Let me explain the differences between the
qualities of cat:
First let me explain top show quality:
These are RARELY born and when they are,
they are highly prized. A breeder may
work their entire breeding career trying to
produce one of these cats. These cats
match in every way the Bengal Standard and
will easily get to a Quad Grand or Supreme
Grand Champion title when shown.
Many breeders go for years or decades and
never produce one of these cats. So,
if they are born, they stay in our breeding
program or go to another breeder to be
shown. This validates our breeding
program to the entire bengal breeder
community. This cat also has traits
that need to be propagated into the Bengal
breed. I am currently looking for this
quality of male cat as my next stud. I
can tell you just how rare they are. I
will be waiting for probably a year from the
national pool of breeders to find one born
and available. I am on a number of
waiting lists. These kittens are rarely
sold, but when they are, they are in the
$3500 price range.
Second is show quality:
These kittens also are not born in every
litter. Depending on the breeding
program, it may mean many years of work.
These kittens, although not top show
quality, should get to their championship.
If we are lucky, they may go farther to
their Grand, Double Grand, or Triple Grand
Championship. Again, these kittens put
breeders "on the map" and validate all of
our hard work. These kittens adhere
closely to the Bengal Standard but may have
a quality or two that although they are
"within" standard guidelines, are not
considered exceptionally good. These
kittens are also not sold often, they remain
in a breeders program or go to another
breeder for their program. These
kittens are priced from $2000-$3000.
Third is breeder quality:
Breeder quality is slightly less than show
quality. It may mean that the kitten has a
SLIGHT fault according to the standard such
as large ears or an "off" eye color or a
marble belly instead of spots or pink paw
pads instead of all black or they are
structurally a good cat, but just aren't
"flashy" enough for the show ring. At
a show, there will be anywhere from 30-75
Bengals entered. To get any points,
you must beat them all AND be considered one
of the top ten cats at the entire show.
So, they may be a really nice cat, but just
not as nice as others. These are the
cats that fall into Breeder Quality.
They still have many nice traits that could
and probably should be passed on. We
like to see these kittens in breeding
programs but are willing to place them into
loving pet homes if the right one comes
available. These kittens are
$1,750-$2,250 depending on the number of
qualities they have that are exceptional vs.
the number that are acceptable.
Fourth is pet quality:
In this category there is a wide range of
quality. It may mean that the kitten
just has a tail fault. This is a
condition where if you feel it VERY closely
you can tell that the bones don't align
themselves exactly or that there is a very
slight calcification on one side or the
other. It took me months to get to the
point, that I could actually feel one.
They are that hard to feel. Usually
you can't see them at all. It may mean
that the kitten has a locket (a teeny white
patch) on it belly or groin area. Or
that its spots are aligned vertically rather
than horizontally or that it has smaller
rosettes rather than larger ones or spotting
rather than rosetting or a thin tail vs. a
thick tail or a longer tail vs. a shorter
tail or lack of depth of chin (which also
took me quite a while to be able to see).
These kittens are wide range of pricing
because the quality in this category is wide
ranging. In my case, they are
priced from $700-$1100.
Many people on the internet and in general
will categorize kittens in one category or
another (show vs. breeder vs. pet).
Another breeder may look at that same kitten
and think they are crazy for thinking it is
a show quality kitten or a breeder quality
kitten. That is the reason we stay in
the show realm. It helps us to keep
our categories accurate and if we classify a
kitten a show quality kitten it means you
can take it to a show and it will win its
championship. What is the purpose of
taking a kitten to a show only to have it
constantly beaten by the competition?
Many breeders do haul totally average
kittens to the show and wonder why they
aren't winning. So, you must consider
whose word you are taking for the quality of
a kitten as classed by the breeder.
I look at litters announced on the internet
all the time as show quality or show/breeder
quality. I wouldn't pay you a dime for
them or even consider breeding or showing
them.
Chances are that there are kittens that may
be place in pet or breeder quality vs. show
quality due to traits that you or your
acquaintances would never be able to see.
But you need to consider exactly what you
are comfortable spending and what quality
you feel you need to have to be satisfied.
