Salam dear ladies & gentlemen,
It's a long write, so feel free to jump to THE DRIVE if you want to get to the point and read forward from there.
I've been a member here for about a month as I was waiting to receive my Bengal kitten. Despite having raised many pets in the past including cats (Siamese, Persian and others breeds), despite watching plenty of YT videos and despite reading plenty of articles about Bengals... nothing could be prepare me for the reality of sharing my life with a Bengal.
The breeder offered to ship the kitten for me, but I refused as I had an arrangement for a driver to deliver the 900 km away kitten to my home. I waited long 5 weeks for the kitten to turn more than 10 weeks old. And I insisted not to wait any longer for a personal occasion that I wanted to share with the kitten. Luckily the queen stopped breastfeeding her kittens last week, so it was an easier decision for the breeder to approve. So I created a 5 days road trip itinerary and drove 2500 km in total to pick up the kitten and drive her the last 900 km home. And it was worth every mile.
THE DRIVE
The kitten remained in her carry box for the first hour of the drive. And it was very stressful for her as she kept screaming out of fear most of the time. She sleeps for few minutes then cries again. It was heartbreaking even for me knowing she misses her family and scared of the unknown. As I was driving I noticed she went quiet for sometime. I called her, she didn't answer. I touched her paw through the carry box but she didn't move. That scared the hell out of me. So I immediately I pulled over and opened the box. Turned out she was in a deep sleep.
So I got her out of the box and decided to spend more time with her instead of driving. She was hesitant, skeptic and afraid at first. But I gave her time to cool down, and lucky me she was curious to discover her new environment and sniffing me. So I continued driving but with frequent stops just to sit with her, spend more time with her and put her at ease.
By the time we reached home she could jump on my shoulders, lick my hands, purr into my ears... just unbelievable how quickly we bonded.
@ HOME
Once we got home she refused to stay in one room as per every pet caregiver's advice. She would scream nonstop like crazy. So I got her out but limited access to most of the rooms.
She would sit an inch away from me, on my shoulders or on my lap. But not an inch further unless we went on playing. If I leave the room, she'd cry desperately till I get back to her snapping my fingers and calling her name (I called her Snickers), then she'd jump and follow me wherever I go. Be it the kitchen, the bathroom, the living room... same scenario. Once I leave the room where we are together she'd cry and I come back to her snapping my fingers and calling her, and she'd follow... just like a trained dog!
@ NIGHT
She ate, she played and then she slept on the couch. I went to sleep in my bedroom and literally hell broke loose with her screams. So I went to her snapped my fingers and called her where she followed me to my bed and slept in my arms all night. I was worried she wouldn't sleep much since she slept a lot during the drive, but I was wrong she stayed in bed with me till I woke up and woke her up and went to prepare breakfast.
VERDICT
(1) She's very very affectionate and attention seeker.
(2) She's very intelligent, playful, but terrified of heights which is normal for kittens.
(3) She's very vocal, oh my God how loudly vocal especially when she gets hungry.
(4) I'm so concerned how she'll adapt once I get back to work... very concerned.
(5) Clearly no matter how beautiful Bengals are, they're for sure not photogenic. They're far more gorgeous in person.
(6) My advice to anyone considering sharing his/her life with Bengal to understand it'll take your heart like a baby does. And the Cat-Dancer is a must have toy. I bought her plenty of toys, balls, feathers... etc. but nothing excites her like the Cat-Dancer.
PS I'd post pictures but this size limitation on the forum is making it difficult to share. Therefore I'm posting two links from my Instagram.
PPS Special thanks to the breeder LeopardLuv for taking good care of her cats, and everyone who educated me about them.
https://instagram.com/p/BS01Rs8g7GG/https://instagram.com/p/BSy5A0vA1bK/