Bengal cats

My Friend is getting her first ever cat in a few days (you may remember the post about re-naming him, he was called Ben his new name is Zen)

He is a Bengal (snow -leopard markings)

I just wanted to know if they have any particular charateristics or different needs because of the breed, I have 5 cats but they're not any special breed and I don't know much about pedigree cats!

Any info would be apreciated - Thanks

 

Hi Ginger! I have a marbled 1yr old bengal named Rene and 3 DSHs. They get along really well. I had no idea I was getting a Bengal until the purchase date. My dshs are all rescued from shelters but Rene we bought because she looked like our Vene that passed away in July "03. Rene was 5 months at the time of purchase.

I don't really know much about Bengals except from experience. Rene loves water. She will get into sinks and tubs at every chance she gets. Chessmind recommended getting a drinking water fountain and that solved the problem. Of course the toilet lid is always closed. She's also high maintainence but very lovable. I just laugh at her antics. She will do anything for attention even if it means biting shades and fake or real plants. She's like a little dog or human toddler. She will play fetch for hours and she loves climbing and jumping off her cat tree. Unlike our other kitties, she doesn't like catnip or table foods. She used to beg for table foods when we first got her. Overall she's a great joy to have. She's a great lap cat and tollerates abuse from my 18 month old. She's a little social butterfly and wants everyone to play with her and nap with her. She's a great snuggler.

By the way, she's the smartest cat we ever had.
Here's Rene playing with her huge mouse:


Rene getting caught in the sink:


Rene sleeping with Monty Boy (middle) and Milo (right):


Rene sharing daddy's lap with baby:

 

Rene is a gorgeous kitty! I love the picture of her and the baby (cute baby too!).

 

Oh how precious!!! I just love the last photo! Looks like Rene is saying, He he he Daddy loves me too!

 

Those are great pictures Vene....very cute cats and baby!

 

Thanks everyone!

 

Get lots of little toy mice. Rene hides them all the time.

A cat tree is a must. Rene is very athletic. She spends a lot of time scaling the tree. In nature, bengals are natural tree climbers. It'll also save your furniture.

Drinking fountain is wonderful if you don't want Zen to drink from faucets, etc.

Wheat grass or other cat friendly plants are helpful if you have plants around the house you want saved.

I heard that bengals are easy to train on a leash. Rene is not allowed outdoors because I don't want her to have a taste of it. She's the type that will never come home or yell, or destroy our house just to go out all the time. She'll also be a terrific huntress if she ever had a chance.

Get another kitten if your friend works. This way, Zen won't be lonely. Bengals are very social creatures and love company!

Lynnhaz has an adorable marbled bengal kitten named Max. She can give you lots of great advice.

Seriously, all you need is lots of time, patience, and tlc. Get ready for a furball that's lots of fun, adventurous, loving, and a terrific communicator. Sometimes I swear she talks just like a human kid. I'm sure Zen will be all of the above and more! Congrats to your friend on getting a first ever furbaby!

I hope this helps.

 

Where'd you get that "huge mouse"? I get the little ones for Aoisha but he always kicks them under the counch or under the stove and I have to buy more. They're only 2 for $1.00 but still....I think it might be a little harder for him to lose a big one! :lol:

 

Thanks Vene for all of your advice, your cats are so cute
I'll pass on your advice to my friend, she is going to buy him toys and scratching posts before he moves in, especially because she just brought a brand new sofa (before she even thought of getting a cat).

I agree a kitten would be good for Zen, I'll suggest it once he settled in, I'm sure once she gets used to having a cat she'll want another anyway (thats how I ended up with 5!)
I think Zen will be allowed outside, we live in the UK so theres no wild animals that are a great danger to cats and she lives in a quiet street with hardly any cars, there are trees in the garden so he should like it there.
Thanks again!

 

Pilotkitten- I got the huge mouse from Connecticut 10 years ago. I don't think they sell them anymore. Big mice are good every once in a while, but they are too big to drag around. Little ones are better even if they lose them.

Ginger- Thanks for the compliment. Zen is so lucky. He's going to be an indoor/outdoor cat and enjoy everything. I hope your friend gets a pal for him. By the way what are your cats names and ages and how did you acquire them? I love long stories, and I don't remember if you posted any pics.

 

hey...i thought i wrote a really long post the other day on this topic, but as i was rereading and looking through the pictures...i cant find my post!!!that is REALLY wierd. 210 (those numbers were just00000000 typed in by mas09999999 oops... max...who is walking all over the keyboard. he now is chewing on my phone which dropped off onto the scanner...the scanner is starting to copy a picture...probably of him...and he left a big wad of paper that he likes to retrieve next to the keyboard.

a typical five minutes in the life of a bengal cat.... :shock:

and that goes on all...day...long...

oh...here he is again. back to the paper which he wants thrown. then...up\\\\\\\\\====== and over the keyboard...and back on the desk with his paper, trying to shove it into my hand. oops paper fell off the desk...back up now...good boy

now...resting a little on the scanner. he likes that scanner. the other day he jumped on it and i didnt know he had...all of a sudden the scanner is copying something...im like "what in the world? how did the scanner start?" and then i see something being printed out on my printer, and it's a copy of a picture of max!!! it was the strangest thing...

it's always something though...bengals...they are more like dogs i think.

oh...and vene...in my first post that disappeared...i wrote how much i LOVE those pictures of rene. and ditto everything that vene says about rene. that is max in a nutshell. and...vene...the older max gets, he is starting to look very much like rene. almost exactly. i have new pictures i am going to develop today. then post....stay tuned.

update on max. after playing hard all morning, he is now racked out on the scanner. :roll:

 

LOL Lynn

 

My friend got Zen yesturday, hes settle straight in and really happy there!

Vene - introducing my cats!

Mitz (12 years old) Tango (11 Years old) Rags and Bones (10 Years old) and Courtney (9 Years old)

I got Mitz when she was a kitten about 10 weeks old, she had been left outside in some terrible storms for a week in a friend of my mums street and apparently her owners had gone on holiday for 2 weeks and left her outside! My mum brought her home for me. Mitz is the boss of the cats, in her old age she has become really friendly but when she was younger noone could touch her without being attacked or jumped on from under a bed.

Mitz had a litter of kittens when she was about a year old, we kept 2 kittens, Tango & Rio, Rio got cancer when he was 2 so I don't have him any more. Tango is a gentle giant, he is much bigger than the others and they all push him around (exept for in the bathroom - Thats where Tango likes to get his fuss!)

I found Rags and Bones on a run down housing estate, they can't have been more than 8 weeks old but they were tiny because of lack of food the vet said, they had hardly any fur (ringworm we later found out ) and really bloated round tummies, they had been living in a dustbin cupboard because they had fleas and the owners 'didn't want fleas in the house' so they lived outside in the cupboard, the owners had children I saw one of there children pick up Bones by the head and banged his head on a concreate path, that was it, I told my dad about the kittens and he asked if we could have them, they said yes and we took them that day.

Courtney was from Mitzs second litter of kittens, we actually gave her to someone but she didnt get on with there other cat so they brought her back 3 days later. Mitz had been pineing for her since she'd left (courtney was last to go) As soon as Mitz and Courtney saw each other they ran up to each other purring , they were just so happy to be together we couldn't bring ourselves to seperate them again.
So there you have it thats my babies!

I'll post some pictures soon

 

Hooray for Zen and your friend. Looks like they are going to be great buddies!

Thank you for introducing your furbabies! They have a wonderful meowmmy! If you didn't rescue Mitz you never woud've gotten Tango, Rio, and Courtney. I can't believe that people would be so cruel to leave defeseless babies outside. What fitting names Rags and Bones have! I'm sure they've long forgotten about their less than desirable previous owners! Courtney and Mitz are meant to be togetter and I'm so glad she stayed with you! Oh my, 5 cats. That's a lot of work, but I bet you don't mind!

I'm looking foward to the Pics!!!

 

Here are some pics of my cats


Mitz




Tango (left) and Courtney



Rags



Bones



And this is Zen, his ear isn't standing up straight because just before he moved a cat attacked him and cut the end of his ear, he's really settled now, hes been outside but the birds don't like him much, he got attacked by a blackbird and came running in so fast, I don't think he has the hunting instinct !

 

what beatiful cats

 

adorable...so, so cute. all of them. love the pics...keep em coming!

 

I love all your cats! Rags and Bones don't look emaciated any more and poor Zen. At least your friend doesn't have to worry about Zen bringing home presents! :mrgreen: