Bengal Kittens - talk to me

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okgo

Original Poster:

37,857 posts

197 months

Wednesday 5th January 2011
quotequote all
I plan to buy a Bengal kitten in the next 6 weeks or so. Been looking on the pets4home website and there seem to be lots of them out there, the prices seem to vary hugely (why is this?).

At this stage I notice they all seem to have had the jabs etc and are ready to go, I want one with good pattern and from somewhere within reasonable range of SW London.

What do I need to know about these wonderful little beasts?


odyssey2200

18,650 posts

208 months

Wednesday 5th January 2011
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They are noisey buggers and climb everything in sight IIRC

okgo

Original Poster:

37,857 posts

197 months

Thursday 6th January 2011
quotequote all
Ok, thanks.

Anyone else?

Pferdestarke

7,179 posts

186 months

Haighermeister

30,191 posts

159 months

Thursday 6th January 2011
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One of my cats is half Bengal. Gorgeous cat, but really not the most affectionate or loving cats so don't get one if that's what you want..

They are VERY vocal, make noise at every opportunity and always let you know when they want/need something. Mine will sometimes wake me at 3am wking to go out.....

Hope you get one, they are beautiful fun cats but I think they need a lot of space to run around...

shakotan

10,679 posts

195 months

Thursday 6th January 2011
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Haighermeister said:
Mine will sometimes wake me at 3am wking to go out.....
Certainly one way of getting your attention! eek

matt28

147 posts

204 months

Thursday 6th January 2011
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Hi,

I have 2 bengals, a snow and a brown spot, both pure pedigree

I've also had other bengals in the past

I love them to bits, but they are harder work than (most) other breeds and are both very "odd" compared to the other cats I have

My favourite cat I've ever had was 3/4 silver spotted bengal and 1/4 BSH. That's a superb mix IMO, had the interesting markings of the bengal but the BSH in her made her much more tame, friendly and affectionate. That's not to say bengals can't be affectionate, but my experience is otherwise generally.

The reason prices vary are because some are pedigree registered breeders... these are the ones you should go for. Expect £400-500ish for a pet with interesting markings, and upwards of £1k for a show/breed cat. Both should be supplied with full service history (sorry, pedigree family tree). You will find lots around £100-200 but they're generally either not registered breeders and/or are breeding unregistered cross cats. I would make sure you pick a registered breeder who has a good reputation and is breeding for a good reason (i.e. to produce interesting exotic pets rather than for the money).

okgo

Original Poster:

37,857 posts

197 months

Thursday 6th January 2011
quotequote all
Right, thanks guys.


Reason I wanted a kitten is that it will be house bound at first and I will supervise it in the garden, reason being, I live in a large first floor flat. However we won't be here forever and the next move will have the cat in mind.

Regarding noise, that is fine by me, I'd like to see it wake me with earplugs tongue out

Cost wise, that's more than I have seen, but I take your point about pedigree.

We are thinking that brown spotted is the best option, but I still like the white
Ones! I've been on bengallist.co.uk and it seems to be good. Anywhere else you can suggest? We would like one before march.

itsnotarace

4,685 posts

208 months

Thursday 6th January 2011
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okgo said:
Regarding noise, that is fine by me, I'd like to see it wake me with earplugs tongue out
You obviously have no idea how devious cats are hehe you may think this cartoon is a joke - but it's not to cat owners

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0ffwDYo00Q

kieranasaurus

32 posts

167 months

Thursday 6th January 2011
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Don't buy cheap, it will have issues get a registered one it might be more in the start but long term it will save you money.

A good well meaning breeder will produce a happy balanced cat.


SmokinV8

786 posts

210 months

Thursday 6th January 2011
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we have a customer who breeds bengals and can point you in the right direction to a good breeder,please be careful as some very dodgy breeders out there. if you want his details please pm me

paintman

7,669 posts

189 months

Thursday 6th January 2011
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itsnotarace said:
okgo said:
Regarding noise, that is fine by me, I'd like to see it wake me with earplugs tongue out
You obviously have no idea how devious cats are hehe you may think this cartoon is a joke - but it's not to cat owners

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0ffwDYo00Q
Spot on. That's our tom to a 'T' (apart from the baseball bat!). His sister just reaches under the duvet & claws your feeteek

Thevet

1,787 posts

232 months

Friday 7th January 2011
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SWMBO breeds bengals, bit far away but website is www.kiabindhibengals.com spent a lot of time and money getting good lines and spends far too much time working with the kittens to get them tamer and friendlier than most breeders.

Flintstone

8,644 posts

246 months

Friday 7th January 2011
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Having owned four Bengals (only one at the moment) I cannot overemphasise the advice you've had so far about getting one from a registered breeder. It won't be cheap but there's a very good reason for that. That said I've never paid full price for any of mine because they were all 'rescues' from breeders.

They need rehoming for a number of reasons. Our first two were brown-spotted and a mother and son. She was an ex-show cat and breeding queen while he'd had to have his tail amputated after an accident (actually he looked quite mean and it made naming him 'Bob' easy). After a year with them we then acquired a pair of white-spotted kittens who came from a breeder who had been taken seriously ill and had to offload her entire stock. Thing is you'll only be asked to pay the cost of spaying or neutering, micro-chipping and innoculations, about £150 each for mine (versus £600+).

The downside is that you rarely get rescue kittens, my two were unusual. Even so you can get a fairly young cat if you're prepared to wait. Just search something like Bengal cat rescue and go from there.

Edited by Flintstone on Saturday 8th January 00:08

blueg33

35,576 posts

223 months

Saturday 8th January 2011
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We have 2 Bengals and I would echo everything said about buying from a breeder. You need to spend at least £400 and ensure that the kittens have been handled lots otherwise they will not be friendly.

They are very characterful cats, and need company, they are not good cats to be left alone all day. They are also very fast and athletic so they like space and lots of toys to stop them getting bored. Ours have a toy box and will sort through it to find the toy they want.

There are talkative but not massively noisy unless you shut them in or forget to feed them!

Ours came from Queenannecats - google and you will find the website. Gaynor brings her cats up really well, we have had 3 from her, sadly one was killed by a car last year. We paid £450 for our boy and £600 for our girl.

okgo

Original Poster:

37,857 posts

197 months

Saturday 8th January 2011
quotequote all
Thanks all. Am following up a few leads.

As said it will be at home for part of the day but only for a few hours at a time as gf and I work different hours.

One last thing, do they come spayed? It doesn't suggest they do, but just checking...

blueg33

35,576 posts

223 months

Saturday 8th January 2011
quotequote all
okgo said:
Thanks all. Am following up a few leads.

As said it will be at home for part of the day but only for a few hours at a time as gf and I work different hours.

One last thing, do they come spayed? It doesn't suggest they do, but just checking...
With ours we had to get them speyed and the pedigree certificate was not issued until we had sent proof to the breeder. This is because kittens for breeding from are twice the price.

At home for a few hours is fine.

If you get a Bengal, ideally get 2 siblings as they will keep each other company and they will have a friend if they need to go to a cattery whilst you are on holiday.

Be prepared for:
Help unpacking shopping
help with cooking
Help with washing up
Help washing the car
help with gardening
Help with hobbies
Shared baths
Cat paw prints 5 or 6ft up patio doorsf
Making sure delivery drivers check inside their vehicles before driving off


Zaxxon

4,057 posts

159 months

Saturday 8th January 2011
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I've heard that some kids see dead people, but having Bengal Kittens talking to you? Bizarre.

And why just that breed?

Marf

22,907 posts

240 months

Saturday 8th January 2011
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Zaxxon said:
I've heard that some kids see dead people, but having Bengal Kittens talking to you? Bizarre.

And why just that breed?
Some cats are more "talkative" than others. It just means they will meow, mewl, chirrup, purr etc alot more than your average cat and yes, if you keep talking to them they will often keep meowing back. Cats have quite a diverse range of vocalisations and it can be very endearing.

Edited by Marf on Saturday 8th January 15:18

blueg33

35,576 posts

223 months

Saturday 8th January 2011
quotequote all
Zaxxon said:
I've heard that some kids see dead people, but having Bengal Kittens talking to you? Bizarre.

And why just that breed?
Other cats can be quite vocal too. Siamese are known for it.