Because this is a very new breed and is still in development, there is some terminology one needs to know when investigating which Savannah kitten might be right for your home. The first generation cross resulting from a Serval-domestic cat mating is known as an “F1”, where “F” refers to “filial” generation and the number to the number of generations away from the wild cat. An “F2” is the progeny of an F1 so is two generations away from the wild cat, a Serval is an F2’s grandparent. And so on with F3, F4, F5, etc. An interesting complication to breeding Savannahs is that when you cross two species (in this case, the Serval and the domestic cat are two different cat species) you may encounter fertility issues. For Savannahs, we usually find that until we reach the F5 generation (five generations away from the Serval) the male kittens will not prove to be fertile and so will generally be offered as neutered pets. Female kittens in general are fertile and will be retained for breeding, although as Savannah numbers grown some breeders will sell their female kittens as pets also.
As the Savannah breed grows, breeders have an increasing number of these precious F5 fertile Savannah males, and then another terminology becomes important. TICA has registration codes that distinguish an “outcrossed” Savannah from one that has “Savannah-to-Savannah” breeding. An outcrossed Savannah generally has a Savannah mother and a domestic breed father, TICA will give this SV a registration code beginning with “A” and we sometimes refer to these as “A-registered Savannahs” or use this A with the generation (so either AF3 or F3A would refer to an outcrossed third generation Savannah). When a Savannah female has been bred to a Savannah male, the progeny are then termed “B-registered” and therefore might be termed BF3 or F3B by the breeder. “B” denotes that both parents are Savannahs, while “C” then tells you that not only are both parents Savannahs but also all grandparents are Savannahs. A C-registered Savannah has two generations of Savannah-to-Savannah breeding in this case, and would be termed CF3 or F3C.
The ultimate goal of the breed is to breed SBT-registered Savannahs, “Stud Book Traditional” Savannahs are three generations of Savannah-to-Savannah breeding and when the three generation pedigree of a cat only has that breed in it then that cat is considered “purebred”. The first SBT Savannah kitten was produced this year, and we expect many more in the years to come.
TICA accepts only four colors/patterns for Savannahs (brown spotted tabby, silver spotted tabby, black and black smoke), any other coloration or pattern is “non-standard” and almost always sold as a pet and often for a reduced price. They will still retain the same physical type as their standard colored littermates and may still be registered as Savannahs, but are not able to be showed. Brigitte Cowell (http://www.kirembosavannahs.com/)
As the Savannah breed grows, breeders have an increasing number of these precious F5 fertile Savannah males, and then another terminology becomes important. TICA has registration codes that distinguish an “outcrossed” Savannah from one that has “Savannah-to-Savannah” breeding. An outcrossed Savannah generally has a Savannah mother and a domestic breed father, TICA will give this SV a registration code beginning with “A” and we sometimes refer to these as “A-registered Savannahs” or use this A with the generation (so either AF3 or F3A would refer to an outcrossed third generation Savannah). When a Savannah female has been bred to a Savannah male, the progeny are then termed “B-registered” and therefore might be termed BF3 or F3B by the breeder. “B” denotes that both parents are Savannahs, while “C” then tells you that not only are both parents Savannahs but also all grandparents are Savannahs. A C-registered Savannah has two generations of Savannah-to-Savannah breeding in this case, and would be termed CF3 or F3C.
The ultimate goal of the breed is to breed SBT-registered Savannahs, “Stud Book Traditional” Savannahs are three generations of Savannah-to-Savannah breeding and when the three generation pedigree of a cat only has that breed in it then that cat is considered “purebred”. The first SBT Savannah kitten was produced this year, and we expect many more in the years to come.
TICA accepts only four colors/patterns for Savannahs (brown spotted tabby, silver spotted tabby, black and black smoke), any other coloration or pattern is “non-standard” and almost always sold as a pet and often for a reduced price. They will still retain the same physical type as their standard colored littermates and may still be registered as Savannahs, but are not able to be showed. Brigitte Cowell (http://www.kirembosavannahs.com/)
Links:
About the Photo:
L-R Wagati Jabber (F3 Savannah), Joykatz Always (F2 Savannah), Rooney of CactusRun (Serval) and Goldie Locks (F7 Savannah)Owned and loved by Peggi Johnson - http://www.cactuscreekdesign.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment