New user, first post.

My fiance and I just discovered Bengals last week, but we've already found one we like and I just wanted to see what everyone here thinks. The breeder says she is show quality and is charging us accordingly. Here is dad (top left) mom (top right) and baby girl (bottom). Thanks!

Hello,
Personally I wouldnt rush into just buying the first show kitten you come aross..
Do you want to show/ breed.

if so, do a lot more homework..
I took about 7 months of studying the breed/markings/colours/pedigree's etc before i took the plunge..
have got two babies booked now..
a girl & boy - both to show.
They will be cooked mid october- cant wait...
Good luck xx

agreed queenb
it's not something 2 b taken lightly, yes the kitten is pretty but there is a lot 2 take in2 account with any cat & bengals r particularly demanding.
it took me over a year between discovering them, researching & aquiring my 1st girl.
don't rush!

This kitten really looks like show quality (what a gorgeous father ! From Gogees I'd say ?).

So if that's what you want (a stunning kitten even if you don't want to show or breed) well yes be prepared to pay the price !

Else, if you had in mind showing and perhaps breeding, like queenb said, be sure to know enough about the breed, read (especially about standard and genetics), have a look at breeders' websites and so on .

Just a BUT... this kitten already has some "clear" rosettes, so be prepared to see them fade as she ages and become more like the mother . Today I looked into Chaos' pedigree and found out that his mother too had stunning rosettes when young, but now they've faded (and she's 6 !)... she's still beautiful of course ! But I guess my Chaos (pet) will take the same way...

Yep, dad is Gogess Breaking News, and mom is Gogees Rozie Rosetta.

I thought the breeder said (and we were hoping) that the rosettes would go the other way and become clearer with age. Another breeder said it's really hard to tell what they're going to look like as they can go through alot of changes around the 'teenage' years (4-6months).

We don't plan to breed her, but showing is a possiblity. We met alot of bengals, including some less attractive girls, but we think we want to pay a little more for the look.

My finance is somewhat allergic to cats so we're trying to do what we can to help avoide a reaction. We read that girls usually are better about it than boys, so that's why we are looking for a little girl, even though there were some other good looking males that would be cheaper.

As for the price, from what I've seen, good looking girls have been around $700 - $1,000. Does that sound about right?

So both are Gogees' ? No wonder she's already looking so good . What I meant is that the color may fade and the constrast be less vivid but it's difficult to tell.
Is the breeder Gene Ducote herself or are they just "from" Gogees ? (the parents).

I wouldn't think girls are less allergenic but Bengals are reputed to be (I'm not allergic myself even though both my parents are so difficult to say it's true - anyway if he's not too allergic he'll desensibilize himself at the contact of your cat (this doesn't mean he won't be allergic anymore, he'll just tolerate your cat , my cousin was allergic to any cat except hers, and then hers too as she left the house and came back only for the WE...).

As for the price... well if you pay full price for a quality show girl that has a possibility to breed I guess it would be around double the price you said ($1800-$2000 would be a correct guess, especially for a Gogee girl).
If you buy her as a "special pet" I'd say more around $1000-1200, it may even reach $1500 at least (I'm not very good, in France Bengals are the "same" but in € so really more expensive, and nobody's selling "special pets" as they're still rare and kept for breeding only... I wanted one from the best French breeder (with Gogees lines) and they were 2500€, 2000€ for the less expensive, no selling them as pets )

The breeder isn't Gene, but she's friends with her, she said (has one of her cats in Gene's book).

She's asking $900 for this girl as a pet, which sounded high to me, but is looking more like a good deal as I do more research.
Now i'm wondering if we should look for cheaper girls and maybe get 2... But I don't think I could find something we'd like (or two somethings) for around $500. I work full time, but the fiance is finishing up college and has alot of time to spend with a cat so maybe 1 will be ok.

I know we're being spontaneous, but we're young, aren't we supposed to be?

Well $900 seems a very good price to me but as I said I'm accustomed to the high french prices... (Chaos would have been 1800€ as a stud if he hadn't had a heart murmur, which made the breeder sell him 600€ as a pet, but her other pets, less beautiful as no big rosettes, were 850€).

If you want a friend for her you can get a free moggie you know . I've got a moggie and a bengal and they're the best pals...

I won't critisize you, I was spontaneous too (discovered the breed in March -looking around for a few months - found Chaos' breeder at the beginning of August and 3 weeks later he was with us ).

Fantastic markings and a very promising looking show kitten!

In a show flashy pelts never win over cats with good type, If you're planning to show lots then spend a little more time looking around so you know and understand what you want, ensuring the type is there before the pelt.

Something to bear in mind - a show cat thats been altered/spayed is in a whole different league of competion than entire show cats.

There's no rush, take your time.

Hmm, is now the time to mention that inevitably you'll end up wanting another one?

Have a good look around on this forum, there is lots of great advice for new owners - and a whole discussion on "one Bengal or two..." This is actually an important thing to consider if your cat will be on its own during the day - nothing worse than a bored Bengal....but if one of you will usually be in the house it's not such a problem.

Of course, I have two and now want a third

Gorgeous kitten, good luck and let us know how you get on!

Best wishes

Teresa