Hi all,
I've joined for a little advice and will hopefully be here to stay!

Me and my partner, after much consideration have decided that we really think we could give a Bengal a lovely home...But are we right for a Bengal?

A little background info..
We had an absolutely adorable ginger mog called 'Boy', He really was our life! Unfortunately he was knocked down in June, and it really hit us hard. We both really miss having a cat presense here. We finally feel ready to have another cat in our life.
We both work, My partner works days and I work nights. It was never really an issue with Boy as he slept most of the time! lol

There's a couple of things that I want to ask:

Would our working hours suit a bengal?
What are their characters like?
What should we be looking for in potential breeders?
We really like the snowy bengal so would be interested in any information about them too

Sorry for so many questions, We just want to make sure we do everything right by the Bengal.

Many thanks

Well, if one of you works nights and one works days there will be someone there with him most of the time so I don't think that would be a problem.

As for characters, they are living creatures and every one is different. The breed as a whole are really quite active, very intelligent and can be quite demanding. They thrive on human interaction and if starved of that stimulation can become quite naughty and destructive.

Bengals are not like your average moggie who is content to sleep 23 & half hours a day on the windowsill, they will tear around like lunatics, climb on absolutely everything in the house and generally be a pest - but a lovable one.

One thing that you should consider is if it is wise to let him outside or keep him as a house cat, given that you have already lost one cat to the road I would say that is warning enough that the area is not safe. Also you need to consider a Bengal is much more attractive to theft than a standard moggie

If you do decide to keep him as a house cat (which is not in any way cruel despite what some people might say) Bengals are usually very easy to leash train - well with Toshi it was not so much training as putting a harness on him and opening the door because from day one he was happy to trot along like a strange looking dog.

I would recommend contacting and if possible visiting a few breeders rather than trying to base an opinion on just one. A breeder should be more than happy to answer any questions you may have, they should care about their cats and be more than willing to show you their housing (be that in the home or in pens outside). Most of all you should be comfortable with them because you will maybe need their help once you have a kitten if anything goes wrong so you should be comfortable enough to phone them or visit them for help and advice.

Probably the best idea is to ask for other people recommendation for breeders in your area, word of mouth is a much better advertisement than a flashy website, that is not to say a flashy website signifies some kind of cover up because many breeders operate on a very professional level in all aspects of their business.

Maybe if you let everyone know where you live other members will offer breeder recommendations so you can create a shortlist

Finally, if you do decide to get a Bengal then I think you will be in for a hell of a ride, I have had moggies most of my life and I love my two current moggies to bits, but no cat I have ever had has been anything like my Bengal boy Toshi

When I looked into the Bengal breed and read all the stories of how clever they are and the tricks they get up to I took it with a pinch of salt thinking it was most likely exaggerated by enthusiastic owners, but I can honestly say that now with hindsight I realise it was all true. Toshi has exceeded my expectations in nearly every respect and I cannot imagine ever being without a Bengal in my life ever again.

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