Hi

We both work full time and have recently successfully homed 2 young adult Bengals with us (one just under 2 one just over). They keep each other company during the day and have access to an outdoor enclosure throughout the day as well as full run of a three storey house. We suspect they spend most of the day dozing and are certainly very pleased to see me when I come back! If I do work at home they like to hang around and sleep in which ever room I am in so clearly like the company but do seem content with each other's company. That said they are older cats not kittens and that may be a difference as has already been suggested by other posters. I've had several (non Bengal) kittens over the years but have always had a multi cat household so they've always had company so can't comment about how a single kitten would be. Hope all goes well for you and that you enjoy your new addition!

Have a think about an ex-breeding stud or queen ... sometimes a cat can have problems fitting into a breed program (health or other issues) and be retired young,,, I think a cat like that would be ideal for you.
Often times queens and studs, while very much loved, can go without close attention and constant human closeness so when they find their forever home they can just melt and LOVE being owned as a pet.
(on occasion they can struggle in a non-enclosure enviroment but the breeder is always aware and ready to take back if required)

I have read several stories on here of people buying (they are cheaper also) ex-queen/stud cats and getting perfect fur babies that love them totally and really enjoy being a pet - perhaps they appreciate close ownership more after being a breed cat with less attention ect.

An ex-breed cat would also cope alot better being alone as they are mostly used to it already.
Maybe one of the ex-breed cat owners will chime in here to share their story.

Hi there,

Myself and my boyfriend are probably in the exact same position as you in terms of work as we are both out of the house on average about 10 hours a day. Up until about a month ago we only had a single bengal who we have raised from a kitten without any trouble whatsoever.

We did choose to bring in a new kitten recently but in all honesty this was done because we adore bengals and decided we would like to have another as my boyfriend grew up in a multi-cat household, not because we felt that Diego needed company to be happy.

I took a week off when we first brought him home to help him settle in which i think was quite a good way to start off his time with us! We made an effort to think of different self interactive toys and little challenges to keep him amused during the day such as hiding food etc which seems to have worked just fine :) and of course we gave him lots of playtime in the morning while we were getting ready for work and in the evenings once we were home. He has never been destructive while we've been out in any serious way, the worst has been a ripped up toilet roll which isn't exactly bad behaviour in my books! Diego has been absolutely fine growing up with us being at work during the day, he is a very happy, loving and well behaved baby :)

So i really would urge you to not be put off by thinking that you cant have a bengal kitten if you work full time. As long as you are willing to put effort in to thinking of ways they can amuse themselves while you are out and will give them plenty of attention when you are home, it is perfectly workable. We've never had a sitter and i don't really think there is any need. Whenever i have come home during the day, he was generally always asleep as he has adjusted to our schedule, and to be honest now that we have two of them, the same is still true.


By all means, do consider taking in an older bengal but i would consider them as equal options really!

If you would like to contact me to discuss bringing up a bengal kitten while also working full time - i.e. tips on keeping them busy! - please don't hesitate :)

I have adopted two retired girls and my experience has been great. The retired queens and studs are chosen to breed for their appearance and personality. Both times I went looking for a kitten and ended up with a retired queen. In my experience they fall right into the pet life and both seemed to love the quiet and calm of a pet home right off the bat. They are still energetic, smart, and playful, you just won't have to deal with the kitten crazies!

As you are in the U.S., search for Bengal rescue groups or purebred rescue groups in your area, as well as with breeders, if you decide to consider the adult route.

Thank you all for your thoughtful, thorough replies. This forum is pretty great! :D

You have given us quite a bit to think about. I see our situation going one of two ways now:

1) We adopt a well-trained older cat with a calmer demeanor (as many of you have thoughtfully suggested!) Though we will try to find people to visit her during the day, we will be much more comfortable leaving her alone knowing that she is content to "do her thing" until we get home. We will make sure to reserve plenty of time for play and exercise, and we will likely spoil her rotten with the best toys on the market. She will be our dependable companion, and her presence will add so much joy to this house. There is not too much risk going this route, so it seems a very attractive option!

2) We take in a kitten that's at least 12-13 weeks old and well-socialized, I take off for a week to be with her and help her adjust, and we enlist an army of friends/family to assist on a regular basis during the day while we are away at work. We will likely need to walk her at least once a day and play with her vigorously every morning and night to help mitigate her energy level. It will require a heck of a lot of time, effort, and general responsibility to go this route, not to mention the risk that our bond with her may not grow strong and/or she may not get the attention she needs to truly be happy and healthy. But if we succeed in raising a loving, well-behaved, well-adjusted cat together, the satisfaction and joy would be overwhelming.

We are not in a rush to make a decision, so we're happy to hear more of you weigh in. We'll be speaking with neighbors and family about our options in the meantime. :) Thanks again for all your help!

-Danielle & Mike

I think perhaps the best thing in this situation might be to get in touch with a few good breeders and ask whether you could spend some time with their kittens / breeding cats.

That way not only can you sit down and have a discussion with experts of the breed but also can experience first hand the energy levels of both a kitten and an adult to better judge what you could handle. I think it is massively dependant on how YOU feel you could cope, what your tolerance is like and what your experiences are.

With both of my kittens, i never really felt overwhelmed by their energy levels and found them perfectly easy to deal with despite working full time. But others may well have found them too much.

I can already see a distinct difference between my first bengal and the second. The second is most certainly of the more challenging variety, takes longer to learn appropriate behaviour as he is incredibly stubborn...plus you can literally sit and watch him working things out (he has already figured out how to turn off the bathroom light...he's 16 weeks old...) as he seems very intelligent...we say he reminds us of the Velociraptors in Jurassic Park....for some this would drive them up the wall, but i am more than happy to work with him.

I have grown up with cats but we always had rescues so always took in adult cats so my first bengal was actually also my first experience of a kitten as well! Now i suspect many people might be horrified at that thought but i knew how to develop a scared and damaged rescue into a beautifully confident and happy cat so i felt pretty confident that i would be able to handle this too. I was nervous don't get me wrong, but due to that i made a point of literally reading EVERYTHING i could possibly find on the breed which i think was a huge benefit. I'll also add that the majority of cats we had growing up were of the oriental variety so were fairly demanding breeds so that also helped.

And so far all is well with mine, i feel i have done really quite well for a working bengal parent

So although you might not have had experience with bengals before, do you have experience with other cats that will help you as i think this is the main point really? Bengals can be an extreme which require determination from the owner at times to remain in charge, but i think if you know the teaching techniques / are wiling to learn and you will stick by them then you know how to apply them to any breed at the end of the day, bengals included.

In addition, do you think you could still take the time to teach your kitten any required behaviour adjustments each and every time you came home from work, even if you have had a bad day? Think fully about this as i think that is the biggest commitment if you work as well. It is perfectly doable IF you have the commitment.

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I also think that Bengals like bonding with one or two people, so I don't really think a relay of carers for a kitten is practical, it may work for some kittens, but for others it may just add a lot of unnecessary stress to the equation.[/quote]

I do agree with this, i think lots of people checking in on them could heighten stress rather than resolve it. But as i said earlier, i don't really think it's required.

Hope this helps :)

if it reassures you and is managed carefully and gradually you can bring in sitters. There is no need to rush the process, just have your people come round as visitors until kitties are used to them (as long as that takes) and then start leaving the house for increasing periods of time.
Sitting I have done myself I have always provided the food on arrival (it makes them sleepy not long after) and Ive found kittys ignore the sitter and dont really interact, they sleep mostly and do what they normally do when you are out, especially if ignored and not excited and only played with if they initiate play themselves.
You can also go without sitters and kitty/s will adapt to survive so to say and be ok.
(we can debate if that means more or less happy/stressed/bored ect)
But you have to go extreme in the kitten proofing if you want to make your house into a big ''safe room''.

Meeting some litters and adults (several breeders, not just one) is very good advice and will help you to make your minds up on deciding kitten or cat.