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The F1-F3 Myth

Trish Allearz

Moderator
Okay, so I thought it'd be interesting to hear your thoughts on this...

One question I have to ask when people inquire about babies is what generation they are interested in (these are serious inquiries- not looksies). Maybe half of the people interested in the F6s will follow it up with, "Well, I've heard how difficult (ferocious/mean/wild) the F1s-F3s can be, so I think the F6 is best."

Now- I LOVE it when homes KNOW what they want, but I don't want them to base their wants off of misinformation.

For those with F4s-F7s, why did you decide they were the right generation for you? For those who thought the F1s-F3s were too difficult/ferocious/wild, etc- has being on this site opened your eyes?
 

admin

Paige
Staff member
I bought my first savannah, Taj, four years ago...I had a breeder 30 min from me...originally I wanted a BST...but I fell in love with Taj (servaline)...I have to admit to not doing much research...I didn't care about size at all...I went for personality...

This breeder's F1's and F2's were not nice...her F1 attacked me 3 times and I was scared of F1's after that. Her F2's could not be petted by anyone by her...so that completely turned me off to F1's and F2's.

Zuri was my next purchase...I wanted a show quality kitten because I loved going to shows...had taken Taj to show in HHP and although he loved the crowds, he hated being in the rings...I mean hated!!! So I needed a kitten who was a BST and would show well...Zuri did well and usually came in first, although at that time we were not in Championship and it didn't matter...I met new people, had fun and became more involved in the savannah breed section.

Alas...as Zuri's hormones began to rage, she became a bit grumpy at shows and still did well...but I ended her show career, so as not put her through that stress...Zuri is an F4 SBT...she had kittens, they are F5 SBT's...the next litter will be F5 SBT's as well...

When I met Shelby's F1's and F2's I was pleasantly surprised...I could pet them, pick them up and they were loving and sweet. My next kitten will be a male SBT, most likely and an F1 or F2 female...
 

Trish Allearz

Moderator
I bought my first savannah, Taj, four years ago...I had a breeder 30 min from me...originally I wanted a BST...but I fell in love with Taj (servaline)...I have to admit to not doing much research...I didn't care about size at all...I went for personality...

This breeder's F1's and F2's were not nice...her F1 attacked me 3 times and I was scared of F1's after that. Her F2's could not be petted by anyone by her...so that completely turned me off to F1's and F2's.

Zuri was my next purchase...I wanted a show quality kitten because I loved going to shows...had taken Taj to show in HHP and although he loved the crowds, he hated being in the rings...I mean hated!!! So I needed a kitten who was a BST and would show well...Zuri did well and usually came in first, although at that time we were not in Championship and it didn't matter...I met new people, had fun and became more involved in the savannah breed section.

Alas...as Zuri's hormones began to rage, she became a bit grumpy at shows and still did well...but I ended her show career, so as not put her through that stress...Zuri is an F4 SBT...she had kittens, they are F5 SBT's...the next litter will be F5 SBT's as well...

When I met Shelby's F1's and F2's I was pleasantly surprised...I could pet them, pick them up and they were loving and sweet. My next kitten will be a male SBT, most likely and an F1 or F2 female...

Were the original breeder's F1s and F2s all breeders? I do think it makes a difference- I think hormonal girls can be a different ballgame then a spayed/neutered pet. My neutered F1, Simon, was (is) a huge doll baby. My breeder F1s girls are big doll babies to me, but they probably won't come up to a stranger to be handled. My F2 babies are big suck-ups.
 
M

MK Anderson

Guest
Well, I think some people with f-1 - f-3 put out miss information. Now I have a f-3 that would not hurt a fly(okay he will kill it lol) and a domestic that is not so nice at times.

there is someone that I know that has a f-1 and she drive me nuts with what she tell people!!! uggg and her cat is so sweet. I really not sure why she says what she say..... I really believe it is what people hear, read and are told, instead of following up with a breeder.

I told this person please stop posting stuff on fb about your F-1 this is what AR groups thrive on and want to hear, your cat is so sweet and a lot of people COULD handle one. she has since stop :)...

you just need to know what you want in a cat. I think it just depends on the cats personalty. Some
f-1 could fit in better than some f-6. my other friend owns the most hyper, trouble making f-6. my f-3 is way more mellow and better behaved :)
 

WitchyWoman

Admin
Staff member
Trish...when I was trying to decide on a generation (5 yrs ago), I looked at all the breeder sites listed on savannahcat.com and a large number of them contained the same information that earlier generation SVs were more challenging to own primarily due to energy level and general lack of cuddliness/lap cat that most of us who were generally DSH owners were used to. There were also a lot of references to the damage to household goods that could happen with a high energy cat.

I made a list of +'s & -'s from those sites and ruled out F1s. I really wanted an F2 but was worried about the size/energy level in contrast to my remaining elderly DSH. In the end, I went with my heart and got an F2. My 2nd SV, an F6, was purely an economic decision at the time. Juba needed a playmate and I didn't have the funds for another F2.

Long story short, when I was researching these cats, it was the info on the breeder sites that made me nervous about an early generation SV -- particularly the emphasis on size & energy level. I appreciated the honesty of the information. In reality, my F2s are angels compared to my F6 who is a little tyrant (I'm blaming that on the fact that he has OS in his background somewhere, LOL).

I think a lot of the facts that breeders' sites present in an effort to educate potential owners become myth when combined with the hype that also comes up during internet searches of these cats. It was daunting for me to tease out fact from fiction.

If SVcatchat had existed 5 yrs ago, I would have been far less nervous about getting an F2 and would likely have chosen an F1 for my first SV.
 

Kristin

Animal Communicator
When I first found SVs I was drawn to the early gen. from their looks. I read up about them and saw their price tag so F1s and F2s were out for me. I wanted an F3 and found my breeder, but I had a specific time frame that I wanted my kitten, and her F3s were going to be born about a month too late for me...but I was still thinking about waiting and getting an F3 but she sent me pictures of the F4s and I fell in love with Zeddie.
Next SV I get, I am hoping for an F2...we will see though :)
 

admin

Paige
Staff member
Were the original breeder's F1s and F2s all breeders? I do think it makes a difference- I think hormonal girls can be a different ballgame then a spayed/neutered pet. My neutered F1, Simon, was (is) a huge doll baby. My breeder F1s girls are big doll babies to me, but they probably won't come up to a stranger to be handled. My F2 babies are big suck-ups.

No Trish...one of the F1's was a breeder and the other was not...some of the F2's were intact but kittens...they should have been sweet :( it had to do with socialization and not spending enough time, I think...Shelby's brood convinced me of that...

Now I see Sue Armstrong's F1's as well as others and see and hear how sweet they are to everyone, so I'm thinking it is an individual breeder thing in addition to kitten/cat thing.
 

Trish Allearz

Moderator
No Trish...one of the F1's was a breeder and the other was not...some of the F2's were intact but kittens...they should have been sweet :( it had to do with socialization and not spending enough time, I think...Shelby's brood convinced me of that...

Now I see Sue Armstrong's F1's as well as others and see and hear how sweet they are to everyone, so I'm thinking it is an individual breeder thing in addition to kitten/cat thing.

THAT is a shame that the kittens were not sweet.
 

John Popp

Site Supporter
My wife and I did our research somewhat autonomously, and she was pretty well set on an f4 or later whereas I was looking at an F2 or F3. For both of us, tales of litter box behavior amongst early generations were what was scaring us off an F1, and having lived through that nightmare before we wanted no part of it.

Supposed energy levels were playing into exactly what we were looking for in a kitten, and when we pulled the trigger on an F3 he was pretty clearly more energetic than the F2s who were a week or two older. He was also more engaged in human interaction than the other kittens, even moreso than later generations.

Obviously there were a broad range of things that weren't quite living up to the stereotypical examples we had read about. Although I believe there is some level of truth to the claims, there is also such a broad range of what a kitten will become it's not at all very useful. Generally the remarks on breeders sites are very thoroughly qualified that the kitten you get and the cat you end up with are covered.
 
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