ExotiCats.com FAQs (frequently-asked questions)

Ethical Bengal breeders breed with the intent to continuously improve the quality of the breed.  We strive to breed out undesirable characteristics; and we strive to meet and exceed the breed standards with each and every litter we generate.

If not for the passion for the breed, ethical breeders wouldn't breed at all. We are aware that the world is overpopulated with unwanted un-pedigreed cats that will never find a forever home thanks mostly to the feral population, abandonment, and pet owners who just didn't bother to neuter.

Please don't ask me to sell you a kitten so your child can experience the miracle of birth just one time. If you want a pet, buy a pet. If you want to breed, please read on.

Here are some links to check out.

Join this list to ask questions about becoming a breeder:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Bengals-L/

Don't be too put off if responses are a little discouraging.  A lot of newbies jump in and think they can have just a girl – get stud service to avoid the inconvenience of owning a boy – and make money.  It never happens. The older list members have witnessed this enough to be jaded.

Here is the link to our registry, TICA:

http://www.tica.org/

Here is the link to the International Bengal Cat Society, TIBCS:

http://tibcs.com/main.aspx

Spend some time doing research before you commit to this “hobby”. 

When it comes to breeding stock, be careful what you buy and who you buy from.  Unethical breeders will try to sell you cats that are not breeder quality.  A fine Bengal worthy of breeding and showing will cost between 1500.00 and 3000.00, more for certain colors and generations.  So a girl and a boy will cost twice that. I won't sell you a breeder unless you agree to join TIBCS. If you don't already have a mentor, I won't sell you a breeder unless I can commit to being your mentor. I won't sell you a breeder unless your breeding plan is admirable. I won't sell you a breeder unless I believe in your ethics and integrity. I won't sell you a girl as a breeder unless you already have a male breeder and I think that both he and his pedigree are a good match for the girl. 

If you are serious about becoming a Bengal breeder:

• You should join TICA and TIBCS.  Register your cattery with TICA.


• Read and agree to the TIBCS Code of Ethics: http://www.bengalcat.com/abouttibcs/coe.aspx


• Read a book on breeding pedigreed cats.


• Read this page: http://www.icehouse.net/illuzion/want_breedup.html


• Go to some TICA cat shows.  Here is the show calendar: http://home.flash.net/~debreed/calendar.htm


• Have deep pockets.  It's easy to spend 10,000.00 before you've had a single kitten.


• Read up on Bengal genetics.  Here is a start: http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Andes/4561/genetic.htm


• Visit at least a couple of breeders in your area to get an up-close and personal view of what the lifestyle is all about.

Understand that breeders have obligations:

• HCM screening


• Breeding to better the breed ONLY – not breeding to produce “pet quality”


• Willingness to take back previously placed kittens when an owner cannot or will not care for them


• Health guarantee on each and every kitten sold – this can mean giving back money or replacing a kitten long after it is sold


• Keeping current on all issues affecting the breed and actively participating in the “community”


• Providing the best medical care, nutrition, housing and socialization for your breeders and kittens


• Implementing a marketing plan sufficient to place all of your kittens


• TIBCS members must abide by the TIBCS code of ethics

and the list goes on… It's a lot of work.  I have had to bottle-feed a litter every two hours around the clock when mom couldn't do it.  I've had to medicate an infected eye every four hours around the clock.  During kitten season, I spend at least three or four hours a day on cattery business, cleaning, cat care and playtime.

I love breeding Bengals.  If I haven't scared you off, you are crazy like me.  Welcome to the club.

Lift the kitten's tail. The opening just under the tail is the anus. Below the anus is the genital opening which is round in males and is a vertical slit in females. In kittens of similar size, the distance between the anus and the genital opening is greater in the male than the female.

Here is a helpful photograph: http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/cliented/kittensex.asp

Do NOT register your litter without verfiying parentage. Don't freak out. You're not the first breeder to need verification.

U.C. Davis can do genetic testing to determine the father for you. Here is the link you need for instructions: http://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/service/parentage/