For a few weeks now I've been wondering about finding Archie a little 'sister' to play with, and to keep him company while I'm out during the day. I'm particularly interested in melanistic and charcoal bengals - their coats are just so fabulous and unique! I'm fully aware that these are rare varieties and are hard to come by (thanks to an inconclusive, 2-hour web search) but was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction of breeders that may be planning for these kinds of kittens? And a vague idea of price would be lovely - I'm a poor student, but having spent £650 on Archie I understand how high they can go!

I'm also unsure about introducing another cat to Archie - he has had several run-ins with the cat next door after escaping out the front door and they do not get along, although he won the stand-off! He seems to get jealous if I even play with the hamster, but would it be different if it's a kitten like him? Of course I also run the risk of 'once you pop you can't stop' and ending up with 10 cats by the time I'm 25...

Any help/advice would be appreciated! I used to have two moggies (who are sadly no longer with us) who were unrelated and got on just fine, are bengals the same? Archie's my first bengal!

Toshi was constantly pestering my moggies until I got Yuki, this was leading to several confrontations a day because the moggies are not really into wrestling.

When I got Yuki Toshi latched on to him almost immediately and they were best friends by the second day, they are nearly always together, chasing each other and play fighting.

I think Bengals can be a bit too much for normal cats at times with their high activity levels, I was hoping that another bengal would be more compatible and it turned out perfect.

Of course that does not mean you will have the same result but if Archie is still quite young there is a very good chance he will get on just fine with another bengal kitten.

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That's what I thought!
Now the only bridge to cross is persuading the mother that yes, she does in fact want two hyper bengal kittens running around the house!

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Ok so I've found some possible kittens... One breeder I've found has a charcoal female available from mid-April but I'm unsure of price.
The other has a charcoal female available at the end of March BUT she's actually only 3/4 Bengal - her sire is 1/2 Bengal and her dam is apparently a fully charcoal Bengal, with white paws? Does anyone know how common it is for a charcoal to have white paws? This little girl has them, too.
All the kittens in the litter are priced very low due to being only 3/4 - is it frowned upon in the Bengal community to not be entirely pure? They don't look too bad from the photos (only a few weeks old currently) but I suppose you can't really tell for sure without visiting...

Please do look for 100% Bengal - people breeding crosses shouldnt be encouraged or have their pockets lined. Im sure if you do enough research you will find a breeder that will have something for you - or at least plans - and they will be genuine full Bengals.

If she has white paws, she isnt a full bengal

That's what I thought, I certainly haven't ever seen a Bengal with white paws! I probably sound like a total newbie by even considering it, I just want a little lady friend for my Archie (who is neutered, so no worries in the breeding department). I'll just have to be patient I suppose, something will surely turn up, hopefully at a time when I have plenty of money to spend on a little charcoal princess

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The little monsters 3

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Hmm. See, this is where I'm stuck. The kittens are being offered vaccinated, wormed and frontlined, but at about 9-10 weeks I think.
I don't think it's fair to judge the breeder based on the fact that he's selling 'cross-breeds' as without cross-breeds we wouldn't even have some breeds at all
As long as it's a happy, healthy and socialised kitten I don't see the problem? There's no way of telling if a cross-breed is good or bad without visiting, in my opinion.
It's a controversial matter, especially on a forum dedicated to the Bengal cat - but again, my priority is to find a companion for Archie, and it would be unfair to reject a potentially very beautiful and loving kitten just on the basis that she isn't 'pure'. Yes there are plenty of 'backyard' breeders out there, but they can't all be crooks and villians, surely?

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Miki & My Beloved Bengals http://mybelovedbengals.blogspot.com/

Shiloh, Darcy, Rudy The Roodster & Ozzy...