Bengal cats everything about purchase

The title describes a book for sale on Amazon.



In my humble opinion you don't need to buy a book about buying a Bengal cat or taking care of a Bengal cat. This is because taking care of a Bengal cat is no different to taking care of any other cat and there is a pile of free information on the Internet about that. There is lots of information about that on this site alone!

As to buying a Bengal cat, I would prepare a series of pertinent questions primarily about cat health and telephone three local Bengal cat breeders. I would make them local so that you can visit them. By local I would mean within reasonable driving distance. Judging by the answers I would visit the best one.

• How long have you been in business?
• Are you registered with a cat association?
• Do you have champion cats? (cat show champions)
• What is your policy on cat breeding? Do you breed for health as well as appearance?
• Do you check your cats for HCM? (HCM is a heart disease hypertrophic cardiomyopathy that can affect Bengal cats).
• What filial are you buying? SBT cats are 4th generation from the wild - remember that the Bengal cat is a wildcat hybrid. Price follows filial and quality. Quality means the cat follows the cat association breed standard. Prices are in the order of $500 (2011) but will vary depending on quality.
• These are purebred cats aren't they? (some breeders are back street breeders and are not breeding purebred cats). You don't want a Bengal cat mix as these are moggies.

You'll need to visit to inspect the conditions of the cattery. Most are hobby breeders so it will be a person's home as well as a breeding establishment. But does it seem smart and clean? Are there untoward odors?  Are the kittens confident and coming up to you without fear? Do the kittens look healthy? If one doesn't and you ask what is wrong what kind of answer does the cat breeder give? Is it plausible? Brushing off an eye infection with a casual remark is not good enough. Personally I would not proceed if one kitten was ill. If one is ill the others might be ill because many viral diseases are very contagious.

On the phone before visiting I would ask if she can provide a couple of recommendations from other customers. I would go on the Internet to check out the website; is it professional looking and does it work well? Search for complaints posted online. Sometimes there are discussions on forums about certain breeders.

Ask for a copy of the contract of purchase up front in the post so you can study it (it might be online on their website which would be a good sign incidentally). Make sure that all the necessary health checks are carried out by the seller before purchase. These should be in the contract. I would consider having your vet check out the health of the selected cat. A binding contract should be subject to that check. In other words the contract becomes effective provided the cat passes a health check by your vet. That might be a difficult one to get the breeder to agree to but a sick cat can cost you thousands of dollars or pounds over time. This is because you will become instantly attached to your new cat and will want to help. Some illnesses are serious and prolonged and difficult to cure.

The kitten that you select should ideally be confident, bright eyed and not frightened of you. You might find that the kitten selects you. That is what happened to me. Although I wasn't buying a Bengal cat but adopting a unwanted moggie!

Bengal Cat Prices

Bengal cat photo copyright alexanderino published here under a creative commons license kindly granted by the photographer

Bengal Cat Prices have come down dramatically, as expected, since the days when this cat breed was talked about as a new and exotic breed, in the late 1980s and 1990s.


Introduction

I would have thought prices at the date of this posting are similar to any other purebred cat. Breeders remember sell to the "public" and to other breeders who are often colleagues or people they know well through meeting at cat shows, on groups such as Yahoo Groups and perhaps as part of an organizing body.

Breeders sell pets to the public and they sell breeding cats, studs and queens to their work colleagues (not all breeders sell to breeders, though). This trade between Bengal cat breeders is often international, USA to UK and Europe being a classic route as the USA is the home of the Bengal cat and I suspect the biggest and best Bengal cat breeders are in the USA. So what do they charge? Breeders probably sell retired show cats to the public too.

These Bengal cat prices are for pets (not breeding or show cats which are expensive and top of the range in terms of type - appearance). Please note that the price is very much dependent on quality and quality is decided by reference to the breed standard for the relevant cat association, most often TICA (an international cat association based in the USA). The breed standard concerns breeders but is is largely based on a subjective approach, it is about aesthetics so you might prefer a cat that is non-standard in fact and therefore cheaper.

Another factor, price is dependent on the generation of the cat. SBT cats (4th generation and lower) are the norm for pet cats. But you will see F1-F3s and for sale. These will be more expensive usually as they approach the wild Asian Leopard cat in temperament and become more "exotic" and therefore more in demand (to some people).

Finally, pet quality is not show quality. In terms of showing they wouldn't win but in terms of pets they are winners like any other domestic cat. They may lack qualities like contrast between the spots, have white in the wrong place and the background color, body shape, wild look or any other matter relating to breed quality is strictly not the best.


My research indicates this:

UK

Bengal cat prices are between £300-500 (GPD) - this price range is typical but you could, I am sure, pay lots more for a special cat (in terms of appearance). A breeder in Manchester (Lyndazbengals) charges £400 for a classic brown/black spotted Bengal cat, £500 for snow colored cat and their silver tabbies sell at £550. These prices are similar to USA prices (below).

The best breeders will probably have a waiting list of customers who have tried to buy before and failed because of demand. You can read more about the Bengal cat and see a list of breeders (mainly USA currently but a growing list) here: Bengal cats for sale.

Bengal x kittens (half Bengal cats meaning not purebred) sell more cheaply, understandably. The prices range from about £65 to £150. I would be careful in buying non-purebred Bengal cats. Top breeders won't sell non-purebred obviously and only good breeders will ensure the cat is well socialized and fit with all the necessary injections and certificates etc. And in any case you might as well go to a rescue center and try and find a purebred Bengal cat that needs rescuing.

I am not saying that people who sell non-purebred Bengal cats are not good breeders just that it is more likely that there may be less of the good ones.

USA

If you visit one of the top breeders websites, Bengaland run by Hugh and Peggy they say kittens are priced individually and are unable to provide guideline prices. This is a top Bengal cattery and I'd expect prices to be higher. You get a lot for your money though.

It would seem that the top catteries price by cat as quality (in terms of breed standard quality is variable).

Etché a well known breeder in Florida quotes some Bengal cat prices, which can be taken as good guidelines. The quote "gold" (I suppose the standard brown/black Bengal cat) at $400-900 (USD) and silver at $800-1200 (USD). This is a top breeder so you'll probably find cheaper but it's all about quality not only in the cat but the other important things such as health, certificates and very importantly personality i.e. well socialized.

Update 9th October 2008: A Florida man had his $6,300 Bengal cat called "Buddy" stolen from his apartment. He left the front door unlocked while taking his dog for a walk. Two things: very expensive Bengal cat price. The cat was probably an F1, F2. Second point: very strange he left the door unlocked. The neighbors saw nothing. Did he make an insurance claim? Was the cat too much for him? If the cat was an F1, this is what it is like living with one: Chausie cat breeders.

You might like to visit the main page on this cat breed for more information and links to the breeders mentioned on this page. The page is here:

Bengal cats for Sale

There are links on this page to breeders (this list is growing all the time), mainly USA breeders in Texas and Florida.

From Bengal Cat Prices to Bengal cat behavior