Hello, I picked up a kitten this weekend and I wanted to know if you think she is a Bengal or a mix. I asked a question last week about another potential kitten but I went with this one. She is 5-6 weeks old and is still in her “Fuzzy stage”. Please let me know what you think. Thank you!!

She is adorable!!!!

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Dallas, TX USA
Diesel - snow Bengal born 09/01/2013 adopted Feb 2014
Tuck, Chloe, Buddy, Lewis & Tia - rescue kitties
Clyde, Bleu & Coal - Great Danes

Thank you!

Here is a belly shot!

5/6 weeks old is far too young to leave it's mom. They only start to try solid food around 4 weeks so there is no way they can be fully weaned at 5 weeks old, nor completely litter trained.

As cute as they are at this age they really need to be with mom until the recommended age of 12/13 weeks. Socialisation is a very important time for kittens which takes place up until 12 weeks of age when mixing/playing with siblings and mom. They learn social behaviour as well as appropriate litter tray use and biting/playing. Vaccinations are given at 9 and 12 weeks which should then protect the kitten for their new home.

I can not possibly see any reason to rehome at such an early age. The breeder was very irresponsible. I doubt you have a full bengal but if you do it's being bred poorly and inappropriately.

Sorry.

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Lollo

The breeder said the mom’s milk went bad or dried up. I can’t remember the exact reason. I didn’t feel like that would be a reason to not get her, she is eating solids and is very sweet. She was weaned too young, but not because they wanted her to be.

The breeder should have been supplementing with kitten formula for a bit whilst weaning.

It us still far too young to leave. They learn so much from mom and siblings during the last few weeks. Important social skills about how hard to bite etc... Important litter tray skills which are easily lost in young kittens. I breed and my kittens frequently go through phases when they won't eat or use litter tray properly from weeks 4-10. Mom shows them what to do, plus they learn from their other siblings.

At 5-10 weeks my moms would get very distressed when they can't find their babies. It is very stressful for them to lose the kittens early. By 12/13/14 weeks mom tends to allow the kittens more independence and isn't so upset when they leave.

Kittens have a natural immunity from moms milk. Thus starts to leave them around 6-8 weeks but vaccination takes place at 9 weeks. Kittens 6-9 weeks are so very vulnerable to picking up illnesses. This is a very dangerous time fir them to be ill as their bodies cannot take too much.

There us far more reasons to keep kittens with their moms longer, or even just with their siblings if mom is poorly. At Keats keep within the breeders home till vaccinations have been completed.

A lot of kittens will be ok when rehomed too early but this is pure luck rather than the norm. Just because they are ok does not mean the practice is ok.

No responsible breeder will rehome them so early. I hope you didn't pay full price fir your kitten as the breeder will be making a fortune. My fists from breeder are all in the final 2 months. It costs me around £200 to keep a kitten past 6 weeks of age to when they leave at 14 weeks.

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Lollo

I actually did not pay full price, i paid $200 USD because the kitten was weaned too early. I already made an apt for her to get her shots.

Doesn't matter if you have made an appointment to get vaccinations really, the damage has been done now and she has been put at unnecessary risk. The whole point is to have vaccinations before going to a new home. Of course they are needed anyhow but they should be done where the kitten was originally to minimise any risk at all.

Add to this he fact that rehoming is the most stressful thing a kitten will go through. Stress increases the risk of shedding any virus/parasite etc... Also increases the risk of picking up new things.

The breeder should not have done this. They are completely irresponsible. No reputable breeder would do this so it makes me concerned about why and whether your cat is a Bengal.

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Lollo

Melg,

Just to give you some perspective... years ago I adopted a kitten at 8 weeks from a shelter. They warned me straight up that she was really too young to have left her mother and be rehomed, but that circumstances being what they were, she was at the shelter and needed a home. They wanted to make sure I was fully aware of all that and asked me again and again if I was "sure", "positive", "absolutely positve" etc. I did take her, and don't regret it, but she never was very socialized, especially to other people (although she bonded with me fine). She also had some litterbox issues. One saving grace for me was that the other cat that I had at the time (~9 months old) took up a very motherly role towards the 8 week old kitten, for at least the first month or so. That was a lucky break.

Now after dealing with two breeders for my current cats, and doing a bunch of reading and listening to the perspectives of several different breeders here on this forum, people get pretty worked up at rehoming kittens at 9 and 10 weeks. Yours may not even be 6 weeks from what you said. OWCH!

Very cute kitten though, and I really hope it works out well for you. But such warnings are useful to know, even after the fact. It may give you some insight into problems that may arise, and if you are ever in this situation again, of evaluating perspective kittens to take home, you can make a wiser, more informed decision.

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The little monsters 3

Obviously a backyard breeder if they can't tell you whether the kitten is a bengal or not. BYB usually want to get rid of the kittens ASAP. Your baby is quite adorable, but unless the breeder is giving you papers so you can register your kitty, then she is probably not a purebred bengal. The International Breeders' Association has guidelines that its members need to adhere to, and most do not recommend a kitten leaving its mother until it's 12 weeks old. You are going to have to take over a lot of "mothering" skills. This isn't your fault. If the mother's milk dried up, then the breeder should have taken over the feeding of the kitten until your little girl is old enough to leave the nest, so to speak. Good breeders care about their kittens. I'm hoping your little gal becomes socialized, uses her litter box like she should, and becomes the most wonderful part of your family.

Congratulations!

Based on these photos and the photos you posted before of the marbled kitten my conclusion is that you very likely have a bengal or possibly bengal mix, but from a backyard, unregistered and/or downright irresponsible breeder.

As Lollo pointed out, a responsible breeder won't let a kitten go until at least 10 weeks (12 is ideal), unless it's an F1 which often go at 8 weeks to bond closer with humans. That being said, the best cat I've had in my entire life is a bengal we adopted at 6 weeks when it's mother rejected it. He has an extremely strong bond with me and our other two cats. So it's not necessarily the end of the world that you got your kitten so early, but still not ideal.

You didn't know any better, don't take all the harshness here the wrong way.

Good for you for apparently saving that kitten! It is very young to tell especially cuz the fuzzier but it definitely has some bengal traits going for it! I would also say it's likely you have a bengal or a mix!

Congratulations :)