Questions about bengals?

dragonfly183

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I really hadn't ever seen this breed until I found this board but it was love at first site. For my husband too. We both agreed not only did we want one but we wanted to try breeding them.

The one thing that bothers me is that just about all that i have seen for sale on the internet are 2000 dollars. Are they "all" that expensive?
 

sharky

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YES for a quality breeding BENGAL 2000 and up is normal some are 1500 up...

Have you ever shown cats???

Do you know how how active these are ???

Bengals that are PETs only and FIXED are usually 500 plus
 

cococat

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Originally Posted by dragonfly183

I really hadn't ever seen this breed until I found this board but it was love at first site. For my husband too. We both agreed not only did we want one but we wanted to try breeding them.

The one thing that bothers me is that just about all that i have seen for sale on the internet are 2000 dollars. Are they "all" that expensive?
why do you want to breed them? For instance, the number one reason I want to breed Bengals is _________.

If you are worried about money, breeding animals is not something to get into - just a heads up. Vet bills, food costs, lots of litter boxes, lots of litter, the potential of preg. problems then bottle feeding around the clock, finding the right cats, showing, researching pedigrees, screening homes, and all of this takes lots of work, time, and money.

If you just want an altered pet and want a discounted price on this breed check out the good breeders who might have a nice retired adult cat (2-3 years old) for placement. They still aren't cheap, as just as much goes into those cats as any other cat they own most of the time and a lot of care goes into their breeding, many are even CH.
 

siggav

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Ah ok, well, if you want to breed bengals go get an altered show quality bengal first. Keep that bengal as pet while showing it in cat shows etc. You'll get to meet breeders, learn about the breed, see if you can actually live with these cats.

Then if you still want to breed you can get advice from the people you met and slowly get started.

Really though bengals are gorgeous cats but they are a lot of work and if you don't know much about the breed please don't jump into breeding and you can't know much about the breed before you've lived with one of them for a while and have talked to lots of people and preferably also gone to cat shows.

Show quality and breeding quality bengals are expensive. The $2000 price tag you've been seeing is completely normal, some are more expensive. The neutered/spayed pet quality ones are cheaper.

Even though as you can see the cats cost a fair bit of money you won't be making money through breeding them. Good breeders struggle to break even because they take proper care of their cats which includes all shots and vaccinations for their kittens, vet costs for all the cats and then things can always go wrong during birth etc. needing more vet costs.

Then there's building the housing for them, unneutered bengal tomcats pretty much all spray lots and can't be housed inside with people like normal cats. They still need lots of play and love but they usually need to live in purpose built areas for them.

You should also take a full lifetime responsibility for any kittens you were to produce and have proper kitten contracts and be prepared to accept back every single one of them if their new owner can't keep them.

Anyway back to my original point, learn more about the breed through keeping a high quality pet bengal for atleast a year, the only reason people should breed is to improve their chosen breed. You can't do that if you don't know enough about it. Also if you're completely unknown many good breeders won't sell you breeding rights with their kittens so getting to know people through showing your cat would help with that.
 

goldenkitty45

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Read all you can about the breed - its not to be taken lightly, especially when it comes to breeding. If you are serious about the breed - and not just because of the "looks", then buy a show alter, take your time, study pedigree, talk to established breeders (long time) for advice. Most Bengals breeders will not just sell a breeding cat to a novice person. They want to know why you want to breed, are you serious about IMPROVING the breed or do you just want to have one litter.

Breeding cats are far more expensive then a pet. You will invest a lot more then you will make in breeding. Females can't be "put on hold" for a long time when they come in and out of season. Males have to be caged as they will spray. You also need more then one female to make them happy.

Spend at least a few years getting to know the breed inside and out, learn how to tell the difference between pet and show and really think about why you want a Bengal and why you might want to breed them.
 
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dragonfly183

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Why would I want to breed Bengals? Thats the most beautiful cat I have ever seen!!! Thats the main reason. I seem to be the half way house for every lost, sick, or injured cat in my area so I get plenty of experience playing nurse maid to mommy kitties all of the time. I've probably been present at the delivery of 20 or more litters at this point.

I have never shown cats but my husband has shown dogs. I used to want to show cats when I was younger and just never did. I know all about how unnuetered toms can spray and we had already discussed building an outdoor building for them. There is an old Tom Cat named Irish that grew up here who visits a few times a week. If I let him in the house he will hose it down. He even sprayed my husband once. I told him that Irish loved him in a special way!

I think I could handle the activity. My Newfoundland loves to play with the other cats and could probably give the Bengals a run for there money.

I did find some cheaper ones online last night and I can tell a big difference between then and the higher priced ones. If I am going to do it I definitly want to go with a better quality animal. This will probably have to wait until my new house is finished since most of our available funds are going toward it.
 

siggav

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You sounds like you will make an excellent breeder when you're ready


I'd make good use of the time until your house is finished to learn more about the breed and go to a cat show where bengals are shown to see some up close and talk to the breeders etc.

There definately is a huge difference in quality between properly bred bengals (the expensive ones) and backyard bred ones which are usually the cheaper ones and it's more than worth it to save up for the cash to keep a good quality one. Especially if you're breeding of course.

Anyway good luck
 

catsarebetter

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Just as a heads up... I sort of "stumbled" onto Bengals as a breed. I have shared a house with four now, two of which are still tenants.

all of my life my mom and family has had cats.. we've known a lot of mixed breed kitties, rescues, fosters, kittens..

I have to say, I bought Kahn for my family because we'd just lost an aunt, and one of our two cats... and I did it as a surprise for the family. Boy, let me tell you, it was a SURPRISE!!!! So, I paid for the cat secretely, and the day he was paid for, I convinced my nephew to drive down with me, we picked him up, took him to my sister's office, showed her.. suprised everyone and then we got him home and the surprises really began.

I have never, in all the cats I have known, known any cat like a Bengal. The Tonk and the Mau, of course, have their own personalities and they're not like mixed kitties either. I think the pure breeds in the house are exceptional, and just completely different then my little domestic. If you read the "blurb" on most breeders sites.. they're not exaggerating. They're little lunatics. Bless their hearts, they are. My Bengals run 80 percent of the time I'm home, most of that time, Joyeux is complaining about something, and when she's not running, the complaining gets more insistent. She actually talks more than the Tonk.

Anyway, I'm not trying to dissuade you, but if a quiet, placid laid back housecat is what you're looking for, Bengals are definitely not it. They're really intense, which personally, I love (qualifier to that statement, I will add MOST OF THE TIME). There are, upon occasion, times when I think... what was I thinking when I got a Bengal....???? Of course, those moments don't last long, never any more than as long as whatever mood one of them is in lasts, when they're being particularly onerous.

Of course, when you find your jewelry stashed somewhere, or when you find it dropped into the toilet (keep your lids down) or their water bowl, or come home to find that indeed, today has been water sport day, and it's all over the kitchen because they DUG it out of their water fountain, or tossed all their food all over the kitchen because they didn't want that particular piece...or thirty pieces..

Yes, they're definitely characters, and they're gorgeous, but definitely have one for a while and see what you think, and be prepared, because you'll probably need a second one to balance out the first. That's why we got a second Bengal... he just tormented the domestic and the Mau so much we had to get one to offset his energy.
 

mybabyphx

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I've actually been thinking about getting a Bengal as well
I am researching this though, and it will probably be a few years before my boyfriend will even consider this! LOL.. if at all! Bengals are soooo beautiful though, I love seeing pictures of Nikita!~ (And all other Bengals of course!)
 

kai bengals

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I'm going to be brutally honest about this. The bengal breed doesn't need more breeders. There are already too many breeders and more coming on board all the time.

Many of these new people haven't a clue as to what they are doing or what they are getting themselves into. Breeding bengals is a huge undertaking in terms of money and time if you do it properly, the only way it should be done.

The new breeders come and go in a flash and many of them do more damage than good, because they weren't prepared to be breeding in the first place.
The biggest damage they do is to public perception of breeders in general and coming in a close 2nd is producing inferior cats in their quest to cut expenses and attempt to turn a profit.

The last thing this breed needs is to have more sub-standard bengal kittens being offered to the public for sale. With all the hard work breeders have been doing with these cats over the years, the bengal is truly a magnificent work of living art. With the gene pool what it is now, everyone who wants a bengal as a pet should be able to have a beautiful example that meets the breed standard at a reasonable price.
Instead we have only 50% of the breeders selling cats like this, the others are selling cats that just barely resemble the breed, have health issues or temperament problems.

If I had it my way, there would be no new bengal breeders until all the lousy ones have thrown in the towel and closed up shop.
That being said, if you truly want to be a part of the group that is dedicated to continually improving this breed, then do all your homework first before plunging in. Research everything and do yourself a huge favor..........get a mentor. A mentor would be someone who has been breeding bengals for 10 or more years, they are likely to have seen and experienced most everything.
 

goldenkitty45

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Dragon, you have a few good starts, but its far better to own a NEUTERED Bengal to show and learn about the breed before you even want to go there with any kind of breeding program.

Please read Nial's post - he's being honest. I can understand his view point very well. I've also been a breeder of cornish rexes so I've had experience in breeding/showing and raising kittens. I thought rexes were "wild" till we got our Ocicat.

I love the Ocicat, but to be honest, I don't think I'd want to be raising a few litters or get into breeding them. Breeding is HARD work - not something to be taken lightly and its expensive too.

Like Nial said - there are many people out there that think they like a breed and want to breed it and go get breeding cats and wind up overwhelmed in a very short time.

Please take what some of us are saying about taking your time with things - learn all you can about the breed - not just "the looks"
 
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dragonfly183

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I'm going to think about it while we finish our new place. Its going to take a while anyway. I'm no stranger to problematic pets. I have owned thoroughbred horses (I will never do that again), a great white Pyrenees (ever seen a dog "shred" a couch, it looked like it snowed in my living room) and now my little Newfie Odin who thinks my office wallpaper tastes to good to leave on the walls. I needed a change anyway! i think i could probably handle one of these. But later.
 

catsarebetter

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Hehe, maybe it's saying something that I like Arabians, Thoroughbreds and Bengals....
 

renovia

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if you've ever looked at the breeders corner in cat fancy nial isn't lieing, there are SOOOOOOOOO many bengal breeders it's disgusting
 

kai bengals

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kai bengals

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Originally Posted by cata_mint

minor OT
the first link- legacie bengals a little way down the page All her cats have HUGE markings, i don't think i've ever seem them quite like that.
Yes, Jill is known for the "paint" on her bengals. The pancake rosettes. They are very nice, aren't they?
 

bengalbella

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Originally Posted by CatsAreBetter

I have never, in all the cats I have known, known any cat like a Bengal. The Tonk and the Mau, of course, have their own personalities and they're not like mixed kitties either. I think the pure breeds in the house are exceptional, and just completely different then my little domestic. If you read the "blurb" on most breeders sites.. they're not exaggerating. They're little lunatics. Bless their hearts, they are. My Bengals run 80 percent of the time I'm home, most of that time, Joyeux is complaining about something, and when she's not running, the complaining gets more insistent. She actually talks more than the Tonk.

Of course, when you find your jewelry stashed somewhere, or when you find it dropped into the toilet (keep your lids down) or their water bowl, or come home to find that indeed, today has been water sport day, and it's all over the kitchen because they DUG it out of their water fountain, or tossed all their food all over the kitchen because they didn't want that particular piece...or thirty pieces..

Yes, they're definitely characters, and they're gorgeous, but definitely have one for a while and see what you think, and be prepared, because you'll probably need a second one to balance out the first. That's why we got a second Bengal... he just tormented the domestic and the Mau so much we had to get one to offset his energy.
I just had to respond to this post, I have a bengal myself (hes a year now) and MAN are you speaking the truth lol... mine is freakin crazy.. he drives my bf nuts at night because hes a light sleeper and Nikko's meowing wakes him up and i wake up to my bf running around the house chasing him (lol). Last night is a good example, I came home, he had knocked all of our papers on the floor and had gotten into a fight with them, shreads everywhere and he even was chewing on a corner when i came in the room. He's constantly running all over the house and wrestling with my older tabby. I love his energy, although he makes messes constantly like she was saying above.. but he's so entertaining and fun to play with. And I'm very happy I got him neutered, he was driving me nuts with his deep, long meowing esp at night, even that woke ME up!
 
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