Breeding Practices are Dependent Upon the Breed

So the practice to follow when Breeding depends a lot on the species and Breed you are using. Females of many species can only ovulate when they are "in heat". Females will announce their "in heat" status with many signs, like loudly caterwauling, spraying, acting very friendly, rubbing up against everything, and even walking around in the mating pose. What this means is that the female is finally in a receptive phase and hormones are high enough to ovulate. Female cats, known as Queens, are "obligatory ovulators," which means that they must be stimulated with multiple matings before the body warrants the need to ovulate. This is one way nature has evolved to save on energy reserves when a chance at pregnancy is unlikely. This is also why some females can't get pregnant if they're not enough couplings or if the male's sperm count is too low, which maturity and health can have an impact.

With many Breeds of cats you can allow them to cycle in and out of heat a few times before allowing them to mate, thus allowing for long breaks between litters. These breaks allow for a Queen to regain a good weight and replenish the body. However, the Bengal Breed must be treated differently than most breeds. This is because the Bengal Breed has a more intense and harsher heat cycle that will replete energy stores and lasts much longer if not bred. Furthermore, when females are in heat their cervix will dilate to allow entry for the male's sperm. This dilation also leaves the uterus very vulnerable to opportunistic bacteria to move in that normally peacefully coexist within the vaginal walls. With most Breeds, the heat cycle is very short and the window of opportunity for uterine infection is minimized. With a longer heat cycle, Bengals inherently are much more susceptible to this life-threatening uterine infection known as Pyometra. Successful matings will decrease the normally harsh and long heat cycle of a Bengal thus also minimize exposure to Pyometra.

It is because of these fundamental differences between the Bengal Breed and other Breeds that the best policy is to Breed a Bengal when they come into heat and not miss heat cycles. This means that Bengals do require higher nutrition and supplements to alleviate the stress of more litters as well as retiring them sooner than other Breeds. This may also be the reason that Bengals tend to have smaller litter sizes of 2-5. A good mentor and famous breeder Marianne of WildStyle Bengals use to be known for Breeding exotic Persians. She bred this Breed for over 20 years allowing for breaks in between litters. When she transitioned to the Bengal Breed and tried to use this same policy, many of her Queens came down with Pyometra fairly quickly. She had to learn the hard way that the Bengal Breed requires a different Breeding dynamic. 

So how often do we Breed our Bengals?

Queens, when kept in optimal health, prefer to be in either one of two states, either Pregnant or Nursing but not both. Since both pregnancy and lactation require an enormous amount of energy consumption, it is best not to do both. For this reason, often times our Queens do not go into heat until after their litter has been either weened at 6 weeks or they're gone at 8 weeks. This frees up the Queen for concentrating on starting the next litter. In this way, cats are very prolific. We, at Lap Leopard Bengals, encourage easy pregnancies, large litters, large kittens, and easy heat cycles by using the best nutrition available in unlimited quantities. We also use a myriad of supplements that include: prenatal vitamins, postnatal vitamins, stud vitamins, regular daily vitamins/minerals/fish oil, additional B vitamin supplement for metabolism, probiotics for digestive health, lysine for respiratory and immunity health, Bone Meal for extra calcium support, and Absorb More for additional digestive enzymes. With these nutritional support systems in place, our Queens have the potential of having 2-3 litters annually. Despite these frequent litters, our Queens retain a good healthy weight and produce larger-than-average litters of large kittens thus confirming that the nutritional support makes a tremendous difference. We also like to proudly state that comparative to other Breeders, we have lower-than-average stillborn or infant mortality ratings.

Just because a Queen mates during her heat cycle it doesn't mean that pregnancy is assured. There's a variety of reasons why a Queen may not get pregnant, such as low weight, not enough matings, immaturity of the Queen or Stud, compromised health, there was an early miscarriage, lower fertility, or sometimes it just doesn't take. When a Queen doesn't become pregnant during her heat cycle, she will usually not go back into heat until 1-2 months have lapsed if ovulation occurred or as early as 2-3 weeks if ovulation did not occur at all. The increased frequency of heat cycles from lack of ovulation is yet another reason why Bengals are more susceptible to Pyometra.

When do you retire a Breeding Bengal?

In general, Bengals retire at 4-6 years old and is dependent upon the individual Queen. In contrast, other Breeds may not retire their Queens until 8+ years. Breeders look for signs of decreased fertility and fatigue like: consistently small litter sizes of 1-2, difficulty getting pregnant, difficulty birthing litters, and higher-than-average stillborn or infant death rates. Male studs may retire a little older but fertility rates do drop with age as well. Once a Breeder retires, they are spayed/neutered and then sold at a significantly decreased price and live the rest of their life as a loved family pet. The price of a retired Breeder is usually dependent upon how old they are ($350-$700). Before you purchase a retired Breeder, it is best to know under which conditions did this Breeder spend most of their life. A retired Breeder that spent most of their life in a cage or with minimal human involvement may be impacted.

Lap Leopard Bengals (LLB) has an official policy regarding how Breeder's/Showing Rights can be given. It is not often that we allow the sell of a kitten with Breeder's/Showing Rights and we do so only under certain circumstances. For instance, we take into consideration the reputation of the Cattery we sell to. We will not sell to Catteries that use cages.

In order to ensure the top quality kittens, we have to give those with Breeder's/Showing Rights First pick of the litter. While it may seem unfair to Pet Buyers that a certain percentage of kittens  go towards people on the First Pick list, I would like to point out that LLB does feel it's important to offer the Bengal breed to BOTH the next generation AND to Pet Buyers.

It is essential to remember that there are several really good reasons why LLB should offer a select few the ability to have Breeder's/Showing Rights.

1) The increased revenue generated by Breeder/Showing Right sales help to offset the lower-than-average Bengal Pet prices that we like to offer our Pet Buyers. In this way, more Pet Buyers can afford to bring home an awesome Bengal kitten.

2) By contributing to Bengal Breeding programs, LLB can elevate the overall standard of the Bengal Breed. We want to bring in quality, healthy, and good temperament genetics to the next generation of Bengals.

3) A great Breeder will have a LOT of interest from other Breeders wanting to expand their Breeding Program. If other Breeders are willing to hang their reputation on our Bengals, than this is a great sign that you are dealing with a Reputable Breeder known for having exactly what other Breeders want.      IT IS A SIGN OF QUALITY

4) By offering Breeders, LLB is supporting other Breeders in their endeavors. We Bengal Breeders are far and few in between as a whole and increasing Breeding Bengals will increase Pet Buyer sales overall! This means that our main motivation for offering pets is still being satisfied.

It would seem that I should be partial in this post as I am a Breeder myself, however I feel that choosing your Breeder is a serious decision that you need to make while being informed. In order to develop my own reputation as a Breeder whom specializes in both Quality and Temperament, I needed to make sure I carefully and meticulously chose what Breeders to use for my own Breeding Bengals. So the advice I am going to offer is based upon criteria I myself used when hand-picking which breeders I wanted to use.

Motivation
I feel it is important to ascertain what is the motivation behind why a Breeder is in fact choosing this lifestyle. It can be easy for a Breeder to leave out the fact that their motivation is mostly profit-driven, but you still should be able to tell by their actions. Some questions you should ask yourself is: Is the breeder taking any short-cuts to obtain more profit by using cheap inferior food, is the Breeder knowledgeable about the history of the Breed and specific health concerns to avoid, is the breeder intentionally holding onto kittens longer to raise the price based upon quality, what are the goals the Breeder has for her Breeding program...in other words, is she just breeding any animals or is she trying to better the breed? The reason why motivation is so important is that if profit is the bottom line, then short-cuts will likely lead to a kitten whose health and temperament can be questionable.

Knowledge
Every Breeder should have extensive knowledge about the history of the Breed, importance of genetic screenings and understanding pedigree lines, about Breed temperament and social characteristics, and they should have a mentor. In the case of breeding, Ignorance is Not Bliss! Understanding the history of the breed allows a breeder to understand where the Bengal Breed is getting it's characteristics but also which genetic screenings to use to increase the overall health of the Breeder's lines and the Breed itself. Breeding without genetic screenings is what keeps harmful genetics in the bloodlines. Is the Breeder even aware of what the pedigrees to their Breeding Bengals are? Where did they get their Breeding Bengals from for pulling from close by can create too tight of a gene pool. Fresh Bengal lines should be pulled from afar. It is also important that the Breeder is knowledgeable enough to give accurate information to prospective buyers in order for buyers to make an informed decision if Bengals are a right fit for their situation. Breeders that are out for profit won't care whom they sell to. Lastly, having a Mentor means that the Breeder has a support system and are less likely to make ignorant mistakes.

Environment and Socialization
It should be important to understand how the Breeder is not only keeping the kittens you are buying but also how is the Breeder treating the Breeding Bengals themselves. You don't want to unwittingly encourage kitty mills, sacrificing the lifestyle of the Breeding Bengals just for an "economical" kitten. This information also goes back into what is the motivation behind Breeding. You should also ask if there is a concise "Socialization Program" in place to insure that every kitten being produced is going to have that famous Bengal social temperament. Remember, a Breeder that has a smaller operation won't necessarily produce a better socialized kitten because of the perception of more intense care than another Breeder with a larger operation as long as there is a good Socialization Program in place!  So I highly encourage you to visit the environment of the Cattery in person if you can and question the Breeder on their Socialization Program. This is more important for Bengals specifically because they are bred to be very social and absolutely require stimulation and if this fact is being ignored by the Breeder, than you should be prepared to re-socialize your kitten!

Testimonials/References
One very effective way to know if a Breeder's Socialization Program is in fact working is to hear from other previous buyers how their experiences were! Were their kittens healthy, socially well-adjusted, litter box trained, and representative of the Bengal breed? Hearing of another's Bengal experience will also give you an idea of how well Bengals will fit into your situation. Keep in mind, this is part of doing your research, after all before you make a large life-long investment like a house or a car do you not do thorough research and look at customer reviews? A Breeder whom takes great pride in what they are producing will boldly have testimonials right on their webpage/facebook page. A Breeder whom also seeks feedback is obviously looking to educate themselves and evolve into a better Breeder.

Reputation
Another factor to consider is Reputation. It is a good sign if a Breeder is in fact selling some of the kittens to other Breeders, because this says they have a Reputation good enough for other Breeders to hang their Reputation on! How active is the Breeder in the Bengal community? Can you find the Breeder online in the TICA organization, Bengal Cat Directory, Bengals Illustrated, the FaceBook community, ect? An active involvement in the Bengal community shows that there is a passion for the Bengal Breed and that they're interested in sharing and learning from other Breeders. Does the Breeder have a Reputable Breeder status in any organization? This would show they take the time to let everyone know how dedicated they are to the Breed as this distinction requires higher standards and hoops to jump through and is not achieved easily. Another good sign of Reputation is how quickly are they getting their kittens homes. If you have a Breeder that is trying to sell an older kitten verses a Breeder whom has a wait list of people clamoring for their kittens, then you have to ask yourself what is the difference everyone else is seeing? Sometimes going with a Breeder simply because you can get your kitten faster as opposed to waiting for a quality kitten from a Breeder with a well-known reputation can have unforeseen consequences later. There may be a reason your kitten was available so quickly that you are not aware of.

Quality
People buy Bengals for many different reasons. Some do so for the hypoallergenic nature they have, while others like the dog-like personality they are known for, but more do so for the exotic wild appearance that garners attention everywhere. I like to call this "the WOW factor." In the show ring, titles are won by how closely a Bengal will adhere to a strict standard that was determined by TICA. In the rest of the world, quality is determined by the glittered plush pelts that show stark contrast and bold dark colors that scream EXOTIC. Simply put, not all Bengals are created equal and if you have a Breeder that has taken the time and invested savings into purchasing Breeding Bengals that are high quality, than the kittens produced will likely carry the same high quality. A Breeder that wants to show off the caliber of their Breeding Bengals will not only devote entire web pages to showcasing the Queens and Studs but also will be displaying many pictures of present AND previous litters so you can peruse the quality produced yourself! A smart Breeder will not only display quality photos and pedigree of their Breeding Bengals, but should also give photos of the Bengal's parents as well for Quality should be shown within the pedigree, after all looks can sometimes skip a generation. Quality can also be seen in terms of health, which should be obvious if the Breeder practices genetic/vet screenings. Great temperament is another significant aspect of quality, which can be portrayed in the testimonials/references as well as physically meeting the cattery. Breeders whom mention personalities of their Breeding Bengals on the respective Queens and Studs web pages are obviously showing they understand the importance of temperament.

Cost
Sometimes it seems simpler to choose a Breeder on what seems to be the more "economical" price. However, the phrase you get what you paid for can hold true sometimes. This does not necessarily mean that Breeders that charge more are giving a better quality kitten for price gauging does in fact occur in any industry. The best means of deciding if you are in fact getting what you paid for is to take the entire picture into consideration. Simply put determine what exactly are you being offered in exchange for your hard-earned money?

There are many reasons why a Breeder will choose to price their kittens a certain amount.
Monetary Factors a Breeder must consider are:

• Costs of purchasing top quality Bengals with good healthy bloodlines with Breeding Rights
• the costs of "quality food" (Where some Breeders take a short-cut and get cheap food)
  
• lab-grade supplements  (Where some Breeders take a short-cut and don't use any supplements)
  
• litter
• Vet expenses
  
• genetic/vet screenings  (Where some Breeders take a short-cut and don't do any screenings)
• toys                                        
• bedding
• Bengal organization fees  (Some Breeders don't participate in Bengal organizations)
• pheromone diffuses and refills for Cattery harmony                                                                                             (Most Breeders use cages and don't need this)
• advertisement
• pedigree/litter/breeder registration fees
• medical supplies like syringes, IV fluids, Vitamin injections
• vaccinations and Dewormer for kittens
• any products that are bought for Kitten Care packages (Some Breeders don't give Care Packages)

Time Consuming Factors a Breeder must consider are:
(I can't stress enough the importance of the time a Breeder must take out of their lives)

• Time needed to research and educate yourself on all things Breeder and Bengal
• Time needed to pick out Breeding Bengals and actually drive or fly to get them
• Being up all night to help a Queen deliver her litter
• Hand feeding a litter of kittens day/night if the litter is too big for the queen to handle by herself
• to answer your calls/texts/emails and questions
• have you visit before placing  deposit, when you choose a kitten, and again to pick up your kitten
• to handle and socialize with the kittens on a daily basis,  Ok, that is actually one of the best parts! --->Breeders may say they socialize, but NOT early, intensely, or consistently enough to matter!!
• feed cats/kittens
• scoop tons of litter boxes
• clean up after accidents/spills/general mayhem
• photographing Breeding Bengals and kittens as they develop at various ages
• update website Blog or current/previous photos or Depositor List                                                    --->Most Breeders don't do much with their websites and almost none actually have a Blog
• update FaceBook and YouTube
• stay active in the Bengal community
• put together everything needed for an awesome Kitten Care Package
• give courtesy calls to previous buyers to remind them of re-vaccination time and follow-up --->How many businesses do you know give courtesy calls for helpful reminders and follow-up?
• registering litters/pedigree
• dealing with the noisy caterwauling and hormonal-induced behavior of my Breeding Bengals
• actually spending the time to purchase & pick up everything the cattery needs & organizing it
• Researching answers and information to pass on to the buyers, such as low cost neuter/spay

If the Breeder you are considering is NOT spending the money they are making on all of these factors OR spending their time with everything that's needed to Responsibly Breed, THEN the Breeder is taking shortcuts and you are spending too much! Kitten Prices should be based upon how much a Breeder is investing into their Breeding program AND how much of their time they are using to breed responsibly.

Bottom-Line
You are spending a considerable amount of money but more importantly, your time and heart into a companion that should stay with you for 14-18 years. With this kind of significant investment, it is very prudent that you take the time to research and choose the best Breeder for you to ensure that you are getting what you paid for in terms of quality, health, and temperament. You should ask serious questions to access a Breeder's motivation, knowledge, socialization program, breeding goals, testimonials/references, reputation, and if the cost is representative of what the breeder is offering.  

The first thing you should keep in mind is that Vets are a business. Doctors are discouraged to give expensive tests because they only get reimbursed for a small portion that the insurance company has worked out and they have to work at getting paid for their services. Veterinarians, on the other hand, do not have to negotiate their pay from insurance companies and they don't have to work at getting paid, therefor they have the luxury of being in the business of encouraging every procedure, test, and appointment they can. I absolutely encourage you to research and shop around to find the perfect balance between competitive prices and reputation. A Cat-only vet is even better because there's more specialized experience there. However, I have found that exams range $50-75, micro-chipping $25, Rabies, $27, and SNAP test $25-35. Most Vets accept CareCredit, which offers interest-free promotions.

Micro-Chipping

I don't microchip my kittens because it's a personal choice. The positive side to micro-chipping is should your kitten ever leave the house and be returned to a Vet, the Vet should find your contact information through the Microchip. Even if the kitten is stolen and eventually brought to a Vet, the Vet can find your information on the microchip and the unsuspecting person can be arrested for Grand theft (anything stolen $1,000+ is Grand theft)! Yes, it's happened before. The down side is that the Micro-chip needle is rather large and briefly very painful. This is why it is best to have this procedure done while your kitten is being spayed/neutered and already under anesthesia. If you are planning on having your kitten micro-chipped then wait until this is done before registering your Kitten with TICA. Unfortunately, TICA won't allow a modification of the registration to allow for this number later on. Also, about a month after the procedure you should call the company that has your kittens micro number and make sure that it's active and in their system. I found out after checking on my cats micro number a year later that her micro number was never successfully entered into their system!

Parasite testing
As part of routine care, most Vets opt to have a parasite test by having you bring in a fresh stool sample from the litter box which can be tested for worms, Giardia, and/or Coccidia. Unfortunately, these parasites are integrated in a Cat's life from the time that an ancestor ingested them from the wild and become passed throughout generations from mother to offspring while in the uterus or through breastmilk. Therefor it does not matter if your cats are indoor and come from a long line of indoor cats, all cats have the very likely possibility of harboring parasites. It is very difficult to stop this cycle although we at Lap Leopard Bengals have seriously attempted to do so by utilizing an aggressive De-Worming Protocol that has been shown to be very successful by research done on feral cat populations. By continuing to administer the Panacur de-wormer we give you in your Kitten Care Package when you are instructed to do so, you are continuing with that successful De-worming Protocol. The reason why your de-wormer must be administered for several days in a row is because it must pass through the entire digestive system to be effective and the entire digestive system is geared towards inactivating the de-wormer. So it's very important to not skip any days. It is also necessary to administer de-wormer at certain intervals because currently there is no de-wormer available that will kill eggs, only the adult version. Thus we must give time for eggs to hatch and mature before we can kill them.

Usually, parasites stay dormant in egg form or held in check at low levels in a healthy cat and pose no significant health risk. Most of the time you won't even notice that a cat even harbors any parasites at all. However, during any time of stress certain stress hormones are released that parasites are very good at detecting. Upon detecting stress hormones, eggs are likely to hatch into adults and start to overwhelm the digestive system thus exacerbating the stress and continuing the downward spiral. Symptoms of parasites can include but not limited to excessive eating without growth or weight gain, a distended firm belly, diarrhea is the most common, and vomiting without actually upchucking any food.  The last symptom is part of the worm's life cycle caused when the worms have migrated themselves into the lungs and need to get back into the digestive track by causing the host to cough them up and be swallowed back into the stomach. Also sometimes cats will over-groom and cause them to become bare specifically on their belly area because of the uncomfortable feeling caused by parasites.

Anticipating when a cat will undergo stress and proactively de-worming them will significantly help in reducing a future issue with parasites. Weaning is when kittens transition from breastmilk to solid food and it can be very stressful. This is why we actively de-worm with multiple types of effective medications that target different parasites during the weaning time frame and again before they leave for their new home, which is yet another time they can become stressed when transitioning to a new home. Also, after any cat goes through a period of sickness it is wise to de-worm again. It is also recommended by many that indoor cats get de-wormed as part of regular maintenance annually while outdoor cats much more frequently.  

Regardless of our intensive De-Worming Protocol, it is not a bad idea to have periodic parasitic tests preformed. To save you a trip, in anticipation of this pretty routine test being preformed you should collect a piece of fresh cat poop within 24 hours of your Vet appointment as soon as it was pushed out and place it in a small snack size zip lock bag and store within a refrigerator. This test is most effective when the poop is less than 24 hours old and has been stored cold. Try not to forget it in the fridge either.

FIV/FeLV testing

Whether or not you choose to have this additional test done, you should know that there is no reason to suspect that your kitten would be positive for this. All Breeding Bengals at Lap Leopard Bengals have already been tested FIV/FeLV negative and there is Vet paperwork attesting to this that can be emailed to any Veterinarian facility for your kitten's records upon request. Furthermore, I made sure that every Breeding Bengal at Lap Leopard Bengals came from a respected cattery that had all of their Breeding Bengals also tested negative. So, there are 2 generations of testing that have been done.

However, should you desire to have FIV/FeLV testing done on your kitten, I highly suggest using the definitive PRA test. There is a quick and dirty test that Vets like to perform called a SNAP test that's more like a screening. Vets prefer this test because it's cheaper and quicker, taking only 10 minutes during an office visit. However, what Vets are not as knowledgeable about is that this test has proven in a well documented scientific paper analyzing testing results over a decade that the SNAP test has a whopping 80% false positive rate. The PRA test is the definitive test that requires sending out a blood sample and waiting 1-2 weeks for the results. This is the next step should the SNAP test show positive. Of course, unneeded anxiety over a positive SNAP test could be altogether avoided should you just do a PRA test instead.

SNAP vs PRA test for FeLV

To understand why Vets may lack knowledge regarding the differences between the PRA and SNAP test, you need to keep in mind the "scope of practice." Veterinarians have to spend a long time in collage gaining knowledge for the purpose of diagnosing and treating a variety of health related issues in a variety of species, no easy task by any means. There is just not enough time to also devote learning for the purpose of understanding laboratory testing on a cellular level. The job of developing laboratory testing falls onto the shoulders of scientists, whom also spend a great deal of time in collage with a different "scope of practice."  So, as a Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biologist myself, when I wanted to understand how accurate SNAP and PRA testing was I went to the scientific journals for real world research studies done over a long period of time. A scientific study is most statistically significant when there is a large data pool gathered from many areas and over a long period of time. Therefor, a well documented paper lasting a decade is truly statistically significant.

When I wanted to understand WHY there is such a high prevalence of false positives (80%) in the SNAP test, again I did not call any Veterinarians but one of THE scientists that helped to create the PRA test. The difference between the two tests boil down to what the tests are actually looking for. The PRA test takes longer to perform because the test looks within the cell to detect fragments of the Feline Leukemia viral DNA. This definitive test is considered so sensitive that it has been known to detect the virus within hours of infection. The SNAP test looks for proteins that the Feline Leukemia virus is known to produce within whole blood. Vets may think that this test is very specific because it's looking for a protein that only the virus produces. What actually makes the SNAP test fail is that some cats naturally make proteins that are structurally similar enough to the viral protein that it tricks the SNAP test. The concept that one protein can be structurally similar enough to another protein that it can be mistaken for it is not a new concept in Molecular Biology. A matter of fact, molecular biologist like to take advantage of this truth and create drugs that are similar enough to trick the body or a virus (in the case of Val-acyclovir). 

Vaccinations

The most important thing you should know is that ALL feline vaccinations, with the exception of Rabies, is not required to be administered by a Vet or required to be given at all. They are completely optional. The only reason the Rabies vaccine is a prescription drug that is required to be administered by a Vet and based upon state laws is because it has a direct impact on human health. None of the other vaccinations impact human health. That being said, you need to draw a balance between the cost and benefit to vaccinations. You already know the benefit, which is mainly for cats that are mingled with other cat populations, but you also need to know the costs, and that's injection-site carcinomas.

Injection-Site Carcinomas

It is known that cat vaccinations more so than dog vaccinations have been known to cause cancer at the site where a vaccination has been given. This is almost always fatal. Some types of vaccinations are even known to have a higher incidence in this than others, and that's why they're discouraged unless the benefit outweighs the risk. There are two major reasons for this concerning trend. One is that injecting harsh vaccines to sit in a pool under the skin can cause irritation to the cells, thus causing mutation. Massaging the site after a vaccine is given can help to disperse the vaccine and lower this incidence. However, the biggest culprit for this cancer is a component within killed virus vaccines known as an Adjuvant. The purpose of an Adjuvant is to purposely cause inflammation in order to alert the immune system to the presence of the vaccine because the virus is killed and can't set off the immune system without help. It's the inflammation that can cause the immune system to either go into overdrive and set off an autoimmune response attacking itself or never become activated and allow the inflammation to agitate cells to the point of mutation. It is for this reason that I administer an injectable vaccine only once before you pick up your kitten and then have you apply a live-vaccine in the nose for the second 2 doses to lower the incidence of injection-site carcinomas. These vaccines do not need to be administered by a Vet although your Vet may try to convince you to use their vaccinations or at least to come back so that they can administer the vaccine.

FeLV and Rabies:
FeLV vaccinations are notoriously known to have a higher incidence of injection-site carcinomas and that's why this vaccine is highly discourage, especially since your kitten should be indoors only. Plus the benefit is rather minimal regardless because strong natural immunity to Leukemia builds up by 1 year and prevalence in the outside community has dropped substantially down to 5%.

Rabies is also known as a harsh vaccine since the safety margin is more geared towards immunity for human health. It is for this reason that you should not get this vaccine done until you absolutely have to, usually when spaying/neutering, so that the immune system has had time to mature. While many states do require this vaccination, there is little a Vet can do to enforce this law other than to remind you of the law and strongly encourage vaccination. Vets do not call the police or withhold your pet. However, many Vets won't sterilize until the Rabies has been administered and so this is a time where they can force the issue. It is best to use the PureVax Rabies Vaccine because it does not use a killed virus with an Adjuvant, instead it uses recombinant viral DNA. This has shown to lower the incidence of injection-site carcinoma, thus also adding to the data supporting that the Adjuvant is the main contributor to this major problem.

re-vaccinations:
Many Vets still practice AAFP (American Association of Feline Practitioners) vaccine suggestions even though long-standing and strong evidence shows that these suggestions are out-dated and over-zealous. The AAFP states that the 3 core vaccinations (FVRCP) be re-administered every 3 years. However, research has shown that a cat's immune system is no more forgetful than ours and that many times Life-Long immunity has been achieved from the original kitten series. It is now more encouraged, instead of increasing risk of complications due to vaccines, to give a simple titer test to see if the antibodies are prevalent enough to even warrant a booster at all.  Also take into account the fact that indoor cats have virtually no exposure to the very viruses that vaccines are developed for and the cost starts to outweigh the benefit. Please read Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine Lisa Pierson's article regarding Vaccinations in general and the real risk of Over-Vaccination. www.catinfo.org

Spaying/Neutering (Sterilization):

You are required to have your kitten sterilized by 6 months the latest and have the vet paperwork of the procedure mailed to me for my records to comply with TICA's standards, as per your contract. However, I highly recommend doing this as early as possible, some Vets will do this by 4 months. You do not want your kitten anywhere near sexual maturation and some cats can mature before 6 months. Imagine what you were like all hormonally-charged during your puberty, and then imagine your kitten going through that! Most behavior problems are sexually driven!

Both intact males AND females after sexual maturation will become very vocal and start to holler and scream (known as "cauterwalling") at the top of their lungs day and night whether you're sleeping or not in hopes of attracting a mate. They will become restless and try to escape the house at every chance to get a mate. If your cat gets outside, they can be hit by a car, stolen, lost, or come back with diseases. They will start to spray urine everywhere in order to mark their territory and to signal their mating and health status. Any stray cats in the area, in response, may then start to spray urine on the outside of your house. The males can become aggressive with their testosterone surges. Heat cycles are extremely harsh on Bengal females. Just ONE heat cycle can decrease the over-all life-expectancy. When females go into heat their cervix dilates and if they're not mated to decrease the heat cycle then opportunistic bacteria can invade and cause a life-threatening deadly uterine infection known as Pyometria. If this all doesn't convince you than you should know that even if you sterilize after sexual maturation, not all of this sexually-induced behavior may go away. It may have become habit! So you don't want your kitten anywhere near sexual maturation before sterilization.

So what are the costs involved with sterilization?:

A lot of Vets have different requirements with sterilization and thus have widely different costs. It is wise to do some homework and shop around. I have a short list of Vets in CT and their prices that I can email upon request. If your kitten's Rabies vaccine hasn't been done yet and it's law, the Vet will likely require it at this time to proceed with sterilization. Some Vets require an Overnight stay or two for observation after surgery, which of course ups the price tag. Vets may require pre-surgery blood work or cardiac ultra-sound to determine if your kitten can withstand anesthesia, some Vets will supply post-op pain medication while others state that pain medication given during surgery is enough. Cautious Vets may give prophylactic antibiotics while most don't. I know of one poor kitten that got a nasty infection after surgery. Unfortunately, some Vets won't even offer a quote until you pay for an exam, stating that their quotes are based upon a case by case basis. Another major factor in cost is location, location. Don't be surprised if you can a higher cost in a "Posch" neighborhood than in the "boondocks." Even Walmart won't price-match a different Walmart because the exact same product is priced according to the location of the Walmart!

There are several non-profit organizations that offer an all-inclusive (exam, bloodwork, nail trimming, vaccines, treatment, ect) deal for low cost. They travel all around the state. You should find when they'll be closest to you and book an appointment ASAP as they fill up fast. You drop your kitten off early morning and pick up by mid afternoon.  The Vets who do this are very experienced.

Mass Animal Coalition offers info on low cost spay/neuter clinics        http://massanimalcoalition.com
ASPCA serves the NYC area, $125 or $5 with proof of public assistance
TEAM serves all of CT with proof of residence, $80                                     www.everyanimalmatters.org
RI Mobile Vet serves all of RI, $75                                                                            www.RImobilvet.com
Nutmeg Spay/Neuter Clinic, in Stratford CT, $90                                             www.nutmegclinic.org/
            \->very quick availability

There is also another way to avoid a mobile vet and use a stand-alone Vet clinic. You can obtain a low-cost spay/neuter certificate online with Friends of Animals and use the certificate with participating Vet Clinics. To obtain a certificate and find out where the closest participating clinics are you can visit: http://www.friendsofanimals.org
Spay certificate is $85 and Neuter is $61

Cardiac Ultrasound:

A small percentage of all babies from all species will be born with a heart murmur. It's a matter of statistics. It becomes more prevalent in babies born prematurely or in large litters. Most heart murmurs are outgrown by 1 year and those that aren't are usually fairly harmless. A heart murmur is from a heart being slightly immature and sloshing more blood in the heart than it should. Normally, the only time this ever becomes an issue is during times of stress, like during anesthesia. This is often why Vets will recommend a cardiac ultrasound prior to sterilization surgery or any surgery for that matter because of the need for anesthesia. Otherwise, many animals go on living with heart murmurs without any incidence.

Sometimes, a heart murmur can be an indication of something more serious, like a heart disease. Sometimes there is heart disease with no heart murmur present either. The best way to rule out anything more serious is a Cardiac Ultrasound. While an ultrasound can determine normal from abnormal, a normal diagnosis does not necessarily rule out the possibility of heart disease from forming later in life. The most common heart disease that affects all breeds and species is HCM (Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy). While there has been shown some genetic connection with this disease, just as cancer in the family can be a risk factor, HCM can still affect a percentage of kittens from pedigrees where HCM was previously absent. Whether Breeders should actively screen for HCM in their catteries is an ongoing debate within the Breeding community. These screenings are rather costly and would need to be conducted annually. Despite these screenings, a normal test never rules out the possibility of it showing up later and should it ever show up later, it doesn't necessarily mean that the kittens produced will have a higher incidence of HCM either. It is for this reason that I don't actively screen for HCM since it does not offer any guarantees, but I do include HCM into my 2 year health guarantee and in fact, am one of the only Breeders to offer this in their guarantee.

This question all comes down to the Nature verses Nurture Debate. I would like to ask you how much do children emulate their parents? The answer is that sometimes children will take on the personality characteristics of their parents to varying degrees and sometimes they can't be any more different.  Another consideration to take into account is that children that were raised by their parents will also have the Nurturing environment their parents are supplying to alter their personality in addition to the genetic contribution. However, how much can children emulate their parents if they're being raised by another family? This is the circumstance for our Lap Leopard Bengal kittens, they are being raised by another family.

So, I would like to believe that our kittens may have a pre-disposition toward a personality similar to their parents but that they can change according to the environment they grow up in. It is for this reason that here at Lap Leopard Bengals we release our kittens earlier at 8 weeks so that they would be more impressionable and can adapt to their new home quicker and easier. We also selectively choose our Breeding Bengals based upon many scrutinizing factors that are important to us, including reputability of the Cattery, health and genetic screenings, pedigree, pattern contrast and quality, but most importantly Temperament. All of our Breeding Bengals have an awesome temperament or we wouldn't be using them for our program. Raising my Bengals as part of my family with 3 young children absolutely requires that my Bengals are tolerant and affectionate. To be able to showcase my Beautiful Bengals to any new person vising the cattery requires that they are social, interactive, and people-loving.

I will say this though, I have seen kittens that share one quirky quality our Stud Prowler has, his ability to crimp and curl his tail into crazy shapes. As we like to say, Prowler has a very expressive tail and some of his kittens do the same. So take from that what you will. =-)

Our Proven Socialization Program starts with how we raise our Breeding Bengals. Our Bengals live with us as full members of our family. We don't own any cages and they're not separated from us. They sleep with us, eat with us, and cuddle with us on a daily basis. There are as many Cat trees, toys, and even a running cat wheel as there are kid toys! Simply put, they are as spoiled as they can get.

We here at Lap Leopard Bengals have 2 full time people working with our Bengals, myself and my partner. In addition, I also raise 3 energetic beautiful kids ages. We have a large 4,000 sq ft house that we use to raise our family and Bengals. When our pregnant queen is about 2 weeks from her due date, she is moved to the Birthing Suite, an area dedicated to quite and peace. As social as Bengals are, when they go into labor they want a labor partner and that is where we fit in! When they start contractions they seek us out and we put on the soothing music while we help assist. Whether on our laps or in their specially made Birthing Box, we help them proudly welcome their litter into the world. It is quite a beautiful experience!

We use bedding in their Birthing Boxes that we have slept in so that the Bengal mothers and kittens can be surrounded by our human comforting smell. From the first day the kittens are born and every day thereafter the kittens are held, cuddled, and loved by both Bengal mother and my family. We love to keep tabs on their developing personality, whom is the first out of the box, whom is the first to try solid food, whom is the brazen one, the loud one, the curious one, or the reserved one. This way we can help match the right kitten to our buyers by giving feedback.. If litters are born in close proximity, they are raised collectively together by all the Bengal mothers. Bengal mothers are social enough to not care whom kitten belongs to whom and will take care of any kitten. It is for this reason that we can match kittens together from different litters.

When the kittens turn 4 weeks old they start to get supervised visits onto the first floor where they can interact with the rest of the family and kids in a positive manner. After visiting for short periods of time they eventually go back to the third floor with Kathy. Over time their visitation becomes extended until they reach 6 weeks old when they are permanently left on the first floor. This gives our kittens 2 weeks to get use to the hustle and bustle, TV, vacuuming, a wider family space, and all of the sights and sounds of a family. This helps the kittens to adapt quicker to their new home whether they have kids or not. We have received overwhelming feedback from our buyers that this Socialization Program works wonders! Our kittens are curious, affectionate, trusting, and quickly acclimates to their new home environment. Just look at the testimonials!!

When you spend your hard-earned money on a Bengal, part of what you are investing in is the award-winning social personality. This is best achieved when Bengal kittens are socialized Intensely, Consistently, and most importantly, Early. You are NOT buying a kitten from a shelter, although there are many kittens in need of love from there. You are buying a Pedigreed Bengal from a Breeder and some of that compensation should be going towards the time it takes for the Breeder to properly socialize your Bengal or you're paying too much! How a Breeder socializes their Breeding Bengals and her kittens, which will ultimately become YOUR kitten, should be of utmost importance for you to know!

Bengals are uniquely different from other Breeds. While most breeds of Cats and even Dogs will become sedentary as they age and slow down, Bengals do not and will keep their high energy throughout their entire lifespan. This is truly a mixed blessing for along with their energy is an extraordinary intelligence and curiosity. This absolutely requires some sort of outlet to keep them stimulated and entertained. It is often times boredom that gets them in trouble as they will invent their own outlets in absence of one. Let me give you an example of a situation that can occur: a bored Bengal can jump onto high cabinets for they love heights and were adapted to exist in trees. While up on the cabinets they can knock something fun down and watch it break into little pieces. After spending some time batting around the broken pieces, the once-again bored Bengal can jump back onto the cabinets for round two. When you are around, Bengals can pester you into playing with them whether you want to play with them or not. With a playmate, a Bengal will have another outlet. While Bengals get along great with Dogs, especially because they're considered very dog-like themselves, both Dogs and other Breeds of cats may not be able to keep up with the energy of a Bengal in the long run.

I always say that the best toy you can get your Bengal is another Bengal. Bengals are a breed that are uniquely designed to get along with all social animals remarkably well but thrive with people and other Bengals. Watching 2 Bengals play is like watching 2 kids play, they have the intelligence to create their own games and the energy to keep up with each other. I love watching when a Bengal hides out in a corner with their hunter instincts on maximum and another unsuspecting Bengal walks by only to be Ambushed out of nowhere. Then after the initial tumble a wrestling match ensues which turns into a game of chase when one takes off and the other runs after. You then have the "Thunder Cats" run, jump, fly, and corner all around your house with their acrobatic feats burning all of their energy just to start a game of hide and seek. Eventually both Bengals will come onto your lap and curl into an exhausted heap for a well-earned nap, purring contentedly.

Many times I get thank you letters that express the joy that came with having gotten 2 Bengals and thanking me for educating them on the wisdom to do so. Often times, those that get a single kitten do so because they already have another Bengal or pet and those that don't, usually call me back to get onto the list for a second kitten once theirs gets old enough to want more attention.

Environmental Allergies

Cats can have seasonal allergies just as we do. It is noticeable that during certain times of the year it can appear that our feline friends have a runny nose, slight eye discharge, cough or sneeze. Open windows or AC units and humidifiers that use a dirty filter can all exacerbate these issues. Supplements added to the food that can help are immunity boosters, such as Lysine. Anti-histamines can also decrease or eliminate all allergy symptoms. However, it is also possible that your cat's symptoms are really from an upper respiratory cold that may go away or need antibiotic help. Of course, a vet is the best way to rule out the difference. Please remember to tell your Vet that the antibiotic of choice for Bengals is Clavamox.

Food Allergies

The most common sign of food allergies is increased scratching which can eventually lead to loss of hair, scratches, and skin irritation. With a case of increased itching, it is always best to go to the Vet and rule out other causes, such as skin mites, fleas, or other parasites, which can be easily tested for with skin scrapings. There are also blood and skin allergy testing that's available to see which environmental and/or common food ingredients your cats are allergic to. Treatment can include anti-histamines and limited ingredient diets. "Hypo-allergenic" food has a lot of hype and expense to go along with it and it doesn't always work. It means taking ingredients which your cat is allergic to and denaturing them to the point the body should not recognize them the same way. This is not natural and sometimes the body still recognizes the allergy regardless.

Why are Food Allergies becoming more and more common?

Brand Loyalty Myth:
Allergies can become an issue when you're exposed to the same food ingredient repeatedly over a long period of time. Pet food companies started campaigns a while back to increase brand loyalty by starting a myth that you must stick to the same brands to avoid dietary upset. This false campaigning has indeed become quit lucrative because even after food allergies become prevalent due to the same diet over the lifespan they can then make even more profit with their "hypo-allergenic" versions as well.

Over-Use of Chicken:
Another reason behind the rising trend in food allergies can be understood when you see what ingredients are the biggest allergen culprits, Chicken, Salmon, and Pork. To understand why these 3 proteins are what's causing the issues all you have to do is go to any pet food store and start reading the ingredients on every product. You will quickly find that no matter what meat is being advertised on the front of the package, you will always find Chicken and to a lesser degree, Salmon or Pork in everything! This is because it is more economical to sell Pet Food that advertises a more expensive or unique meat and use it sparingly and yet get most of the protein content from the cheaper Chicken sources. This over-utilization of Chicken for all protein sources in all Pet Food is alarming! Unfortunately, the only way to combat this prevalent problem is to use (LIDs) "limited ingredient diets." Although the selection found within stores is dismal and only slightly better online, these LIDs will use only a single protein source which is listed and a few other ingredients to lower the incidence of overusing any particular ingredient. While this is the best solution to avoid food allergens in cats that have an already established Food allergy, LIDs can also help to prevent Food allergies altogether! My recommendation is to incorporate LIDs into your animals diet NOW before any allergy presents itself. You do not need to restrict yourself to using only LIDs if you're trying to prevent an allergy but do incorporate some LIDs to limit the over-use of Chicken.

"Limited Ingredient Diets" prevent the Over-Use of Chicken

It is a common misconception that was perpetuated by the pet food companies to create brand loyalty that you can not switch brands. That switching food brands will cause digestive upset. This is absolutely untrue! The only time this may be true is if you have an older cat that you have been using only one brand of food consistently throughout the life, then the cat's digestive system may have become so accustomed that digestive upset may occur if switched. However, you need to go back to Nature to discern the truth.

In Nature, carnivores have a diet that consists of many different protein and food sources. This serves a few major purposes. A varied diet helps to supply the full range of nutritional needs. A varied diet also helps to minimize competition with other carnivores thus increasing chances of survival. Lastly, a varied diet helps to stave of extinction should any of the food sources become unavailable. How healthy is a species if it has to rely solely on one food source? Therefor, nature has already equipped a cat's digestive system to handle various different food sources. 

I, personally, use multiple different brands of both wet and dry food and even offer multiple bowls with those different brands at the same time. I feel that companies that make cat food do so in a particular way that may render some nutritional gaps. By alternating brands or using multiple brands simultaneously, you decrease nutritional gaps by overlapping. Where one brand may fall short in a particular ingredient, another brand will not and vice versa.

This methodology of using multiple brands can also serve another useful function, preventing food allergies. While it is hard to believe that a carnivore can in fact become allergic to particular protein sources, such as Chicken, it is happening with more frequency then you'd believe. I feel that food allergies are the result of the push by food companies to not switch brands and also by food companies relying solely on the same protein sources. Being exposed to the same protein for extended periods of time has in fact been shown to cause food allergies. Of course, the pet food companies can again profit from this as well by selling "hypoallergenic food" diets at top dollar. 

Best solution to prevent food allergies is to use pet food that has different protein sources. What can be deceiving is pet food that is marketed as having one protein source will often also have another cheaper protein source as well. Chicken is the most common protein allergy in cats because they put it in almost everything. Even food that says "turkey" will have chicken in it. Read the ingredients list on your pet food to see this point. "Limited ingredient diets" were designed to combat this by offering a single source protein. While you do not always need to use limited ingredient diets to prevent food allergies, it is something to be mindful of. At Lap Leopard Bengals, we use single protein sources that include: Pheasant, Turkey, Buffalo, Rabbit, Lamb, Venison, and Duck.

My husband is active duty military and is often away from home. At the time, I had 2 children whom were both in school half of the day. I wanted a companion, so I searched the local homeless shelters. I came across a very unique looking and beautiful kitten that was a Bengal mix. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending upon how you look at it, I was too late in claiming the kitten. However, my curiosity had been piqued since I have never heard of a Bengal before.

So in earnest I started my search on all things Bengal and immediately fell in love. It seemed to me that this Breed was tailored for me. I loved the exotic wild look but most of all, I loved the intelligence and the extremely social temperament. The best part of all, my husband whom is very allergic to cats could be fine since Bengals are hypoallergenic.

The down side? There weren't many Bengal breeders around. Bengals have only been around since the 1980s and there are many states that outlaw Asian Leopard Cats and early generational Bengals, which are needed to create the Bengal breed. Also, most of all the Bengal Breeders are down south. This is because Bengals can't tolerate cold that well for the same reason they're hypoallergenic, they don't have 2 layers of hair instead they have 1 tight, short pelt. In the warmer climates, Bengals can be housed outside all year round. In the colder climates, Bengals need a heat source.

The lack of Bengal Breeders in New England is why I decided that I would make it my passion to Breed Bengals so that others could experience all the love and craziness Bengals had to offer. I have a degree in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and I use to do Pharmaceutical research before the economy turned. This background is why I am huge on Bengal biology and subsequent health. This is why I write papers on Bengal genetics for breeding and also to prevent the prevalence of genetic issues in bloodlines. All my Bengals are genetically tested. This is also why I am big on proper nutrition, hydration, and the use of supplements. My posts on vet testing and vaccinations are also based upon my scientific background. For me, Lap Leopard Bengals is not a business, it's a passion I want to share.