Fuzzy Spotted Babies
- Thread starter Sleepyheadkitten
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But they're all adorable. And thanks for telling us about the breed, it was fascinating.
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Heh- my sister keeps asking for Celeste! I tell her to pay my cat debt and I'll pack her up in 12 weeks! ROFL! It's definitely a labor of love!
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Susi- the difficulties lie in a couple of areas with the SVs...
First and foremost- the male fertility issues we see constantly. You know once a girl starts cycling, you want a male that can 'cover' her for lack of a better term. But oftentimes, SV breeders will grow out males that are perfect in every way except BAM- the male turns out infertile! And SV males are not cheap- they are typically twice the price of a nice Sphynx baby- so you can easily drown in debt over simply obtaining a fertile male. The good news- if you become established and people know you, there are some decent deals to be had (like you pay 1/2 now and then 1/2 when the male proves)- but even that can be a pain!
For me- I'm STILL paying on my male! But that's because he MIGHT have some fertility issues. All of my litters so far from him have been 1-2 kittens (1 from Ava- LJ, 1 that was miscarried, 2 to a female we studded him out to, 1 little boy that I am currently showing and FINALLY- a litter of 3!). So in over a year, I've had TWO kittens! So yeah, it can be rough!
Mortality rate is probably about the same as the Sphynx, when you get down to it. It just depends upon what you are dealing with. F1s have a much higher mortality and need a lot of hands-on care (so 50/50 domestic cat/Serval). But this is often due to the Serval having a longer gestation then a domestic cat, so babies can be born premature. A good F1 breeder is excellent at neonatal care, but sadly, as the years have passed- there are very VERY FEW F1 breeders I would recommend to anyone. My own breeder- her male Serval passed away unexpectedly this past year- she was my go to for recommendations for kittens.
Smaller litters are more common in the higher gen cats- but 3 is probably average. I know with my Sphynx- my average was 5 per litter and I had no issues up until my last year of breeding. The Savannahs? Heh. Um, I was asking my friends just last month why I shouldn't just give up! Losing kittens or not having babies is very hard- and you know as well as I do that running a cattery is expensive if you are doing it right!
First and foremost- the male fertility issues we see constantly. You know once a girl starts cycling, you want a male that can 'cover' her for lack of a better term. But oftentimes, SV breeders will grow out males that are perfect in every way except BAM- the male turns out infertile! And SV males are not cheap- they are typically twice the price of a nice Sphynx baby- so you can easily drown in debt over simply obtaining a fertile male. The good news- if you become established and people know you, there are some decent deals to be had (like you pay 1/2 now and then 1/2 when the male proves)- but even that can be a pain!
For me- I'm STILL paying on my male! But that's because he MIGHT have some fertility issues. All of my litters so far from him have been 1-2 kittens (1 from Ava- LJ, 1 that was miscarried, 2 to a female we studded him out to, 1 little boy that I am currently showing and FINALLY- a litter of 3!). So in over a year, I've had TWO kittens! So yeah, it can be rough!
Mortality rate is probably about the same as the Sphynx, when you get down to it. It just depends upon what you are dealing with. F1s have a much higher mortality and need a lot of hands-on care (so 50/50 domestic cat/Serval). But this is often due to the Serval having a longer gestation then a domestic cat, so babies can be born premature. A good F1 breeder is excellent at neonatal care, but sadly, as the years have passed- there are very VERY FEW F1 breeders I would recommend to anyone. My own breeder- her male Serval passed away unexpectedly this past year- she was my go to for recommendations for kittens.
Smaller litters are more common in the higher gen cats- but 3 is probably average. I know with my Sphynx- my average was 5 per litter and I had no issues up until my last year of breeding. The Savannahs? Heh. Um, I was asking my friends just last month why I shouldn't just give up! Losing kittens or not having babies is very hard- and you know as well as I do that running a cattery is expensive if you are doing it right!
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They are SO adorable! Congrats!
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The babies are adorable. Thanks for posting pictures.