A seller is offering a pair of Bengal kittens for just under £200. We want them as pets, not breeders, but we haven't bought a cat before and we're a bit wary at the low price for pedigree kittens. We don't know what things we should be looking out for. What paperwork should we want to see (inoculations, registration, pedigree?)?



Thanks in advance.

David

Hi David and welcome to the forum,

£200 does seem very cheap for a pair of purebred Bengal kittens. However, it could be that the breeder has had a lack of kitten enquiries and they have reduced the price to try to home them quickly, although £200 is a very low price.

Make sure that the kittens come with a full set of vaccinations; the first course should be at 9 weeks, and then at 12 weeks. They should come with a 4-5 generation pedigree with the first 3 generations showing the registration numbers of the cats. Ask to see the parents and their pedigrees too. Ask the breeder if he/she is registered with TICA or GCCF, or both. Also, ask to see their contract and make sure that if these kittens are being sold as pets, that they will be registered on the INACTIVE register.

The kittens should also be fully wormed, ‘de-flead’, have clean ears, bright eyes and be alert and confident. Ask the breeder what their diet is. It should be a high protein quality diet, and their stools should be firm.

If you have visited this breeder then ensure that the surroundings are scrupulously clean, and that the cats/kittens are kept separate in spacious rooms/enclosures. Ask them if they do any health testing at all and if they are knowledgeable with their lines. Also ask them if they will stay responsible for their kittens after they are homed. This is very important as many breeders seem to forget about their kittens and their wellbeing once the money is banked.


What age are these kittens? I personally loathe seeing kittens ‘caged up’ like this. They should be enjoying their freedom at this age, and running around playing with lots of human contact and interaction. Kittens need lots of space to burn off energy and gain more confidence IMO.

If you need further advice, then please don’t hesitate to PM me

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Best Wishes,
Maddy

Maddy gave you good advice. I question the caging as well, unless it was just to hold them for the picture? I don't know. Just ask a LOT of questions, good quality Bengals generally run a LOT more than that and sometimes when it is too good to be true, it usually is.

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~Owned by two beautiful daughters and a Bengal

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Best Wishes,
Maddy

Wow - thanks for all the advice

I will go and take a look, but I too was concerned at the photo of the cats in the cage (which is why I used that one). At least I now know what questions to ask.

Thanks again, and I will let you know how I get on

David

if you are trying to econimise try rehoming - breeders sometimes have cats surplus to breeding programmes or ones that have been returned for other people who cannot keep them for some reason - if you have any concerns please don't line the pockets of a bad breeder

That's exactly my concern. I don't want to (and won't) encourage bad practice just to save some money.

good to hear! it does happen that people think they are rescuing animals from bad situations but of course just keeps the cycle going

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Bengals - mirrors to the soul!