Ashanti Bengals

PLACEMENT OF KITTENS AND ADULTS

Because we are a small family cattery, Ashanti has only a very limited number of litters available per year. However, kittening time is perhaps our most exciting and happy period of the year — and we are certainly happy when we can match each precious, available kitten with it’s corresponding “perfect home”! This is why those interested in Ashanti Bengals will understand when we take great effort in screening potential new owners, to make sure they: 1) understand the characteristics of the breed; 2) understand any potential adjustment they might need in order to provide a safe and secure lifetime home for their Bengal; and finally, 3) that WE understand what sort of cat they desire and for what purpose — to know if we are able to honestly provide the sort of Bengal they desire to suit their family and situation. All kittens we place are sold with a sales contract and health guarantee (see below). Our kittens/cats are placed in one of three basic categories: 1) Companion; 2) Show Potential / Breeding; and 3) Retired.

COMPANION KITTENS
First and foremost, we love to place kittens as “Companions”. Because what can be a better life for a kitten, than to grow up into an adult cat and spend all of his or her life as a spoiled and pampered, indoor pet? Our companion kittens are generally placed at no earlier than 12 weeks of age, so that they have had time to have at least their first series of vaccinations, a microchip implant, one or more veterinarian examinations, have been registered (or are in the process of being registered) with TICA or LOOF — and enough time with mom-cat and our family (small children and dog included) to be well on the way to learning the rules of proper feline and human etiquette! 

 Although Companion kittens are often just as beautiful as Show Potential / Breeding kittens, they are absolutely NOT allowed to be used for breeding! They must be surgically altered between 4 and 9 months of age. To insure that this is the case, when they go to their newhomes, their TICA and/or LOOF registration papers are kept here at Ashanti, until such time that we receive a letter from an authorized veterinarian certifying that they have been surgically altered. At this point, we will promptly forward to the owner the kitten’s TICA and/or LOOF registration.

SHOW POTENTIAL / BREEDING KITTENS
Sometimes, we are blessed with some extremely excellent examples of Bengal type — which we cannot keep in our own breeding program, due to lack of space, or because we already have enough of a particular bloodline. Any kitten which seems to have this sort of potential, is closely watched and critiqued as it grows — while we look for reasons why it should not be used for breeding, or would not be suitable for showing. Sometimes, we realize a kitten isn’t suitable for breeding or show potential after all, and so, we place the kitten as a “Companion”. But otherwise, if we are able to find a suitable show home and/or breeding program for such a kitten — it may be placed with a Show Potential/Breeding Animal contract. If we are unable to find a suitable show home and/or breeding program, the kitten will be sold as a Companion, without breeding rights, as explained above.

RETIRED CATS
From time to time, we also have available our own adult breeding cats, which we are retiring from our breeding program so that they can profit from a Companion home where they no longer need to worry about breeding, and can just “worry” about how many cat toys they have and how many people’s beds they have to sleep on… Virtually always, a “retired cat” is far from being an “old cat”. So, welcoming a beautiful, well-mannered adult into one’s home might be the perfect solution for someone who doesn’t want to be subjected to the challengesof the frisky kitten stage. Or someone who wants a beautiful Bengal, but is not able or willing to pay the price for a top quality companion kitten. Retired cats have always been surgically altered before they are placed in Companion homes. Retired cats are generally priced at between 200 to 300 euros to partially cover our operating costs for having them surgically altered, having their registration papers transferred to the name of their new owner, etc. (Read our article, “Should I Adopt a Retired Bengal?“)

CAT HEALTH
We believe in doing all that we reasonably can, to guarantee the health of our animals, and of the kittens we place in the homes of others. Here are some examples of our health policies:

1. At least one examination each year, by our veterinarian, to screen for communicable and genetic diseases and conditions.
2. Yearly vaccinations against all communicable diseases suggested by our veterinarian.
3. Preventive treatment to keep our animals free of parasites.
4. Specialized screening/testing, should any of our animals appear to even have a reasonable probability of genetic disease — and surgical altering, should it be found, to insure that we do not knowingly pass along genetic disease in any animals we place outside our cattery.
5. Cat enclosures, to provide large open areas for our cats to play outdoors, while keeping them safe from environmental dangers (i.e. wild animals, stray animals, traffic hazards, etc.)

• SALES CONTRACT / HEALTH GUARANTEE
  You may download a PDF example of our Sales Contract / Health Guarantee here.
• NON-REFUNDABLE DEPOSIT AGREEMENT In cases where a buyer is interested in reserving a kitten before it is old enough to leave our home, or wants to insure that a kitten is officially reserved until a pre-agreed pick-up time, Ashanti Bengals unequivocally requires the signature of a Non-refundable Deposit Agreement (you may view a sample of this document here.)