Hello all,
First time posting on this forum. We recently acquired a new family member, a bengal kitten. “Titan” is now 14 weeks old but we got him at 11 weeks. He is highly energetic and loves to play all day with very little sleep (so far we are lucky in that he likes to sleep at night). He adores our two young children (3 & 5) and will always seek them out to hang out in their vicinity.
A couple of questions. Titan has not been too affectionate with us. On occasion he will jump up o our sofa and bed and snuggle next to one of us and fall asleep, but so far, no typical lap cat behaviour. Will this change as he ages? Will he become more affectionate?
Titan also likes to “wrestle” with our feet and only in the evenings. He will use claws and teeth but very lightly. Surprisingly, he NEVER does this with the kids, only with myself and my wife. He usually stops when we redirect him to his toys. From other posters’ experiences, will this eventually subside?
And lastly, we purchased some catnip ( both spray and flakes) and it seems to have no effect on him, which is much different from my experience with previous pets. Also, doesn’t seem like the feliway spray does much for him either.
Overall, he’s been doing great so far and we have a ton of toys and a tall cat tree for him. Bengals are definitely different from regular DSHs, lol.
Thanks for your time and input.

Bengals aren't known for being lap cats. Take your cuddles but don't expect long naps in your lap. A lot of Bengals also don't react to cat up but might react to other plants like valerian. Sometimes kittens react less in general, though.

Welcome! Try valerian but you may find that he'll only react from age 1 or so... Clearly your kids have become titans designated humans, sorry :-) and regarding the leg attack he'll grow out of it eventually but you'll need to train him to not attack - stern no, and have a kickeroo at hand.... Our Echo used to go for my legs as a kitten, she's grown out of that but... Still chases and bites toes when we are in bed - not mine as I don't react ;-) - in order to wake the designated human for food. During the day she taps my leg as if to say: look I'm about to attack you so let's avoid conflict and feed me, it's in your best interest. If I don't do as told I'll have a cat hanging from my leg.
And finally, cuddles... Will depend on the cat, Ishka sleeps on my legs every opportunity she gets, loves cuddles and requests headbumps through the day... Echo only loves you at twenty, ten and five minutes to feeding times, otherwise she's partial to a good back scratch and to being held. As you can see, it's a lottery, each kitty will develop into a different personality.

_________________
The little monsters 3

Welcome to our forum and congratulations on your beautiful baby. First thing -- Titan is just a kitten! You can't expect too much from him in just a couple of weeks. It takes time to settle completely in. Bengals are not known as lap cats. Some bengals love laps -- most do not! That's just the way they are. As for the wrestling with the feet, I hope you have some kickaroo toys for him. 99% of cats absolutely love them and it gets their frustration out on the toy and not the feet.

You have already discovered bengals are not like your ordinary cat, and you will NEVER EVER change their behavior! Bengals do not sleep 20 hours a day. They take short naps to re-energize and they are off again before taking another nap. You are lucky Titan is sleeping through the night -- many cats are nocturnal and will want to play and keep you up. I hope he continues on this schedule.

Catnip may not have an affect on your cat. It doesn't on mine. But my domestic short hair goes crazy over catnip. Feliway is not going to calm your kitten. That's not what it is for. It contains something similar to pheromone which is to relieve stress and help multiple cats co-exist. It is to prevent marking and scratching on things not meant for scratching. Bengals automatically have a ton of energy, so your Titan will be on the go a lot.

Note, too, that bengals tend to bond closely with one person -- that may be your children and not you. Just be glad you have kids that can play with Titan and keep him worn out! Lots of play time is what he needs, especially with all the energy he has these days.

Most of all, enjoy his antics and adventures. Bengals can give you a wild ride! But, it's worth it in the end. They are incredibly intelligent cats.

Thank you to everyone for your input and wisdom. Titan has been playing hard and chilling hard. He seems to be growing exponentially... looking bigger everyday. He fell asleep on my leg last night. I didn’t move for a few hours because I didn’t want to disturb him, lol. Thanks again.