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Affectionate Bengal's of Puddywat
www.puddywat.co.uk

Agree Elaine.

A lot of breeders work in small groups to keep the cost of new breeding cats down amongst them, but outcrosses which can be expensive will be needed further down the line, which are the highest expense next to healthcare for the cats.

Babs

I think also that the differences in prices of breeding animals can be confusing, especially for new breeders.

I don’t feel that kittens from titled parents should command higher prices at all as showing is good advertising for the breeder’s cattery anyway, and having a titled parent doesn’t guarantee titled offspring. Also, I don’t think that kittens from titled parents cost any more in other cat breeds.

Perhaps having imported parents/health screening/area etc…does justify charging more for kittens, although the ‘extra’ cost should be realistic and maybe not a huge difference of £500 or so?

The average price of breeding cats in the UK now seems to be £1300 for a queen and £1500 for a stud, although I’m assuming the quality of the cats, area, whether imported parent/s, health screenings etc… is probably reflected in these prices.

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Best Wishes,
Maddy

I have imported in from Norway, but do USA breeders of titled parents charge more for kittens if both parents are titled? I just thought that was the norm, I personally wouldn't as my thinking is the kitten being sold has no title and no guarantee of titling, but that's just my opinion.

Babs

Well, I would definitely not pay more than £1000-£1250 for a queen from good lines and £1500 for a stud and I would expect a quality cat; good conformation, pelted coat, healthy lines. Not too bothered about the rosetting; you can breed that in with the right mix of stud/queen.

Imported breeder parents should not make any difference to the price of a kitten. Neither should health checks, HCM testing, etc.

I dont place many breeder cats, never have or wanted to; just a handful over the years. My interest is in the genetics of the breed and watching its progression. The majority of kittens I produce that are not going into my programme go off as family pets.

I dont think it makes much difference as to whether the kitten is from top titled parents; its the genetics behind the kitten that counts. Over the years I have seen cats that have that wow factor, show-wise, produce mediocre kittens and plain-janes produce the most stunning, healthy kittens. All breeder buyers should study the pedigrees/cats behind that kitten they are thinking of buying.

Personally, whether I would like to see buying costs more in line with other breeds or not, I do not think we will see this in the near future. The Bengal breed is way too popular at this present time for this to happen. Maybe if the general public becomes more cash strapped, prices will have to be lowered to find the sales. On the other hand, if that happened, a lot of breeders would close down, narrowing the market place, so prices could well stay high. Catch 22

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Best Wishes,
Maddy

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Best Wishes,
Maddy