Looking for a Bengal Breeder??
So you are looking for a future Bengal Baby?! I am excited for you definitely an exciting journey coming up. I will try my best to help you get a healthy socialized bengal from a breeder who has put their heart and soul into their program. I will try to help you avoid scammers and unethical breeders aka backyard breeders.
-As you search through Bengal Breeders on search engines, websites, and in social media verify that the cattery is TICA or CFA registered. These are the only recognized registries in the US. There are a couple registeries overseas that can be transferred to TICA or CFA.
You can verify they are registered by multiple ways one is to simply ask to see their cattery certificates. If they can not find it the breeder can simply log into their account and create a new one which can be screen shot in a couple minutes. Another way to verify is look for their cattery name on the TICA website at: https://www.tica.org/owners-breeders/catteries/registered-catteries or verify with CFA at: https://cfa.org/cattery-name-index. This will guarantee that your new baby you are paying a lot of money for will come with registration papers. Registration papers should be given to you when you pick your baby up and only cost the breeder $13 and takes the breeder about 10 minutes to register online.
-Responsible breeders will be able to produce PKDef, PRA-b, and HCM results for the parents of your future bengal baby. (Click on the names to learn more about each.) These are known genetic issues within the bengal breed and can be deterred by testing. PK-def and PRA-b is a test conducted once in the cats lifetime through UC Davis for $65 or also can be tested at Optimal Selection for about $99. These test results will never change and I would not trust results from any other location. HCM is screened yearly and can only be screened by a licensed cardiologist and not done at the vets.
*Make sure you visually see these results and do NOT take the breeders word for it.
-Check on the health and welfare of the bengals inside their cattery by scrolling through their page and checking how many litters they are producing in a year. Ask to see where they keep their Bengals. If it is impossible to visit their home due to being a closed cattery or COVID then ask for pictures of their set up. Breeding cats spray so if they say they allow them to roam the house I promise you this is not the case and they are reluctant to show you where they are kept. They should have a somewhat professional set-up because the money they get for their bengals should go back to their welfare of the bengals.
-If you are still unsure and need some recommendations. Here is a list of catteries that I highly recommend: