Hi boards,

I've been trawling through these boards for information and I think I am pretty well informed on the basics, however nothing beats some personal advice.

Our setup:
My partner and I live in a large flat with a medium-large garden in a quiet residential area of London with lots of big parks in all directions. He and his family have owned dogs all their lives and my family and I have owned stray cats all our lives.

Him: Age 30, mostly a 9-5 job, though he often works from home (but this isn't something he can plan for certain)
Me: Age 24, currently studying again after a few years working. Likely to go into a mostly 9-5 job in a year's time, though one with flexitime and options to work from home.

For the next year we expect to have someone around the house pretty much all the time, the maximum we expect the house will be empty for is 4-6 hours about twice a week. In a year's time we expect that the house will be left alone 9-5 three or four days a week. We have enough money to pay for a sitter of some kind to visit while we are out. In 3-5 years we expect to one of us will be home much more often as we plan to have a business. At this point we would very much like to introduce a dog to the family, Northern Inuit or Tamaskan breed.

My partner and I are very broody for a pet right now and the thing that is most important to us is that we don't want a pet we just plop in our house and leave to its own devices. We'd like to be able to leash walk it in the park and have fun learning tricks and games with it. The only dogs we like are the husky-types above and we feel getting a high-energy high-socially-dependent dog like the husky-types would not be appropriate until a few years time.

So we've been looking into cats, and our quest for a cat with a dog-like temperament and ability to be trained has lead us to the early generation Bengals and Savannahs. We very much understand that these are not low maintenance pets, but this is not what we are looking for. We are looking for a high-maintenance pet that's not quite as high maintenance as a husky-type dog and can be left as an adult for a maximum of 4 days a week alone for 9 hours when we are both at work, with potentially a lunchtime walk or social with a sitter if necessary.

As experienced Bengal owners (particularly if you have an early gen), do you think a Bengal would fit well into our family? Would we only find this desired temperament in early gens, or are later generations much the same in terms of trainability?

If anyone has any strong reservations about inviting a Bengal to live in our home with us as we've described, we would like to hear. We both understand the dedication and attention necessary to keep a well-trained animal and are excited to give our pet that. We have the ability to look after a small dog at the moment, however we only want a husky-dog or a wild-looking cat. *Picky*

Do you think our home would be a good one for a Bengal?

I think your home would be good for a Bengal, but I do question whether or not being home alone for 9 hours is a good idea for an early generation Bengal, be it now or in the future. We have an SBT Bengal and now an F1, and there are very drastic differences between the two. Aside from screaming at the top of his lungs when he is alone, Dexter can be a tornado when he is left by himself. At the moment we do not allow the boys to be together for the 8-9 hours a day that we are at work during the week, but they can play through the doors. We live in a one bedroom apartment, so we section off Dexter(f1) in the bedroom/bathroom and Bauer has access to the kitchen/dining/living rooms. Especially after seeing the way Dexter's behavior gets when he is by himself, I would honestly have NEVER considered an F1 without first having another kitty that would constantly keep him occupied. We almost ALWAYS come home to an enormous mess as he throws a fit and likes to throw everything around, tug on the shower curtain, knocking over and getting into any and all trash cans, tearing up the litter box liner, always flips his water bowl upside down, eats anything and everything he can find, and in general just hits the room like a hurricane out of sheer boredom. This is him only having access to two rooms, one being very small, and being "by himself" most of the day. When we are home and he is with Bauer, of course they are still rambunctious as all hell, however, it seems he has no interest in any of this, go figure. Like a little bi-polar angel. But I worry for you because yours would eventually have free reign of the ENTIRE place by himself, and without a playmate.

After seeing what he is capable of I am so glad we have Bauer and when he IS finally allowed to have the run of the place with Bauer when we are not around, I am hoping they will not get into too much trouble together, or if they do, there is not so much chaos left in his wake because he will be occupied.

It could be just my opinion or what I've seen from having Dex with us as long as we have, but I just wouldn't suggest an EG Bengal as an only cat/pet even early on. I wouldn't suggest one as a FIRST Bengal. There are so many things we probably would have been stunned about if we had not gotten Bauer before Dexter, and like I said they are still SO different. If you are looking for a high energy pet that you can teach tricks too, you could just as well get an SBT Bengal as they have many qualities of a dog. BOTH of my boys know how to sit, lay down, walk on their hind legs, jump up or down, and spin on their hind legs and on all fours on command, and it didn't take long at all to train them this way. They also fetch, though Bauer more than Dex. In that way, Dex is more independent because he likes to play by himself more and enjoys tearing up a toy in the corner of the room more than he enjoys fetching, unlike Bauer who will bring things to us while we are in bed to throw for him (again, much like a dog).

This is just my experience so you shouldn't let it discourage you until you hear more owners out, but Dex can be a holy terror simply because it is in his nature, and this is ten fold when we are not around and he is by himself and simply "bored". Taking all of that into consideration, I have heard of EG stories that go terribly wrong so if you do take this route make sure you do plenty of research. I tend to feel like we got lucky with his behavior hearing what I have about some others experiences with them. I think it's definitely worth looking into an SBT Bengal for you guys, or maybe 2 since you said you live in a nice sized place so that they could have a playmate, or even an SBT and then an EG a little bit later on once you've gotten used to the antics of the breed. If there is one thing i've learned it is not to dismiss Bengals as just cats. They have such high energy and can be so off the wall, and EG Bengals are SBT's on speed.

I wouldn't trade Dex for anything in the world but he is an exhausting little tazmanian devil.

Hope this helps!!

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Thank you so much for your detailed reply and advice. I'm excited to hear that perhaps your sbt has most of the personality we are looking for.

Quirks are what we'd really like, but we hear what you say about having a friend for an EG... how close would you say an f2 or f3 is to an f1's high-energy?

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I don't have experience of eg bengals but Eric is about the most dog like cat I've ever met I wouldn't particularly see any reason to go EG necessarily, like Tephie said they are a different kettle of fish

You say you want a cat that can be trained like a dog, no cat can be trained like a dog. A dog is easilly trained as it's eager to please the alpha male (the owner), cats are solitary and will only do what they want. You may well be able to play fetch with a cat and you may be able to let it take you for a walk but they will never truly behave like a dog.

I'm only saying this as it would be a shame for you and the cat if it didn't meet upto your expectations, one of our bengals is very active & likes to fetch but the other is much more independent and quiet, they are all different just like any other breed of cat. You should only choose an eg bengal if you are willing to offer a permanent forever home regardless of the cats behaviours, you wouldn't be able to an F1 in the uk unless you have a DWA licence.

Thanks for all this fantastic advice. You've changed our opinions on whether early generation is necessary.

I understand how my post might have come across, but just to reassure everyone we aren't expecting a cat to be a dog. what we're hoping for is a cat that is slightly doglike. somewhere in between the two?

We're in contact with Gayzette and Glitterglam breeders and are asking which of their specific litters/generations they think would be best for us as well. There's an f3 litter available but if we go for this over sbt it will only be if the breeders reassure us of the temperament and that the cats cope well enough on their own the same as an sbt. once we've made a decision on which one of those 2 to go with we will pay them a visit.

in terms of buying one or two, I think we'd like to start with one boy with an option to buy another boy if the first appears to be lonely.

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For an F1, you would have to apply to your local council for a license, they would give it on grounds of an inspection. So I would steer clear of that.

Is your garden shared or yours?

I don't own an EG but I have an F4, she is lovely but hyper and will be very vocal when alone, she needs alot of attention at the moment (she's turning a year this month). Her mum is her companion but she is a bit too much for her mum (she's 7).

It's fine to have a kitty on it's own but if you plan to be out nearing on 9hrs a day, then I would suggest a friend. Be it a litter buddy, another bengal or another kitty. You may also need to deck your home out to accommodate an EG, places for it to climb etc. This can simply be done with cat trees, shelving etc.

I would visit a breeder for a better judgement on it an EG is for you.

I have to agree with Tephie (who is a fountain of good advice) - I have owned shelter cats my entire life. My boyfriend wanted a dog, but when we brought one home he was an absolute nightmare and we ended up giving him back. (Before anyone tells me I'm a horrible person, trust me that this was in everyone's best interest - he had severe anxiety and would throw himself out of windows when we were gone, self harm when we crated him and cost us about $1000 in damage to our rented house. We tried a behavioral trainer for about two months with no improvement, and we could not give him the time or care he required). That being said, we thought a bengal would be a good compromise. I figured getting a kitten would be less destructive and lower maintenance but still with some of the fun traits of a dog.

Well, we were half right! Stash has many of the fun traits of a dog, but he can be a naughty son-of-a-gun. He tears through the house, eats everything he can find, rips our drapes and furniture and has chewed through two $80 Macbook power cords. On the upside, he loves his harness and walks well on a leash. We have begun car-training him so that he can take trips with us, and he is a very fast learner. He sits obediently in the passenger's seat when I drive alone, or in the back when OH and I drive together. He is never vocal or skittish when we drive. It is to the point where I can run in to grab a coffee or some groceries, and I come back to find him either curled up asleep, or sitting on the top of the back seat, watching cars pass. He fetches, too, as well as sleeps on our laps and in bed with us.

In summary, I do not think it's necessary to get an EG to have the traits you were looking for. I thought people were joking about the "bengal temperament," but we were shocked to find out how true it is! Stash is so high energy and such a troublemaker, but also sweet and smart. If you start with an SBT and it goes well, in the future you can consider getting an EG if you feel you are up to it.

I have both an SBT and an EG - a girl and an F3 boy.

We had Ember for 12 months before adding Cassius to the family. Both are 'dog-like' in temperament, both like to join us for walks, both will play fetch and both enjoy playing in water. The main differences we have found between the SBT and EG is that Cassius is much LOUDER than Ember, and he has a higher energy level - however they are both holy horrors that never stop bouncing around!

Speaking from experience,I would not have had an EG as my first Bengal. Though our 2 are very well behaved - we have had no issues with inappropriate litterbox behaviour or destructive behaviour - accidents happen and I now no longer have anything fragile on display! Cassius (and Ember to a degree) is a climber and no surface above knee level is safe from investigation. However, this can be said of all Bengals...

I agree with other comments made - I do not think it's necessary to get an EG to have the wild traits you are looking for. You can do as we did - start with an SBT and if it goes well, you can consider getting an EG to keep your SBT company.

One thing I would like to suggest that you research thoroughly - Husky's and cats. I have heard too many horror stories about Husky's being cat-killers to be comfortable with the idea of having both in one house. That said, I'm certain that there are many Husky's living in perfect harmony with Bengals, but it's not something I would ever consider.

Whatever you decide, I wish you the best of luck. Well done for doing the research, and we all want to see photos if and when you do get a furbaby!

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Thank you SO much for your kindness and invaluable first hand advice. we're looking for a cat for the rest of it's life so we want to get it right first time! SBT Bengals from what you've all described sound like all the wild benefits (personality and human interaction) without any of the negatives of an EG (destructiveness, boredom if left alone, potential to not like you at all, etc).

F1 would never be on the cards for us (our council would never agree- too much of a posh family area for wild cats), and it sounds like even up to f4 there's still a lot of negatives involved that you wouldn't get with an SBT.

The f3s available turned out to have rather boring coats too which the breeder said happens a lot with EGs.

you have convinced me that an SBT would probably be up our street, now to convince my partner we don't necessarily need an Asian Leopard cat!

And then onto the perils of visiting the breeder(s)!

Again thank you all so much.

oh yes and about the future dog we'd like: we're pretty confident on our research there as we've been broodily looking into dog breeds for years. the actual breeds we would get aren't husky but Northern Inuit, Tamaskan or Utonagan. these are all bred to look wolfy but have the temperament of a lab (a high energy lab though!)

from what we've read of the dogs we'd be more worried the cat would terrorise the dog!

If introduced correctly and pup with the right temperament, then you should be fine. You can always make high up 'get-aways' too but do the research on bengals/dogs a lot more, once you have your bengal, as you will know what personality he/she has.

TBH wild traits will always be in a bengal, F4's aren't so bad. Rori is loving, loyal, cuddly but tenacious

You have to have a license to own an F1? Don't have one just never heard of this. I own a baby F2 he is very different from my stb girl and my f4 . He is affectioniate but he does scream as loud as his little body can especially when it's feeding time haha. He is also wreck less and moves really really fast. My other two both have their own quirks and I love each one of them .