Why does
a Bengal look so huge and when I ask how much it
weighs it is about 14 lbs, not more?
Well, I have not seen any X rays to prove this,
but rumor has it that the Asian Leopard Cat has
an extra 1-2 vertebra in its back. Some of the
males tend to have these extra vertebra in their
back so they are longer. They are also a sturdy,
muscular cat so they appear very large.
What
is the difference in a Bengal and an Ocicat?
We could write a book on this one. One of the
simplest answers and one I use a lot is that the
Bengal has Wild Cat Blood in it, and the Ocicat
is purely domestic. (Supposedly and to a certain
extent). The spots are different, the head type
is different, the colors are different. There
are however many similarities. Both are
muscular, healthy, playful loving cats. They are
high maintenance and require a substantial
amount of attention from their owners. They are
greeters to visitors, good with children and
other animals such as dogs. They will however
consider a hamster or a bird to be food. They
both can be trained to walk with a halter and
leash. They both like water if exposed to it at
an early age, and will stomp around in the
shower with you, play in their water dish to
drive you to distraction. Some will climb in the
kids bath with them.
Why
would I want to spend that kind of money on an
Ocicat or a Bengal? Good question.
Impress your visitors? yes. Pride of owning
something so beautiful. yes. But more because of
the love they return in spades. I have known
more men than you can imagine who believe they
are only "dog people" and they fall in love with
their Bengal or Ocicat. The cat will not let you
do otherwise, as it gives you so much love. Our
kittens are handled and loved from the first day
they are born, so they enjoy the touch and
company of humans. Most people say once they
have been owned by an Ocicat or a Bengal that
they will never have any other kind of cat
again! But I suppose each breeder hears that. My
customers call me up to bend my ear about the
latest escapades of their babies. (kittens)
How
are bengal cats with children?
Bengal cats are loving and get along very well
with children. Our bengal cats have been
well handled before they leave our cattery and
are friendly. Small children should always
be supervised with kittens and cats.
Bengal cats also get along very well with dogs
and are open to forming friendships with dogs.
What
types of bengal cats are there? The
typical bengal cat is a spotted cat and is
brown. The color brown covers a lot of
territory in the bengal breed. Browns come
tinted red, tinted yellow, and just plain brown.
Also, there are marble bengal cats. We do
not breed to get marbles, but people like them.
Besides brown, bengal come in snow, silver, and
blue. Silver and Snow bengals can be shown
in championship classes, blue bengals can not.
The silver and snows come in both spotted and
marble varieties. The typical bengal is a
spotted cat and brown is the typical color.
Why
purchase your bengal kitten from DonaMae Cattery?
We are veterinarian inspected and because we
breed an exotic cat (African Serval) we are also
USDA inspected. We handle our kittens.
This ensures that they are friendly and open to
people. A kitten that is frightened and
runs from people is a kitten that needs handling
and if enough handling is not done while the
kitten is young it may not ever make a good pet.
Our kittens are friendly. Our kittens have
had the shots appropriate to their age when they
leave us and should one of our bengal kittens
die before it is a year old we will credit your
payment toward a replacement kitten --
accidental death not included. The kitten must
remain inside and medical help must be provided if the
kitten becomes ill. We think we have the
best health guarantee in Arizona.
Does the
bengal breed have any special grooming or
nutritional requirements?
Good food is required as the bengal is a
muscular, active and high energy cat. Add a
variety of vitamins, minerals, prozyme, calcium,
super blue green algae, and L-lysine. My cats
however, are breeders and under more stress than
the average cat who will usually do quite well
on just a good quality dry cat food with an
occasional treat.
Are you a kitten mill?
I suppose it all depends on your interpretation
of what a kitten mill is. I will answer this
question with a series of questions.
Is a kitten mill USDA licensed to breed exotic
cats?
Is a kitten mill also licensed for breeding
exotics by the Fish and Game Dept?
Does a kitten mill have two owners who spend
8-14 hours apiece a day loving and caring for
the cats and kittens?
Does a kitten mill produce affectionate, healthy
well adjusted kittens and show cats, who are sent
out with a health guarantee covering the first
year of life?
Does a kitten mill have an owner who is on the
Board of Directors of an International Breeders
Organization?
Does a kitten mill spend more money that it
makes on the best veterinary care, premium foods
and medications, and supplies?
Does a kitten mill decline to take vacations 99%
of the time because they do not trust the care
of their beloved cats to other people.
Does a kitten mill attend cat shows, showing
their cats and competing for ribbons and
status?
Does a kitten mill continually upgrade the
quality of their breeders working to have all of
them show quality? This process includes
retiring breeders by spaying and neutering and
finding good homes for the breeders while they
are still in their prime and replacing them with
better and better breeders.
Does a kitten mill continue to strive to provide
the best environment possible for the cats
including misters in outside runs, a space for
individual studs about the size of a room or
horse stall, heat in winter, cooling in summer,
ponds, grass, plants, trees shade?
Does a kitten mill spend significant money on
Revolution monthly to prevent fleas, ticks, ear
mites, and worms, and regularly immunize the
whole cattery for Bortadella, Rabies, Giradia,
as well as the routine immunizations including
feline leukemia?
Does a kitten mill register all their breeders
and breedings with 4 different cat
organizations?
Does a kitten mill provide a copy of both
parents pedigree to purchasers?
Does a kitten mill interview prospective clients
to determine that the kitten will have a good,
loving home and proper medical care?
Does a kitten mill provide a rescue for any
kitten produced by their cattery, taking them
back and finding new homes if owners become
unable to take care of them?
This rescue service also placed 12 outside
rescue cats this year, not originally from our
cattery.
Does a kitten mill allow everyone to tour the
facility just about any time they want to, to
see the breeders, kittens and exotic cats? And
how they live I might add.
Does a kitten mill continually analyze their
breeding program, focusing on improving the
breed to produce healthier, more beautiful cats
with better temperaments?
I could go on, but you get my point. Yes, we do
produce a significant number of kittens from
four different breeds, but that gives a variety
of prices and choices to our customers. We are
lucky; we are retired and can spend all our time
on this cattery.
We will just continue to follow our passion and
our vision, because that is what it is. No one
in their right mind would choose to change the
kitty litters, scrub pans and areas with
disinfectant (heavy grunt work), give the
medications, do the paperwork, deal with the
phone calls and questions, etc. if it was not a
passion.
We are participating in the development of a new
breed, the Savannah cat, and consider this a
privilege as well as a challenge. So come visit
us, you may be surprised, but please don’t ask
me if we are a kitten mill while you are here
because it hurts my feelings. We try too hard!
Donamae
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