Asian Leopard Cat - Domestic Bengal cat
Bengal Cats make the most wonderful pets and we have had our lives enriched by Summer, our first Bengal, she is stunningly beautiful, intelligent, affectionate, purrs constantly, and has changed our world forever.
Cats leave paw prints on your heart, Bengals leave love spots on your soul
Asian Leopard Cat-Bengal Cat
Bengal cats are the descendants of a cross between the Asian Leopard Cat and a Domestic Cat. A first generation cat is called an F1, an F2 is a progency of one F1 parent and one domestic parent (usually a Bengal) and an F3 has one F2 and one domestic parent, F1 males are usually sterile and F2 and F3 males also often have fertility problems. the early stages of breeding programs are therefore usually carried out by crossing female Asian Leopard Cat hybrids with male domestic cats.The fourth generation removed from the wild and beyond can be considered a domestic animal, and is officially a Bengal, rather than a Leopard Cat hybrid, given that the breeding programme will have been explicitly aimed at producing good pets, the resulting Bengals should display the beautiful markings of the Asian Leopard Cat, whilst inheriting the domestic cats social nature and adaptability to human lifestyles.
ALC The very Beautiful Asian Leopard Cat
The amazing Bengal character
For all the talk you hear about the amazing beauty of the Bengal cat, you could be forgiven for assuming that a Bengal possesses normal domestic cat behaviour, just with wonderful markings as well, however, ask any Bengal cat owner, they will tell you, a Bengal is such a wonderful addition to most homes, they have delightful characters who light up your life with entertainment, interest and affection. they have loads of personality, they are very intelligent, lively, interactive,playful,sometimes boisterous, some times a little naughty too :-) very vocal, you can really have a two way conversation with them a very special bond.Bengals can be taught to play fetch like a dog, some people say bengals are more dog like than cat, having never owned a dog I am unable to comment on that. Bengals are very energetic, they rush around the house, jumping great heights, they even do somersaults while in high spirits, kittens in particular can be all over the place, in a veritable stampede of spotty fluff, the flip side of a Bengals behaviour is that for much of the time they are complete softies, who nuzzle up against you, purring wildly, then curl up with you and fall fast asleep, they genuinely crave affection, they love company,if you work more than part time we do advise you get two bengals to keep each other company while you are at work :-) Bengals will spend many happy hours resting piled up on you purring, this makes a lovely complement to a Bengals energetic behaviour. Bengals love water, they like to play in it or with it they will even join you for a bath, Bengals are very vocal cats, they coooo and chirp and have a very insistent MEEYOWWWLLL, when they want your attention, the noise varies in volume from loud to unbelievable,its easily stopped by giving them what they want, Bengals love food, they need to eat alot due to being very energetic, we feed a varied diet here at Summerspride, fresh raw food which they love, cooked meat, a little fish, pouches and dried food and of course a constant supply of fresh water,once you have a Bengal you soon realise you want another, Bengals are very addictive :-) a Bengal soon has you wrapped around their paw, Nothing quite compares to a Bengal.
Why are Bengal kittens so expensive??
I often get emails from people asking for a Beautiful Bengal kitten for £200. they have seen them advertised on the internet for that amount, ummm haven't we all!!!
I will try and explain why our kittens cost more than £200.
We are a registered cattery, with Tica and Gccf all our cats are registered with Tica and some with Gccf too we abide by Tica and Gccf code of conduct and we abide by the Pet Plan Kitten Charter. All our breeding cats are bought for that purpose, to breed from and are registered with Tica or Gccf, they are from good healthy blood lines, fully vaccinated and health checked regularly to ensure they are in excellent health at all times our cats are tested for Felv/Fiv and are negative.
A pedigree Bengal has at least four generations of registered ancestors of the same breed. A registered Bengal kitten will cost more than an unregistered kitten because, as a breeder I have had to pay for the Dam & Stud both registered breeding cats on the active list (So you are able to breed from them legally)
Kittens are vaccinated, wormed, frontlined, micro-chipped, vet checked at least twice, fully weaned & Registered, this all costs money more than the £200. for an unregistered Bengal you see on the internet.
As a breeder I have the expense of running my cattery, heating and lighting costs the cost of Safe 4 disinfectant, the extra laundry a stud boy provides us with :-) vet bills, vaccinating all our cats, scanning our pregnant girls, litter, food is very expensive as we only feed the very best here at Summerspride, then there is the cost of advertising kittens, belonging to cat clubs, that's a yearly subscription, if we want to show each cat is £50. that's without traveling costs, the upkeep of our website, The list is endless and goes on and on!!
Apart from the above there is the emotional side of breeding, we here at Summerspride Bengals put our hearts and souls into all of our cats and kittens
We have not had a holiday for three years as unable to leave our Beautiful Bengals, not even had a week end away, holidays are a thing of the past when you become a dedicated breeder, nights out are all gone even shopping trips are now cut short!
As soon as one of our girls gets pregnant she is under our constant care, at about 8 weeks into her pregnancy she will move into our kittening room, where she will give birth, I move into the kittening room too a couple of days before babies are due,once babies are born, their every little movement, breath is monitored by myself, if as some times happens you need to top up a kitten with milk or give it extra care, breeding then takes on a whole new meaning for us at Summerspride, the emotional side of it is sooo hard to explain unless you have been there yourself, In our first litter we had Dinky he was very small needed help with feeding etc his story is in my blog, you get so attached to these tiny babies the pain is unreal as you watch them slip away, with Dinky I cried every day non-stop for the first three weeks of his life :-( then by some miracle and alot of love and care from us he pulled through :-) we then couldn't sell him as had bonded with him just way too much, that's what happens when you put your heart and soul into your breeding. In our third litter we had Paris who needed extra care when she was almost 6 weeks old, well I spent 6-7 weeks hand rearing her, nearly lost her 3 times the vets gave up on her, we would not!! Every penny I earned payed her vet bills, against all odds she pulled through :-) and I added to her name Juliet as her dad is Romeo and Im Julie so a tribute to me for all the hard work the dedication the love I put into one little baby girl, she just needed a little extra love and care (her little problem was due to an error at the out of hours vet) still to this day I have been unable to put into words my feelings my thought of the 6-7 weeks I cared for Paris round the clock, feeding her every 2 hours injecting her with saline water to hydrate her syringe feeding her special food, this is all part of being a dedicated passionate loving breeder. Paris Juliet is now 8 months old living a full and happy life with her sister Bella :-)
The pain of a still birth is unreal, hurts like hell!! We have only had two still births, it wasn't any easier the second time :-( its normal to lose a baby in each litter :-((
My advice when you are looking for a Bengal kitten is go and see some from different breeders, ask loads of questions, have a look around the cattery, ask to see all paper work, you are allowed don't be scared :-) Ask to see both mum and dad, only if you are 100% happy then put a deposit down.
Maybe now when you read the above you will think I now know why registered Bengal kittens cost more than unregistered kittens you see on the internet for £200. registered breeders make very little money on a litter some times none if you have vet bills, any money made just goes straight back into our cats :-)