Hey guys!
I recently joined the forum and have just become the proud owner of 2 new bengal kittens. They are both 5 months old now, both boys, but one is a brown and one a snow. Having got to know them, and something my breeder said to me has got me thinking. So, my brown boy is called 'Maasai'. He is very independent, very measured. You can see his thought process. I swear he is developing 'manners' because he has some appreciation of what I expect of him. It's great! 'Spider',my snow, on the other hand is a completely different story. He is so determined, bless him, that he does things without thinking, has no concept at all about right and wrong (as in what I would and wouldn't want him to do) and he is so clumsy that he has provided me with hours of entertainment watching him get himself into and out of sticky situations! They are literally like chalk and cheese. Anyway my question is this.....I described all this to my breeder and she said 'yeah, the snows can be a bit stupid!' and she has 35 years breeding experience! Do you guys find that snow bengals are less intelligent than the browns? I understand individual personality plays a massive role but given my 2 its a no brainer! Luckily for me though (and them!) they are best friends....and 'Spider' might be a bit daft but he is soooo loving as well...I cant get enough of them both!
Zak x

I cannot imagine a breeder calling any cat "stupid." All cats have their own personalities. Just like children do! I take it these two are not siblings. Owners have to accept their cats for who they are -- and bengals have such strong personalities. I don't think for a minute that snows are stupid cats. They are just different in the breed of bengals. They both are super gorgeous and they obviously get along well. Accept them for the bengals they are and you'll be find. Expect anything different and you will be disappointed.

haha. I obviously do accept them for who they are. Was that not clear from my original post? I have just noticed a massive difference in their abilities and I wondered if anybody else had noticed anything similar? I don't believe for a second that Spider is stupid, it was just a casual, off hand and funny comment from my breeder! She meant nothing by it. They are both wonderful little animals, it's just that Spider won't be joining Mensa any time soon! And I in no way believe that that is a negative about him, its just an observation!

I was not insinuating that you were saying anything negative about your kitties. I can tell you love them to bits. They are just opposites! My bengal is a klutz! He practically falls off the back of the couch, which is 5" wide. Most cats are quite agile, including bengals, but not mine! It's obvious your babies are completely trusting -- showing their cute little tummies. Still, an off comment from your breeder was really uncalled for, since she breeds the kittens.

My 2, brother and sister, brown and silver are quite unlike in many ways from play, attitude, how outgoing they are, etc, etc. I'm not sure that I would from that extrapolate that brown's tend to be clumsy, or silvers tend to be itty bitty ninja kitties.

Oh they are so sweet!

I have two brown marble bengal brothers - one definitely got in the queue for brains and agility, the other one (Hendrix) clearly couldn't be bothered and is very clumsy and I sometimes think, a bit dense. Don't think it is anything to do with the colour, just the way they are! Hendrix jumped on top of the door to the bedroom the other night, and decided in his wisdom to try to walk across the door frame. The door moved, the door frame was never going to be wide enough and he came crashing down. Really not very bright at all! There are many instances of this for Hendrix, whereas Jagger does tend to engage his brain first and realise when something is very likely impossible. He is much more agile as well but I think that may be because he is more compact and has a lower centre of gravity whereas Hendrix is all legs and very gangly.

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Clare
Hendrix and Jagger, Brown Marble Boys (born 18 August 2013)
Hampshire, UK

Hey guys,

Thanks for your replies! Yeah I guess I just will put it down to their personalities then, lol! Maybe my breeder has just had a lot of cats who showed the same characteristics as my two. To be fair they are really different in just about everything they do. Maasai, for example, is very athletic, can move at lightning speed and loves it. Whereas Spider is definitely slower, but just doesn't seem interested in doesn't somersaults etc. He is far more concerned with working out how to get into places he is not supposed to be and hiding my stuff somewhere! He definitely isn't completely daft either as he always manages eventually. It just takes him a few hilarious attempts at doing things first! He is definitely the one though who will come and find me for a cuddle, purring away, whereas Maasai has no interest at all in being held. I have to chase him first and then he just lays there like a log until I put him down again!

Zak x

I have two cats and each one has a different set of behavior that changes as they grow. Only Grace chewed electrical cords and only Blondie plays with pens, straws and objects that roll. Only Grace wants to be brushed and only Blondie sleeps with me. Each one "owns" certain sleeping spots and high profile ones get shared until something new replaces it. They rarely do the same thing at the same time, and they always seem to be in some sort of competition.

See my 2 are totally in love with each other. They are together far more than they are apart. Eat together, sleep together, play together, groom each other all day long. Spider thinks about me more often though and concentrates his efforts as though we are a threesome more than Maasai. He loves to try and involve me in their play fights but my skin and his claws don't go as well together as he thinks they will! Maasai is happy for them to get on with their cat thing together and he will come to me when he requires human services (albeit he is never very far away)! It's great though because they both have their own little niche where they are in charge in spite of their individual strengths and characters. If food is involved then Spider will be the first to growl and stamp his authority, whereas if it comes to a toy, or anything else they have found that they fancy playing with, Maasai is in charge all the way.

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The little monsters 3

Always happy when the two are like shadows! They will be best friends for life! Enjoy their different personalities. I would probably spend my time just observing them -- it's hard to take your eyes of beautiful bengals.

My two are like shadows too - they don't sleep together quite as much now, but still groom each other and play together. I could watch them all day if I could, they are so entertaining. Their personalities have changed so much though since they came to live with us, Jagger used to make my ears bleed, now he is the quieter of the two and Hendrix simply doesn't stop talking.

In Hendrix's defence, I would say that whilst he appears a bit dense, it is down to him being totally focussed on something he has decided to do - he is utterly determined with no regard whatsoever for his personal safety. Jagger is way more cautious in this respect. I have also watched Hendrix think through a problem, the little cogs spinning round like mad and it is usually to the detriment of his brother! If Jagger gets on the footstool first and settles down with me (for example), Hendrix will sit and look for a bit and then start playing with something, making it look like really, REALLY good fun. Once he has Jagger's attention, and Jagger gets up to join in, he nicks his spot on the footstool.

Recently Jagger just ignored him (obviously finally cottoned on to this little con) and Hendrix sulked in the corner of the room for a bit before suddenly meowing and charging across the room, leaping on the footstool and squeezed himself on.

Years of fun and games are ahead of you and you will be fascinated by how they change in the coming months! Enjoy!

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Clare
Hendrix and Jagger, Brown Marble Boys (born 18 August 2013)
Hampshire, UK

Yeah Hendrix sounds pretty similar to Spider in that respect, lol! Once he has decided something is worth doing he is doing it regardless and he goes at it full pelt without thinking about it first! He jumped from the sink into the toilet while I was using it the other day. Incredibly funny, but very messy! He also will do something over and over and over and over again. For example, when I am loading the dishwasher, or using the fridge, I have to make one move to load a plate, or get the milk or whatever, and then one to move Spider because he has crawled inside to investigate, and then the same process over again until I am finished. If I am cooking dinner he will be inside the fridge at least 7-8 times without fail! He does make me laugh, you can see the determination on his face thinking 'maybe this time he won't notice!'

When my girls were kittens they went in the fridge every time the door opened. I am happy they got past that.