When I decided I was going to add a Bengal into my family, I was overwhelmed at first as well. However, I did A LOT (and I mean days and weeks and hours and months) of research into everything Bengal. I knew they would be nothing like a "moggie" and that my life would be altered when I finally chose one.
Next came the arduous task of finding the one for me. I started off on hoobly (same as kijiji I believe), but there was little info about the breeders on there, and most didn't provide much info on the kittens either. Honestly, I wasn't comfortable spending the amount of money I did on a kitten who could be irresponsibly bred.
I took my search to the TICA website for reputable breeders. I looked up their registered breeders and visited all the sites until I settled on the breeder where I chose my Crow from. She was 4-1/2 hours from me, but was willing to send bi weekly pics and videos of Crow until he was ready to be picked up. She answered every question I had and was nice about it. She never once made me feel like I was "annoying" her or anything. (Trust me, there are plenty of breeders out there who are only interested in $$.) In fact, she wouldn't even take the money from me until I played at least 1/2 hour at her home with Crow and his litter mates to make sure I was comfortable choosing him, which I was impressed with.
I was very comfortable with her, and when I picked Crow up from her home, I was actually surprised at how clean her home was. She had all the kittens and moms available to see, and I got to see Crows dad, but he was not allowed around unaltered queens for obvious reasons. She sent me home with all of his records, microchipped and she even has her kittens altered prior to being picked up. I also had his TICA papers, which I filled out right away.
Moral of my long story is, you should go with what your instinct tells you, but definitely do all of your research before you decide to pay for a Bengal and get your heartbroken from an unsocialized, sick Bengal of unknown origins.
_________________ Stephanie Chicago, IL USA New mama to Crow, my Silver Smoke boy born 9/29/15
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