New Designer Breed? Please...enlighten me.

[DeLaUK]

I just got off the phone with my daughter, she's in CA Im in Germany, have been for over a year. She was telling me about how easy her kitty is picking up training (tricks) and how it doesnt know how to retract its claws sometimes....I ask her what breed it is, she had previously told me it was a stray (hmmmm!!!) so now she says its a Mojave Bengal.....A WHAT????

Never heard of them, so I assume at this point she got it from my firend who has bred Bengals....and what...now because its bred in the Mojave Desert its a new breed ????

So, I go on the internet and what d'ya know, there is in fact a Mojave Spotted that is mixed with a Bengal. So she was close !!!

I just have 2 questions, is the reluctance to retract the claws a common trait with Bengals? I would have asked my friend that breeds them but she is away for a couple of weeks. Also are people making as much money from designer breed cats as they are from designer dogs and do they have increased risk of genetic problems.

Thanks, any info on this new discovery (at least in my mind) would be appreciated seeing as I will probably be the one financially responsible should there be a problem.....KIDS...even when theyre grown and working you still feel like an ATM machine !!!!!

[Cassie]

Booger is a mutt and she doesn't totally retract her claws. Even when she's sleeping, you can see the tips sticking out some. When she pats my face in the morning in bed, I can feel the claws but I know she just means to pat me with her paw, not scratch me. I think some cats just have longer claws than others because when she's clawing while playing, they are extended

[vene]

Sorry, don't know anything about the designer breed cats especially the Mojave. Rene, my Bengal from a pet store (couldn't resist since she looked like Vene's, RIP, twin). She doesn't retract her claws much. She has slashed poor Monty's paw pads once (very bloody house), slashed me once (jealous of my first born, but are buddies with him now and adores my newborn). When seated on our lap, will not retract claws to jump off and will leave painful scratch marks. Otherwise, she's a very gentle and curious creature and loves to greet guests and play with water. Bengals are supposedly great at learning tricks (haven't tried). They are a lot like dogs or toddlers. I'd make sure that her cat get her annual rabies shots because anyone that visits her and gets scratched or bitten by her cat can unfortunately sue her. Just saw some pics of the Mojave spotted Bengals. They are cute!

[DeLaUK]

Thanks for the info. So maybe not retracting the claws is a 'trait'. She said the cat is not aggressive, its things like youve described in jumping off your lap or something, most cats will have their claws retracted (unless theyre trying to hold on) but Tyre keeps them out.