bengal traits

[niki71uk]

hi any one got a bengal or bengal x,i need advice

[meep]

I've never owned a Bengal, although I would love to, so I can't offer direct advice. But from researching the breed myself here's what I've learnt:

- they are usually larger than the average moggie cat, average weight is 6 kilos.
- they are very high energy and are best suited to a home with outdoor access as if they're kept inside in a small space they can get frustrated and bored.
- they are very, very friendly and companionable and love lots of human contact.
- they are very intelligent and can often be trained to do small tricks such as roll over, sit, beg, fetch the ball.
- their fur is different to all other cat breeds, due to their origins, and is much silkier than normal cats fur.
- they are quite vocal as well (although not as vocal as siamese!)

This is only what I can remember, I'm sure another member will be along with more advice soon :)

Have you just taken on your wee bengal cat?

[angieh]

niki - why don't you PM Az?

[Rosie]

Reading that description of the Bengal they would seem to be the perfect family pet although when I asked the question to someone in rescue who was inundated with Bengals she said it was because they were quite aggressive.

[Elaine]

I have never had a bengal but have heard that they can be aggressive with other cats, that said, I have a friend who runs an independant cat rescue and she has two, they get along just fine with all the others.
Dont they also like to play in water?
They are excellent climbers so watch out for those expensive curtains:lol:

[niki71uk]

http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll349/niki71uk/DSC00113_edited.jpg


this is cass,im sur she has some bengal in her,she isnt very vocal as yet (thank god)and yes she loves water,i hear her pinging the animals water bowl,then usually the water ends up on the floor


she is just over 7 mnths old now and not very big,but is long,her tail is huge and bushy like a racoon,i asked the vet if she was any breed he said no,im not so sure,she's not ur tyical tabby colouring or patterning


btw who is az?

[Elvisisboss]

my cat has a bit of Bengal but he is small due to the other breeds he was bred with!

loves water - gets in the bath/shower/sink (when there on!!) plays in his water bowl which goes Everywhere! Very annoying!!
talks all the time high energy, loves to jump Very high from the spot! has the most intense green eyes Ive ever seen a very silky coat & slight marble/spotty markings in his coat.

doesn't talk a half as much as my Siamese x though!

i am getting a Full Bengal next year & i contacted another breeder about a different breed of cat and she refused to sell me any of her cats as i will have a Bengal! she said that 2 of her kittens had been killed & 2 re homed due to Bengals already in the home so she wont sell to people with Bengals anymore!

what makes you think she has Bengal in her? do you know any thing about her parents? :D

[dandysmom]

Az is The Boss of Catsey (and it's sister site, Dogsey). he has a lovely Bengal, Cheetah.

I too have heard they don't get along too well with other breeds, but suppose it depends on the personality of the cats involved. They are indeed high energy cats!

[angieh]

Your Cass certainly is a lovely looking cat, Bengal genes or not!

There are other members here who have Bengals - perhaps if one of the Mods picks up on this thread, they could advise you who to contact.

[niki71uk]

her mum is all black and small but her dad looks like her



they dont know wot breed if any the dad is

[angieh]

I would love to have a jumper that looks like Cass' coat!

[niki71uk]

unusual huh !!

[niki71uk]

i forgot to say,my friends brother has 3 bengals,so i have every so often been sending pics to her,for him to see,he thinks she may have some bengal in her,she has very soft fur

[calismum]

No idea about bengals, but - she has the most unusual and beautifully maked coat.

[niki71uk]

angie i pm'd az but dunno if he got it

[dandysmom]

Niki, I've found it a good idea when PMing Az to check th Return Receipt box; that way you know if it's been picked up. He's very busy. But approachable, didn't mean to imply otherwise! Always very helpful.

[Kathryn]

Hi this is Murray the mauler!
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p50/kathryn_063/104-0484_IMG.jpg
His mother was one of the first generation Bengals (so i was told) she was feisty but ok with her owner his father the local tom! His mother had a pedigree litter but became pregnant again (careless breeder) when the 1st litter were 4wks old. He is a great cat but was difficult with other cats , ok with most of my others, gets extremely frustrated if he cannot go out, is destructive, but also very clever can open Chubb locks! as well as most type of doors, loves water, has been seen wading in the neigbours pond fishing !!Does a lot of wailing especially if he is out & wants in, rips the toilet paper to bits usually when he has peed in the toilet ( yes he is very clever!)& before we had cat proof fencing would go into anyones house & steal things, he is very affectionate & I love him to bits.
Here he is with his 'special needs' friend Declan showing his soft side!
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p50/kathryn_063/100-0074_IMG.jpg
X K

[niki71uk]

so is my cat just a mog or wot,the vet says yes,byr my friends who's bro has 3 bengals says she is

[Elvisisboss]

well you will never really know, does it matter? shes lovely anyway! :D

[niki71uk]

no course it dont matter,but would be nice to know lol

http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll349/niki71uk/DSC00132_edited.jpg


this is her caught in the act by the water bowl

[dandysmom]

Kathryn, is Murray the Mauler (love the name BTW!) a large cat? Looks like it in his pics. I ask because one of our members has two very large active, smart tabbies with suspected Bengal ancestry .....

[Elvisisboss]

maybe she is half or a 1/4 bengal? :D but if the people you bought them from dont know there cats backgrounds i dont know as people normally know when they buy half bengal/bengal as thats whats in the advert?

i mean to look at my tiny cat you would say 'part bengal?!' but he is including a singa & moggy! so you never know!

[niki71uk]

her mum is a small all black cat but her dad looks like her

[Elvisisboss]

he might be part bengal then and mum is prob a moggy :D

[niki71uk]

from pics ive e-mailed to the previous owners,they said they dont know where dad lives,but have seen him about

[Elvisisboss]

oooo right well i dunno follow him home!

he isnt a bengal though not a full one, poss half or quater :D

[niki71uk]

i cant lol,i dont live near them

[niki71uk]

he as in dad or as in cass who is female

[meep]

Hi this is Murray the mauler!
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p50/kathryn_063/104-0484_IMG.jpg
His mother was one of the first generation Bengals (so i was told) she was feisty but ok with her owner his father the local tom! His mother had a pedigree litter but became pregnant again (careless breeder) when the 1st litter were 4wks old. He is a great cat but was difficult with other cats , ok with most of my others, gets extremely frustrated if he cannot go out, is destructive, but also very clever can open Chubb locks! as well as most type of doors, loves water, has been seen wading in the neigbours pond fishing !!Does a lot of wailing especially if he is out & wants in, rips the toilet paper to bits usually when he has peed in the toilet ( yes he is very clever!)& before we had cat proof fencing would go into anyones house & steal things, he is very affectionate & I love him to bits.
Here he is with his 'special needs' friend Declan showing his soft side!
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p50/kathryn_063/100-0074_IMG.jpg
X K

Kathyrn, Murray is beautiful! And your post is really interesting. They can't have been breeding Bengals for long at all if your boy is the son of the one of the first? He sounds like an absolute character, and a few parts of that description ring true with my two.

They will wail and wail if they're not geting what they want (usually attention! but occasionally if they have used the litter tray and they wanted it cleaned out immediately! or a door opened.

They're also quite intelligent, although never seen them open a door! Could be because all of ours are round handles that they couldn't grasp if they tried. But Darcy does very sneakily, and on purpose, push things off on shelves with his paw or nose in order to wake us up in the morning. At first we thought he was clumsy as he does it most mornings, but then one weekend morning we were lying in bed and watching him, and he purposely pushed OH's deodorant, my deodorant, my nailvarnish, one by one off the shelf and after each one he'd look over at us in hope that we'd get up :roll: Has to take a few brain cells!

Also the size issues. Bengals are supposed to be much larger than average cats (although not as big as Maine Coon's) and my two certainley are, and I must admit Murray looks like a big lad himself!

I'm not sure if it's wishful thinking on my part that my two have Bengal in them (and I do think quite a lot, either one of their parents was pure Bengal or once away from...) My reasons are:

- their markings, lots of thick tiger stripes
- their size and shape. Very big (weigh 6kilos each but not fat at all!) and also their snouts. Bengals have very pronounced snouts, pointed ears and big eyes. Darcy's face is strikingly like a Bengal that used to live beside us when I was a kid.
- their energy. They are forever bounding around the flat, meowing to play a game, they love chasing balls. Minsky will jump up in the air and catch it in his front paws, then 'fetch' it back to me in his mouth. Very high energy, very aerobic, and very intelligent when playing games!
- their vocality (as explained above)
- their affection. I know most of our pusses are affectionate and loving, but my two demand attention. Darcy especially loves to be picked up and held, and will purr like a motor for half an hour at a time.

I can't think of anything else just now, but they do just feel very 'bengal'-y to me :) And I like it! The only things, from the descriptions of Bengals in this thread, that they don't display is aggression. Although, they are the only cats in the flat, they don't ge toutside, and their brothers. They do play-fight together daily, and it can get quite vicious but they never seem hurt and are happy as larry after. Although often missing big chunks of fluff, left to float around the flat! And their love of water. They don't seem bothered by water at all.

Just my two cents on my two! Sorry this post is so long!