Not all kittens are the same, there are pedigree kittens and then there are Pedigree kittens, not all kittens are raised indoors, indoors in a pen is not the same as indoors running free. We do use kitten pens at times for safety reasons, but not constantly, kittens need to explore, they need noise, simulation, new interests daily. We try to introduce them to all noises, so that when they go to their new home, they know what a TV is, the hoover, children, dogs, other cats ~ "BOMBPROOF"
Use your common sense, if you have done your research, you should be able to decide whether the kittens has been raised properly, there are loads of kittens advertised, there are loads of breeders, their are loads of pedigree kittens and loads of non pedigree kittens, "a kitten advertised with a pedigree is not necessarily a pedigree kitten" all are not the same. A pedigree kitten will be registered with a governing body, GCCF, TICA ~ these are the two governing bodies that we use. There is also FIFE in the UK.
Any pedigree cat that is breed from MUST be registered with a governing body and be registered as ACTIVE ~ this means they can be bred from. There is no exception to this rule, please check that you are buying from a "registered active cat". If you are not sure, then ask the breeder to see the "pink slip" or registration slip, it might take a while to find, ~ I'm not the best person for filing things, but a registered cat will always have one, if the cat has been shown, she has to be registered.
NON ACTIVE ~ MUST not be bred from, this could have genetic problems, health issues, the breeder has sold this kitten on the non active as a PET. It amazes me how many "pedigree kittens" are advertised with a pedigree but not registered. These are not pedigree kittens. There are numerous cats being sold on for breeding, advertised as "with papers but not registered", these poor cats should never have been bred from in the first place and yet, they are being movied around the country like a breeding machine. It upsets me to see this and makes me really cross. Cats are a living creature, they deserve to be treated with respect and loved, not used purely as a money making machine. Any reputable breeder will have a Contract on a breeding cat, usually these cats cannot be sold on for breeding without the breeder's permission. Reputable breeders do not want their kittens to end up being used purely to make kittens, its not what breeding is about. Please only buy from registered active cats, there are far to many kittens/cats in rescue, far to many kittens being sold unregistered, from unregistered cats, these usually cause the kitten owner loads of problems, please please do your research, if you are unsure then look elsewhere. These breeders are breeding to make money, and its usually the poor cats and kittens that suffer. The only way to stop this is not to buy from them. I cannot stress this enough, its is so important to buy a kitten from a Registered Breeder If you are unsure then ask, any responsible breeder will happily answer any questions.
NO PET KITTEN LEAVES HERE AFTER THE AGE OF FIVE MONTHS UNNEUTERED, AND A NEUTERING CERTIFICATE WILL BE REQUIRED BEFORE ANY PAPERWORK IS GIVEN. A CARE CONTRACT WILL ALSO NEED TO BE SIGNED ON COLLECTION OF A KITTEN Please click here for Care Contract
We very very rarely sell on the active, if you do want to breed, then by all means contact me, I will help if I think you are breeding for the right reason. But be prepared to answer questions, references will also be required. If I think you would make a good "Breeder", then I will help you, you will have all the help you could need. A Breeding Contract will also be required to be signed and this will be discussed with you.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What to feed your Kitten/Cat
We feed all our cats, Bengals, Bsh and Selkirk Rex on a mainly raw food diet, turkey, chicken, beef, rabbit, lamb, raw fish. We also feed raw chicken bones and raw lamb bones. The Bengals love to play with the bones, and will throw the bones in the air and act like they have caught and killed there food. Raw bones are very good for cats for helping them to chew and this helps to clean their teeth and helps their gums. Cubes of raw meat also helps to clean teeth. Kittens as young as 6 weeks know how to rip meat from a bone. Its amazing to watch.
My cats also have dried biscuit, Royal Canin or James Welbeloved this is down all day. I occasionally feed tinned food, Kitten Meatloaf (Whiskas) and Felix. Water should be available all the time.
Vaccinations
Our kittens are vaccinated for Feline Enteritis (Panluek) and Feline Herpes and Feline Calici (Cat flu), Chlaymidia. We do not vaccinate our kittens for Leukaemia, as we are a leukaemia free cattery. A cat can only be infected with Leukaemia if they meet an infected cat. I do recommend that any cat that is to go outside, should be vaccinated for Leukaemia and Feline Aids. (FIV)
Should my cat go out.
This is a real difficult one, there are loads of dangers for cats, not just roads, but diseases, poisons and people. Unfortunately, people do hurt animals. I always let my cats out until we moved to our current home, its on a main road, now that I breed, my cats are unable to go out, what they don't know, they don't miss. I do feel that each home has to be considered as a separate case, but a cat is far safer indoors and I do believe that you have a much nicer pet, they want to be with you, you are their entertainment, so they want to join in with whatever is going on. Its always said that cats don't like water, mine love it, they love to play with water, I think its because cats always went out, so we didn't see them play with water, mine will sit for hours playing with water. Its lovely to watch.
Bengals need a lot of space, they are lively, and full of energy, so I do feel that they need some outside space, but this can be provided either with an outside run or by cat proofing your garden. We have a huge run off the back of our house, which the cats access from our conservatory, we are also hoping to enclose our whole garden with electric fencing. There are numerous options available on the market to cat proof a garden. I do feel that some outside time is ok, but this should be monitored, I don't agree with a cat being allowed to run freely, all day and all night. This is when accidents happen and if your not about, then your cat can be left to die in agony.
The cheapest and easiest way to cat proof a garden is to use chicken wire and tip the top of the fence. A 18" piece of wire placed along the fence on an angle, you will need supporting rods, to hold the wire up, this needs to be secured to the fence but should not be firmly placed, along the top edge, the overhangs stops the cat from going over the fence, as its not secure, the cat does not feel that it gives enough support for them to climb over, it works very well, not 100% cat proof, but it certainly gives them some deterrent. If you wish to cat proof your garden like this and want more details, please give us a call. There are companies that will provide the equipment and will also fit this for you. http://www.purrfectfence.co.uk/info.asp
A REGISTERED PEDIGREE. A cat that is advertised as a pedigree must have a slip to state this, a pedigree alone is not proof that the cat is a registered pedigree. The breeder must supply you with either a Pink Slip from the GCCF or a Tica transfer slip. This is proof that this cat has been registered, some breeders will hold this until the cat has been neutered. If you do not have a registered slip, then your cat is not registered and is not a Pedigree Kitten.
PRICES FOR Bengals ~ As I have stated previously, not all Bengals are the same, prices can start as low as £100, why, the basic vaccines cost on average £65.00, to raise a kitten costs around £150+ and this doesn't include the cost of keeping mum or dad, or paying for stud fees, Bengal stud fees are around minimum £300+ you can pay £750 for a silver mating. BE AWARE of kittens advertised for this amount, they are probably not a Bengal, and they will have had very little care, will not be vaccinated, and have probably not been checked by a vet, these kittens have probably had very little care and very little attention. You do get what you pay for.
The prices for Bengal kittens do vary, you will see kittens from £325 - £750+, this depends on colour and pedigree. Kittens sold for breeding are sold for anything between £1000 to £2500+, depending on pedigree and colour. I personally would rather my kittens went to pet homes so very rarely sell for breeding. I think that an average price for a bengal is around £400 for a brown spotted, snows, silvers, snow silver are usually more expensive. We charge between £325 and £500 for a Bengal kitten.
PRICES FOR BSH ~ As with bengals, not all bsh are bsh, a british cat should be chunky, cobby, solid, short legs, they are one of the most popular breed of cat, prices start around £300, I would say the average price for a bsh is around £350, this again depends on colour, and pattern. Our prices start at £350.
PRICES FOR SELKIRKS ~ Selkirks are a relatively new breed, again not all Selkirks are a good example, but there are only a few breeders and the majority of us are breeding purely to improve the breed, Selkirk prices start at around £325 for a variant (straighthaired) and £400 for a curly.
PET INSURANCE ~ Most breeders offer six weeks pet insurance with Petplan, we do not pay for this, this is something that Petplan do in a way of hopefully you keeping the policy going. However, I do feel that Petplan is one of the best insurance companies, they pay out very quickly, and are for LIFE. Please check any policy you take out and make sure this covers for Life, this means that if Tommy gets a nasty eye infection and this is reoccurring, Petplan will cover him for life any policy that does not state Life, only covers for the year of the policy.
BEDDING AND TOYS ~ Bedding, a cardboard box is usually preferred, I am always asked about buying a nice bed, most of the time the cat ignores the bed and prefers the sofa, or your bed, or a nice cardboard box. Mine love to curl up in their cat carrier, I leave my cat carriers out around the house so its less stressful when they go to shows or the vets and they love to sleep in them. A scratch post is certainly a good idea, it will hopefully stop them scratching the sofa, buy a good quality scratch post, one at least 4ft high, a cat needs to stretch out when they scratch. Bengals love toys, they love feathers, and will destroy any feathered toy very quickly, I go through no end. There is a toy on the market called a Da Bird and you can buy these from Ebay. These are brilliant and the cats love them.
LITTER TRAYS ~ Litter trays are very important, use a good quality litter, and empty the soiled bits daily, if you only have one cat, then you can empty the whole tray once a week and then wash with diluted bleach and leave to dry. If you have multi cats, then you should supply one litter tray per cat plus one extra. These should be cleaned regularly, daily if possible ~ empty completely, wash with dilute bleach and leave to dry.
Multicat households, are more prone to diseases, one being corona virus which are passed through faeces, if the corona virus mutates, this causes something called FIP, Feline Infectious Peritonitis which is a deadly disease, (some cats have survived FIP, but its believed that they were wrongly diagnosed). There is no cure for FIP. This is a very strange disease and no one knows why the corona virus mutates in some cats, it doesn't necessary attack the weak, it can sometimes be the healthiest of kittens, I do feel that its something that cat owners should be aware off.
It is called Feline Infectious Peritonitis, but it is not infectious, the corona virus is infections, once the corona virus mutates, the infection has gone, if you have lost a cat recently to FIP and are very concerned about your other cats, try not to worry, you will probably never see FIP again, PLEASE do not let your vet put your cat to sleep until all tests have been done, numerous cats are wrongly diagnosed with FIP. A cat that has a titre does not necessarily have FIP, 95% of cats that are sent for post mortem DO NOT have FIP.
Bleach is very good at killing corona virus, keep stress levels down, think of stress as a challenge to a cat, vaccinations, new home, new kitten arriving, visits to the vet, neutering, going to cattery. Try and minimise your cats stress levels as much as possible, DONT DO TO MUCH AT ONCE, especially when young.
FIP is more likely to attack young kittens and old cats. I didn't know very much about FIP until my mum lost a kitten to it a few years ago, her vets knew very little too. It is one of the diseases that all breeders dread. Its an awful disease, it behaves totally differently in the home, than in a laboratory environment. Its is very difficult to diagnose.
If you would like to make a donation into FIP research please click here. http://web.mac. com/cat_toons/ iWeb/feline- care/DONATIONS. html
INTRODUCING YOUR KITTEN TO HIS NEW HOME ~ Get things prepared before going to collect your kitten, decide which room you want your kitten to first be introduce to. Put a litter tray in the room, I usually suggest putting the litter tray in a easy accessible place, this can be moved to a corner once the kitten has settled. Have some food and water available and maybe some toys.
When you return home with your kitten, let him out of his carrier, leave the carrier available for him, kittens feel safe in their carrier and they sometimes like to go back to them and will often use them to sleep in. Its always a good idea to leave their carrier about, this makes it far easier when they need to go to the vets, the carrier is not something they don't know, its always been about and is a nice warm safe place to sleep. Makes taking your kitten to the vets less traumatic.
Place kitten in his litter tray, they will usually always then go back to them. Ive never had a kitten leave me that has not been litter trained and there has never been any problems with kittens and toileting in their new home. Let your kitten explore his new home. If you have other pets, introduce them slowly, I always find that food is a really good way of introducing a new pet, I usually give mine something really nice to eat, so they think of this new intruder as a good thing. Its always worked for me. Don't worry if they do spit and hiss a bit, this is quite normal, cats are territorial, its their home, and this little "thing" is intruding in their space, they will soon get to know each other.
My kittens are used to dogs, and usually are happy with other dogs. Introduce any new dog slowly, accidents can happen, never leave your kitten alone with any other pet until you are really sure they are happy together.
At night your kitten may cry, this will be the first time they have been away from their siblings, if you want your kitten to sleep downstairs and not with you, make sure they are warm, have somewhere nice to sleep, clean litter tray, food and water and then leave them, do not go back, they will get used to be on their own.
If you are happy for them to be in the bedroom with you, then usually they settle very quickly and don't cry, but do not take them upstairs with you unless you want to do this always, don't give in to them because they are crying and you feel sorry for them, they have to learn the rules, and they will learn very quickly if you stick to them. If you don't want them to get on your worktops, dont let them, tell them NO and put them on the floor.
Kittens are very nosie and inquisitive, they like to explore, there are lots of dangers in the home:~
Toilets, please keep toilet seats down.
Baths, kitten can drown, so never leave a bath unattended, always fill with cold water first, a kitten could very easily scold themselves.
Washing machines, tumble driers, dishwashers, these are very dangerous, Keep all doors closed, always check that your kitten is not in them before turning on.
Some plants are toxic to cats, especially lillies.
Keep all chemicals locked away in safe containers, cats love bleach, and this will burn if ingested, Anti freeze tastes very sweet and will kill.
CAT DISEASES and PARASITES
These are only a few of the more common ones.
Cat Flu ~ Feline Herpes and Feline Calici ~ These are both cat flu, which all reputable breeders will vaccine for. They DO NOT stop infection completely, but they do minimise the infection if a cat is exposed to it. Both make the cat feel unwell, cause weepy eyes and sneezing, Feline Herpes will be carried forever, and the cat may shed the disease at times of stress. Feline Calici, cause ulcers as well as the other symptoms, but can be cured, it takes about two years for a cat to rid the Calici virus completely. If not re- exposed to it.
Feline Enteritis (Panluek) ~ this causes terrible sickness and diarrhoea, and will eventually kill if not treated, it apparently has a very distinctive smell, this is fatal in small kittens, is highly contagious and can live in cloths, bedding, toys, its is very important that if you suspect your kitten or cat has Enteritis that you immediately contact a vet.
Fleas ~ these should be treated regularly if your cat goes out, if your cat is an indoor cat, he cannot get fleas unless introduced to a cat with fleas, fleas can however live in carpets, curtains and furniture, so if you cat does have fleas, you need to treat your house as well as the cat. Special treatments are obtainable for these and can be obtained from you vet.
Worms ~ cats should be treated regularly for worms, your vet will be able to give you advice as to how often this should be done.
Ear mites ~ Bengals do seem to suffer with ear mites, but these can be very easily treated with Stronghold, this is similar to the flea treatment Spoton and is used in the same way. Stronghold also treats fleas.
TRITRICHOMONAS ~ http://www.fabcats.org/owners/digestive/index.php ~ this does not kill its just a nuisance.
Three years ago, I purchased a beautiful bengal boy, he was wonderful, beautiful profile, wonderful markings, what I had been looking for for a while. He was to be my new stud boy. Troy arrived and had terrible diarrhoea, bengals do suffer with their tummies, so I just presumed it was food related and it would clear up, this went on for weeks, my vets did loads of tests but could find nothing, he was booked into Newmarket Animal Hospital for further tests, thankfully Troy was insured, Id done some research of my own and had also spoken to another breeder who had had the same symptoms in one of her cats, diarrhoea, cow pat like stools, mucus, blood, and this most horrendous smell, like sweet rotting meat. Ill never forget the smell. Troy was eventually diagnosed with TriTrichomonas. By this time he had infected some of my other cats, Tritrichomonas is very infections.
I had ten other kittens here, all around 12 weeks, all of these become infected, they all had to be tested, and then treated. TM is not easily detected, and it is also very similar to Gardia, both parasites are identical in shape but they swim differently, after loads of tests, around 50, my vet only found two of my cats to have TM, even thought I am sure that the 10 kittens did have TM, this could not be detected on tests. The treatment for TM, was worse than the parasite itself ~ Ronadizole. This had been band for use in the UK and had to be imported from USA. This took 6 weeks to arrive, and had to be given to the kittens twice daily for 14 days, at first I thought, brilliant and it will soon be gone and the kittens will be able to go to their new homes. The kittens hated this medicine, it made them foam at the mouth and tasted bitter bitter, (I actually tried some after my vet said how awful it was) the taste stayed with you for ages, even after a long drink, it just didnt go away, the kittens were so scared of having it, I couldn't give it to them, so I looked for an alternative treatment. RAW FOOD.
I had spent £100's on vets fees, special food and medicines, and all I needed to do was change their diet to RAW FOOD, this cleared up the diarrhoea within days, TM cannot live without a wet moist condition, once the diarrhoea went, the parasite was killed, because it can lie dormant for a number of months, we were advised to continue feeding raw food for sometime. The difference in my cats was amazing, they were not constantly hungry, they ate all that they were given (not just the gravy) they didnt ask for food constantly, and they were really healthy, their coats were amazingly shinning, and my kittens were huge.
Even though the TM was a nuisance, 10 kittens running around with chronic diarrhoea, was not easy, but no one died, all 10 kittens are still alive and doing really well, one is a show cat.
There are tablets now to treat TM so its not so bad, when we used the Ronadizole it was a liquid, the tablets are not such a problem, and they certainly do work.
If you've got this far, then you will make a good kitten owner, I cannot stress how important it is to do research, I am always happy to help anyone with a cat problem, (not medical, ~ I'm always happy to give support, but I cannot give advice on a medical issue, this would have to be discussed with a vet) if you are looking for a kitten and want advice, please call, I will help if I can, even if its a different breed, I do have a lot of friends who breed, and if I don't know someone, I probably know someone who does.
I love this hobby, its amazing, and gives so much joy, anyone wishing to start out in showing and breeding, think about it seriously, is it really right for you, would you miss your sister's wedding, your child's first play, because your cat had just gone into labour, you really do need to be with them, something can go wrong, and you could loose mum and babies, you can plan, but nature does what it wants, and the best laid plan ............if you can honestly answer YES, then maybe you are right to breed. I will help anyone who really wants to start out in this hobby, but you must really really want to. Its very time consuming, and very expensive. Think about WHY you want to breed. There is really only one reason............
Kitten owners, please also remember that, we as Breeders, are human, and we try out best, but occasionally things do go wrong, a good Breeder wants to work with you if there is a problem, we want to help, we cannot help if we do not know, don't feel that you are being a nuisance, or you don't want to worry us, this is what we are here for, to support and help, we cannot help if we are not asked, PLEASE PLEASE phone your breeder if you have any queries or worries.
As a responsible Breeder, I really do want to know what is happening, and I will try my best to help, listen to your Breeder, they do know what they are doing, they want the best for their kitten, if there is a problem, they want to know, Ive only ever really had a few problems over the years, but they have always been from owners that didn't keep in touch, didn't let me know what was going on, once communications do break down, then its hard to get them back, if you have a good "friendship" with your Breeder, which is how I like to think of my kitten owners, then its far easier to sort out a problem, no responsible Breeder, breeds to give anyone heartache.
We are members of the Novice Breeders Advice Group which is a brilliant group who offer loads of support and advice for breeders.
If these anything that you think would be handy to have on this page, please email me and I will add it....