Yes, you need to save for your own place too - so that the kitten doesn' have to move a lot.
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I baddly want a Bengal! Please read.
- Thread starter roimata
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Dont worry, I already have arangements down in Florida. And yeah, of course breeders are going to be looking for the best home and people for their cats. Im really good with animals
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I hope you do not mind, but I'm gonna throw my opinion out there! I am taking off my "HS volunteer hat", too.
So, you want a Bengal Kitten, but not for 9+ months, correct? Once you move to Florida? IMO, being me, I would look for breeders around where you plan to live in Florida. Once you move, live somewhere that will accept a cat, & have a steady job, then get your kitten. A few things, though: good breeders won't let them go until they are a minimum of 10-12 weeks. They should have all "age dependant" shots.
Remember, though. You are making a 20 year committment. I highly suggest you read up on the breed. Bengals are incredibly active cats. I bet you could PM Kai Bengals with questions, Nial is great about answering them!
Be aware, you get the midnight crazies, attacking feet at night....all that insane kitten stuff!
I also encourage you to read up on caring for cats, what makes a high quality food, how to help your new kitten adjust when you bring it home, all that good stuff.
One more thing that is my purr-sonal opinion, provided you can afford it, I encourage two kittens at once. Then they have each other to play with. I've seen many families adopt one kitten from the local HS where I volunteer & come back to get another. And please do start an "emergency vet fund" now. You never know when you might need it & someday, you might very well be so thankful you had one!
So, you want a Bengal Kitten, but not for 9+ months, correct? Once you move to Florida? IMO, being me, I would look for breeders around where you plan to live in Florida. Once you move, live somewhere that will accept a cat, & have a steady job, then get your kitten. A few things, though: good breeders won't let them go until they are a minimum of 10-12 weeks. They should have all "age dependant" shots.
Remember, though. You are making a 20 year committment. I highly suggest you read up on the breed. Bengals are incredibly active cats. I bet you could PM Kai Bengals with questions, Nial is great about answering them!
Be aware, you get the midnight crazies, attacking feet at night....all that insane kitten stuff!
I also encourage you to read up on caring for cats, what makes a high quality food, how to help your new kitten adjust when you bring it home, all that good stuff.
One more thing that is my purr-sonal opinion, provided you can afford it, I encourage two kittens at once. Then they have each other to play with. I've seen many families adopt one kitten from the local HS where I volunteer & come back to get another. And please do start an "emergency vet fund" now. You never know when you might need it & someday, you might very well be so thankful you had one!
One other thing I've found with Bengal's, is that they never get out of the kitten crazy stage, even after they grow up. They're just as naughty, just as active, and just as playful as they were when they were little kittens.
Thanks, I forgot to mention about the fact they are SO active, unless she gets 2 or another shelter cat that is active, there might be more problems she encounters then first thought. Thanks for pointing that out
May I also suggest that you might try your hand at fostering for Bengal rescue while waiting until you get your kitten? This way you can get your feet wet with the breed and learn first hand what these cats are like. Below is the link for Bengal Cat Rescue's yahoo site.
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/bengalcatrescue/
I've researched the breed and visited a local breeder. I would love to have a Bengal but I've recently discovered that my 2 DSHs wouldn't be able to tolerate a high energy playful cat. I'm a foster home for Siamese rescue and my current foster is a year old kitten who just lives to play. I see how my cats react to him and I know they wouldn't be happy with such a rambunctious breed. I guess I'll have to wait 10+ years before getting one.
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/bengalcatrescue/
I've researched the breed and visited a local breeder. I would love to have a Bengal but I've recently discovered that my 2 DSHs wouldn't be able to tolerate a high energy playful cat. I'm a foster home for Siamese rescue and my current foster is a year old kitten who just lives to play. I see how my cats react to him and I know they wouldn't be happy with such a rambunctious breed. I guess I'll have to wait 10+ years before getting one.
Oh yeah then there's another thing, food.
If you're concerned about money etc. you need to be aware that bengals as a breed has a tendency to get diarreah and runny stools etc. Being fed very high quality high protain food is pretty much a requirement. Now all cats should be fed the best foods but a lot of them can cope with your average cat food (atleast in the short term) but bengals usually can't.
There are even some who are bad enough so that the only food they'll tolerate is a full on raw diet (raw meat, innards and supplements). That's pretty rare these days though and more common in the early foundation cats.
If you're concerned about money etc. you need to be aware that bengals as a breed has a tendency to get diarreah and runny stools etc. Being fed very high quality high protain food is pretty much a requirement. Now all cats should be fed the best foods but a lot of them can cope with your average cat food (atleast in the short term) but bengals usually can't.
There are even some who are bad enough so that the only food they'll tolerate is a full on raw diet (raw meat, innards and supplements). That's pretty rare these days though and more common in the early foundation cats.
Sorry, I didn't know I was in the breeders forum. When I log on, I just hit newposts, and really don't pay much attention to the forum. I will pay more attention next time.
thanks.
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This is off topic, but I had to just say this made me bust up laughing. No offense.
We planned on getting an older cat both times we adopted. Both times, we ended up with a one year old. And trust me, they're still a kitten at one. They're even worse than that. They're kittens in adult bodies. You can pick up a kitten move it to a different place. A full grown cat can be much more stubborn. I'm a cat person, just not a kitten person.
Just be aware that you will have two years of flying off the wall madness. And since we're talking Bengals, that's really 20 years of madness, started with 2 years of ... I'm not sure we have a word for that. Just go check out Nial's YouTube videos. Really cool, but I know I couldn't handle that!
A very good point was made about the emergency vet fund and a young cat is not immune. When one of my cats was only 18 months old I had a vet bill that was almost $1,000. I had to use my credit card for part of it. You need to have something to fall back on quickly, savings, room on a credit card or an open account with Care Credit. There was a time not that long ago, I am older but not ancient, when vets would extend credit to established clients. There are fewer and fewer vets that will do that, I guess they have been burned to many times and they have a business to run and their own bills to pay.
I have to agree with everything whitecatlover says. Please don't forget you are making a 20 year commitment. I know that sounds easy and of course you'll always love your kitty, but what happens when you have to live in a share apartment and your room mates hate cats? Or if you can't find anywhere that will accept cats? Or you're so busy being an 18/19/20 year old you realise you don't have much time for kitty anymore?
It's not fair on the kitty for you to be out all the time, and it's not fair on you to be home all the time during the most fun years of your life!
And yes, it can be very expensive owning a cat. I'm sure pretty much everyone here has had to spend $500+ on vet bills at some stage. If you can't afford to shell that out for a good quality cat, can you afford to pay the vet bills if something big comes up?
I know you really want a Bengal, but you really need to consider everything that is involved with becoming a cat owner, and decide whether you're ready, or whether you should wait even longer until you're out of school, have a steady job and can put money aside each week for vet bills, and have a stable living situation where you can be sure your beloved kitty isn't going to looking for a home because you've realised you can't keep him/her.
In the meantime, foster kittens for a local shelter - it's a LOT cheaper, SO much fun, and it's short term commitments which is great. It's incredibly rewarding, and I think it helps you become a better kitty parent because you're exposed to a lot more health situations, and you deal with so much that it makes a wonderful learning experience
I'm not saying "you're too young to be responsible", and I don't know all of your details (nor do I expect you to feel like you have to "explain yourself" to any of us, but it sounds as though fostering kittens for a few years until your situation is more stable might be good. I know a lot of local rescue organisations would appreciate it
It's not fair on the kitty for you to be out all the time, and it's not fair on you to be home all the time during the most fun years of your life!
And yes, it can be very expensive owning a cat. I'm sure pretty much everyone here has had to spend $500+ on vet bills at some stage. If you can't afford to shell that out for a good quality cat, can you afford to pay the vet bills if something big comes up?
I know you really want a Bengal, but you really need to consider everything that is involved with becoming a cat owner, and decide whether you're ready, or whether you should wait even longer until you're out of school, have a steady job and can put money aside each week for vet bills, and have a stable living situation where you can be sure your beloved kitty isn't going to looking for a home because you've realised you can't keep him/her.
In the meantime, foster kittens for a local shelter - it's a LOT cheaper, SO much fun, and it's short term commitments which is great. It's incredibly rewarding, and I think it helps you become a better kitty parent because you're exposed to a lot more health situations, and you deal with so much that it makes a wonderful learning experience
I'm not saying "you're too young to be responsible", and I don't know all of your details (nor do I expect you to feel like you have to "explain yourself" to any of us, but it sounds as though fostering kittens for a few years until your situation is more stable might be good. I know a lot of local rescue organisations would appreciate it
I can relate. I have a 1 year old foster Siamese who is ALL kitten and no manners.
I agree that it's a good idea to foster kittens to get an idea of their energy level. Foster homes are in short supply, especially this time of year with all the kittens.
And you definitely need to save up for medical costs, the normal yearly physicals and for emergencies. When I had ferrets, I had one with adrenal disease and after 3 surgeries and lupron shots, it ended up costing over $3,000.
If you decide to buy from a breeder, another reason to make certain you go with a reputable and ethical breeder. You may pay more up front but because they are breeding for the betterment of the breed and care about the health of their cats, you most likely will pay less down the road.
Animals can cost a lot of money, not just in medical but in food, litter, toys, etc. I have 2 dogs and 2 cats, not including the fosters. What money that doesn't go towards paying house bills go towards all my animals. I only buy high quality food without grains, fillers or by-products. The food I buy (Innova EVO dry, Merrick and Weruva canned foods) can't be found in regular pet stores.
Good luck in your search for your Bengal kitten. Please keep us updated on how it goes and if you decide to try your hand at fostering until your special one comes home.
