Commercial Cattery Born Kitten....

DeputyMP24 · **Joined:** Fri Sep 18, 2015 1:31 pm **Posts:** 212

Ok....be forwarned, Im sure this topic will make alot of people very angry. This is not my intention.

I purchased by new Bengal Baby, Suri, from a professional breeder. I brought her home Monday (9-14-15). The breeder runs a very large, TICA and state licensed show cattery. Before you get up in arms about a "kitten mill"....this facility was soooooo nice. The adult cats were all VERY healthy, super social, and incredibly well cared for. The facilities were spottless and well maintained. I was actually impressed with the overall facility as well as the animals. The owner also shows professionally, and the quality of his cats cant be denied. He has stayed in touch about how Suri is doing, which is appreciated.

Anyway...my little Suri spent the 1st 10 weeks of her life in a cage. She was handled of course, but never had REAL socialization. She had never even seen the outdoors or the inside of a home until I purchased her from the breeder. She was very timid the day she came home, but was a little purring bundle of energy the next day. Suri has bonded very strongly to me, and is my little lap leopard. I cant be out of her sight! She is very playful when she wants to be, but does sleep ALOT. (especially if shes in my lap...which is as much as possible!) Should I be worried about any future behavioral issues from being caged early on? Her vet advised shes young enough that it ahould not be an issue, especially with how strongly attached to me she is. Thoughts? Advice? Suri is my very first Bengal Baby, as well as my very first housecat!

Sherry · **Joined:** Thu May 23, 2013 2:21 pm **Posts:** 9217

I'm not sure why you would feel we'd be angry. There are many breeders like yours. But there are also breeders who socialize the kittens into their homes. When breeders have a large array of queens and studs and want multiple litters to deal with at a time, they are going to need the cages, etc. But it sounds like your kitty is doing just fine. I wouldn't be too concerned! The "cage" is in her past. Now she is free to run around -- and she won't remember anything from her early weeks.

DeputyMP24 · **Joined:** Fri Sep 18, 2015 1:31 pm **Posts:** 212

Im glad the situation on how Suri was bred is understood. Here in the US, large operations like that are very frowned on. Even the nice, properly ran breeders are frowned on.

I am glad to hear she shouldnt have any issues from being caged. She will have full run of the house as an only pet once shes a bit older!

Sherry · **Joined:** Thu May 23, 2013 2:21 pm **Posts:** 9217

Your breeder could be construed as a "cat mill," but there is a difference if they have several queens and studs that will produce only a couple of litters each a year. A true cat mill will have one or two queens and they reproduce several litters a year. They continue to mate them with every heat and the poor queen does not have time to recuperate from her previous litter.

DeputyMP24 · **Joined:** Fri Sep 18, 2015 1:31 pm **Posts:** 212

Oh jeeze, no this guy had like, 60ish cats. He breeds not only bengals, but siamese cats as well. Lets see...he had 3 litters of bengal babies, and if I remember correctly, 4 litters of siamese babies. His queens were all SUPER healthy, as were his kings. His large pens were sorted by age, breed and gender. His queens with kittens had their own individual cages, as did just little kittens. There were outdoor access pens (with doors to the inside facilities) with lots of natural wood climbing trees overlooking a pretty river. It was quite the impressive operation really. Very well designed and thought out for his cats.

Sherry · **Joined:** Thu May 23, 2013 2:21 pm **Posts:** 9217

Obviously, breeding is their entire income, so there has to be a lot of kittens to make any money! I'm sure there aren't many of these around the country. Sounds like this one takes a lot of people and a lot of work.

Commercial Cattery Born Kitten....

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