"So you think you want to be a breeder..."

Before deciding to become a cat breeder, you may want to consider whether you can affors to be a cat breeder...

Here's a simple outline based on the low end average costs to see just how lucrative raising a quality litter is:

EXPENSES

• Upkeep/toys/furn on 1 queen first yea r- $1,500
• Membership fees, registration & etc - $300+
• Show quality bengal queen w/breeding right - $3,000 or more
• Campaigning said queen to championship - $6,000-$10,000
• Stud service, health check & shipping fees - $3,300-4,300
• Prenatal check, xray & vitamins - $150
• Healthy uneventaful litter of 5 priceless, but not realistic
• Difficult delivery/C-section - $325-$1,000+ (depends on time of day)
• Baby supplies needed on hand - $325
• Kitten food-wet and dry x 6wk s- $360
• Mom food preg & lactating 6wks - $230
• Vet checks, vacc & worming x2 - $300
• Early spay/neuter x 4 kittens - $700+
• Advertising litter/website (ave) - $1,500+
• Vet health certificates x4 - $140
• Oops, forgot litter & other misc - $120+

Total estimated expenses to raise a litter of 4 kitterns - $17, 750- $23,425

Plus...

• Hours screening/educating others - labor of love
• Endless hours caring, socializing & cleaning - labor of love
• Many sleepless nights/worry/heartbreak - far too expensive to list
• Successfully raising a litter & keeping sanity - priceless

INCOME

Sell 3 kittens as pets to loving forever pet homes on ESN contracts for average pet price ($1,000)  for a total of $3,000.   Keep one baby to hopefully show- registration fee of $15 and begin the entire outline again.

"PROFIT"

For those of you brave enough to still be reading & keeping score, the loss on the raising of a single litter is $14,765-$20,440. The look on your face now - priceless. Now, one can see why this is a labor of love and not a money making scheme! This is also why many of us "hide" the actual expenses from our spouses ;-)

So, do you still think you want to be a breeder??

If so, hope you have excellent careers, unlimited funds, tons of time, energy, patience and loving heart that can withstand disappointment & heartbreak when they occur. For even the best laid plans yield set backs and extra expenses not accounted for in this simple outline. Believe us, we know from experience, it could be more expensive. I.e. kitten illnesses, complicated C-section, queen pyometra, mastitis, feedings every 2 hours around the clock, absences from work, having to give up job to care for babies, queen & or kitten deaths and many more possibilities.

* F series (filia) Bengals can't be shown but cost much more initially and require many, many hours of socialization. Babies must be hand raised 24 x 7 and socialized, socialized, and socialized, so they will be loving pets. Oh, almost forgot to mention...all males must go to pet homes as they are Sterile & can't be used for breeding or showing. Thus their increased cost doesn't yield any better "profit", especially with the many man hours it takes to socialize and raise them. We think one would be even further "in the hole", if one dared to do the math!

JUST A CAT

From time to time, people tell me, "lighten up, it's just a cat" or "that's a lot of money for just a cat". They don't understand the distance traveled, the time spent, or the costs involved for "just a cat". Some of my proudest moments have come about with "just a cat". Many hours have passed and my only company was "just a cat", but I did not once feel slighted. Some of my saddest moments have been brought about by "just a cat," and in those days of darkness, the gentle touch of "just a cat" gave me comfort and reason to overcome the day. If you, too, think it's "just a cat", then you will probably understand phrases like "just a friend", "just a sunrise" or "just a promise".

"Just a cat" brings into my life the very essence of friendship, trust, and pure unbridled joy "Just a cat" brings out the compassion and patience that makes me a better person. Because of "just a cat", I will rise early, take long walks and look longingly to the future. So for me and folks like me, it's not "just a cat" but an embodiment of all the hopes and dreams of the future, the fond memories of the past, and the pure joy of the moment.

"Just a cat" brings out what's good in me and diverts my thoughts away from myself and the worries of the day.

I hope that someday they can understand that it's not "just a cat", but the thing that gives me humanity and keeps me from being "just a man or woman". So the next time you hear the phrase "just a cat", just smile -- because they "just don't understand".

-- Author Unknown