Hi there,

I'm in Australia and have been looking into getting a bengal. I've been doing some research on the breeders that are close to me and have picked my favourite to visit.
My issue is that this breeder is quite new to breeding and hasn't yet tested her bengals for HCM (she says she will be doing this within the next 12 months as they'll be old enough then). She said there have been 'no significant problems' with the ancestors of her breeding cats and I'm pretty sure she'd be able to provide full details of them for several generations. She was open about HCM and says if she finds any of her cats has it she will neuter them.
Everything else about this breeder and her cattery seems perfect and I can't wait to visit. It looks like a great set-up and as with many breeders in Auz, the kittens come fully vaccinated, chipped, and de-sexed at 12 weeks with a 6 week insurance policy.
My question is, if I like the kittens, do I take the risk?
I could go further afield and look at other catteries (which is probably advisable anyway), or I know of others in Australia that have been testing their cats for a long time, but they would have to courier the kitten and I wouldn't get to see it or it's parents prior (I don't like the idea of this at all).
Any thoughts?

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Thank you, that's very helpful. I only want a Bengal as a pet so I'm really only interested in HCM because I would like to have a pet that has a long life.
But you're right that you never know what might happen in the future, there could be other issues that you could never plan for and even if the cat did have HCM, this doesn't mean it couldn't have a long and full life.

Thanks again. I'll let you know once I've chosen!

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Louise - my head agrees with you (even if my heart doesn't mind)... I ought to get kittens from tested parents... I'll do some more research with the breeder that I like. And also find one nearby that I can visit where I know for definite that the parents have been tested.

Of course it is your own choice to make, I am somewhat tainted in my attitude as I now have several friends with Bengals which have been diagnosed HCM.

It is easy to be of the mind that this is one of those things which happens to someone else, but the truth of the matter is that someone else may just turn out to be you.

As I said, buying from scanned parents is not going to guarantee you a HCM negative kitten - it is a step in the right direction - but should the worst case happen and you bought from non scanned parents despite being made aware of the risks.. Well that is a scenario I would not wish to find myself in, not that I would be happy in either case of course.

Another thing to consider is what is the ethical thing to do, scanning is the only tool at our disposal to try to better the awful situation the breed is in and by only putting money in the hands of a breeder who scans you make a contribution toward forcing those that don't into changing their ways.

To be honest I do not envy anyone who is contemplating buying a Bengal just now, I really don't think I could do it again knowing what I now know

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I don't know whether HCM is as well known in Australia as it is in the UK. The breeders know about it but I don't know whether the buyers are as aware and therefore don't ask.
Lots of breeders here import their sires and dams from the US and probably UK, and I have already found one cattery that has closed down because an imported male had HCM.

In my searching I have been impressed that I haven't come across many back-street breeders of bengals (unregistered etc) in Australia and most have good policies when selling kittens. It's only a few that mention HCM testing on their websites though. I think I need to ask more.

How do you feel about buying a kitten that you haven't viewed and will have to be couried by plane or car? (an option if I go for a cattery with a good track record of testing).

What state are you in Koala?

Knowing what I know now, I would not buy a kitten from untested or HCM positive parents. It's just not worth the potential heart ache. I'd be quite happy with flying a kitten in from interstate, as long as I'd received lots of updates with photos and info and the breeder fit the right criteria.

I got Toshi from a breeder unseen..

the breeder was a bit too far for me to travel to visit and it was quite a quick turnaround as he was ready in a couple of weeks, the breeder was recommended to me, and when I spoke to the breeder I was pretty sure they were quite genuine.

I did go to pick him up, and I was told from the start that when I went to collect him if I was not absolutely happy they would refund the deposit in full no questions asked.

I can't say as it is my preferred method of buying a kitten, but I am glad I did it because Toshi is a great cat and the breeder has been extremely helpful and keeps in touch regularly.

I think if I were to consider buying a kitten now and was faced with the choice of a local breeder who does not scan or having a kitten shipped from one which has a good policy/ history on HCM scanning then I would definitely go with the shipping option.

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