Will my kitten's coat change??

[alicia griffin]

Henry is almost 4 months old now. He was gold with nice dark spots but I notice that as he gets older, he is losing that sharp distinction and is looking more brown. Don't get me wrong, I adore him and that will never change! I was just hoping he looked more servally, if that's a word. He is an F2 from SE and I paid a nice amount for him. His parents are Miles and Merry, I don't think I can post pics from SE on here of them but they are both beautiful. I was wondering how everyone's savannah coats change as they grow. Henry is over his fuzzies and feels slick and sleek. I can get a picture later today and post.


Thanks!

 

[SV Dad]

They can change over time, but not always. That brownish color is the serval color coming thru. All my cats got a bit darker over time, but my F5 darkened to the point it is more difficult to see the spots.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

It is pretty common for ALL BST kittens to be born with very dark/black spots... and then many fade to more of a medium brown. This fading is not a Serval trait but a domestic influence and particularly common in some Bengal lines... nowadays with show Bengals they have selected lines with less "fade", and it seemed to be related in part to rufousing, that orangey gold coloring that Bengals have.

Here is a cat I bred, her grandmother is a Bengal and a case where that heritage came through strongly.

But "Servally" means a LOT more than coloring...at F2 level hopefully your Henry has the large ears and the elegant structure that a Serval represents

 

[Patti]

As Brigitte has said, fading is pretty common as the kitten ages. I have one girl who is gorgeous with great ears, perfect eyes, tall legs, long body, and great contrast - but she's rufoused and a bit glittered, so I am very torn over whether to breed her or not. Her sister is also gorgeous - her coat is much more in line with what we want to see on our Savannahs, but her spots have faded so her contrast is much less distinguished - again, hard to decide if I want to breed her...

 

[dice]

Have found that Savannahs coats change with time, just like bipeds. Tink has gone from rags to riches, or something like that. With my F2 Twins, both have become more distinct & defined, the older the get. They are both Golden, Rufio the boy, slightly darker, but heck, they just turned 6 months old.

Have two 5 year old F3's, the girl, Spontaneity, has been fairly consistent fur the last 4 years. She's a silver with black spots. Me boy Sampson's spots are just now being able to be seen without a black light Though Serval of his whiskers are turning solid white.!! Sam is a Black F3, more of the Ninja Savannah Type.