Hi everyone! I am going on Friday to pick out my first Bengal! Yaya! BUT since I've decided to go with a Bengal, I have been doing research like crazy and everything is going well, I am learning a lot! The only thing that is tripping me up is how to choose. Several sites say that I should not choose my little man with his current spots in mind, but rather with what his future spots will look like. And seriously, I have zero idea what to look for now! What should I be looking for in a kitten that will be a good indicator of its future appearance? I know there are things like charm and behavior to take into consideration as well but as we all know, Bengals aren't cheap. I would like to know that my boy will have clearly defined spotting as an adult. I am looking at brown males and will have him in home with my family as a pet. Thanks!!

Choose for temperament and personality.... Looks should come after a healthy, well socialised kitten has been chosen.

If you do not see one you like the look of that has a nice temperament and personality then wait till you do. Buying purely on looks could leave you with problems in the future that could cost a lot more than the kitten did in the first place.

Make sure the kittens are healthy, well socialised and inquisitive. Shy is okay but look at the litter as a whole, are they all shy? Shy kittens in a litter of confident ones can become super confident on their own. The opposite can be true of confident kittens can become very shy on their own. Does the litter as a whole look healthy and respond well to visitors?

Make sure the parents are screened for HCM and PKDEF.

Ask loads of questions about how they are brought up. Make sure they are bred in the home and not caged.

Try not to make your decision then. Go home and think about it logically. It is very easy to get blown away by cute kittens.... All kittens are cute, even unhealthy ones.

And, come home with pictures!

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Lollo

Thanks! The breeder has sent me a couple pictures of them at play, would you like me to post them? :) they look like so much fun! I can hardly wait to get him! The breeder offers vaccine history, parents are on site and they come with a one year health guarantee. Also, i was planning to take my 15 and 13 year old daughters with me since the three of us will work together to provide quality cate for our little man and want to make sure he melds well with them as well. I had one breeder discourage me bringing my daughters because she said it would be too many people...but I do have teenagers so our house is very active and there are often a lot of their friend coming in and out, so I wonder how the kitten will respond to guests... the breeder i decided to go with embraces me having my kiddos tag along. :)

I uploade them anyway

Being a mother I would say 100% yes to taking you kids! When we went to get our girl we were actually going to be getting her brother! After going to the breeders and seeing the kittens, this cute little tiny BB was ALL over us! My kids fell in love with her and that is how we got her! Also that kitten in the pictures is BEAUTIFUL and will have very nice markings! Actually he already does! What you see with a Bengal is not what you get You can see what they are as kittens but it will change! If you are happy with the way he looks now you will only get happier! They are amazing to watch mature! If there is more than one in the litter available I would go with the one with the best personality! I know my poor BB is not the 'show quality" Bengal that most on the forum have but she is still beautiful and she is the best cat! I will show you how much they can change!

12 weeks when we first brought her home

now @ 1.5 years

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:O BB is BEAUTIFUL! Stunning! Whatchoo mean not show quality??? Lol she sure looks like a star to me! I would be a very happy chickkie indeed if my baby matured into looking like her! Thanks for the tips and for sharing her pic!

Thank you! BB doesn't have what most people want these days with the big pancake rosettes! Yours will have that! He will have large rosettes on what seems to be a clear background! If you would be happy with BB's spots/rosettes you will be thrilled with your kittens!

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