My partner and I are looking to get a cat in the next few months when we move house.

Because we both work full time we will allow the cat to go outside (we will be living in a suburban estate with a large green in front of the house). The house is fairly big so they would have plenty of room inside as well as out.

Having done some research it sounds like Bengals can be easier on people with allergies and this is important to us as several of our close friends are allergic and we don't want them to have to pop pills to visit!

I love the idea of having a Bengal because of their short coats and intelligence but I am worried that a single cat may not get enough stimulation for them during the day and may become bored and destructive/aggressive.

I know that several people on here are opposed to letting their cats out during the day but I wanted to find out if there were any members on here who have this setup and it works for them?

Welcome to our forum. It's great that you are asking questions before you get a kitty. Bengals are not your ordinary cat. If you are planning on getting a kitten, they have so much energy and are so hyper that it is hard to settle them down. Bengals are not recommended for people who are not home for an extended period of time during the day. They get bored and find trouble! Getting TWO kittens can help, but you will come home and find that your little munchkins have found trouble.

There is no truth that bengals are hypo allergenic. They do not shed the way a regular cat does, but the allergen is in the dander of the cat and not the fur. Thus ..... it may not work out.

Letting a cat roam free while you are gone is really asking for trouble. Cat fights (one of mine (not my bengal) got into one this morning with a stray) can result in severe injuries and you're not around to deal with it. Strangers love bengals -- and many have been stolen. If you are planning on paying a tidy sum for a cat, why are you going to risk losing it? A cat should be a member of your family and it is your job to protect your pets.

Based on the information you have provided, I'm not sure a bengal is for you. It may be better if you find another breed that is more settled and will be happy to be kept safely inside your home. Since you will be living in a large estate, you can put your kitty in another area of your home while you have company to visit. A good vacuuming of the area your guests will be in, should be enough to remove any allergens.

just as an aside, there are many ways to cat proof your garden to avoid the cat leaving it's safe area

if you want a Bengal for the right reasons (they are NOT a fashion accessory) then you will be able to find ways to make it work

good luck

Regarding allergies, I can only speak from my own experience and we have only had our bengal for a month.
I am assuming that my cat allergy is reasonably mild as they only seem to act up if a cat gets near my face, or I pet a cat and then touch my face without washing my hands first.

Having said that, our bengal does not trigger any reaction for me, even though she loves to give hugs and headbutts. Clearly some people do still have reactions, but it is my belief that bengals are less prone to causing a reaction based on my own experience. It most likely depends on how sensitive your guests are to cats.

People can be really harsh about questions / comments like this - some of these topics are very important to us.

Outdoors:
1. I will tell you this now; a lot of breeders (ourselves included) explicitly have it in the contract that you cannot allow your Bengal to freely roam outdoors. We would not sell you a Bengal on that alone. While there are some breeders who will; they are definitely not one of the better breeders.
2. Outdoor cats live significantly shorter lives. They are exposed a number of additional diseases and can easily be stolen; that's ignoring all of the other risks. Outdoor cats live less than half the age of an indoor cat.
3. If you really believe your cat needs to be outside; build an enclosure that they can freely get into.

Allergies:
Bengal cats can induce less of an allergic reaction than other cats. We have sold Bengal cats to families where someone is allergic and they have had no problems. We have also had other people who were still allergic. There's no guarantee; but Bengals are different than a standard domestic and can definitely produce a different reaction.
In any situation where someone is worried about allergies we always insist that they visit us and spend at least 30 minutes with the cats to invoke a reaction.

Bored / Aggressive:
Sounds like a Bengal to me - if you leave them alone all day they will get bored and start to act out. If they don't do that; I would start to wonder about the "Bengal" in their genes. (Yes, there are some that don't; but, they are few and not the norm).
In a situation like yours we would insist upon a second pet (ideally a second Bengal). You can do best with a littermate as you don't have the same problems with getting along; however, with a top breeder who raises for socialization this usually isn't a problem.
Once again, this is a situation where we, as breeders, would require you to have a solution to this prior to us selling you a kitten.

Some cats are indeed loners, and a breeder or rescue organization should have figured that out by the time you choose one. Otherwise, most cats do better with a friend, a sibling if possible.

I think it really depends on the cat. Mine is home alone indoors from 8:30 am to 6:30 pm most weekdays and she honestly only sleeps. I leave toys and stuff around the house for her and when I come she hasn't moved any of them and nothing is never destroyed or knocked over, so it seems like she is just hibernating all this time. So in her case it's really not an issue leaving her alone and worrying she'll be bored and destructive.

I would never let mine roam free. She has a harness and a lead and I take her out sometimes, she can honestly just take it or leave it. She doesn't care if she is out or in and never demands to be let out, so again whilst most bengals want to be outdoors once they've had the taste, not all of them do. Once she is outside, she doesn't venture far and starts walking toward the front door in about 20 minutes wanting to go back in.

Quite a few of my friends are allergic to her, but only when they come really close. When they pick her up or when she comes sits on their lap, otherwise they're fine.

And just to point out, she makes up for all time she sleeps in the evening. She is chatty and clingy and playful (though mostly plays by herself) and quite a handful when she is not on her own.

I think if you do decide to get one, really talk to your breeder and see if there is one that's a bit more chilled out then the others, even though it's hard to tell when they're only little. Super hyper bengal is probably not for you, but there are some that are a bit more laid back :) .. Maybe consider an older cat?