generations in cats

[tigger]

Maybe someone could answer this?

What is a generation in cats considered? For example the Bengal breed. If anyone has read about bengals they take an F1 and breed it..... and it should be 4 generations before they are considered domesticated and are ready to be in a household. Would the male/female offspring be considered the 2nd generation & so forth?

I did a post earlier about bengal kittens for sale by a registered TICA breeder! She has a few snow leopard males. The father is an F1 bengal! A very big boy!! I believe the mother is also. Does this not necessarily mean he (the boy kitten) will be big?

Thanks!

 

[abi]

Hi Tigger:

Congrads on the kittens!

I've bred rats and mice, perhaps that example would answer your question.

Take a brown rat and breed it to a white rat. The litter will consist of brown rats with white spots. These are F1 hybrids. These F1's will have biological traits of both parents. The reason one waits until the F4 generation is to be sure (with a high probability) that the desired traits are consistently established. Example: breed 2 F1 hybrids together and you get 2 spotted F2's and a brown F2 and an all white F2. For the next generation F3, you only breed the spotted F2's. Etc.

All this is complicated by the dominant vs recessive gene concept which are outlined in this web site. Traits such as eye color, coat color & length. You can also find a standard text in the library on Mendelian genetics.

Please ask more questions if you have them. Abi