Top Ten Reasons You Don't Want A Bengal

1. Bengals are active cats. Really active. Like eleven on a 1-10
scale active. There is no shelf they cannot get onto, no mantel
that's safe from kitty romping. Knicknacks that aren't stuck down
with museum wax aren't going to survive. 16 week old Bengal kittens
can jump from the floor to the top of the fridge.

2. Bengals are high-maintanance pets. They need attention, and they
need company. If you work outside the house, do yourself a favour and
get two Bengals or a Bengal and another high-energy cat. Otherwise
you *must* expect to spend 3-4 hours playing with and interacting with
your cat. That drops to 1-2 hours if there are two of them. They
need interactive play -- if they don't get it they will do anything
and everything they can to get your attention. Remember those
stuck-down knicknacks? They're history if you don't give your Bengal
enough attention.

3. Bengals are smart. Spooky smart. They work together and teach
each other things. My boys can open both the fridge and the freezer,
can open baby locks (Temujin pulls the door open, Kefka swats at the
latch), can open cabinets, open drawers, and have almost mastered the
round doorknob. They must have sufficient mental stimulation or they
get bored. Bored Bengals make up Bengal games. Humans generally do
not like Bengal games, as Bengal games often involve swatting things
(like stuck down knicknacks) off high places.

4. Bengals are not decorative. Okay, they're decorative when they
are tired, but most of the time they are spotted and marbled blurs of
activity. They will not lounge around prettily for admiration -- they
want to be doing what you are doing, helping with whatever you're
doing.

5. Bengals are *big* cats. Males are 15-20 pounds of muscle fully
grown, and females are 10-15. Both sexes are very long bodied -- my
boys are ~22 inches from shoulders to tail base. When they stand on
their hind legs, they can touch my waist easily. A well-bred Bengal
is an incredible cat -- friendly, affectionate, confident. A
poorly-bred Bengal is a nightmare because of their size and strength.

6. Bengals are heavy scratchers. You can forget about those wimpy
little 2' carpet-covered scratching posts at Petsmart -- posts for
Bengals need to be tall and heavy. Cat trees are best -- and
expensive. If you don't provide enough places to scratch, your
furniture is history, and declawed Bengals are usually biters.

7. Bengals are greedy. I am a professional trainer, and my cats are
very well trained with ~20 behaviours including dog-style obedience,
stupid tricks, and agility. I cannot train them to stay off counters
and cannot train them to leave food alone. All the usual methods
(aluminum foil, upside-down carpet runners, citrus, cans full of
pennies, etc) simply do not work. Bengals will be good until you
remove the offending object (carpet runner, etc) and will then hop
right up again. They are too smart to think that the counter is doing
anything to them.

8. Bengals like water. Which, granted, is pretty cool -- having a
cat join you in the shower or hop into your hot bath to swim around is
neat. But it also means that squirt guns are useless. And guests are
often not amused.

9. Did I mention that they're active? Because they really really
are. I often compare them to Border Collies when trying to get across
how active they are. They need the mental stimulation of a job of
some sort, which is why my boys are clicker-trained.

10. They're expensive. No, you can't cut corners by buying out of
the newspaper, because then you won't get a well-bred, well-socialised
cat.. Well-bred, well-socialised Bengals generally start around $400
for a pet-quality and can go all the way up to over $1000 for a show
alter.






Orchid
See Orchid's Kitties! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/bengalpage
Want a Purebred Cat? Read This! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/orchid

In article ,
enlightened us with...
snipped

1. Bengals are active cats.
2. Bengals are high-maintanance pets.
3. Bengals are smart.
4. Bengals are not decorative.
5. Bengals are *big* cats.
6. Bengals are heavy scratchers.
7. Bengals are greedy.
8. Bengals like water.
9. Did I mention that they're active?
10. They're expensive.

Rowan was a Bengal in a former life.

Thanks for the post.

/ Now I REALLY want one. Okay, two.
// After I get a house

--
--
~kaeli~
All I ask is the chance to prove that money cannot make me
happy.
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace

"Orchid" wrote in message
...
1. Bengals are active cats. Really active. Like eleven on a 1-10
scale active. There is no shelf they cannot get onto, no mantel
that's safe from kitty romping. Knicknacks that aren't stuck down
with museum wax aren't going to survive. 16 week old Bengal kittens
can jump from the floor to the top of the fridge.

snip

Great post, Orchid. Really informative, and funny and entertaining at the
same time :-)

On Thu, 21 Apr 2005 14:21:36 -0400, Orchid
wrote:

1. Bengals are active cats. Really active. Like eleven on a 1-10
scale active. There is no shelf they cannot get onto, no mantel
that's safe from kitty romping. Knicknacks that aren't stuck down
with museum wax aren't going to survive. 16 week old Bengal kittens
can jump from the floor to the top of the fridge.

2. Bengals are high-maintanance pets. They need attention, and they
....

That was funny. Unless you actually have one (I mean two).

On Thu, 21 Apr 2005 13:47:21 -0500, kaeli
wrote:

In article ,
enlightened us with...
snipped

1. Bengals are active cats.
2. Bengals are high-maintanance pets.
3. Bengals are smart.
4. Bengals are not decorative.
5. Bengals are *big* cats.
6. Bengals are heavy scratchers.
7. Bengals are greedy.
8. Bengals like water.
9. Did I mention that they're active?
10. They're expensive.

Rowan was a Bengal in a former life.

*grin* Yeah, our little street moggy boy is the smallest,
greyest Bengal in the whole world.

Thanks for the post.

Anytime. I love the breed, and part of that is warning people
that they're not just regular cats in spotted suits.

/ Now I REALLY want one. Okay, two.
// After I get a house

Our boys did fine in our apartment, though they *love* having
stairs to tear up and down in the house.



Orchid
See Orchid's Kitties! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/bengalpage
Want a Purebred Cat? Read This! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/orchid

On Fri, 22 Apr 2005 07:00:50 +1200, "Ashley"
wrote:

Great post, Orchid. Really informative, and funny and entertaining at the
same time :-)

I aim to please. And educate. I don't think I will ever
own any other breed of cat -- I love Bengals too much.

Well, maybe a Savannah one day. They're very similar.



Orchid
See Orchid's Kitties! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/bengalpage
Want a Purebred Cat? Read This! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/orchid

On Thu, 21 Apr 2005 15:01:18 -0400, dgk
wrote:


That was funny. Unless you actually have one (I mean two).

*grin* Hey, I have two and I think it's funny. Of
course, I am one of those crazy people who thinks that all of the
'negatives' on that list are actually positive.



Orchid
See Orchid's Kitties! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/bengalpage
Want a Purebred Cat? Read This! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/orchid

Very funny and well written. Submit immediately to Cat Fancy magazine.

Of course, now I want to run out and get a Bengal...or find someone who
has one so I can just observe...

kaeli wrote:
In article ,
enlightened us with...
snipped

1. Bengals are active cats.
2. Bengals are high-maintanance pets.
3. Bengals are smart.
4. Bengals are not decorative.
5. Bengals are *big* cats.
6. Bengals are heavy scratchers.
7. Bengals are greedy.
8. Bengals like water.
9. Did I mention that they're active?
10. They're expensive.

Rowan was a Bengal in a former life.

Thanks for the post.

/ Now I REALLY want one. Okay, two.
// After I get a house


I have the house with only Venetian blinds, no overstuffed furniture, and
1500 sq/ft. With all this claimed intelligence, maybe toilet training is
possible? Playing fetch? Singing short songs? LOL

Orchid wrote:
On Thu, 21 Apr 2005 13:47:21 -0500, kaeli
wrote:

In article ,
enlightened us with...
snipped

1. Bengals are active cats.
2. Bengals are high-maintanance pets.
3. Bengals are smart.
4. Bengals are not decorative.
5. Bengals are *big* cats.
6. Bengals are heavy scratchers.
7. Bengals are greedy.
8. Bengals like water.
9. Did I mention that they're active?
10. They're expensive.

Rowan was a Bengal in a former life.

*grin* Yeah, our little street moggy boy is the smallest,
greyest Bengal in the whole world.

Thanks for the post.

Anytime. I love the breed, and part of that is warning people
that they're not just regular cats in spotted suits.

/ Now I REALLY want one. Okay, two.
// After I get a house

Our boys did fine in our apartment, though they *love* having
stairs to tear up and down in the house.



Orchid

New question: At cat show last weekend, I also saw a pair of show Ocicats.
I researched their history a bit beforehand. As a Bengal owner, what's your
take on Ocicats?