Hey all. So I've been in the process of finding a breeder from which to adopt a Bengal kitten and I think I've found one. I've made sure they've got the proper health screening documentation and whatnot so that's not a problem. They seem pretty stand-up and willing to answer all my questions.

The question I have for y'all is this: is there any major difference in temperament/behavior/personality between an F4/5/whatever cat vs. a cat "far from the 'F' part of breeding"? The breeder assures me their cats are all pure Bengal and is going to send me the pedigree of whichever animal I end up with. My concern is that because it's so far removed genetically from the ALC , it won't have all the quirky traits that make them great.

Also, on a side note, are there any real downsides to getting a kitten in the 6-7 month range vs the 12-13 week range?

Thanks for any info.

This may help you understand the different generations of Bengal cats (towards the bottom of the screen there is a bit about Domestic Bengals)...

http://www.absolutelybengals.com/pages/bengalhist.html

I believe that the nature of a cat largely depends on the nurturing he/she has received from the breeder. A good breeder will be pretty hands on with their cats and their kittens will be used to being handled. As for temperament, I imagine this is a bit like people, some people get certain traits from their mother or father, some from their grandparents etc, but this is just my own personal feeling.

I took home Simba (F2) and Flick (F3) home when they were about 4 months and 5 months old respectively. No major issues, but needed time to settle in as does any new pet.

I LOVE my pets, but retrospectively I feel that it may have been wiser to start off with an F4/F5 cat to begin with, being that this was the first time I had ever had bengals.

Mine are lovely, affectionate and clever cats but WOW they are such hard work. They are stubborn, noisy, fast, bouncy, needy, determined little critters who just do not care one iota about listening to a word I say to them (apart from "Are you hungry?")!

Yep, they are a bit like some children, only worse lol! I love them, but would recommend that unless you are at home a lot and have plenty of time to play regularly and lots of space, stay away from the early generation cats until you have experienced the bengal breed.

Hope this helps xx

Nazdravi - is that nickname means something in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian language ? :)