# Bengal show cats



## sarah123456789 (Mar 12, 2009)

Hiya 
i was just wondering how much bengals are to buy for showing?
Thanks in advance


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## lauren001 (Jun 30, 2008)

It all depends on the kitten, its quality whether it is a show neuter or a show/breeding cat, whether it is male or female and where you get it from. Some top breeders would and can charge a lot more.

Obviously a beautifully clear, rosetted typey well bred show/breeding cat from a good breeder can go for a lot of money.
No kitten can be guaranteed to do well at shows, it depends what it will eventually grow into, size, coat quality, type etc. and what the competition is like on the day. Your cat may be lovely but if some other breeders have better ones on the show circuit in your area, it may never do really well.

I see that you breed Bengals, so why do you ask?


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## bluechip (Dec 26, 2008)

breeding and showing are to different things.

they may well breed but if they have not got into showing then this could be why they are asking.


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## sarah123456789 (Mar 12, 2009)

Hiya thanks for your reply
Its because a lady has asked me how much one of my boys are for showing, with this being my first litter and plus iv never bought a show cat i dont know how much they are, so i thought id ask so i could give her a reasonable price.
thanks


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## bluechip (Dec 26, 2008)

how much do you sell your kittens for in first place????

i would add on a little extra for a show cat and more for breeding.


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## sarah123456789 (Mar 12, 2009)

Hiya
my pet kittens are £350 and breeders from £1000 and up because of the breeding so a fair price would be £900 - £1000.

Please dont think that im trying to get as much money as possible for them i just wanted to make sure i would give a fair price to the lady who is interested in him.
Thanks for your replys this helped me alot


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## bluechip (Dec 26, 2008)

your not being greedy you are doing what all breeders are doing and yes you always want to give a fair price so people will recommend you and this is a good way to practice.


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

sarah123456789 said:


> Hiya
> my pet kittens are £350 and breeders from £1000 and up because of the breeding so a fair price would be £900 - £1000.
> 
> Please dont think that im trying to get as much money as possible for them i just wanted to make sure i would give a fair price to the lady who is interested in him.
> Thanks for your replys this helped me alot


shoot - that's a lot! - for Birmans pet quality is £350 ish and then show and/or breed is around £450-500. Is this boy going for a show neuter? I'd be tempted to charge a fair bit less if he is. I wouldn't pay £1000 for a show cat - what if he didn't like the experience?


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## ChinaBlue (Feb 3, 2008)

If one of my kittens is going to be shown (as a neuter) I charge the same as pet price. At the end of the day the new owners are going to be doing you a favour showing your prefix so to speak so you will probably get extra enquiries from people visiting shows. Also you can only really say that as a kitten they have "show potential" as you don't really know how they will mature and they may not enjoy being shown so......! Obviously if it is a show/breed then I would charge more.


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## Supernova (Mar 7, 2009)

I agree. So long as my bengal kitten is a pet and not going for breeding and will be neutered at 6mths I charge the pet price for show quality. Means that I get my kittens out on the show bench


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## lizward (Feb 29, 2008)

I agree too. It is not that often you get people wanting to buy a kitten for show, I wouldn't charge any more at all. If you do charge more and the kitten doesn't succeed then you are going to be looking at a refund situation. Plus, you have to define "succeed".

Also they can change - I have a Burmese boy who did brilliantly at his first show, an all red card day and the top prize (a special one for kittens of the breed) from a class with at least 8 entrants, and one of the judges wanting to buy him. Now he is coming last all the time and one judge says he has a squint, and I suspect she may be right, I am not convinced he hasn't  If a couple more judges say the same thing then obviously his show career is over.

Liz


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## Alansw8 (May 25, 2008)

are you sure its a squint liz?

I have a cat what frowns and to see her do this is hilarious, the stud owner where i tokk her the other month commented on her doing this and thought it was funny


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## lauren001 (Jun 30, 2008)

> If you do charge more and the kitten doesn't succeed then you are going to be looking at a refund situation. Plus, you have to define "succeed


Good point, Liz.
Kittens can change markedly and especially as this is your first litter you have no experience of what this mating will grow up into. 
Had you had a litter from this pair of cats before you may hazard a guess re the kittens.
Pet price takes the pressure off yourself as regards producing a show winner.

Lauren


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## Vixxen (Jan 13, 2009)

I think £900 for a show quality is too much if you charge £350 for pet personally.

i pay £400-500 for maine coons, somali and NFC's for show quality.


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## lizward (Feb 29, 2008)

Alansw8 said:


> are you sure its a squint liz?


Well I don't know, the obvious answer I suppose is to ask the vet, but there is something odd about his eyes (the cats', not the vet's!) and I suppose the bottom line is if the judges are convinced it is a squint, there isn't a lot you can do about it. They are not required to get the duty vet to confirm it.

If it is a squint, I just hope it isn't hereditary!

He has another problem which is definitely not genetic and that is that the silly so and so scorched himself on a halogen heater back in December. As a result, he has a patch of lighter coloured and shorter hair on his left flank (looks as if he has been spayed, I have another cat who has done exactly the same thing too!). I was hoping that might grow out when he changes his coat but my vet says it might not 

Liz


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## Taylorbaby (Jan 10, 2009)

sarah123456789 said:


> Hiya
> my pet kittens are £350 and breeders from £1000 and up because of the breeding so a fair price would be £900 - £1000.
> 
> Please dont think that im trying to get as much money as possible for them i just wanted to make sure i would give a fair price to the lady who is interested in him.
> Thanks for your replies this helped me alot


Hiya You know I have only just started breeding to, but £900-1000 for newbie breeders.... You can go to the top uk breeders for that price. Possible less.

I know I dont know your lines or anything but it would be better to sell lower & get your name out there then to price yourself out?

Not having a go as this is what I discussed with my Bengal mentors so that is what Im doing,



Supernova said:


> I agree. So long as my Bengal kitten is a pet and not going for breeding and will be neutered at 6mths I charge the pet price for show quality. Means that I get my kittens out on the show bench


Same here a neuter/spay show would be pet price, on contract as you cant guarantee a show win, but then I think id wait until say the next litter with the same dad to see who the kits from the first turned out?

A breed/Show would be different again!


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## sarah123456789 (Mar 12, 2009)

Hiya
Thanks for all advise its been a big help


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## Saikou (Apr 2, 2008)

I don't think show or breed kittens should be anymore than a pet price, as there are no guarantees in either. If you are selling for breeding and have imported your own lines from abroad that the new owner will benefit from, then I can see the logic of passing on a small portion of the import costs to the new owner.

If you are truely a hobby breeder then your aim should be to recoup your cost of raising a litter, charging nearly 3x more for one kitten is imo not right. If you have a stunning kitten for show, that is a bonus, and to find a show home on top of that the icing on the cake which only benefits you so why charge the new owner for the privilege.

This reference to top breeders, what makes someone a "top" breeder, the fact they have lots of kittens all the time and sell for breeding, they consistently produce show type kittens, they import new lines into the country to improve the breed gene pool, they've been breeding for years, or just their own claims? From what I can see in my own breed, those breeders that are put into that category by reputation are there as the result of spin, look behind that and the truth is somewhat different, so I would avoid them like the plague.


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## lauren001 (Jun 30, 2008)

I think in Bengals, there are "top" breeders who are only there due to spin, fancy websites, high profile people, breeding for money and not really knowing much about the breed, but there are similar "top" people that I would definitely not avoid as they do produce good quality kittens who do win at shows and they know loads about the breed and know what they are talking about.

It is a total mixture you get hobby breeders some going for years, who know next to nothing about the breed too.

It is a case of knowing as much as you can yourself so you can suss them out.


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## Saikou (Apr 2, 2008)

lauren001 said:


> but there are similar "top" people that I would definitely not avoid as they do produce good quality kittens who do win at shows and they know loads about the breed and know what they are talking about.


my point being, those people do not market themselves as that or think of themselves as being that, they have no need they and their cats speak for themselves.

From my experience those sorts of people charge less than average, not more, as the cats/kittens are the most important and not making money, its a genuine labour of love.


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## lauren001 (Jun 30, 2008)

Saikou said:


> my point being, those people do not market themselves as that or think of themselves as being that, they have no need they and their cats speak for themselves.
> 
> From my experience those sorts of people charge less than average, not more, as the cats/kittens are the most important and not making money, its a genuine labour of love.


Yes, mostly that is true.


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## Elmstar (Apr 7, 2008)

We certainly wouldn't charge more just because someone wanted to show a kitten, only if they wanted it on the active list.


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## Biawhiska (Mar 28, 2008)

Do you show yourself? Do you know what a show bengal looks like before charging that amount of money. If it were me i'd buy a pet for 350 and show in the ped pet class


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## lauren001 (Jun 30, 2008)

That is what the lady will be doing, it is for a pet, it will be neutered. 
She is buying it to show it in the Alter class, either in TICA or in the GCCF, I presume. It should just be a pet price.



> Do you know what a show bengal looks like before charging that amount of money?


That is a question and a half.


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