Should I get a Bengal cat?

demystified

They're usually kept as indoor cats because they're quite valuable, yours could go missing after a while....

not to push this too much but the shelters are bursting at the seams with cats looking for homes at present...

MagicCats

I have a Bengal and I'd echo what Friday has said. The idea they are evil cats who terrorise neighbourhoods is nonsense :rotfl: Kora, my girl, is not much of a lap cat at all. She's very vocal however, and if you have to take her to the vet everyone knows about it..... My brother was amazed at the noise she can make.

She plays fetch with balls and toys and demands attention. This normally starts with head rubbing and then progresses to pulling my hand over to her with a paw. Bengals are strong willed and don't give up easy.....

I also have two Maine Coons. They are worth considering as a pedigree breed.

daisy_darling

They really are beautiful cats and I've been to many, many Bengal breeders and seen them in their home environments. All but one breeder kept them as indoor cats though, so you'd have to consider whether an indoor cat is for you.

Also, one caveat; make sure the generation is far from f1. We went to one breeder with f1 and f2 and they were too wild and scary to consider as pets.

steveproxy

MagicCats wrote: »

I have a Bengal and I'd echo what Friday has said. The idea they are evil cats who terrorise neighbourhoods is nonsense :rotfl: Kora, my girl, is not much of a lap cat at all. She's very vocal however, and if you have to take her to the vet everyone knows about it..... My brother was amazed at the noise she can make.

She plays fetch with balls and toys and demands attention. This normally starts with head rubbing and then progresses to pulling my hand over to her with a paw. Bengals are strong willed and don't give up easy.....

I also have two Maine Coons. They are worth considering as a pedigree breed.

She looks really beautiful

MagicCats

steveproxy wrote: »

She looks really beautiful

Thanks Steve. Butter wouldn't melt

MagicCats

daisy_darling wrote: »

They really are beautiful cats and I've been to many, many Bengal breeders and seen them in their home environments. All but one breeder kept them as indoor cats though, so you'd have to consider whether an indoor cat is for you.

Also, one caveat; make sure the generation is far from f1. We went to one breeder with f1 and f2 and they were too wild and scary to consider as pets.

I think it's luck of the draw with early generations (F4 to F1) I've heard some people finding them better natured than SBT Bengals; presumably due to the hand rearing breeders tend to do.

Most breeders won't sell an early generation cat to an inexperienced Bengal owner thankfully, and an F1 needs a license anyway.

SmartPricePoster

http://www.bengalcathelpline.co.uk/

http://www.catchat.org/lfc/cgibin/prtoc.cgi

http://www.catchat.org/fluff/cgibin/prtoc.cgi

catkins

Lots of useful information and websites for me to check out - thank you for all taking the time to reply to me.

Both me and OH have a lot of thinking to do. We unfortunately lost our dog yesterday so at the moment cannot even think about getting another pet.

Although we are both saying "no more dogs" the reality is once we are feeling less raw there is every chance we will get one. We both hated the couple of years we were without a dog and I will miss the walks and the company (I do not work). Of course we still have the cats but they don't stay indoors all day or follow me around the house like our lovely boy did. Even in the last couple of months when he only wanted really short walks I missed our lovely long walks together.

If we do get another dog and it could be a puppy or an older dog then we have to think about any new cats. We would not really want to get a cat or kitten and then try and introduce a dog as I think it is much easier to bring a new cat into a house with an existing dog that the existing cats get on with.

I am also considering dog sitting at least for a while as it would mean all the benefits of having a dog - company and walks but would not feel like we are trying to replace our boy. Also give us a chance to see different breeds. We have only ever had one breed of dog and our last one was such a character that I feel that if we could another of the same breed I would forever be comparing and it is very unlikely the new one would match up. We have had 9 dogs of the breed and yes they have all had their own characters but this last one was just unique. Everyone that knew him commented on it and me and OH often used to say to each other that we thought he had been a human in a previous life (yes seriously).

I will continue finding out about Bengals and just see what happens. Oh one question while I remember - I read that they love destroying house plants!! Surely this is not true of all of them is it? I love my house plants and have about 50 of them. My cats do sometimes knock them over but I would be dreadfully upset if a cat destroyed them all

Fridaycat

So sorry to hear of the loss of your dog

In terms of your question, yes it is true that Bengals do like to... erm... play with houseplants! We luckily didn't have too many so weren't too affected, but they love climbing up our large Yucca in the conservatory and I've found it knocked over a few times.

I don't expect that they would destroy 50, but they'd have a play with a fair few of them

RosieP83

I'd love a Bengal they're beautiful!

My friend once told me a story about theirs. She was looking out of the kitchen window whilst doing the washing up and saw their Bengal playing in the garden with what she though was a hedgehog. She shouted her husband to go and rescue the poor thing but when they got their they discovered it was a still warm joint of roast beef!! The cheeky devil had managed to knick it from someone's house and carry it home.