Hello All - I'm getting my first bengal cat (male snow bengal) on Friday. I've had plenty of other 'moggies' in the past - but wanted to ask experienced bengal cat owners on this board for their top 3 pieces of advice for helping us start off on a positive note. Especially things that you know now, but wished you'd known/did when you first got your cat e.g. Training, setting boundaries etc.... Thanks in advance!

I think my 3 (ok 4) "what I'd do differently" things would be:

1. Would have prepared the house better for bengals. Installed cat shelving, cat climbing poles, tall cat trees etc. I eventually came around to this conclusion, but it would have been better if all that were in place from the start.

2. Would have focused more on "play" right from the start. It's so important to bengals, and such a big part of bonding with them. Yes, I played with them, but I should have done even more and bonded with them faster.

3. Signed up for healthy paws pet insurance immediately.
With the bengals, I read about pet insurance, decided that I wanted it, signed up for Trupanion, but not until after their first vet visit. Big mistake on both fronts. With Neytiri I did it right. I signed her up *before* her first vet visit, and signed her up with Healthy Paws.

4. I didn't really understand the whole world of pedigree cats prior to getting Serafina and Gaga, so I didn't really understand what criteria to use to judge a breeder and their cats. Not that I regret getting them, but if I were to do it over again, I would focus more on pedigree and health screenings and socialization. Things like that. Again I think I did a better job of that when I got Neytiri.

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The little monsters 3

Bengals are so different from moggies! I wish I'd known that my bengal would cry all the time and have 100 different cries that all mean something different and I'd have to figure them out. I wish I'd known that they have tireless energy. Mine has yet to take a nap today! He wants to play constantly and I can't get any chores accomplished. My bengal has the sweetest disposition of any cat I've ever had. Nothing rattles my baby. He melts my heart -- even with all his crying. Congratulations!

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The little monsters 3

My ONE piece of advice, don't over think it. Nothing you do is set in stone, you can change things. Cats are individuals and you are too. You do whatever works for both the cat/s and yourself.