Hi everyone!

After years and years of longing and wishing for a Bengal kitten, we have finally decided to get one :) Since we wanted it for a long time, we educated ourselves as much as possible and now we read quite a lot about this breed (as much as we could learn without actually owning one). We do have other pets; a cat and a small dog, so we aren't new pet owners (or pet slaves... ).

Now tomorrow we are going to take a look at a 6.5 weeks old kitten and reserve him if we really like him. Since he is so young it's hard for me to say whether his rosetted pattern will actually look nice when growing up. It's not like that we need a cat with a champion beauty as we have no plans for competitions, etc, but I fell in love with this breed because of the beautiful rosetted pattern and I would really like to have one with a really nice fur :)

I have some pictures attached. Could some of you with the eyes of expert take a look at him and give me advice on what we can expect his future look to be like? Will he look clearly like a bengal cat or will people mistake him for a housekitty with a nice pattern?

Thank you in advance and I am looking forward to all helpful comments :)

PS: do you have some advice for us what to do once we will have the kitten? Don't hold this in either, we appreciate all the help :)


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Welcome and congratulations on your upcoming kitty. From the pictures, it is clear this baby currently has the fuzzies, but, the coat should be spectacular and definitely look like a bengal.

You will need to prepare a safe room for the new baby and swap scents with the other pets in the house. Know that a new kitten leaving its mom and siblings can be very stressful and then go to a new home with new smells, new people, new sounds -- well ... you can imagine how the kitty feels. A lot will depend on how well the breeder socializes the kittens. Introducing the cats can go well or not so well. The key is to have someone hold the new kitty and just let the other pets sniff a little. Start by feeding the pets in the same general area. Play with the kitten (wand toys) along with the other pets. Break up any aggression between the pets and never leave your baby alone with the other pets until they are best buddies.

The other thing is that you have another cat. Unless that cat is a bengal, it will never keep up with your kitten and may, in fact, end up being bullied by a playful kitten. Confidence plays a huge role in a cat's life, so make sure you have ample cat trees or climbing shelves, lots of spaces for the cats to go off and be by themselves. The larger the catification, the happier the cats will be.

Falling in love with a 'pattern' is one thing ... living with a hyper & mischievous toddler for 20 odd years is quite another thing all together. I hope you have plenty of space, and high places for your Bengal kitten to explore, not only are they more than a handful, they remain a handful unless you can provide enough physical and mental stimulation to keep them content.

As I'm sure you've read, Bengals are not your typical lazy lap cats, they really do take much more effort than a typical cat, hence the 'Hyper & Mischievous toddler' comment.

However, if done with plenty of forethought and preparation, your Bengal will likely be very playful, loyal, intelligent and possibly vocal, but most of all happy and content. If you have ornaments and photo frames and lots of nice things, say goodbye to them soon, they will not survive for long, fair warning.

This may sound a little "harsh, maybe a bit like a grilling", but it's meant to be a bit more of a "tongue in cheek, no holds barred, from experience", perspective, how you take it, is up to you.

Good luck & best wishes.

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Titan-Nyx-Veag-Sirius raw fed beasties.

Raw info FB Cat Crap (completely raw and proud)

On top of the above... prepare your shopping list, these cats expect to be entertained / amused ALL the time ;-) :
- the biggest cat tree you can find... make that two actually if you have another cat
- the biggest scratching post you can find... make that several, scatter around the house
- Kickeroo - your legs will be grateful (there are also valerian / catnip kickers but not sure your cat will pay notice to smells until older) they'll kill it like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndTZS5IQaAo&t=4s and it will resist no problem
- Da Bird - and many refills: http://www.dabird.com/da-bird (I've started making my own, a half kilo of feathers is way cheaper but they are not the same...)
- Cat Dancer - cheaper and hours of fun http://www.catdancer.com/
- plastic springs - they drive mine crazy...
Maybe some Feliway Friends will help with introductions and general kitty wellbeing given the fact that there will be other felines in the house.

Well, here goes then, hope to see many more pics!!

All the best
Iria