Need your opinion?

Thats my advice. They are all simply precious! I want one!

For every cat you buy, a stray goes homeless and hungry. That is a fact and my opinion as well. I would never, EVER pay that amount of money for ANY animal. I don't care how badly I wanted it. $600 can buy a hell of a lot of cat food and supplies for needy cats.

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I thought that too, I wanted to get a shelter kitty. But then my sister went on and on about how the kitten could give Satey FIV or FeLV so I had to get from a cattery that guaranteed in writing that their cats are FeLV and FIV free. After all that I think that she's going to end up talking mom into letting her adopted a gorgeous lavender kitten from "The Cat People," a no kill shelter. Oh, well I'm happy with my blue tonk boy. $600 is about right for a Bengal cat. I did some research on bengal catteries when I was searching for a kitten.

Hey Swalker, just follow your heart, that's my advice, but don't ignore the voice of your vallet. I've never had a purebred, all of mine have been rescued from the streets and so is Eric, the baby I have now. But I can clearly see why you want one fo these babies - they are so sweet!!!

Cassandra,

FYI, buying from a pet shop and spending that kind of money is a highway robbery!

(Crescendo, your sister needs to get her facts straight.)Our rescue organization has every single cat tested for both FeLV and FIV before adopting them out. Most catteries already have FIP. And I am speaking from personal experience. I have a cat that was a rescue from a breeder. Unbeknownst to me, 3 of his relatives (cousins) tested positive for FIP. I had him tested and sure enough he tested positive too, which means I had already exposed my other 6 cats to FIP. Two of the cats actually died from it.

Cassandra, I would also strongly suggest you have the kittens, when they're old enough, teiter tested for FIP. Because, almost every cattery has it. Did the price include pedigree papers??? Did you get some kind of paperwork proving they were tested for both and came out negative? Have they been vaccinated and do you have paperwork to prove it? Do you know where they came? Who the breeder was? What kind of conditions they were raised in?? I can almost bet my weeks pay that they came from a kitten mill. And the excuse that you were new to the area and didn't know of any shelters around there is a poor one at best. Don't they have yellow pages where you are? Telephone information would've given you a number for a Humane Society in your area. Please read this article. I'm posting it to educate you.

http://www.listnow.com/helpingpaws/a...rticle_70.html

I hope you plan on a vet appointment to make sure they are all healthy (i.e., no worms, earmites, fleas, ringworm, etc.) as $900 is a big investment.

Good luck with your new babies.

How about contacting the Bengal rescue network!!
There are always bengals out there that need a good home for one reason or another!!! Usually they just charge an adoption fee just like a shelter would. That is how I got my precious bengal boy at 7 months. Or have you searched pet search engines sometimes they contain bengals for adoption. Best to you.

I think that I am going to go for it. I will be giving a kitten a very good home, and he will be loved unconditionally.

Hell603, I never even thought about Bengal Rescue. That sounds kind of selfish of me. What a great idea. I think I am going to check it out.

I appreciate everyone's feedback. You have all made me think of things that I overlooked. I guess this is why this site is so wonderful!!

Thank you and I will let you know what I decide

I think it's a great idea. You are going to having 2 of them. I don't know what I would do if mine didn't have each other to play with. I'm all for multiple cats! I only wish I had room for more than 2.

i'm very happy for you, and for the kitty you adopt and give a wonderful home

any ideas on names yet?!

Good question blue...

Henry or Stormy. A friend of mine said you shouldn't name your kitties after humans. But I think it is cute. What do you think?

ohhhhh, what about Storm? i love that.

I read a book a while back that says if you name your kitties with a name that ends in the sound ee.. than they will most likely come to their name. Lily has come to Lily since she was a baby and I love the fact that I don't have to call her kitty kitty, so that is what I am going for! Stormy just sounds so cute to me.

But as with Lily she didn't have a name for 2 weeks. I just stared at her and it came to me. I could imagine I will do the same with this little guys name

Swalker,

I think both Henry and Stormy are cute names. I don't know too many humans named Henry...but I actually have known a girl named Stormy.

Donna,
I found where my sister got her information about shelter cats. It's in an article in Kittens USA. I was going to type it, but I'm too lazy today :-)

My grandfathers name is Henry, but I can't say that I am all that partial to it. I keep seeing some old farm lady calling into the feilds for her husband Henry

Oh Sandie, that is funny. Now I cannot
get the image out of my head. I think
I may pass on the Henry name.. :laughing2

Donna,
All our babies have papers. Before we made the decision on buying them we inquired about vaccinations and such. They have had their shots. (We have the papers to prove it) They were very playful and appeared to be very sociable and loving. The owners of the pet store take turns letting the animals out to run for a while. (Which I personally thought was nice) So not only did I get to play with all three kittens at once (They have a room made especially for playing with the animals in)... I also got to play with a baby german shepard, terrior, and pomeranian. They were all so adorable and sweet.
Also, its California state law... once you buy a pet you have to take it to the vet for a check-up with in 14 days. I've already called a vet and scheduled an appointment for all three to have their check-up and for various tests to be ran on them.. etc.
I think everything is covered health wise... that was my main concern with buying the kittens. The one and only cat I ever had before these died. So I'm extremely skiddish about their health and I keep a really close eye on them. I can't promise that they are healhty.. but I can promise that I am making sure they are all being well taken care of.. healthy or not.

--Cassandra
"Ahhh. A man with a sharp wit. Someone ought to take it away from him before he cuts himself." --Peter da Silva

I would like to comment on the original question as to buying the bengal kitten. I am the president of an animal rescue organization. I have many rescues and purebreds - I plan on breeding my Absinnian pair and if we have kittens we decide to sell it will be for approximately $500 for pet quality, more for show. I see nothing wrong with buying a purebred cat from a responsible breeder. It is your choice - $600 is not an outrageous price if the Bengal is show quality - I would check around and DO NOT go to a pet store under any conditions because those cats come from kitten mills - the same as puppy mills. Donna - you have three purebred cats - Fabrege came with a price tag - Moo's cost was over $300 in medical costs and Carly came to you from a breeder who had too many cats - but these cats were bred and they were not rescues, they were placements - not much different from buying a purebred kitten. There is room in this world for every beautiful breed of cat and they should be preserved and treasured - if no one bought them, they could not be bred and the breeds would die out - that would be a sin. I have rescues and most people who eventually get a purebred cat have rescued a cat or more than one and deserve to have the purebred cat they want. If and when I am ready for another Sphynx kitten, I would gladly pay the price for a healthy beautiful baby rather than suffer the heartbreak I suffered from my two babies who struggled for survival for ten months and then died. So, my advice is - follow your heart.

Not name your kitties human names? Why Not???

Don't you love them as if they were your children?
Don't you play with them, feed them, cuddle them, talk to them, discipline them, and teach them as if they were little people?

Whoever told you that probably has no cats, or if they do..what are their names?
DoorKnob? RoadSign? BrusselSprout?

Name your babies whatever you think suits them, and makes you happy...
my Cagney and LilyBelle say so too!

Cleo

Just for the record it was stated that "most" catteries have FIP. This is not the case. If you do your homework and find a repsonsable breeder you will not get a cat with FIP,FELV or FIV. There are some I would be weary of but the ratio to catteries with a good program is probably higher. I certainly do not have FIP,FELV or FIV in my cattery.

I too have 4 pure breed cats that I bought. Three Maine Coons and one Ragdoll. I also have 12 cats that are rescued. There is nothing wrong with buying a pure bred. I do strongly agree with Rene that no animal should be bought from a pet store. I will not even buy pet supplies from a pet store that sells animals. That will not get any of my money. That are plenty of reputible breeders out there, just do your homework first. Go to the person's home if you can and check out the cattery. Anyway, I am not going to preach, I too feel you should follow your heart.

Okay....after reading this whole thread, I of course have to add in MY two cents worth... (and that's probably about what my advice is worth...2 cents!!!) :laughing:
But anyway....I for one could never afford to pay 600 dollars for a cat, so of course I think it is outrageously expensive, but if I had that kind of money, and really wanted a bengal, I would get it...no matter what anyone else thought. But only if i had that kind of money to spare.
I have such adorable kittens here, that I am willing to give away, and it is hard to imagine someone paying that price for one...but those Bengals ARE adorable!!! I wish I had one!!!!
Some of my friends think I spend too much money on my pets....I bought two hedgehogs at 65 dollars each, and if I could get a white hedgehog, I would spend the going rate of 125....so I do understand where you are coming from, shannon....sometimes you want something so bad, you just have to have it! Good luck with your decision, and please let us know what you decide!!