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BREEDING
It sounds wonderful…. Mother and kittens all raised at home, providing lots of love and entertainment for all. The reality is often a bit of a shock..
Breeding is not recommended.
Why?
1. Breeding cats are interested in… breeding. They are not interested in being a companion or a pet, they are wanting to find a mate. This translates into:
| Females calling. Females will come into heat every 2-3 weeks for 4-7 days at a time. This can vary. Some cats come into heat and do not come out until bred. |
| When in heat the female will call (yowl, loudly) trying to call attention to her plight. This is a very loud call. I will have to say it is a sound that I cannot live with in my home... it is strident and LOUD. |
| Females in heat often spray urine to mark territory and not use the litter pan. |
| Females in heat will attempt to escape when no males seem to be available in house! |
| Females that have repeated heat cycles without being bred are prone to uterine infections and sterility problems. |
| Males do not cycle like females… they are simply always ready for breeding. |
| Males spray. |
| Males call. |
| Temperament can be quite unpredictable with females in heat. |
| Whole males are often aggressive when around other males or females in heat. |
| Aggressive to people and unpredictable. |
2. You need to have a male available for breeding.
| Many catteries are closed to outside cats. This is due to health problems and keeping the catteries clean from disease. |
| To send a female out might mean that she is gone for a long period of time. Sometimes being at a new place takes the female out of heat and she has to stay longer than expected. I have had females come here for six months before being bred. |
| Sending your cat to other catteries exposes YOUR cat to disease. |
3. Your availability when kittens are due.
| Kittens are not born at convenient, well planned times! |
| Emergency situations… finding a veterinarian to help. |
| Kittens born with problems. |
| C Sections |
4. Caring for kittens daily…
| Health |
| Eating |
| Socialization. |
5. Selling and placing your kittens.
| Newspapers. Are you willing to have complete strangers call you at all hours of the day, give directions to your home, and have them come into your home? |
| Cat magazines. Expensive. Crowded with advertising, competition from well established breeders, and you need to place ads at least three months in advance of selling kittens. |
| Internet. Cost, availability, having strangers come to your home. |
If you still want to breed, find an experienced breeder to mentor you. Take your time and purchase the very best cats possible. The Bengal cat is a breed that is not fixed in its look. It is changing… you will need to keep in touch with the breed and the changes. . This means you need to show, visit other catteries and study basic genetics.
“Breeding quality” is often presented to the public. Many times this is for pricing only and is not a true indicator of quality. Be sure to distinguish the difference when speaking to breeders.
Many communities have ordinances on the number of cats you can have. Be sure to check the ordinances before you begin.
740-548-6586
before 6:00 PM EST