Hi, I am new to the forum and (soon to be) new to bengal ownership. My partner and I have been looking to adopt kittens since moving into our new, larger house two months ago and somewhere along the way I got my heart set on having a bengal. We both have had cats throughout our childhood and I have no doubt we are prepared to be bengal parents. My question is this:

I don't have a thousand dollars to spend on one kitten, much less two. I am not a breeder or shower and just want a pet. I have spoken to many breeders, both legitimate and "less legitimate", but most of them have few kittens available at this time and at a higher price than I am able to afford. A good situation cropped up this week: a breeder said he had a litter of four silver bengals available, two boys and two girls, two silver black spotted and two silver black marbled. We talked on the phone, he told me he (Monty) and his wife have been in the business of breeding bengals for 10 years, that they are TICA registered and that he can provide papers if requested, but that he usually reserves that for breeders. He is asking $500 each, which is definitely a bare minimum for bengals, but a good deal for me.

My concern is that I don't know a ton about bengals, and in the images I've seen the coats seem very ticked. Is this a sign that they are not purebred, mixes or not bengal at all? The redeeming quality is that two of the kittens are very clearly marbled, and as far as I'm aware this isn't a coat pattern seen in any other breed. We are going to visit the kittens tomorrow. Am I being had? As mentioned before, I am not looking for a show bengal, just a companion, but I want to make sure that I am getting what would be expected for the price. Any input would be helpful!

i love the marbles but then again i have two marbels they do look like bengal's and the owners should be able to give you papers...i have two that are both registered...one i paid a lot for and another i paid just 400 dollars for...so price shouldn't be an issue..and both of mine are pets...if they are pedigree cats they should come with papers no matter what the price is

Thanks for the response, that makes me feel better! My next question was going to be whether to get two marbles or a marble and a spotted! But I'm sure it'll all sort itself out when we see them in person.

More information: He is calling them "silvergene" bengals. Is that just a meaningless term? I did some research and have seen pictures of other litters he's sold as well as his studs, and they have the characteristic clear coats with rosettes, which is reassuring.

just go look at the kittens and decide which ones you like the best...sit down in the floor and play with them and you actually will not know what they are going to look like until they get older...they change so much...the marble's look so much like my f4 girl but i will show the difference in 8 weeks to 7 mo...it's crazy how they change

Hello there and welcome. I think it's great that you are trying to make an informed decision before purchasing. A lot of people make the mistake of not doing that, and either end up supporting a 'bad' breeder, or not even getting a purebred Bengal at all. =/

Marbling is not exclusive to Bengals, it is actually a pretty common tabby pattern. Though the more 'quality' marbled Bengals should have a very distinct horizontal flow to their pattern, not a circular or bulls-eye one. Spotting is also not exclusive to Bengals, there are a few other breeds that can be spotted, including your generic domestic tabby. Rosettes, however, are the one pattern that IS unique to Bengals (though even a Bengal mix may have rosettes, due to the one Bengal parent).

Based on the pictures of these kittens, it's a bit hard to tell. These kittens do have very ticked coat, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but their patterns aren't very bold/contrasted either - especially the spotted one, you can hardly even tell they're spots (I've seen regular mixed breed tabbies with better spotting). They also do have awfully long/pointy ears for Bengals. To be honest, if they are full Bengals, I would wonder why someone would even be breeding Bengals if this is the 'quality' they are producing.. =/ That may sound harsh but it just makes me wonder, why are they breeding? Clearly it's not to "better the breed" or to produce quality examples of the breed. So that makes me wonder if it's for the money, which is never the right reason to breed any cat.

As far as the registration papers go, all pedigree kittens should come with these no matter what. Doesn't matter if they are just going to pet homes, the papers are a proof that you have gotten what you paid for. I would seriously question the ethics of any breeder who doesn't register all of their kittens and provide new owners with papers, no matter what. There is never any good reason to not register pedigree kittens, any reason you get would just be an excuse which leads to the breeder not doing things right.

$500 is definitely on the lower end as far as Bengals go. But I guess, that depends on where you are too. Where are you located? Not always, but sometimes an unusually low price can be an indicator that a breeder is cutting corners in order to sell more kittens at a cheaper price, therefore turning a higher profit. It costs A LOT of money to responsibly breed Bengals and carry out all the proper heath testing and everything else. Do you even know if this breeder tests their breeding cats for HCM/Pk Def? Both are common problems in the breed (you should research into these if you haven't already). Do you know if the kittens come fully vaccinated for their age and with health certificates from a vet? Is their a health guarantee? Will you have a spay/neuter contract, or would they already be fixed when you get them? These are all important questions to ask.

I can appreciate that you are hoping to find Bengal kittens within a price range you can afford, but please be careful that you do not end up supporting an irresponsible breeder (or a BYB) in order to save some money. Not saying for sure that this breeder is one of course, just saying to arm yourself with all the information so you can make an informed decision.

Also, have you looked into Bengal Rescue groups at all? We have one here locally that seems to have at least a dozen Bengals needing homes, at any given time. They even periodically get kittens in. Might be something worth looking into if you want a Bengal without spending a lot (plus you'd be saving a life ). Also breeders will occasionally have ex-breeding cats available for a much lower price, sometimes as young as 2 years old.

Hi, Echoplexia, thanks for all the great information.

These kittens are up to date on their vaccines and do have medical papers. We would be responsible for having them altered. I will ask about the tests you mentioned and also be sure to insist on having pedigree papers provided to us as well as double check their TICA registration. I looked into rescues and rehoming for a while and thought it was a good option, but my partner just had a recent terrible experience trying to adopt a shelter dog that didn't work out, and he now feels strongly about having a pet that bonds with us from the beginning, and also about adopting littermates for the sake of socialization and companionship while we are away.

I will be sure to ask a lot of questions of the breeder when we visit tomorrow. I always hate to have to play devil's advocate, but I guess it's what you have to do in situations like this! CYA, right?

Oh, and I am located in San Diego.

Hello, welcome to the forum.

I think they are bengals, but poorly bred ones in my (admittedly not expert) opinion. The spotted kitten barely has a coat pattern at all. The marble, while the pattern is nice and horizontal, is very tarnished. Their ears are also quite pointy and wideset. Silvergene does not mean anything, bengals simply come in "silver."

In my personal opinion, there are only two ethical places to get a cat: a rescue, or a responsible breeder who aims to further their breed and create beautiful, sociable, healthy animals. I have a feeling this Monty does not fit into the responsible breeder category (I'm guessing this because of his suggestion to withhold registration papers, the price, and the kittens not being good examples of the breed). If you do visit this man, ask him lots of questions and ask to see paperwork.

Can I make another suggestion? As cats age, their sale price goes down. I also did not have £450 (the going rate for a kitten here) to spend on a kitten, so I started looking for retired breeding cats. These cats are usually only 3 years old, sometimes even younger if they were not successful breeders. They are rehomed for a nominal fee, are gorgeous, and have had the works done on them regarding health screening and care as youngsters. In my search of breeder's websites I came across two 10 month old boys who had been withheld by the breeder and I snapped them up and brought home at a discount price. I knew my cats had come from an ethical place, and I did save a bit of cash.

I know it is tempting to get a kitten, but they do not stay kittens for long. Remember you are responsible for your cat's vet bills for the rest of its life, so buying from a breeder who is not screening his breeding cats for problems present in the breed can cost you ££$$ in the future.

Thanks, Paiviaso, I somehow missed your first response. Does seem to be a lot of bogus claims going on here. I guess we'll have to see. I also agree that after factoring in neutering, microchipping, vaccinations and papers, we'll have spent the same amount as if we had bought from a breeder who includes this in their adoption price. Maybe saving up a little more is the way to go. I'm grateful to everyone here for tempering the excitement that can come from bringing home a kitten. I definitely want a companion for life and someone who is happy and healthy above all else.

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The little monsters 3

The lack of HCM, PKdef testing would make me walk away for sure. The fact that you saved money in the initial purchase wouldn't be very comforting against vet bills later.

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The little monsters 3