Hi, I just joined this site because I think my cat Navi might be a Bengal mix. I say I think because her colors are so mottled that it is difficult to tell if she has spots or stripes on her torso. She is tortoiseshell-and-white, but she has three colors, some very interesting patterns and body shape. Her fur is thick, shiny, VERY soft, and has a slight golden tinge, as do her hazel eyes. Her head is small and round, with big ears, yet small in comparison to her long, tubular torso. And her back legs are HUGE in comparison to the front ones; her posture is forward-leaning. I've had cats my whole life and have never had one quite like her. I am planning on DNA testing her, just to satiate my curiosity.

Navi was a rescue kitten found all by herself in someone's backyard. She was only a couple months old. She stayed with a foster family until I adopted her at 3 months. I picked her because she was the prettiest and friendliest, and definitely the smartest. She was the one trying to open the cage door.

I mentioned that I've had cats my whole life. I forgot what it was like to have a rambunctious kitten. Navi immediately acclimated to my apartment and declared it her parkour playground. She is now seven months old and HUGE- she was big to begin with- and utilizes every vertical surface possible for her antics. My living room literally is a cat playground now. We installed cat shelves on one wall, we have a mouse hanging from the hallway doorframe, and the floor is littered with cat tunnels, scratching posts, boxes, and paper bags. Soon to come is the cat tree so she stops using the furniture. Her acrobatics are very impressive, too. My cats back at my mom's house are pretty fit, but Navi tops anything they can do. She even plays tug-of-war with one of her toys. Her behavior is pretty intelligent compared to the other cats I've had.

Then we tried to get her a playmate a couple of months ago. Bad idea. We adopted Link the tabby-and white kitty, AKA the cutest baby I ever had to give away ;( We kept him in the bedroom for almost two weeks, but his presence immediately made Navi depressed. She stopped eating and kept vomiting, so I brought her to the vet. He charged me $80 and sent her back home. She had a snack there, though, and felt much better after regaining her appetite. Then the peeing started. I mentioned that I rent an apartment. The wood floors are not mine. It took weeks to purge the wood of her awful pee. We ordered Jackson Galaxy's Spirit Essences, which was a waste of money, then we ordered Feliway. My boyfriend lost patience before the Feliway arrived, and we ended up having to give Link away. I bring this up because most kittens are not territorial before a certain age, certainly not by five months. Navi seems to be fiercely territorial and she is not even a year old yet. Yet she is extremely social and vocal, talks all the time, and loves being on people.

Now, I know that this is an expensive breed and most breeders would not intentionally breed a Bengal with a domestic cat. It is not completely unheard of, however, for someone to buy a Bengal not knowing what they are getting themselves into, not getting it spayed/neutered, and abandoning it because they cannot take care of it. In my town there are hundreds of homeless kitties everywhere. I'll attach some pictures so you can decide for yourselves. But that's what I'm wondering, if anyone thinks she is a Bengal mix or of Bengal ancestry.

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I would say no.

Sorry to hear about the kitten you gave away, hope its ok.
And I hope the owners of navi as a kitten were not too upset when she went missing...

She has a very unique pattern, tortoise shell, some white and ginger in her, Shes lovely.
I dont see any Bengal traits in her coat, paws, belly, face/muzzle shape ect.

Keep her as a happy solo pet now... queen of her home.
Adding another kitten at any point in the future will require adjustment for Navi (and tackling any issues) and patience that your BF doesnt seem to have.

I would also say no.

The tail looks most like a bengal to me, but I'm not seeing any other features that shout "bengal." Beautiful kitty anyway. I'm so sorry you had to give away Link. I truly hope he has a loving family now. My pets are my kids -- and I wouldn't ever give away a child.

Thanks for your responses! She is certainly an unusual cat. I'll have to meet a Bengal in person someday to really see the differences.

And yes, giving away Link was probably one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. It just wasn't fair for my boyfriend to have to put up with two screaming and spraying kittens in our new apartment. I actually feel like I was kind of duped into it- I asked the program on two separate occasions, once when I adopted him and then right before I drove 40 minutes to bring him there, if I would get the adoption fee back if things didn't work out between the kitties. On both occasions they said yes, it was no problem. Then when I arrived, hysterically crying, to give him to his new owners, they said I had been told the wrong information and that it was a donation. That adoption fee was literally the only reason I agreed to drive all that way and give up my baby. At that point I was too emotionally exhausted to argue with an animal adoption program. All parties, boyfriend and kitties included, were so stressed out that I knew it was the best decision, unfortunately. I plan on trying again, when I have a larger apartment and when Navi isn't a baby anymore.