Dexter back of the queue for a Bengal brain I think!

Eggman · **Joined:** Thu Aug 28, 2014 11:22 pm **Posts:** 730

My Bengal Kitten (4 months now) Dexter is not at all what I expected. In fact I don't think I've ever had a kitten like him.

I expected to be covered in scratches but none of us has a scratch in sight. He is incredibly gentle and never gets his claws out on us. When we pick him up he literally 'flops' and acts more like a Ragdoll than the 'wild' little kitten I expected.

He is also very predictable. He will have a mad couple of hours in the morning running about and playing knocking everything flying lol and then crash and sleep for hours on end waking around 8pm for more madness. Same every single day.

I'm not complaining at all that he has such a sweet temperament, just completely surprised.

Is this gentle temperament unusual for a Bengal?

neonyellowclover · **Joined:** Mon Apr 01, 2013 11:03 pm **Posts:** 535

I don't think it is unusual. I have had two and fostered a third Bengal and their personalities were all very different. The foster was absolutely insane in terms of behavior and energy, my first was an absolute doll, total cuddle bug, etc. My current girl is an interesting mix of the two.

I think with Bengals you get more extremes. You may find your little guy is more obsessive or have some other personality quirk as he gets older. At his age he still has a lot of aging to do and a lot of personality to develop. :biggrin:

Eggman · **Joined:** Thu Aug 28, 2014 11:22 pm **Posts:** 730

Thanks Bri, and interesting reading about your Bengals.

I'm looking forward to seeing how his personality develops.

It was funny yesterday as I also have a 14 year old Burmese and the two of them are becoming inseparable now. My Burmese is very gentle with him and seems to know he is just a baby.

Our next door neighbours huge cat was outside our patio window in the back garden and our Burmese ignored him as usual until Dexter went running over to the window. Our Burmese then suddenly flung himself in front of Dexter, puffed himself up and made the most horrendous aggressive noise.

Never seen him react in this way ever and I am sure he did it because he was defending his Dexter :biggrin:

bettel · **Joined:** Tue Nov 19, 2013 4:57 pm **Posts:** 78

junglerose · **Posted:** Sun Sep 14, 2014 6:33 pm

He's only 4 months so you have a bit to go, too early to say just how he will turn out.

Eggman · **Joined:** Thu Aug 28, 2014 11:22 pm **Posts:** 730

Sherry · **Joined:** Thu May 23, 2013 2:21 pm **Posts:** 9217

Every cat's personality is different. A lot of posts here on how their bengal kittens attack them daily! I adopted Raiden when he was 6 years old and he has never bitten or scratched me. He's so gentle and sweet! I feel lucky. He may not have always been that way. Enjoy it because I know cat attacks are not fun. I'm so glad your kitties are getting along so well and your Burmese is so protective! How cute. Does Dexter love belly rubs? I've never known a cat who loves having his tummy tickled like my Raiden. He spends a lot of time on his back enjoying the belly rubs.

Eggman · **Joined:** Thu Aug 28, 2014 11:22 pm **Posts:** 730

Kyenta1 · **Posted:** Mon Sep 15, 2014 12:58 am

Eggman · **Joined:** Thu Aug 28, 2014 11:22 pm **Posts:** 730

That's really interesting never knew that.

Debbie

Tabitha · **Joined:** Sun Feb 02, 2014 8:11 pm **Posts:** 1196

Hi Debbie

I have two twin brothers, one of whom is very compact (Jagger) and the other (Hendrix) is long and lanky and with extremely long legs. I would say he is just about starting to grow into his long legs (he's 13 months now) and getting to grips more with climbing and jumping etc as he has been very clumsy up til now! In fact, considering Bengals are supposed to be so agile and good at climbing and jumping we started to wonder if he was really a Bengal lol

I would like to say my boys were as gentle as your Dexter but for 4 or 5 months I looked like I self-harmed I had so many scratches - but they are much more gentle now and have always been extremely affectionate and loving in their own Bengal way! And love their tummy rubs...

At Dexter's age they had roughly the same timetable - mad couple of hours in the morning and then again at night but as they got older they spent less time sleeping and more time getting into mischief.

I find every day is a learning day with a Bengal, but so much fun!

Eggman · **Joined:** Thu Aug 28, 2014 11:22 pm **Posts:** 730

bkilgore · **Joined:** Mon Apr 30, 2012 2:19 pm **Posts:** 3302

Both of mine are love bugs IF you catch them in the right mood lol. They still have the same routine, about 2 hours of crazy cat chasing in the morning and another 2 hours or so at night. My girl (BB) will sleep all night but my boy ( Jasper) tends to get into trouble at night. As I am typing this BB just flew over my head leading the chase over the couch :rolleyes:

They have always been gentle and have never used their claws on us or our four kids. It cracks me up because BB will swat or rather act like she is swatting at the kids but has never scratched them. Just last night we were laying in bed and my four year old kept bugging her and she acts like she is snapping at him. Of course it scares the mess out of him( her intention I'm sure) but she would never actually bite him. When he finally gets the point she will roll and her back and demand a tummy rub. She has everyone in the house trained in that area lol. Everyone knows if you walk by B you have to give her a belly rub :wink:

Tabitha · **Joined:** Sun Feb 02, 2014 8:11 pm **Posts:** 1196

Yes, having two is very entertaining! I love watching them play together, they always make me laugh. In the evenings there is usually a squabble over the top perch on the cat tree and its like watching two toddlers squabble over something, and Jagger is usually the instigator of this argument as he is always the last one in the living room and then winds Hendrix up. It never gets bad tempered though thank goodness.

Hendrix is still a bit clumsy but doesn't look quite so lanky now and is filling out a bit, however he definitely seems to have a bit more control over his legs - of course his centre of gravity is higher which is where I think the lack of agility comes from! But everything happens to Hendrix - within weeks of having them he fractured the growth plate on his front paw - on Christmas Day of all days. We have a cat flap from the conservatory to the kitchen and he would change his mind on the way through... Jagger meanwhile would be hiding on the other side to ambush him... so Hendrix had his front paw in the flap, paused and Jagger slammed the flap down and trapped Hendrix's paw in the cat flap. Poor thing. Ended up with a very expensive visit to the emergency vet on a bank holiday as he couldn't put any weight on it and also needed x-rays. Luckily we have pet insurance!

He's also been stung by bee's as clearly anything that buzzes is fair game to be chased in his eyes, but he never learns so for a so-called intelligent Bengal, the brain part is sadly missing for him too!

Maybe they are related as I am UK based too!

Eggman · **Joined:** Thu Aug 28, 2014 11:22 pm **Posts:** 730

Dexter back of the queue for a Bengal brain I think!

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