval. Interesting question. Hybrid is a hybrid. But it could be argued the preponderance of genes is what the name should start with, i.e., Serval hybrid. At F2 stage, domestic cat hybrid. We are splashing around in funny water here.

And we're not even drinking yet!

 

[WitchyWoman]

Hey Deb, I can help you out with this one. Without the presence of vermouth it's just vodka or gin. As soon as even a slight mist of vermouth hits the glass it's a Martini.

I think I'm going to experiment with your theory right now, even though it's just shy of noon. So, if my martini is 95% vermouth and 5% gin, is it still a martini?

 

[John Popp]

I think I'm going to experiment with your theory right now, even though it's just shy of noon. So, if my martini is 95% vermouth and 5% gin, is it still a martini?

No, it's just nasty.

 

[SV Dad]

I think I'm going to experiment with your theory right now, even though it's just shy of noon. So, if my martini is 95% vermouth and 5% gin, is it still a martini?

It's a HYBRID!

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Good question. Maybe a minimum factor applied to the generation? 1.25x or 1.5x? Personally, I don't invision a 26% F2 as HP.

I know it's just marketing.... But I took a look at a bunch of F1 pix a while back, who all had their percentages designated. At 75%, the F1's began to take on a "very Servally look" to me compared to those in the 50-60% range. So for me at least, I might think a 1.5x+ factor to the generation. Just one of many opines I'm sure, just trying to back it up with my own observations . dj

I think that idea has merit, although for the F1 generation I think even 6% over that 50% makes a big difference to their look for the most part. But should a 56% F1 be termed a "high percentage F1" like a 62.5% F1 which most definitely looks different....I don't know.

But down at F5 level does a 3% F5 look that different from a 4.5% one? So the 1.5X factor mightn't even hold true there either. And a 1.25X even less. I think the HP label is hard to quantify. Maybe it is a term for anything that is 10 or more % over the average for that generation instead?

I've had to use the "high percentage" label with one line of my program, and I didn't do it for marketing purposes but because the "F3" I had was theoretically 46% Serval, and in looks and behavior identical to an F1. One time we had her next to a Wagati F1 girl and really they were indistinguishable. So calling her F3 just confused people. Added to that, I'd paid an F1 price for her as breeder, hence needed to charge an F2 price for her kittens not F4 prices...and believe me many newcomers got themselves very excited to think they could get that kind of bargain!

What I felt was important when using the label "high percentage" was to add the actual theoretical % in that description ... so not just HP F3 but HP (46%) F3 to help people realize what was meant by the term.

I think the "high percentage" term gets misused most when used with SBT cats of the various generations. I don't think that calling an SBT F5 "high percentage" is appropriate even if their calculated % is 8.7% which is more than F5A generation (3.125%). And if you crossed F5A to F5A, the F6Bs would be 3.125% not 1.625% of the F6A, then F7Cs and F8 SBTs would also be that 3%... those F8 SBTs are not "high percentage" even though the 3% is over and above the 0.4% the outcrossed F8 would be.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

BUT- regardless of how a kitten is labeled, one should always ask questions. Hand raised- what exactly do you mean by this? Your thought process on it might not be the same as the breeder's or the breeder might be just using that so-called puffery to mask how she/he actually raises said kittens.

I agree, the terms should always be clarified. It's like "raised underfoot" and "home-based cattery"...

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

I don't understand why a savannah with 51% or higher serval genes is considered a savannah and not a serval. This seems even more incongruous the higher the percentage of serval genes. How can a cat with 62.5% serval genes not be a serval? Doesn't the preponderance of genetic makeup define a species? Explain the biology or science behind it please.

Because federal definition says that any cat with a domestic parent is therefore domestic. So if you cross a Savannah to a Serval, one parent is domestic as a Savannah is domestic, no matter how often you do it theoretically. It's not science as much as the definition used.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

As far as biology goes- I think once a hybrid, always a hybrid. Even a 99% African Serval (if you could get there) would be a Savannah. I could be wrong!

Yes, although I do think there ought to be a line before 100% where they cross from being a Savannah to being a Serval... 90%? At that point they seem to be indistinguishable from a Serval... while at 75% I think you can still see hints of domestic if you look hard. But you are right, even at 99% they are still a hybrid.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Hey Deb, I can help you out with this one. Without the presence of vermouth it's just vodka or gin. As soon as even a slight mist of vermouth hits the glass it's a Martini.

Have you ever heard of the Churchill Martini? The story goes is that you put the ice and gin in the shaker and raise the bottle of vermouth so that sunlight goes through the vermouth into the shaker, then shake and pour... LOL!

 

[John Popp]

Nope, sounds like Churchill and my wife have a lot in common.