Thanks for your website it was very helpful. I am thinking of getting a Bengal Kitten, but wanted to get some advise from you guys if it is the right cat for me. I love cats and have always had cats my whole life. Im wondering though if the cat would get enough attention. I live alone (no children or husband) and I work a 9-5 job. I have a cat currently- older but very young at heart. She is used to other cats. But I am worried that my job hours and since I live alone the cat would not get enough attention. When it is a kitten, I plan on taking some time off work, but that wont last forever.

What do you think??
Appreciate your help!

Hi Cbrown. Welcome!

There is no reason why you cannot get a Bengal - It will probably adapt quickly to sleeping when you are at work, and will expect more interaction and play when you are home. Is that something you can do?

I work shifts and have had my boy for nearly 6 years now, (He's nearly 15) and he does whatever he wants when I am out at work, but is always around when I am home, or on my rest days... demanding cuddles, play or attention of some sort.

You haven't said how old the resident cat is - If you were to introduce a kitten it would be pretty hyper and may upset your older cat. Is this something you can provision for? You may need to look at re-homing the kitten if they didn't get on as it would not be fair to push the older cat out due to an interloper!

What about when your other cat passes on - Would you look to get another playmate for the Bengal as it will be used to company? These are all things you will need to consider.

Whatever you decide, lurk here and learn loads, because it will help you cope with the mayhem you are setting yourself up for as a Begal owner....

All kittens are little devils. Bengals are more so just because they are much more hyper than your regular cat. However, at the end of the day, it's still a kitten and will require a lot of playtime to get rid of all that energy. I don't know how energetic your other cat is, but it's hard to keep up with a kitten. Pets do adjust to your schedule! My bengal is 7 years old and I am gone about 9 hours out of the day for work. He sleeps most of it but is rambunctious and ready to go when I get home.

You might want to consider training your kitten to walk on a harness and leash and that way you can both get some exercise when you get home.

I hope you have fully researched the characteristics of a bengal. They are highly vocal, they prefer to be higher up in the world (cat trees, shelves on the wall), most aren't lap cats or snugglers, but they do want to be where you are, so don't be surprised if you get followed around. They are highly intelligent and can be trained.

Good luck with your decision.

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The little monsters 3

How big is your accommodation? If you live in a one bed flat or a studio apartment or even a small house, than I would suggest you do not get a Bengal to add to your existing cat.
If you have a big house with lots of nooks and crannies, lots of places they can make their own territory if they do not get on, than it is worth a try. Bengals tend to be territorial, hence why so many end up rehomed with the label "must be an only cat".

Bengals like to be up high, they are not your average stay on the floor sort of cat, they need stimulation and if bored or stressed they can get destructive and they can get very noisy.
I know a lot of people think "oh wonderful, a cat that talks to you", but they envisage the odd normal cat meow, but Bengals tend not to meow like normal cats and a Bengal yowling incessantly for hours on end is not funny, and some do that.
If you are a house proud person or like things just so, or have a lot of valuable stuff that could get broken, then do not get a Bengal, some will open cupboard doors, throw things off the top of the wardrobe, poke about in your bin, chew and scratch anything they can get hold of.
This kitten/young cat sort of naughtiness extends well into adulthood in Bengals, so do not think they will settle down in a year or two.

Read the behaviour section here thoroughly, not all Bengals cause such trouble, but a fair few of them do.
Dyed in the wool, Bengal owners tend to think their antics are funny and the damage caused par for the course or hilarious, but not everyone thinks that, so are you that kind of a person?
They are not to be considered just ordinary cats, some are, but some are very different indeed, you need to be aware of and be able to live with all their foibles before you take one on.

I'd like to add having a bengal in a mix of rescued DSH cats that it has been work for us to help relationships between the two breeds. It's been like introducing cats to a dog. Take a really good look at you resident cat's personality and way of moving around your place. It can give you some hints on how she might gel with the very active and often more rougher play style of the bengal.

In our house, the girls are more particular about how they like things to happen and play on their terms. We had cubbies in closets and hammocks under furniture, two cats trees and a cat wheel long before Noah arrived. Since then, there is one cat tree in the most used rooms, double the safe cubbies around the house and in closers to get private time in, wall shelves in hallways and rooms to create multi level safe moving/ playing, and spent hours upon hours in the earlier stages bridging communication gaps between them and redirecting undesirable hunting Noah was doing with the others. We have even clicker trained the cats to do tricks and some agility course stuff to exhaust Noah in particular both physically and mentally. Recently we learned changing how we play with him and how that routine looks like each day makes a huge difference in his behavour towards the others. We don't have kids and never will but friends tell us regularly the stuff we do to foster healthy cats is as much work in their eyes as having multiple kids in diapers. We added Noah less than a year ago and there have been multiple times we felt like we took on more than we could handle. We thank skill at learning to read our cats language and good intuition, along with information found on the Web like this site for always getting through those patches.

Good luck on making a wise choice for you and your girl.

I have an older cat and a 4 month old Bengal kitten but I am at home for most of the day. For the most they get on wonderfully and my 14 year old Burmese has really perked up since having him around. He loves sleeping with the kitten too.

As it happens my kitten sleeps for most of the day and then comes alive around 6pm and is a complete and utter nutcase well into the late evening.

He literally charges around flinging himself about knocking everything flying and acting like something possessed.

Problem is if it was the other way around and he was doing this during the day and if I was at work I would worry for my older cat. On a few occasions my Burmese has got stressed with his antics and I've stepped in such as playing with Dexter so that my Burmese can get some peace and quiet.

You can't do this if you are not there so that would be the worry.

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Oscar and Jasper (or one ear and two ears as dh calls them) black rescue mogges

RIP my sweet baby Dexter, Snow Bengal 19/5/14 to 5/3/15 and my lovely dear old friend Muskey, Brown Burmese put to rest aged 15 on 14/11/15.

Debbie

The OP appears to be long gone... he asked for this advice over a month ago, and hasn't posted since. Hopefully whatever he decided worked out well, but I doubt further advice is useful here.

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The little monsters 3

Who knows...maybe he is so busy with his new Bengal that he doesn't have time to post here, Brian!

Thanks for all your help! I have decided to get a Bengal!! I met a breeder and get to take the kitten home the end of the month. I will be sure to post introduction and pictures when she is in her new home. Thanks again for your advice and help in my decision!

Congratulations. Obviously, you thought long and hard about this. A bengal will throughly enrich your life.