Hi everyone,

I re-homed Simba on here 19 months ago. He was bred by Zelda and unfortunately the lady who bought him found his typical Bengals ways too much. Nearly 2 years on and Simba is just a joy and a pleasure. We have hours of play and entertainment with him on a daily basis.
He had a brother called Tigs (a marbled moggie) They were best pals, they slept together, ate together and run amock together. Tigs had a massive seizure on good Friday and to our utter shock died.
My boyfriend and I have been heart broken and Simba has been very clingy without his playmate.

We have made the decision to get a kitten rather than re-home older cats like Simba and Tigs. I think we were very lucky that Tigs and Simba just clicked.

So this is why I ask the question about the home. Are there any hobby breeders that don't charge the earth for a kitten? And please, this isn't meant to be offensive. I fully understand the time and costs involved in breeding. I come from a very horsey/doggy/countryside family. My level of care and love for animals is second to none.

We are looking for a brown spotted girl, and would love to hear from anyone with some ideas and suggestions, I would love to hear them.

Thank you for looking!

Vicky and Simba

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Lollo

God post by Lollo,

Vicky I do understand where you are coming from but I dont think its realistic on the whole, and as lollo said the majority of breeders are hobby breeders.

My advice would be to save up if you cannot afford a full priced kitten.

I also dont really think the title of your post is fair if totally honest either, but I dont think you mean any offence at all.

I have £500 to spend, so money isnt the issue. And | genuinely havent meant to cause offence.
We have breed lots of horses and dogs over the years at home. we competed to get our pre-fixes known so I DO fully understand about breeding, the sleepless nights and feeding hungry Mummys!
I totally agree about all the costs you have listed Lollo, however most of those expenses aren't re-occuring costs.

We often sold horses and puppies cheaper to people who were genuine animals lovers, we vetted homes too and I just haven't found the same thoughts in the cat world.
So that is why I called the post that! I re-homed Simba and feel so blessed, as his temperment is awesome. I guess I'm just wary of paying over the odds for a very well loved girl.

Really hope I haven't cause offence!

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Lollo

My husband just said that he would query whether to home a kitten with an owner that bartered over the price. Especially one who understands the time, money, energy and heartache that goes with breeding but wants to pay less than the kitten is worth.

If you have the money (500) for a kitten and money is no object, why do you feel the need to make a breeder lose even more money??

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Lollo

I guess I've come to the conclusion that it doesn't make sense to do it half-way. Either find the best breeder you can and pay for a carefully raised and bred cat, or go to a shelter and pick out a great cat that had a rough start. I think that makes a lot more sense than compromising and trying to price-hunt amongst breeders who are cutting corners in order to keep their price low.

And yea, I just don't see the "I'm exceptional so I deserve a lower price" thing working out too well for you.

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The little monsters 3

I think this is a good time to remind you of the old adage "You get what you pay for."

The only way to get a cheap kitten is to buy one from people who are breeding cats without health tests, or breeding cats that are not registered and perhaps not even full Bengal, or some other corner-cutting method.

I think that asking breeders to drop the price and lose money because you think you are going to be a better owner than everyone else is a bit

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Lollo

Our breeder gave us £100 discount on the second one even though we bought her at a later date, not at the same time. to be honest I didn't mind paying the full price either, I know it seems like a lot of money but I also saw how they still had kittens that were from Nina's litter when I came to get Kalinda months later - so you never know whether you will sell them all or not and when. That and the vet fees and shots and the vet fees for the queens - I don't know much about breeding but I realised straight away they probably don't get rich by breeding.
I guess if you want the pedigree papers, it will not be cheap, simply because costs involved with it all. We never even applied for our certificate, we were just happy to get the munchkins

Ive put a little breakdown of costs for my last litter - it contained 3 kittens, 2 I sold 1 I kept
- None of these costs are reoccurring, they are litter specific.

Cost of stud £450
Cost of travelling to & from stud £60
Cost of stronghold x2 £42
Cost of registration £50 to import queen £36 to register kittens (I specifically imported my queen to GCCF as the new owner wanted to show with GCCF as she was only registered with TICA - I didnt charge her any extra)
Cost of two lots of vax £160
Cost of Microchips £30
Cost of Birthing equipment £30
Cost of Kitten packs £40
Cost of Kitten pen £20
Cost of New toys £20
Cost of Food £160

= £1098

Sold 2 Kittens @ £800 - original asking price £500 per kitten, but gave £200 discount.
Kept a kitten for myself
Initial loss of £300 - before hours of time put in for 3 months is even considered plus any extras (theres ALWAYS extra's)
Queen also had a valid HCM screening and pk-def tested normal.

Jen is right re the dog breeding aswell - take the breed I have - german shepherds - the average litter is 7 puppies, the average cost of a puppy is £650 and they are with the breeder for 8 week more often then not they go at 7 weeks.
The stud cost is around £450, the cost of the Dam is usually no more for a breeding dog then a pet dog - depending on breeder who may charge £100 for endorsements to be lifted pending the required health tests to be done. Hip & Elbow scoring costs around £150 and this is a one of charge.
So 7 puppies at £650 = £4550 - then minus 2 months of expenses. They do not come vaccinated either (some may do the first one).

I think the point is you cannot compare different animals against each other it just doesnt work out. Even if I hadnt of discounted I would have lost money - so why would you think its reasonable to ask me to loose anymore.

Also what is an acceptable cost of a kitten to you if you think £500 is over the odds?

I think people are reading in between the lines! I am not saying £500 is too much! I am trying to find reputable breeders. Zelda who bred Simba unfortunatly isnt breeding anymore and I missed out on the last litter. And I would have paid more than £500 to be totally happy and re-assured that the kitten was well bred and had the best start possible.

I have been given some breeders to contact and they either haven't got girls available or they have been reserved. So I have been doing my own research and that is why I was asking. I didnt have the conversation with Zelda regarding money, however we have been pen pals ever since I re-homed Simba and she knows just how loved he is and I doubt money would have been a major factor.

However, I have been speaking to some people who don't care about the breed, ARE just in it for the money and just want to make as much money as possible without thinking about the welfare of the kittens. I have had two people offer to deliver me a kitten! I was gobsmacked!

Yes with horses and dogs the price is higher, therefore profit is higher, but we didnt always think about profit. We sold good competitions horses to genuine people. Sometimes we made money, but there were many times, where my Mum really like the people and wanted them to have a great horse/pony to compete on. And the same for the puppies too. I realise you can't run at a loss either!

I don't want to keep saying it, but I have not meant to offend anyone at all. I apologise to anyone my post has offended. All I was after, was to find someone with a good morals that wants their kitten to find a great forever home. This is an important decision for us and Simba so obviously want to make the right one!