Anyone on here got a Bengal cat ?

[Lardlizard]

Would you recommend them ?

My neighbour has one and it is a frigging nightmare! If I leave my bedroom window open she somehow manages to climb in in the dead of night and gives me a bloody heart attack every time.

Very noisy, aggressive, territorial, a total horror to live near. Thankfully my neighbours are lovely, but the cat is something else.

I have a pair of bengal x abyssinians. One is very aby in temperament, and the other is very bengal. He is large, heavy and can launch an attack on his sister out of thin air. He adores playing in water / drinking from a tap and he is very, very vocal. He's a magnificent animal but without a doubt his sister (completely aby in temperament) is an "easier" animal to live with!

Mustard that did make me laugh !!

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_litter_tray/3564597-Next-doors-thug-cat

According to the amount of 5-6 year old Bengals on the rescue link in the thread above, something seems to go wrong at that age.

No, I really wouldn't recommend them. Friends had to rehome theirs due to aggression to local cats - honestly it was impossible to manage. Aunt had one too and it had to be shut out when visitors came- it would either attack or just refuse to leave people alone, jumping up, constant loud maiowing shouts at people!

The only people I know that rave about them, I've noticed, are owners with absolutely tons of time to pander to them and who enjoy doing so - they are vocal, irritating, in your face, just not chilled in any way - so if you want to constantly have something you need to interact with then great. They're far more like having dogs than cats. Imagine a small yappy type dog in a cat body.

Haha so no!

I had one years ago. It was a big male and although I'd had cats all my life, this was scared me (until it was castrated).
It actually wanted to dominate me!
It was always gentle around our then 1 year old and 3 year old, but was a demon outside.
It would get into other people's houses and beat up their cats, in Spring it would raid rabbit burrows and bring back live babies!
Very noisy and bosssy!
But so beautiful...

In the end I think a neighbour with an air rifle shot him and hid the body, because a)they had threatened to and b) they were scary, nasty people.
Thank goodness they moved away soon after.

I still miss 'Charlie', but Bengals should be kept as house cats.

I have a cat which we thought was a Bengal but I think is actually an Egyptian Mau, similar anyway. No,we will not be getting another,he is VERY high maintenance and rules the neighborhood and is always acrapping and is SOOOOOO vocal.

God that rescue is full of them! And all with pretty much the same issues - not great with other animals, anxious, highly strung, vocal, need constant attention...

They're bred because they are pretty, but nine times out of ten they just don't make good domestic pets.

Most breeders will ask you to state that you'll keep them inside I've heard. That's what Aunt had to do. You can see why!

A neighbour has one, it has cut a swathe through the local garden bird/wildlife population.

We have a female 2 year old Bengal called Mystique, and we worship her. She loves to climb and is very vocal but also very, very affectionate. We have a large garden with lots of trees and she climbs to the top of them. She comes on the walk with us when we walk our 2 dogs. She just trots along running ahead and then jumping out on the dogs as they pass. She is our princess and she knows it. Bengals like to be paid a lot of attention. If you have a lot of time to spend with them or you live alone they are wonderful. I am not so sure they would be good with young children though as Bengals like to be the centre of attention and might get jealous of a child. Our child is 13 and is suitably in awe of Mystique.

A good Bengal will have been handled a lot from when they were a tiny kitten. That is what determines how they will behave around humans.

You only have to keep them inside if you wish to breed from them. If you get them fixed they can and do enjoy going outside.

We have a lovely 3-year old Bengal called Barry! I half-suspect he has a touch of something else in him as his coat, while it has the usual Bengal markings, is somewhat toned down.

He is absolutely lovely. A real lap cat, who loves nothing more than cuddles & company. He wasn't keen on the DC at first, but now he can't get enough of them, especially 10-year old DS1, who he follows everywhere, even onto the trampoline! He is also very affectionate with visitors & vets, whether he knows them or not!

Barry is also very vocal & loves water. He often follows us into the bathroom, tries to climb in the sink & toilet etc. He is not a hunter, but has on occasion caught fish for us I suspect from people's ponds He is in no way a fighter & will often come racing inside away from a neighbourhood cat. He also, particularly as a kitten, loves to play fetch, with feathers being a favourite item! We joke that he thinks he's a dog!

All in all, my experience of Bengal ownership is very positive.

We have a bengal and he's strictly a housecat! He's noisy, excitable, scrappy and loves being up high.
I'd recommend one but only if you have the time to pay attention to one and have someone who can cat sit whilst you're away. We went on holiday and he lasted 2 days at the cattery before we had to get my SIL to collect him and care for him at home for the remainder of the week.

My cat is very loving but mischievous aswell. The amount of times I've been running a bath only to return and find him in it; or I've had items knocked and broken because he wanted to be sitting on a particular shelf is comical!

A girl I know has a male one. She’s tried to get rid of him twice and both times he’s been brought back to her and she’s refunded lol! He’s not a very nice cat, biting, howling house down, swiping and scratching, pees all over her house... from what I know she’s seemed to keep him well and treats him fine but he’s just a terror. Good luck lol

We had a bengal korat X and she was hard work. Really noisy, always chasing and killing things, pounced on (and bit) our toes any chance she got. Brought dead things in every day. Was never relaxed and cuddly.

But it's hard to know if that was just her personality or her breeding.

We have a Bengal of 4 yo. He is an indoor cat. He loves to be fussed and sit on laps. He hates being picked up and will hide when he knows he is going to the vet. We have more issues with our Norwegian.

We did have our Bengal's mother and she was difficult. When we had both they took apart their water fountain ; she kept getting out and the way she went for our other cat I think she would have been a terror outside. With us she was snuggly, came when she was called, just a friendly cat.

The only two I've ever met were really scary.
If it's a docile cat you would like Maine coons are just that .
Ragdoll cats are even more laid back .

I had a Bengal X BSH. He was perfect in every way. Miss him. I had 2 Bengals. Brother & Sister, beautiful but evil. I don't miss them.

If you want a super affectionate cat who is very loving and snuggly I would recommend a Somali. They're beautiful and become very attached to their person.

If you want loving and snuggly get an Oriental.

My Bengal was put to sleep just short of his 20th birthday. He was very noisy, demanding and terrorised the neighbourhood. Some neighbours loved him but one or two hated him. He never caught much because he couldn't stay quiet long enough. I wouldn't recommend them if you live in a residential area despite how great he was.

My 5 year old ex stud Bengal boy!

He’s a beautiful cat, however being an ex stud cat he’s very timid and shy!! Taken us a while to gain his trust and everyday we learn more and more of his personality. He did piss on my bed a couple of times, since we changed his cat litter he’s been fine!

Gets of fine with my other cats 🤷‍♀️ Doesn’t like the dog! The kids he will sit with but isn’t really bothered about. He’s not keen on strangers either.

He’s very playful and loves nothing more than to sit and play with a catnip toy. He’s also very very affectionate now he’s bonding to us, he sleeps on the bed next to me, loves doing tricks for treats he sits, rolls over. He’s not overly loud, he does chatter at himself in the mirror every now and again. Absolutely loves water, drinks it off his paws rather than out of a bowl and also splashing in the sink. He also loves climbing the higher the better. I found him perched on top of the curtain pole a few weeks ago 🤷‍♀️

He is a housecat, I’ve toyed with the idea of letting him out but haven’t yet. He walks on his lead really well.

I have a 7 year old Bengal female. We’ve had her since she was 16 weeks old. She’s a big softy. Loves to greet people but forgets she’s a cat quite a lot (couldn’t jump the child gate on the stairs for s good 6 months before she realised she could just jump over and couldn’t leave the garden for s year before she figured out she could climb the fence)
she was raised with our dogs and she sleeps with my dd usually. Never brought anything back and is a rubbish hunter and is usually found asleep on our beds. She does go out but is bullied a lot by the neighbourhood cats (she’s had some cat bite abscesses On her bum and the vet says it’s because she was running away.)