1. HCM is endemic and autosomal dominant - most lines are at risk as most will carry one affected cat, some lines have multiple links to affected cats and thus are deemed ultra high risk. If you cannot scan do not breed, the breed has suffered greatly and is in the mess it is in, from breeders breeding blind.
2. Time - breeding eats up time, do not contemplate breeding if you have an active social life, love holidays and time away from home. If you can source and pay people to look after your cats whilst you are away them all well and good, but boarding catteries will not usually accept breeding cats and family members and friends will soon get fed up covering for you.
3. Money - it seems to me most Bengal breeders are money orientated - the high prices paid for breeding cats makes them an "investment" and so money motivates the breed. Do not think you are joining a lovely "hobby" group. True enthusiasts and pure hobby people are few and far apart in the Bengal breed, IME. Do not get me wrong, there are some lovely people breeding Bengals, but to some it is all about business and that is fine as long as you are aware of that.
4. Emotion - do not underestimate emotional issues. Breeding well needs a clear mind and often a cold heart. You may want to breed differently to that, but if you do sell kittens to other breeders remember not all have the interests of the cats in mind. Breeding cats is not about "love", if you have a tendency to "love" cats, then breeding may not be for you.
5. Breeding cats are not pet cats - they are very different. Noise, spraying, peeing and pooing inappropriately; and feistiness make them whilst still entire, unsuitable as pets ands why most breeders of Bengals keep their breeding cats in runs and that is where they stay. Other domestic breeds seem to get away with lots of entire girls and boys in homes in happy family groups, Bengals not so much...
6. Cleaning - make sure you like cleaning as pee and poo management is the daily chore, along with managing the damage caused.
As for your girl, then the minute you keep a boy from her then, unless you want to keep going to public stud with her, then you would have to neuter her. Most keep the girls they have bred and buy a high quality stud at first. Later as they expand they may keep a boy Most would advise 3-4 girls to keep your stud happy, as most boys cannot be kept indoors due to the smell. Male cats not only spray they can have a tendency to pee/spray on their bed to stake their claim, so they can reek of the stuff all over their fur, so one very smelly individual, that no-one can keep indoors.
Bengal girls are not that big in reality, I would question the person you got her from. Is she from a small sized family? Are there birthing issues? Was she the runt? What size have her siblings grown to, what size is her mother? If her sisters and relatives are all much bigger, then that may be an issue, if she was born by Caesarian section or failed to thrive as a youngster then that may be an issue too. If you decide to breed then perhaps a smaller adult male or an older male with a long history of producing healthy litters with little n the way of birthing issues. All you want from your first litter is no hassle and the ability to learn from it, there is no need to "give away" kittens. But it is mandatory you get her scanned, small size may be indicative of heart problems too, and the last thing you want is for your friends and family to home kittens that die from an inherited disease 2-5 years later. A disease that you may have discovered had you scanned. Lots of heart ache and blame directed at you there, I would think.
I think you have to question why you want to breed long term, as frankly there are enough kittens produced every year to meet the pet market, so justifying breeding pedigree cats is important. With just a few cats planned, you will have to IMO, capture a niche market and that will need thinking about seriously and a goal to aim for. Many Bengals are ten a penny, bred by people who know little about the breed, where it is or should be going. They buy from "quality" names, names that churn out kittens yearly "for breeding". Kittens that are ultra high risk as regards HCM, kittens from parents that are retired by 2-3 years of age with "negative" scans, but who cares? because they look nice and sell well.
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