Help needed from breeders

phil morland

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Hi,

I'm trying to find out if my 7 month old kitten has some Bengal in her. This is the first cat I have owned so am very new to this, but some of my friends seem to think she looks like a Bengal. She does seem to have most of the character traits of a Bengal, loves to play with water, plays fetch with her ball (and just about anything she can fit in her mouth), wide range of vocabulary and loves to climb(no trouble for her to scale a 12ft wall in one attempt). Her fur is very soft. She is brown with pale golden stripes on he sides and back and spots on her cream tummy. Her body is very long and she swishes her tail when happy and sometimes fluffs it uo in a dramatic arc. I saw her with her mother her seemed like an ordinary tabby to me but have no idea about her father.

If she has Bengal genes in her I I wished to breed from her, would I gain any advantage in mating her with a male Bengal? Sorry if all this seems elementary but as I said I am very new to keeping a cat. Here are some pics and thanks for any help in advance:





 

StefanZ

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I dont see the pictures. Of your description about her spots - she perhaps may be a bengal - although Im no expert on bengals.

Her mother a tabby? There are bengal types looking almost like a "common tabby" - not all bengals have spots.

She sounds like a wonderful, young kittie!

Ok. About the idea of mating a look alike with a bengal... I myself think, if you REALLY must have a litter, it is better to strive to the origin yes.
Better than mating with just anyone.
Although no responsible breeder will lend a purebred cat for mating with a moggie of an green amateur. Thus - the stud you can get is almost surely from some unresponsibel owner. Do you really want such a stud?
There ARE exceptions - but they are rare.

But the next, and real question is - why do it? It will still be a litter of moggies. Unless you can get two experienced cat-judges to write under they are bengals. )ie so called novices) Which is rare.

If you are really in for being a breeder, try to breed for real. and purebred. EDIT. The cost is almost the same in many parts.
If you dont want to be an indenpendet breeder as yet, you can perhaps be some sort of sub-breeder cooperating to a real, experienced, serious breeder...

And if you want to enjoy the motherhood, and raising kittens - you can cooperate with some nice, good shelter, and help them with abandoned pregnant moms...
There are lotsa of such. And thus - big need of homes willing to help them in their dire need.
Both rescued semiferals )where you also do some fostering) and abandoned homecats, where there is much less fostering, mostly the care - and the joys of shared parenthood.


Good luck!


ps. ah, NOW I can see the picts! Lovely cat. As said above, not all bengals have spots. Some have a tabby-alike pattern. But if she is a part or almost pure bengal - is a diff question. I dont know.
 

missymotus

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Originally Posted by Phil Morland

If she has Bengal genes in her I I wished to breed from her, would I gain any advantage in mating her with a male Bengal?
no, there is nothing to be gained from mating a domestic with a purebred Bengal. No good breeder will allow use of their stud (over here that's against the code of ethics, and a breeder can be de-registered for such behaviour)

Regardless of whether she may or may not be a cross bred Bengal, she shouldn't be bred from so please spay her - and soon as it appears you're letting her outside? Since you mention scaling a 12ft wall, she needs to be kept indoors until she's desexed.

She is a gorgeous looking girl
 
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phil morland

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Thanks for the replies. Now I know she is a tabby I won't try to breed her and will get her spayed. She is still gorgeous though! Thanks again.
 

strange_wings

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Once you have her spayed, if she is good with people and tolerant of handling you could always try showing her in the pet category at cat shows. She's very pretty.
 

goldenkitty45

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Even if she DID have Bengal in her, you cannot breed her to a full blooded Bengal. No reputable breeder would even consider it because she has no pedigree.

I'm glad you will be spaying her. But maybe consider putting her in household pet cat shows.


Amanda, do you think this cat could have a chocolate Ocicat in the background. To me the color is not brown but chocolate classic. And chocolate is not a Bengal color. Maybe a Bengal/Ocicat cross? I know a few Oci breeders that also breed Bengals and there is suspicion in some of their cats as a cross!
 

katiemae1277

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Originally Posted by jennyranson

Regardless of her background, she is one of the prettiest tabbies I have ever seen!
I don't think I've ever seen a kitty quite like her! Stunning! I think she would do very well in the household pet category if you were interested in showing her
 

missymotus

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Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Amanda, do you think this cat could have a chocolate Ocicat in the background. To me the color is not brown but chocolate classic. And chocolate is not a Bengal color. Maybe a Bengal/Ocicat cross? I know a few Oci breeders that also breed Bengals and there is suspicion in some of their cats as a cross!
Well there are those breeding Cheetohs (Bengal/Oci cross) but they pretty much look like an Ocicat with a different head shape from the photos I've come across - not like this cat.

I think the OP is in the UK, where they don't typically early neuter so there could be some pet q cats out there that don't get fixed in time I suppose. I agree it looks more chocolate than a usual brown.
 

rosiemac

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Originally Posted by Phil Morland

Now I know she is a tabby I won't try to breed her and will get her spayed.
I'm pleased your going to have her spayed Phil. Because she's over 6 months old now she really needs to get spayed asap or your little girl will start to wander off when she comes into season.

You'll be doing her a favour as well because unspayed cats are prone to breast cancer, and i'm sure you wouldn't want that to happen
 

northernglow

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I'm not an expert on these breeds, but to me she doesn't look like a bengal. I agree with others that she looks like a chocolate tabby. Very glad to hear you are spaying her.

She is very beautiful, I would also suggest you to take her to a show.
 
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phil morland

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Hi everyone,

Thanks very much for your kind advice and comments. I think I've more or less accepted she is a chocolate tabby. She has a long body though. The main thing is I love her to bits and wouldn't have her any other way. Indeed I am from the UK and neutering isn't usually done too early, Sophie is 7 months now so I will take her soon. Thanks again everybody.
 

kylew

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Originally Posted by Phil Morland

She is still gorgeous though!
She is that! And it sounds like she is not short on personality either
Congrats on your new pal.
 

StefanZ

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Originally Posted by Phil Morland

I think I've more or less accepted she is a chocolate tabby.
Do we have some misunderstanding? Tabby is not a breed nor a polite word for moggie. Tabby is a pattern, quite common in cats. In fact, also on some Bengals, although they are renowned for their spots and stripes.
So I do understand you wanted to search if she has some bengal in her, although her tabby-pattern.

Dont be sad whatever she is, she does count as a moggie, and will be spayed: Most pure-bred cats are also spayed. Many of these do have good looks and decent heritage, and would be entirely OK to breed on.
Most pure breds ARE "just" neutered, happy family pets.

It is the normal. Quite a few are taken out for breeding.

Last.
Chocolate is a somewhat another colour than say - brown... If you want to show her at a cat show (I too hope you want) - good for you to know so you will not be surprised by the judges language. Or if you talk with others cat freaks. Or if, God forbide, she gots astray and you are searching after her trying to descibe her.
 

rosiemac

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Originally Posted by Phil Morland

neutering isn't usually done too early.
Phil, procedures have changed here in the UK over the age to spay and neuter. Were just talking in the last year or two because Jack's 3 now and they wouldn't do him until he was 6 month's old, but now they can do them around 4-41/2 months old as long as their weight's ok


If you have a look at Jack in my pictures you'll see he's a tabby but a different shade to Sophie
 

kai bengals

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Originally Posted by StefanZ

Tabby is a pattern, quite common in cats. In fact, also on some Bengals, although they are renowned for their spots and stripes.
So I do understand you wanted to search if she has some bengal in her, although her tabby-pattern.
Just a slight correction to this. ALL Bengal cats are tabbies.

The OP's cat definitely has a unique look, but if I were to take a guess at parentage, I would lean more towards American Shorthair versus Bengal.

In addition his assertion that his cat is a chocolate tabby is correct aside from leaving off the descriptors: DSH and "classic", as in classic tabby since his cat has the marbled pattern.
 

goldenkitty45

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Nial - since you mentioned American SH it could be a possible Oci/ASH rather then Oci/Bengal. The only thing is chocolate is not a color found in ASH nor Bengals. It would have to come from the Ocicat.

Would be interesting if we could find out what really was in the cat. The head color is slightly different then the body markings. Maybe a possible Silver Tabby ASH to a Chocolate Tabby Oci????
 
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phil morland

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Hi everyone,

Thanks once again for your informative posts. It is intriguing, trying to make an educated guess at her heritage, I find it fascinating. A couple of other points, sorry for my naivety here. Is it possible for kittens from the same litter to have different fathers? Sophie was one of three from the litter and the only girl. Each kitten looked very different from one another. Mum was chocolate in colour and did have marbled markings but they were very feint, not like Sophie's. One brother was ginger, the other more like his mother. Sophie has a more slim and elongated look than her siblings, but I don't know if that is because she is female, and she is the only one with a more silver/grey face and tufts on her ears. I'm not sure if she is part American Short Hair, I (and she) are from England, do we have ASH's here? I think I have got her description right now, is it "Short Haired Domestic Classic Chocolate Tabby"? (just like to know). Any more views on her parentage are welcome. Here is another picture, if it helps any. Thanks again.

 
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