I know I'm going to get a lecture from at least one person here for this, and sorry for the long post. But my dad passed away in feb. And I decided I wanted to buy something I would enjoy with the little bit of money he left behind, so I bought an f1 bengal from a breeder whom I now have many doubts with. Long story short I paid in full for my kitten in early march, all the way up to him being for weeks old he had varied health problems, corneal ulcer, pnemonia, two rectal prolapses after which he was put down. She told me about her planned breedings and advocated for me to get a kitten from a certain queen saying she thought it would be a good fit. After two queens had their litter I picked from the queen she had suggested...now she was discouraging it saying they were standoffish kittens and this mother always had standoffish kittens and to pick from her new litter. Then somone was returning their kitten and she was pushing for me to get that kitten, I spoke with the current owner and she said that her kitten needed to be an only cat....the breeder knows I have a cat already. So I ended up taking the kitten I had picked anyway. When he was 8 weeks old she left and went on her honeymoon for 2 weeks, as soon as she got back she sent him to me (10 weeks) so he spent 2 weeks being fed by whomever, but not socialized. I got him Friday at noon and it is now Monday. I can pet him sometimes, can't pick him up. He occasionaly spits and hisses pretty often, he eats wet food but doesn't seem to drink much and is using his litter box fine. He doesn't seem to do anything at all during the day, he's enclosed in the bathroom but is always hiding in the exact same spot when I come in. Am I in for some trouble with this little guy?

Yes, you are. It sounds like this breeder didn't really do a single thing right, and for that matter you didn't really either. You would be in for trouble with ANY F1, let alone one with an already rocky start. That said, I'm not really sure I believe this boy is an F1.

Well I read horror stories and happy endings for f1s so although this is my first bengals I knew it could go either way so I think you might be going a little overboard by saying this is going to end badly no matter what. But why do you doubt he's an f1?

Someone that breeds F1s wouldn't act like that. They'd put off their honeymoon to take care of the cats at such a critical stage. Could you post pics its mandatory especially for EGs

Where does it say its mandatory to post pics for EGs?

I can't seem to gt pictures to upload to here so here's a link

http://i1063.photobucket.com/albums/t51 ... 327e12.jpg
http://i1063.photobucket.com/albums/t51 ... 2cb7f7.jpg

I'm hoping that since he's 10 weeks and I'm spending a lot of time with him, he eats his raw out of my hand and if he's not cornered (which is where he often chooses to sit) I can pet him and he will fall asleep like that.

We harass new members demanding photos. Is sort of a hazing ritual. Having an EG just makes it worse.To post a photo from photobucket you need to chose the correct link. For me(android) its"IMG"
Here you go




Really you haven't had him long so lets not jump to conclusions yet.

Your off to a bad start and the kitten is too young to be from its mother. Hopefully someone with an EG can shed some light but even then they probably didn't start out this way. I suggest getting it out of the bathroom there's lots of human smells and its not soft and inviting. Pick a different room and spend as much time as you can in it. Your not trying to interact with the cat just be part of its environment. Pick a quit carpeted room and spend time on the floor. Maybe lay down some pillows, get on the internet and research proper ways to introduce a cat. I'm not trying to be a smarts•• just something you can do comfortably and quietly.

What do you mean by raw? The idea of keeping treats with you on the floor and rewarding the cat for coming close is good. Try to pet him on the head and cheeks not down his whole body, don't worry about picking him up at this point.

Its going to take time and work, yes your in for some trouble.

I'm new to cats but not exotic animals if I was to get an ACL or EG I'd have the same expectations as any of my exotics. To become a non-threatening part of their environment. Anything past that is an unexpected bonus.

Raw as in raw meat....part of their diet, and as far as petting him he is more often comfortable with having his body pet as opposed to his face. And as for saying he hides all day, I found out today that isn't really true. He is quite active, as I am typing right now I can see through the space in the door he is chasing his tail, and earlier I had the wand toy and he was alternating between chasing that as I coaxed him into running over my lap to get it and then playing with his ball aswell.

i have a few questions of my own and to ask other questions that haven't been previously answered:

- why did you decide to go with an F1? Because they're hybrids and offspring from the asian leopard cat and another domestic cat (sorry guys, am I getting this right?), they're not really domesticated and often require a lot of research before deciding to bring one home, having lots of patience and time to spend to socialise them properly. You basically need to start from scratch everyday to get them to trust you and they're quite resistant to change. Even members who have F2s take a lot of time getting their cats to trust them, I've heard stories of even just a short trip away and this caused a lot of distress for the member's F2s and she had to start from the beginning again with them when she returned

- did you get registration papers from the breeder to show this F1 is really what the breeder says he is? Without official registration documents (from TICA/GCCF) there's no way of knowing for certain whether your cat is a pedigree or if the breeder is claiming that's what he is and trying to get more money for it

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I did research f1s before I chose to invest in one, I've never heard of a person having to start from scratch with their f1 every day though. I know he's. High maintanence and is going to stay that way, I initially went in that direction because my other cats mom is a savannah and dad is just a regular old cat (not a planned breeding by any means) anyways, he a pretty decent size and very very active so I started looking into finding him a friend to keep up with him. I just got off active duty and after all my loose ends get settled with the military I'm going to start taking the appropriate schooling to be a vetetrinarian, which is something I've wanted to do my whole life. I knew from the get go he'd be a lot of work but I just think it would be worth it.

Until he is neutered the breeder won't provide me with any papers (which is a little strange I think considering he is sterile anyway....though I would have the procedure done anyway to help with behaviour), if after I get him altered she refuses to provide me the paperwork or gives me paperwork indicating something other than what he was sold to me as, I can forsee legal issues arising. Solely for the purpose that misleading people like that shows bad intentions on the breeders end and I don't think anyone should tolerate letting that kind of person handle these kind of animals exploiting them for a profit.

As far as what I've been told as far as his parents, mother is an SBT (bengal) dad is an ALC