Hi everyone! So we are a family of 5, we love animals and will be there to take care of the cat and play with him at all times.

It is our first bengal cat. And i don't know a lot about the generations. What can you tell me about them, and what should i get?

I am looking at one from a breeder here in Canada, she claims it is an F5 or higher (because they kind of stop counting after). She also claims that they are better than earlier generations, because they will be more playful, less wild, less shy, and have nicer color. What do u think about that?

Personally, i thought the earlier the generation, the smarter they are, but i could be wrong?

Here is the cat i am considering.

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Welcome to our forum! Great question on the F generation because many people who want a bengal are not familiar with it.

Know that many areas have laws against early generation bengals -- F1 through F3. If this is your first bengal, please do not look for an EG bengal. A bengal, period, is challenging, and the EG's have even more challenges as they have an enormous amount of wild blood in them. Starting with an F4, they are considered a domestic cat. There are not many F4's through F6's around. Most breeders are using an F7 to breed into an F8 and current bengals are F9's and higher. I do agree the breeders basically don't look past the F8's. I'm tracking the F generations on bengals and it gets more difficult to find information on the cats.

That being said, the bengal is intelligent, period! I would not say the EG's are more intelligent. They just have more wild instinct in them. What you have got to look for is a bengal that can tolerate a lot of noise and activity! This means you must find a confident kitten that is not easily frightened. You have a large family, thus a lot of things going on. And if you have other pets, you have to consider them as well.

The quality of the pelt does indeed get better with the generations. They are now breeding for elongated rosettes which are stunning. The best breeders have the quality of the cat as the #1 thing after having a healthy litter.

There are many good breeders in Canada. If you have had zero experience with a bengal, an early-generation bengal is definitely NOT for you. Know that even an F10 bengal is a 2-year old toddler for life. Bengals get into everything. They are loving cats, very social, the bond is incredible, they are highly vocal and will cry for no reason. They have a ton of energy. They require a tall cat tree and lots of human interaction with playing. They can be taught to walk on a harness and leash. There are a lot of wonderful qualities, especially the sweetness of their temperament (better once they turn into adults).

I think your breeder is absolutely correct. The pictures you sent show a stunning bengal.

thank you so much for your answer. Now i have another question :)

What about declawing? I've read mixed reviews. I know that it's a serious move and that it is actually an amputation for the cat and all.. And i know that there are other ways to protect your furniture, however, i am just worried that we cant always control and watch what the cat is doing. I feel like you can come back home and find your leather chair or couch completely scratched...

On top of that, my best friend, who owns 2 cats, said that if i didn't declaw mine, his cats would most likely not be able to play with mine because of that.

So i really dont know what to do anymore. My breeder told me she doesnt recommend declawing. She said to buy a big cat tree so they can focus on scratching that and nothing else. But i just dont know.

I also heard about softpaws... is that product good? does it completely prevent from scratching furniture? And more importantly, do you still need to trim his claws when you use softpaws?

For what it's worth, I cut mine's nails once a week. They have several scratching posts all over the house, including cardboard ones... The only furniture one has damaged is my old leather chair, rest of the house seems fine. They are animals so I expect a modicum of destruction, our scratchers keep them busy enough however. Not sure how they would jump or play or hunt the toys and climb up their sisal tree without their claws, declawing sounds awful, unnatural and avoidable through other means. If you make sure you play with the cat until she's tired twice a day, for half an hour each time, the rest of the day will be possibly spent sleeping :-)
In fact, now that I think of it our two haven't destroyed that much stuff in the year and a bit we've had them... Apart from paper and cardboard, providing great alibis from when I had not done my marking on time - sorry guys, your essays were eaten by my Bengals so I've had to reprint them

Apart from being cruel and inhumane, declawing can result in a host of behavioural issues including inappropropriate toileting.

I urge you not to declaw. If you need to have a cat declawed to protect the furniture, you need to not have a cat.

I doubt that you will have your Bengal cat over to your friend's house for a play date. Yes, if your Bengal cat has claws and your friends cats do not, there will likely be bloodshed. Likewise, if your Bengal cat has claws and your friend's cats DO have claws, there will likely be bloodshed.

Bengals are not your average cat. They are demanding and smart. If you have a leather couch, you can expect to find scratches on it sooner or later. Even if a cat has many TALL trees and PLENTY of scratching posts, a launch off the couch to another perch or to pounce on your enticingly moving ankles will likely result in a scratch mark on the chesterfield.

Please be sure that a Bengal cat, or indeed any cat, will be welcome in your home. You will need to catify your house and prepared to look like a cat person. After all, your kitty will be a family member, not just a pet.

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~ Kyenta

Ok so if declawing is out of the question... What can you tell me about softpaws? Is it somewhat easy to install them for a person who hasnt owned a cat? Do i still need to trim them even tho there are softpaws on them?

I feel declawing is inhumane. If you want to know the feeling, cut your fingertips off at the knuckles and see how you feel! I cannot tell you the number of cats that go "missing" or "escape through an open door' and they are declawed. The claws are a cats defense and while you may think "My cat will NEVER go outside," it happens over and over again -- and cats are victims because they cannot get away from a predator.

Cats can be taught to allow their nails to be clipped if you start early enough. You need only clips the very tips which is easy and doesn't take very long. You do need special clippers for a cat. There is a danger of clipping too much and you will draw blood and it will be painful for the kitty. A vet can clip the nails regularly and even if you use soft paws, they have to be changed out. I have NEVER clipped my bengal's nails -- EVER. The vet will do it when I take him in for something (dental cleaning, annual checkup, etc.) However, I have NEVER asked them to do this and I don't like seeing my baby without his sharp claws. It takes about two weeks for him to get them razor sharp again.

Just know that your cat doesn't need to be playing with any other cats unless you own them. Cats do not do "play dates." Bengal cats are highly territorial and won't just accept other cats immediately. You need to be concerned about YOUR cat and not your friend's cats. It is what it is! Your friend's cats are probably declawed!

I hope you have read up on the bengal breed because it is not like any other breed of cat. Your bengal will have a percentage of ALC wild blood in them.

Hi and welcome. It is good you are asking these questions before making your commitment to own a Bengal. I have always had cats and never had an issue with claws or behavior. A little over two years ago I adopted two mix breed SLP kittens. I was beside myself with their behavior and energy. They swung from my expensive window treatments tearing them. They clawed everything including me even though my house has scratching posts in every room. But they are beautiful and fun! They are the highlight of every day for me and I can see they feel the same towards me.

When they were about 5 months old. I took them to my local vet who had groomers experienced in applying SoftPaws. Trust me, this is not something you can do on your own. They trim the nails and use the appropriate size SoftPaw caps that are glued to each nail. Once dry, the kitty barely notices the Soft Paws are on and goes about their normal routine. No more scratches all over my legs and arms. I could cuddle with them and they could play as usual. The caps grow out in about 5 weeks and come off.

After that, I just took them to the vets to have a nail trip every month since they do not allow me to trim their nails. Now at 2.5 years old, they are so big it is difficult for me to pick up a carrier with both of them so I don't bring them in for nail trims any more. Grace has huge thick talons. She is careful with them and doesn't scratch me. Blondie's nails are thin and sharp and they curl around. I should get hers trimmed again. However now that I no longer trim their nails, they (mostly Grace) claw my leather furniture. She will stand behind the chair I am sitting in and start wailing away on the back with her nails. They both do this to the leather foot stool I use and fight over who gets to sit on it. I know these are prized areas because I use them every day, but that is the nature of bengals. They are very possessive over people and objects. My last cat was a tiny siamese who sat on a pillow all day and never did anything wrong.

Three years ago I would have been horrified at the thought of my wood furniture being chewed, leather sofas full of holes and torn window treatments. Somehow I changed, because you cannot change what comes naturally to a cat. Declawing is out of the question. If you are even considering this, maybe a dog is a better fit. But if your environment doesn't have to be picture perfect, and you are able to adapt yourself to accommodate a bengal, you could be in for a wonderful experience. Do some research before deciding because your bengal is not going to politely fade into the background of your home. They are going to be demanding and in your face at all times. They will become the focal point of your home, like it or not.