Curious if anyone has had dealings with the City of Gold Cattery located in the US?

She is a TICA member and has been in business for quite some time. I am not able to find much online to indicate any complaints etc.

Thanks,
Geoff

The website really doesn't have any important info at all. If you're interested in this breeder you're going to have to call them and make many inquiries. Probably a lot of inquiries. Two good ones to start with would be if they test for HCM (and how often they do) and PK-def.

Hello Geoff,
I live in Connecticut and have been to a couple cat shows in the area and have never heard of that breeder. The website also doesnt really cut it. I got my wonderful Bengal from Speakeasy Bengals in Massachusetts and I can highly recommend them. They do all the testing required and do a great job socializing their kittens. They also have the the Number 1 Bengal Cat in the TICA showing ring this season (he is also the number 5 overall!!) so they have beautiful cats. Please check them out as I know they are a highly respected breeder here in the US and I can't say the same about the breeder you are asking about! Good luck in your search!!

Thanks for all of the great advice. Seems I have some work to do.

Aww, how cute are they! They looks so small, though. How are they doing, settling in well? Thanks for sharing the cute video.

Do you mind telling which breeder you ended up going with?

Very cute kittens! I love the spotted kittens spots he is lovely I can not make out much about the other I am assuming it is a marble? Anyways congrats on your new babies , keep the pics coming we all love to see them!

_________________

The Breeder has a cattery called City Of Gold Cattery in Russel, MA.

-Geoff

Some sad news. One of the two Begal kittens I received passed away early this morning.

It was determined by the Dr who performed the necropsy that there was virtually no thymus gland. She then told me this is a totally random condition in kittens and makes it impossible for them to thrive.

The reason I had the procedure performed was to provide feedback to the breeder, but also to provide a sense of closure for myself.

-Geoff

Can someone weigh in on this? I am looking for some advice on how to move forward.

Thanks,
Geoff

Sorry to hear about your kitten .I'm not sure what you mean by weigh in? If you mean with regard to the breeder have you informed her of what happened to the kitten yet? If so how did she respond to the news? When you picked up the kittens did you sign a contract? If you had a contract with the kittens did it have a health guarantee written into it? Most breeders provide a health guarantee stating that if a kitten dies from a genetic/ hereditary condition within a certain time frame the kitten will be replaced with one of equal quality but not all do. Without a contract or health guarantee there isn't really much that you can do.

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I am referring to the breeder. I have kept her up to speed with the situation. She was concerned.

Since the cause of death was thymic atrophy, I am concerned he may have had feline leukemia.

The vet where the necropsy was performed drew blood as part of the process, but didn't test it. I have contacted the breeder to see if she would like a blood test done to determine whether its positive for leukemia. This was today and I am waiting to hear back. I would think she would want to know for future breeding as it may influence her decision to breed a particular cat.

The breeder has agreed to replace the kitten free of charge, but not until November when she has some. My question is, should I be concerned about a possible systemic problem? Or is this an isolated case?

Thanks,
Geoff

I'm glad to hear that the breeder is being responsible and is working with you to deal with this situation. It may be worth asking for a test to be done just to put your mind at rest as well as the obvious implications for the breeder. There is a link between Feline Leukemia and atrophy of the thymus so it is something to consider, were your kittens vaccinated with the FeLV vaccine as there is some beliefe that this can also cause thymic atrophy and other symptoms of feline leukemia without the kitten having contracted the disease from any other cats. If you are planning on accepting the replacement kitten from this breeder and are worried about possible health issues with the breeders cats then I think it would help reduce your concerns to have the FeLV blood test done, if it is negative then you will know that what happened to your kitten was a congenital defect and very unlikely to happen in another kitten and if it is positive then the breeder can take steps to safeguard her future breeding program by testing her cats and removing any that are positive for the disease.

That is too bad the breeder didn't keep her word. Are you still going to try to find another Bengal kitten to keep your remaining kitten company? I wish I could offer advice for you but since you didn't have a contract I'm afraid there's nothing you can do. Such a shame, really.