There seems to be a growing number of new breeders (some on their first or second litter) who like to 'mentor' fellow new breeders. Aside from inexperience in breeding, they have never shown either and some of them say the most ridiculous things.

Is it becoming more common or is it just the marvel of the web that reveals to us all of these 'breeders'? 6 and a half years on I still call my mentors (one of whom isn't even in my breed) weekly if not more when I am stumped or need some reassurance ... I have shared my own experiences and offered suggestions to fellow newcomers based on the things I have been through and things I have learned but would never consider myself a mentor.

For me a mentor is someone who has been through it all and still stands by their breed after many years. Someone who has survived trends and fashions and worked on regardless of what the next big thing is. Someone who has their breed at their heart and screen/test for whatever possible whenever possible. Someone whose breeding has proven its merit on the show bench and someone who genuinely wants to encourage newcomers to become involved in the cat fancy. Someone who hasn't desperate determination to sell as much as possible to breeding homes for the highest price and most of all, someone who freely admits they never stop learning.

I see these fellow newcomers come and go (and I've only been in the breeding world 6 1/2 years!) and wonder if they could have stuck around had they started with a real mentor ... or if it was simply all about the money or ego, which they found neither would never come.

So what, in your opinion, makes a mentor?

The breeder that I got BB from offered to mentor me and her mentor the lady that she got her first breeding queens from offered to mentor me! They have a combined experience of 20+ years! They test for everything under the sun they stand by the cat and kittens %100 and take pride in everything they do! They do jack up prices to ungodly amounts to make a quick buck when one kitten has flawless markings but will lower the price when the kitten has less then perfect markings! I think a good mentor to me is someone that is going to be past that first litter! Someone that is going to be past that major expensive purchase to get one of their cats with breeding rights! That is what I have came across a lot is that breeders will say they will mentor you with becoming a breeder just to sell you a cay for 2000 more dollars so you can have breeding rights! Another thing to me is I would find it hard to see how someone can be a mentor when they are a 14 hour drive away! My breeder lives a little under 2 hours from me and her breeder lives a little under 1 hour from me! I think I have a strong network to back me up! One of the ladies here not only breeds bengals but she also breeds Savannahs so shhas been breeding for a while she started breeding bengals in the late 70's and savannahs in the early's! So what is a mentor really? Will a mentor answer the phone at 2 am when your first queen goes into labor and is having problems and you dont know what to do? Will they help you when they are delivering? Will they help you with a supply list of things you will need for delivery and after delivery? Will they tell you that its highly possilbe you might have to hand feed these babies so that means you will be up every two hour with a bottle to feed each kitten? I dont see most of these breeders doing this! I also dont see most of them telling you that you will have to clean endless amounts of poo, and spend hundrends of dollars a month on just supplies let alone vet bills! I thinks a mentor should do all of that plus more! A mentor should prepare you mentally for the journey you are about to take because its not all fun and games!

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Any Tom, Dick or Harry can come into the Bengal breed now and buy x amount of breeding cats from some established breeders without having one crumb of knowledge, experience or having done even 5 minutes of research. I feel that too many established breeders are encouraging the 'new wave' of novice breeders by letting them buy breeding cats far too easily without important questions being asked first, let alone insisting on mentoring them. I think this is very irresponsible, but I guess the extortionate prices charged for breeding cats is too attractive to turn down for some. I despair when I see some newbies 'mentoring' other newbies. How can you possibly 'mentor' a new breeder when you have very little knowledge & experience yourself???

I would always discourage any new breeder from buying more than one or two breeding queens for at least the first two years of breeding. I would also discourage a new breeder from buying a stud cat until he/she had 2 or 3 years worth of experience being in the breed. Buying in too many cats when you first start out breeding is utter madness, and if anyone thinks it's for any other reason than to make money, then they are being naive. Any breeder who is eager to sell kittens to a novice who has absolutely no experience of the Bengal breed or breeding in general, is being irresponsible in the extreme. If you take on a new breeder then MENTOR them. Ask them questions:

Why do they want to breed?
Have they carried out any research in the breed incl health/genetics/standard etc..?
Is their house large enough to cater for breeding cats/litters?
Do they realise the sheer hard work, time and money breeding entails?
Encourage them to start SLOWLY. Buy one breeding girl in the first year and gain experience FIRST.
Suggest that they visit shows first and talk to breeders, and meet some Bengals.
Make sure they are aware of all the health problems in the breed. Encourage them to study pedigrees, and make sure they are willing to health test their cats.
And so on and so on......

These questions should be asked BEFORE a breeder even contemplates selling cats to a novice breeder IMO, and yet time and time again, I see cats being sold too freely without any vetting or questions being asked by the breeder selling.
A good mentor should be there every step of the way for a novice breeder. They need support 24/7 - whether that's help with kittening at 3am, or help finding an open stud. A mentor should have years of experience with the breed in general, but also experience with health/genetic issues in the lines, birthing issues, mating issues, health problems etc etc...

If some established breeders carry on selling cats to newbies at the drop of a hat, with no questions asked, then they are doing the breed a grave disservice, and ultimately it is the cats that will suffer. There is more to 'caring' about the breed than producing x amount of kittens, or even health testing. Breeders must start acting responsibly and CARE about the next generation of breeders, and make sure the breed will be in good hands. I personally don't see this happening any time soon, which is very sad.

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Best Wishes,
Maddy

Although me and Dan have experience in breeding pedigree dogs and rare breeds poultry we are new to breeding Bengals, we have just had our first litter and our other queen is due in the next few weeks with our second litter of kittens. I am happy to give advice or discuss the different aspects of breeding with anyone who wants to but I would never assume that my so far limited experience would qualify me as a mentor. I don't think talking to other breeders about breeding issues or even just pet related issues should only be reserved for those with many years of experience though, nor do I believe that a breeder HAS to show their cats to be knowledgeable and to produce cats which are excellent examples of the breed standard.

Unfortunately it does seem that true mentors are few and far between, the vast majority of breeders are happy to offer advice and/or help to a degree but their main focus is on their own programs and their own cats not on providing 24/7 support for new breeders who purchase their kittens.

I feel that all breeders should work together and offer advice or help to the best of their ability if and when they can. If we are to continue to progress the Bengal breed then new breeders need to be supported not judged and pushed aside by more established breeders, after all breeders do eventually retire from breeding and others will need to carry the breed forward. They can't do that without the support of those more knowledgeable or experienced.

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Best Wishes,
Maddy

I was actually proud of my breeder she told me that she would mentor me only if her mentor agreed to mentor me as well. My breeder has only had a cattery for four years but has been breeding longer than that! She also told me she would not sell me more than two breeding queens and would provide stud service for me for two years , this would be in contract, and then I could purchase a stud of my choosing from where ever! I think in general that was a very responsible thing for her to do! She also told me about having to get up at all hours of the night to stay by your queen when she is in labor to make sure everything goes ok, the unexpected c-cestions, cleaning poo all the time, cats fighting during the night, taking kittens to the vet all the time because you look at them the wrong way and one gets diarrhea so you have to get them checked! I sat with her over lunch for about two hours one day and she told me the good the bad and the ugly and to expect you finaciances to come out in the negative the majority of the time unless you have a huge litter and everything goes perfect you might break even or come out a little on top! She told me out of the litters she has had she has made less than 1000 dollars put together over the whole time she has been breeding! So she was up front with the truth with me, and she also recommended that I get BB spayed and live with her as a et first and then get another intact queen and see if I can even handle one in heat calling for a mate day and night! I respect her for that because I was ready to dive in head first like many people do so I have decided to wait a couple of years before I even attempt that!

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I must say I cringe when I see new breeders selling kittens as breeding cats, Ive been approached by different breeders with my previous litters and even now when I don't have any kittens - and I have declined each time, because I simply don't feel I have that knowledge or experience.
Unfortunately I cannot help but think its money driven when it happens so early on

I do however have an amazing set of friends in the breeding world who have great knowledge & experience who I can go to for anything and everything, including showing advice too. I feel very lucky

Thats a good point completely, personally for me I think selling for breeding is a MASSIVE responsibility regardless of who it is to and something not to be undertaken lightly. I think new breeders myself included should concentrate on establishing their own breeding programme and working out where they want to be, before thinking about adding to someone elses.

ETA - There is more to a cat then how it fits to the breed standard, lines are being put together, and if there is any consistency in a programme (which there should be imo) then it takes time to have confidence in those lines in regards to looks AND health, they may be suitable as neutered house hold pets/show cats, but not for breeding - knowledge and confidence in the cats you produce comes with time, not on a first pairing of someone elses lines (that might also not be established)

I know a breeder her that has been breeding since 1997 and she will not sale one of her kittens as a breeder to anyone other than one cattery that she is really good friends with and I think they more or less trade to add to their different qualities to their lines. She flat told me she would turn down 10,000 dollars for one of her kittens as a breeder because she didnt bust her butt all of these years to create the cats that she has for some BYB or someone that has no clue of what they are doing to come along and tarnish her line that she has worked for! I was very impressed with her. In fact many people on the forum have her kittens! She does all of the testing and she is very resonable in her prices! Quite frankly I think she has some of the best cats in the U.S. There is a reason for that she has kept what she does to herself! I think breeders should be more cautious who they sale their breeder kittens too! Me I have no experience breeding at all but I can go online right now and put a deposit on 10 breeding cats and not have one question asked other than my payment information! To me that is scary, for the breeds future people see how much these cats cost and dollar signs pop in there eyes and nothing else! I say it will not be long and Bengal will get a bad rep because of what is going on with all of the breeders doing what they are doing!

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There are, thankfully, a few really good new breeders coming through (and I still consider myself relatively new) but I, personally, feel they are far outweighed by the quick set ups who usually buy starter stock from one or two breeders and then announce themselves to the world as the source of all knowledge. Of course I am not speaking about general discussion and tips - we learn something new every day and every bit of information is valuable to the breeding community so it should be shared, regardless of how long you have been in the breed. I am talking of those who suddenly appear from nowhere with a ton of cats and from one litter they talk of pitfalls and expenses, of backyard breeders and how nobody knows how hard it is. They then try to sell as many as they can to breeding homes (££££) and take the role of 'mentor' when they sell to fellow new breeders. They don't bother with HCM, they know very little of the standard and they have no intention to show. In 6 and half years I have seen quite a few come and go.

I do feel that showing is part of it all and I know there are many who disagree. But it is on the show bench that cats are judged on their conformity to the standard and against fellow breeders best efforts. It is where tips, advice, friends and contacts can be made. Not self proclaimed 'experts' who shout louder than everyone else on Facebook but people who have actually been slogging away for years working with their breed and reaping the rewards of successful breeding. I see non show programmes that veer off, concentrating on one point (usually markings) and you can see with each generation the chins are weakening, or the ears getting larger or the tails thinner and longer etc (and sometimes all!). Being on the show bench would make such breeders address these things and see that no single point should be given top priority. Showing also requires that your cats must be clean, in good physical condition and of a good temperament (mostly!). As I said, I know many disagree and there are breeders who have never shown who produce great cats, but for me it goes hand in hand with best practice. There is so much advice from kittening, weaning and calling to grooming and handling that we have attained from people in various breeds at shows, I know our programme would poorer without it.

The best ones of all, however, are the backyard breeders who warn potential customers about buying from backyard breeders ... genius!

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Best Wishes,
Maddy

"I feel much of the problem is that there are very few in the Bengal breed who would match up to your exacting standards."

Maybe that is why my 1 of my mentors isn't in my breed and the other long gone from it! lol It could also be because I came in from the dog world where you can't even win at a show until "they" have deemed you worthy. Aside from what I have learned and been told by my mentors I have also learned a bit without them either through experience or research or speaking to breeders at shows so I don't think there should be a tight grip binding mentor to newbie ... but having that contact and help is invaluable. I don't really like the term mentor but I think that is just because I see it banded about in such a poor way. I know one breeder who is "mentored" by someone who hadn't even had her first litter when she "took him on". Utter madness! And the things they have come out with would be funny if they weren't preaching it to all who will listen. Why is there such shame attached to admitting you don't have all the answers?? One of them appeared at a show only to criticise their far superior competition and then tell visitors how the judges haven't a clue, funnily enough they have never returned yet they offer their substandard cat at stud and every kitten is advertised "show/breeder" ... on the basis of one witheld award!

I've also yet to see any of these little mentor and mentee (??) set ups screen for HCM - or even mention it and some don't even bother with PK-def. I'm sure they've always been around here and there playing at cat breeding but they seem to be growing in numbers and it makes me really fear for the future. Get off of Facebook and get to some shows, see how your cats measure up, talk to those with experience, read the books (Pond, Simson, Weir - not 'cat breeding for dummies') and take advantage of seminars and lectures. Discuss the standard instead of colours and markings. Discuss health instead of profiles ... is it really too much to ask? I'm sure they would actually enjoy the hobby if they invested more than money into it.

Rant over, I wonder which way it will go in the next 6 years...

I am a new breeder of Tonkinese, so different to Bengals. My mentor was very good before and during my first litter but has since slowly distanced herself a little. She no longer has a stud i can use as they are all related to my girl and so i have gone elsewhere but i still expected some support from her. I have had tremendous support from the owner of the second stud. She has assisted in my queries and questions. And has been a faithful guide with the kittens! This breeder is the breeder of my first Tonkinese so i have known her for 7 years.

With regards to new breeders selling 'active' kittens. I have been approached by a number of breeders for both my litters. I am actually selling a girl to a breeder in Holland from my current litter. She has chosen which one she wants and is an established breeder there that wants new blood and especially a girl from my lines. She is being sold at the same price as my pet kittens so i will not make any money on it. I am not doing it for any financial gain, i'm doing it to help out another breeder.

I do think new breeders struggle sometimes to get 'in'. And i do think there is a need for new breeders as the older/established ones will not be there forever. However, it needs to be done properly. And there are a lot of breeders of some breeds, maybe too many.

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Lollo