Chyna F2 Sphynx

Chyna F2 Sphynx, originally uploaded by <@m@nd@>.

Well...We are slowly getting all the girls reaquainted. Chyna still hates pagoda and vice versa.

What does F2 mean? People ask me that almost everyday! Well...an F1 would mean First Generation outcross or half Sphynx (all kittens have hair but carry the hairless gene). An F2 is when an F1 is bred to a Sphynx...at that point they are Second Generation and half or more of the kittens in that litter will be hairless....Hairless or not they are all still F2 sphynx. The funny thing about sphynx F1's, F2's, F3's etc. is that they are more Sphynx as the generations get later and not the other way around! For instance, a F4 Savannah Cat is only 1/16th Serval (the parent wild breed) and is not very much like a serval at all but a F4 Sphynx is 15/16th's Sphynx and is concidered PureBred.

Is that allowed? Yes, most registeries allow Sphynx outcrossing since there are still very few lines (family trees)...a lot of breeders, yes, but most share a few names in the pedigrees. When this (a shallow gene pool) happens in other breeds it can cause serious birth defects and hereditary disease (weak immune systems, diabetes, heart defects, kidney failure, predisposition to cancer etc.). So, outcrossing is a way of bringing in new "blood" to old lines.