The cost of breeding Bengals

We see many posts, questions and comments online asking about the cost and time associated with breeding purebred registered Bengals so we thought we would outline some of the costs required to successfully become Bengal breeders as well as to outline some of the issues we faced as we got started.

As we started researching Bengal breeding and looking for kittens to start our program we were surprised to get responses from Bengal breeders such as "We don't sell to breeders" A little bit of a surprise given that a breeder had to of agreed to sell them kittens to start their programs.  We are still new to breeding Bengals so we are not sure why the negative attitudes from some established breeders but to be honest the negative and sometimes hostile responses were the exception and not the rule.  We found most Bengal breeders to be helpful and open with their advice and guidance.

A special note of thanks to Greg Joseph of Bangalore Bengals in Los Angeles for being very open and receptive to answering questions before and after we bought our Stud Male (Sharm Sascha of Bangalore) from him.

People ask, why are Bengal kittens so expensive and the answer is not really that complicated.  It costs a lot to properly test and raise Bengal kittens as well as properly housing your breeders in a clean, safe and open environment..  Below is a breakdown of some of the costs associated with Bengal Breeding. We do NOT cage our breeding Bengals or kittens.

Costs
There are many things that go into the price of Bengal kittens

• Costs of purchasing top quality Bengals with good healthy bloodlines and Breeding Rights
• Security cameras and a monitored security system.  You will have many thousands of dollars in kittens in your home
• Cat carriers
• The costs of "quality food" 
• Supplements specifically formulated for cats
• Quality cat litter and multiple litter boxes.
• Air filters to circulate the air and help remove odors. Cat Poop is smelly, think about how it will smell when you have Three or more breeders and a pack of kittens.
• Vet expenses - These add up quickly
• Genetic/vet screenings
• Kitten toys 
• Cat Exercise Wheel - A must... 
• Cat Trees - Also a must                                     
• Bedding
• Bengal organization fees (TICA or CFA)
• Pheromone diffusers and refills for Cattery harmony
• Advertising fees
• Web design for your website, If you can't build your own site this can really add up.
• Pedigree/litter/breeder registration fees
• Supplies like wormers, eye drops, flea treatments
• Cost of having Microchips inserted and activated
• Vaccinations like rabies, FIV, Leukemia and possibly others depending on your Vets advice and your preference. See Bengal Cat Health
• Paying stud fees if you choose not to own a stud, Whole male cats are a lot of work.
• Products that are bought for Kitten Care packages 
• The list goes on...

Time Consuming Factors Breeders must consider:

• Time needed to research and educate yourself on all things Breeder and Bengal
• Time to attend cat shows to speak to breeders and educate yourself
• Time needed to pick out Breeding Bengals and drive or fly to get them
• Being up all night to help  Queens deliver their litters
• Being kept up by caterwauling Females in heat
• Hand feeding litters of kittens day/night if the litter is too big for the queen to handle by herself
• Answering calls/texts/emails and questions daily
• Having buyers and potential buyers visit before placing  deposit, when they choose a kitten, and again to pick up the kitten
• Time spent handling and socializing the kittens on a daily basis,  Some breeders may say they socialize, but NOT early, intensely, or consistently enough to matter! This is VERY important!
• Record keeping and administrative details. 
• Feeding cats/kittens
• Scooping litter and cleaning litter boxes and scoops
• Cleaning up accidents when they happen. Kittens remember
• Cleaning up after accidents/spills/general mayhem
• Photographing Breeding Bengals and kittens as they develop at various ages
• Updating website Blog or current/previous photos or Depositor Lists                                                 
• Updating FaceBook and YouTube 
• Staying active in the Bengal community
• ​Separating real buyers from scammers, This is a full time job
• Putting together everything needed for Kitten Care Packages
• Registering litters with the appropriate Bengal organizations
• Dealing with the noisy caterwauling and hormonal-induced behavior of Breeding Bengals
• Spending the time to purchase & pick up everything a cattery needs & organizing it
• Keeping your stud away from females to young to breed or already pregnant.  You do not want to let them breed them until they are at least one year old and or have gone through at least Three hard heats. You also don't want them to breed again while pregnant or nursing.
• Traveling to a stud if you choose not to own a stud initially.
• Researching answers and information to pass on to buyers.

Recap
It would not be an exaggeration to say that in our first months of setup and acquiring our first Stud and first two breeding queens we spent $20,000 Plus. to set up our home, acquire our breeders, transport them to our Cattery, provide all of the medical testing and shots they needed, Cat toys, cat trees, litter boxes, This does not take into consideration the time that all of this took either.

The costs will continue to escalate as we grow with the set up of a dedicated room for kittens, a place to keep our young females when in heat that we do not yet want our stud to get to them. 

​If you are planning to become a Bengal breeder plan on time, Money and lots of research to get off to a good start.

Breeder Scams
A reminder as you get started that there are MANY Bengal scams online and just a short search will show 50% off Bengals.  Proceed with extreme caution with these as virtually every single one is a scam and you will either not get your kitten at all or will not get a purebred registered Bengal kitten that you can breed.  Almost all cut price sellers are selling kittens that can not be registered as Bengals, are of very low quality, have genetic or other diseases that will dramatically shorten their lives... If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is...

We are Registered Bengals / Bengaltime Cattery located in Kalama, Washington just North of Portland Oregon and only two hours South of Seattle, Washington.
​
We do sell to breeders as well as Pet Buyers. See Breeding Rights

Many questions about us and our program can be answered by visiting our FAQ / Frequently asked questions pages.

We also have many Bengal informational links at the bottom of our products page.
These links can save you lots of time in your Bengal Research.

If you are interested in a Bengal kitten now or think you may be in the future, we encourage you to visit our site and get on our list for kitten updates.  (https://registeredbengals.com/kittens1.html)
​
Also take a look at the Bengal related links and products on our products page.
(https://registeredbengals.com/products.html)

"If it's not a Bengal, It's just a cat"