Would love a Bengal kitten/cat - any recommendations?

[PeoniesforMissAnnersley]

Hi, our beloved cat passed away about a year ago and we are ready for a new one to join our family. DH and I, no kids. Large enclosed garden, 3 bed house.
I love bengals, a few friends have had them in the past and they're so beautiful and the ones I knew had lovely natures too. I was thinking of getting one, but I don't want to do so if it means participating in any shady or cruel breeding practices.
I would v much appreciate any tips for good breeders or re-homing services in the Southampton/Basingstoke/Chichester/winchester area.

Thanks!

Don't do it to yourself. Have you not suffered enough

Seriously though, unless one of you is home during the day they get a bit lonely.

Be aware they are a high energy* breed.

We've got a Bengal cross and he is definitely not like an ordinary moggy. He makes strange chirruping noises and loves water. Found him in the sink a few days ago. Also tries to get into the bath. He demands food...lots of food. Calls out for attention and belly rubs.

I wouldn't swap him though now I've got used to him. Most days anyway.

Good luck with your search

Our house is on the school grounds and it's where my office is so Im at home for large sections of the day (basically whenever Im not physically teaching) and DH is home all day sat and sun, so I'm not worried about it being lonely.

I do feel a bit bad for not getting a rescue cat. Are bengals more needy than other breeds?

I don't have any specific breeder recommendations, but will direct you to bengalcatforums.com if you haven't found it already; lots of tips there for spotting a good (or not so good) breeder.

Bengals do turn up in rescue sometimes. The rescue that I volunteer for has had three over the last two years (two of these were because of major territorial aggression towards other local cats). And the Bengal Cat Club has a welfare and rehoming section on their website.

You can get adult rescues though. That way you avoid the kitten phase.

Yes, they are needy, loud, persistent, wilful & very loud.

We can leave ours and he hasnt burnt the house down...yet...

They love to play and scratch. Ours is fine to leave on his own. I wonder if the moggy side offsets some of the madness?

Interesting. Might look for an adult rescue, even a cross breed would be great as I'm not interested in pedigrees really (just think they are gorgeous animals).

Choc, only times ours tries to wee on things is when I've been out all day. We call it punishment wees or writing your own re-homing advert.

Ha yes they are trying to do that.

Do you have full Bengals?

There is a 'neutered cats for rehoming' facebook page, there is a lady who advertises her ex breeding cats for rehoming, she stipulates that they are indoor cats or won't sell or rehome to you - I'm sure shes called 'Sitting pretty Bengals' or something along those lines.

sittingprettycats.co.uk/index.html

Our girls are bengal crosses. We got them from cat's protection. They are beautiful and lovely.

I agree with PP about Bengals being high needs. SmokingCat is now 7 months old and I'm going through what I presume is a teenage stage. Lots of bitting, jumping, climbing going on. He needs lots of attention and playing with which can be tiresome but I wouldn't swap him for the world. Bengals need a particularly high quality wet food (or raw) diet and considering they eat loads can be expensive. I probably spend about £25 a we

Posted too soon.

I probably spend £25 a week feeding him.

We've got one full bengal. Ones enough.

When I was young we had 4 cats & they weren't as much "work" as this one.

Ah good value you got there, Fluffy

I've just recently got a Ragdoll, lovely personality, maybe not high energy like a Bengal? We all love him so much alreafy, couldn't be without a Ragdoll now. He follows me everywhere and sleeps with me at night!

Smoking is your cat on a raw diet! My raggy is raw fed and ten meals cost about £6.50 for frozen portions.

I've got 2 pedigree bengals and they don't like other cats. They're very loving though and cost about £30 pw to feed. They're very loud and as mad as a box of frogs but I wouldn't change them.

My cat is a bengal cross, his pedigree mummy escaped one night and met one of the local toms.
He is gorgeous, full of personality, loud and uses our local fields to hunt.
And hunt, and hunt.
He knows when I get home and I hear him before I can see him, as he runs to greet me.
He has a definate vocabulary, with different miaows meaning different things from 'hello, hello! I luff you!'
To; 'I'm so clever, I caught you a rat! I luff you!'

My cat and I have far too many conversations to be considered normal...

If you do decide on a Bengal from a breeder, please , please check them out thoroughly.....

Bengals are hybrids.... Part cat part leopard cat and are extremely sensitive to stress....

Make sure the pedigree avoids in-breeding and that the breeders cats are free of FIP or corona virus.... This virus is a bit like the common cold in humans but in cats it can turn from purely being positive from corona virus to a fatal condition that can't be treated...

I bought a pedigree kitten and all seemed well but within 4 weeks had to pts due to FIP....

I now have 2 moggies (rag doll / domestic cross) and all fine but we had some serious heartbreak first....

I learnt about FIP the hard way, please make sure you don't!!! Ask the breeder for proof that they are corona free and think about 2 cats from a litter rather than 1 so as to reduce stress as well....

What do you do with them when you go away? We are considering a Bengal after senior kitty eventually shuffles off (though she's got plenty of life yet - only 12).

Do they need to go to kennels? We normally get the cat sitter to visit but I'm not sure that would go down well, only being visited for a couple of hours a day. We work from home so normally they'd have 24/7 attention, but we do like to go away every now and then for a weekend / holiday for a week or two once or twice a year. How could we get around this in a way that would be acceptable, or should we rethink the breed choice?

We put ours in a cattery. He gets lonely without people around.

Be prepared for the kitty bollocking of your life on the drive home though.

The Northern Siamese Rescue has some Bengals up for adoption again. They say that they won't rehome south of Birmingham but I don't know how strict they are on that - there's a phone number on their Home Page.

(I know they're a Siamese Rescue but I suspect they're a go-to place for certain breeds in the local area (they're based in Sheffield) because this isn't the first time they've had some.)