Hi everyone- first post here and also a first time Bengal owner, although I've had several other tuxedo and tabby cats in the past.

A little background, so sorry if this is long, but my old cat (a beautiful and loving tuxedo) passed away a few months ago rather suddenly. I blamed myself for not noticing any signs; he had masked his illness very well right up until the very end.

Last weekend I happened upon an ad of someone who needed to get rid of her two Bengals, which she had inherited from a friend who wasn't prepared for raising them in the first place. I read up on Bengals and felt decently prepared for what I was in for.

Frederick and Carl Magnus, both male and neutered, are a delight and have brightened my life immensely. I thought they might have issues adjusting to me and my place, but they seem to have taken to me very quickly and follow me around from room to room. Frederick is a textbook Bengal in every way. Tons of energy- loves playtime- very vocal- climbs, etc. he's also sweet as apple pie and enjoy all the play.

Carl Magnus is a different story. He sometimes likes to play, and I've found a toy mouse he can get into chasing and fetching back to me, but I don't think I've heard him making any loud noises, except for some normal sounding meows before feeding time. He'll jump on the counter if he thinks food is coming, but otherwise he doesn't seem to be as into climbing and exploring as Frederick. He likes to sit in the window and takes a fair number of naps. Right now he's curled up at the foot of my bed snoozing. He's just a really chill cat and no different from the other cats I've owned.

I guess my question is do any of you have calm Bengals? I guess I'm paranoid because of what happened to my old cat passing suddenly that I'm jumping to conclusions that he's sick, but he has a healthy appetite, gorgeous fur, a super sweet disposition- he just isn't hyper or vocal. Any thought as greatly appreciated!

Welcome to our forum! Any time you get a new kitty, it's best to take it to the vet for a wellness checkup and to start new medical records (it's always best if you can get the medical records from the previous owners transferred to your vet). Every bengal is different. What you read on the internet is a generalization of the characteristics of a bengal, but you can't expect every bengal to bend to those rules. Getting them checked out will give you a baseline for future vet visits and your vet can tell you if something may be abnormal with one of your kitties. As long as the kitty appears healthy (clear eyes, ears), is eating and drinking properly, using the litter box and their waste appears normal, there could be nothing wrong with your kitty. Since you said you didn't notice the signs from your other kitty (and I am so very sorry to hear that he passed away), you may be missing something physical here, but I think it's just that both kitties are different in personality. A family can have two children and one be extremely outgoing and the other one being extremely shy. It just happens.

In a two or more cat household, there will always be the alpha cat and I'm guessing Frederick is that. Carl Magnus may be lacking some confidence or may just be a very easy going kitty.

Thanks for the response. I do have a vet appointment scheduled for tomorrow morning and was able to transfer their old records to my vet. Hopefully the vet gives both of them a clean bill of health and maybe I will find that this is Carl Magnus' natural state. He is very cuddly- not quite a lap cat, but likes to sit near me and head butt my body while he is pet and purr.

Let us know that the vet says Carl Magnus is perfectly normal! Would you like to trade bengals? I really want a chilled bengal -- mine is almost 9 years old and acts like a kitten! He's high energy, very vocal, hard to get settled down. Also know that Carl is new to your home and it may take him a little longer to adjust to the environment. Please post some pictures. You can attach them to your post by going down to "upload attachment" and find the files on your computer and click "add this file."

Our two bengal females are playful, but both are very quiet. Even when they do meow, their sounds are quiet.

How did I get a howler? I can hear Raiden's cries when I'm outside and the doors and windows are all closed! I can only imagine what the neighbors hear when the windows are open. He can talk softly, but rarely does it unless he wants something like treats.

Given that you have not had them too long, I would not worry. It can take some cats a little while to adjust. My Alex took about a month to settle and show his full personality.

I have two house bengals now, both sisters and one is very vocal, playful and curls up on my lap, whenever she can, her sister we don't see from one day to the next. She sleeps in the spare room and only comes down when she wants food or to use the litter tray. Since Zeus passed away early this month she has been coming down more often to get tickles. Her meow is very quite compared to her sister. I think you will often find them chalk and cheese when you have siblings.

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Hestia Gone but not forgotten, RIP sweet princess.
Zeus Gone but not forgotten, RIP big fella, our Nookie bear.

Michelle, I am so very sorry to hear about Zeus.

I have one very crazy Bengal, and one very calm Bengal. My 5 month old girl is very calm. She has her moments when she goes crazy for 20 minutes or so, but she usually likes to sleep, LOVES to be held and will happily sit in your arms or on your shoulder for a long time, will come into my room in the morning and snuggle beside me, and will sit and purr on my lap any chance she gets. She is very much a lap cat and very different to my Bengal boy and other people’s bengals from what they have told me.

You're really not going to know whether the reason he is not very active and not very vocal is because he is ill or whether it is part of his personality, until after you get to know him better and he's had some trips to the vet. I don't think it's anything to panic about, but it's something to continue to look at objectively and critically if you can.

Regarding a bengal being vocal or not:

My Gaga is a funny case regarding that. If you were to see Gaga around our home, you would conclude that she is an unusually quiet bengal. She has a very soft voice that she rarely uses, rarely purrs, and is just this really nice mellow kitty (of course the meds that she is on has some effect, but still even before the meds she was like that). When I'm preparing something that interests her, you get just a hint of her loud voice, and she can be kind of "in your face" about that. But that is really the only time you see/hear that.

For X-mas and Thanksgiving I was compelled to leave her in a cat boarding place (long story). Anyway, she got a "rep" there as being their most "talkative" cat there. They tell me that she even got the other cats stirred up at times. And her voice is very loud and unmistakable in that environment. Poor Gaga, I'm going to find her a better place next time, but still it's kind of interesting to see/hear that difference. I think sometimes the fact that a cat is quiet may actually be a sign of contentment and happiness as opposed to a sign or sickness and worry. You just have to learn your particular cat's quirks to figure out what is going on.

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The little monsters 3

For the most part my two cats are quiet. When they have what they want they are silent. When they are anxious for what they want and I move too slowly, they will make sounds with their mouths closed (mmmmmm) sort of a pathetic whine. When I am preparing their food dish meows pop out of their mouths and they twirl in circles. I take extra long to prepare their food just so I can hear their voices. When I take them in the car to the vet they meow loudly. Blondie screams. So I know they can be loud if they have something to say. Last night I fell asleep on the sofa and their evening snack was late. I woke up to Blondie flipping the plate on the tile floor. They have creative ways to communicate.