Hi- my husband and I are looking at getting another cat in the next year. We did have a Bengal before we had chilren > 10 years ago. He was an F5 male, yes neutered I think around 4-5 months and we had a very difficult time with him. We also had one dog, a goldendoodle, that was very calm, and a Himalayan. The Bengal would pee in inappropriate places, not let the Himmie eat, and I guess I was his human, so when I wasn't home from work one night, peed on the bed.....yes, while my husband was in it!! Of course we tested for UTI, other illness, tried the pheromone things you plug in etc etc....He was otherwise fun and beautiful but one chair, one queen size mattress and many $$ in meds and potions to try to change his behaviour was not looking good. We felt he needed to be king of the castle and a friend who lived alone and whose 19yo cat had just died, took him and he has thrived, no problems and she was thrilled.
Anyway, I am very attracted to this breed for their size, their intelligence and their beautiful appearance and we were looking at getting an Ocicat instead. But this weekend we met a couple breeders who felt that was 'bad luck' and now with breeding 17-20 generations away from the ALC, these things should not be a problem.
We now have 2 children, 8 and 11 years old, and we are looking for an interactive, part of the family cat, that will play etc ( the Himalayan was not this sort of cat :) ) So, is it true that now that Bengals are 'SBTs, many generations away from the ALC" the territorial/wild instinctual problems are diluted away? Would it be better to have a female?
I would really appreciate the opinion of pet owners with experience aside from breeders' info.
Thank you!

Litterbox issues are tough to deal with. But you can't just blame that all on breeding, and think that a breeder has the ability to breed the "peeing outside the litterbox" gene out of her kittens. That's silly. And this certainly isn't a problem restricted to early generation bengals, or bengals in general. The fact that your prior cat got "all better" after moving to a different home should tell you that the environment that a cat lives in plays a really big part in these kinds of issues, and you have the ability to control that to a large degree.

I think before you adopt another cat, you should kind of take stock of the environment that you are going to provide to an active young cat, and come up with a game plan for minimizing stresses and dealing with it if your new cat does have this sort of problem. There's loads of info out there on dealing with this. Most cat magazines and cat books have chapters on this. Websites, videos, etc. I'm not saying it's easy, I've been there before too, but you take the hand you are dealt, and there are much worse problems than that you could "draw".

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The little monsters 3

This probably now belongs under some other topic but I am not sure how to move it.
We did in fact-correctly-conclude that the environment was his problem- after reading, researching, talking to the vet, implementing etc etc. and we provided the appropriate solution. It was a long process. I know there isn't a 'peeing gene' -very funny- however, there may be behaviours related to non-domestic ancestry, which is why it is a bad idea to have a pet tiger. And there may be temperaments more commonly associated with one breed than another. So, yes, obviously I am not rushing in to bringing another cat into the house or I wouldn't have sought this forum. We are deciding whether or not a Bengal would fit in our household of 2 dogs (aging), 2 kids after having met a breeder who assured us our previous experience was 'early generations'. Hence my questions to the forum-
Have people noticed a difference in territoriality, behaviours , temperament the further away one is from the ALC?
Do Bengals tend to experience/express more stress with change or with being alone for 6-8 hours? Or with having other canine/feline housemates?
Thank you

Peeing out of the litterbox is a typical stress response for cats, and is hardly unique to bengals.

Bengals aren't known for being mellow, though whether or not they actually have more problems with stress than moggies I don't know. Cats in general are quite stressy aren't they. An F5 is an SBT and considered a domestic cat, but of course you can buy many more generations down if it makes you feel safer. But tbh I doubt it is worth worrying if your cat is F10 versus F20. I have two F8 cats and one had problems with stress peeing when I first brought him home; he is much more high strung cat in general than his full brother, so I think personality is a major player in how a cat adapts to a situation.

I think before you bring any animal into your home you have to think about whether you actually have the time and patience to deal with behavioural problems that may crop up. If yes, then you are ok to try again with a cat. You don't have a resident cat this time, which is a plus. You can also do some catification. Get lots of litterboxes. You get the drift. Set yourself up for success.

First of all, welcome to the forum. Second of all, an F5 bengal is not an early generation bengal. And, I'm honestly not sure that breeders are up to a 20th generation at this point. Most breeders want to keep the generation as low as possible. Regardless, cats are cats and even moggies have litter box issues. As has been mentioned, stress is the main factor and in a household with other pets and children, this can be a huge problem for the cat. And, many owners who have cat with this issue, they tend to want to yell and punish the cat and not understand and deal with the reasoning behind it. Bengals are their own cat and not like any other breed in a lot of ways. While bengals have worked in a busy household, we get posts from owners who are having problems with this.

My bengal is an F9 and he's quite the mellow boy. He has never peed outside the litter box, although he does mark and pee outside while we are on our daily walks. If your household is a bustling one -- don't introduce a bengal. Don't rock the balance that you have right now. You'll only regret it in the long run. You aw with the previous bengal that it required a quiet household without other animals around. Bengals can get along with children and dogs and other cats, but it's a very long introduction process with certain steps that must be followed.

Thank you all for your responses- I think much as I love their activity, their look, maybe I will wait to get a Bengal when I retire and the girls are grown. I have had many cats, dogs and usually combos of the two... perhaps an Ocicat

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The little monsters 3

I just think a bustling household is not the place to introduce a new cat. It's a LOT for a new arrival to take in all at one time, even with a safe room. Bengals are not laid back cats by any means. Ocicats are a lot like bengals in many ways. They are very social cats as well. I am retired and have a bengal. He wears me out! He loves to play, insists on daily walks. I was happy to get him when he was 6 years old because I could not handle a kitten! It's simply important to do your research and make 100% sure it's the right move for you. Rehoming and regrets are difficult to deal with.