Hello everyone,

I am new to the group and as yet am Bengal-less but after we move house (sometime this month depending on the usual delays with solicitors etc!) we plan to get a pair of kittens once we've settled in. My first question (and believe me there will be many) is - what do people recommend for just companions? We have no plans to show or breed. I've heard that neutered boys are more affectionate than girls and we'd also like BIG cats (the sire of our potential kittens is huge....).

What do people recommend for a pair of cats? We'l be at work all day so they will need to be good friends - we'd hope for litter brothers/sisters but realise this may not be possible. We plan to keep them indoors to begin with but will build an outdoor activity centre (fully secure of course!) in the garden later on.

Thanks for any thoughts/comments

Teresa

We have a boy and girl from the same litter and they are the best of friends, love each other to bits, eat, sleep and play together, don't know what they'd do without each other, they'd be heartbroken.

The male one is certainly bigger than the female. I would say that the female one is more affectionate however, I had heard that male ones are more affectionate after being neutered, but the opposite happened with Zeus, he used to love being held and cuddled, but since the Op he isn't so keen. Hestia however is a real lap cat and loves to sit on us and have cuddles.

If you definitely want both of them to be big, you have no choice really but to get 2 males..... they should get on great

If you want big Bengals I'd go for two boys.....Although don't rule out taking a girl on if the right one comes along as they do get quite large too if fed on the right food!


I take it that you've already seen the size that a bengal stud can reach.....but bear in mind that if you get two males you will be getting them neutered and they more than likely won't grow as large as the sire that you've got your eye on.

If you want a monster Bengal then he'll have to stay entire, If your not a breeder then this option is really not viable.....You can prolong the time before you get a male neutered so he develops a little more but its really personal decision on how much longer you can bear the smell for.....and the howling!

Normally its at about 5 months old that it all starts to kick-off.....so if you last a month after that you've done well!

We're importing a new stud-boy.....He's just sitting out his pet passport in canada at the moment but he should be flying over before the end of the month, and he weighs just over a stone.....so could you really cope with two of them!

Thanks for those replies! Rest assured that if we get two boys they will be visiting the vets at around 5-6 months but yes, I agree - we won't rule out a boy and a girl if the right pair come along. We definitely have no plans to breed them, they will very much be members of the family.

The potential father must be over a stone in weight (he's easily the largest domestic cat I've ever seen), I'm not really worried about them being so big except I've heard that Bengals like to sit on your shoulder when you answer the door - and I'm only 5'2" so may collapse under the weight!

I'm interested in the comment about the "right food" - what do people tend to feed their cats on? Does it differ for breeding cats and pets? I had thought that we'd generally use a complete dry food but supplemented with some fresh meat and the odd bone for their teeth (we have an old-fashioned local butcher nearby).

Lol.....Bengal owners refer to it as "shoulder-surfin".....And yes they love to do it especially when you're not expecting it.

Bengals are very inteligent cats and will amaze you with their crazy antics.....If you have something that you don't want them to get hold of, and you put it in a safe place.....They will do everything within their power to get it, even if it means waiting for days to get hold of it....they will win in the end no matter where you put it .....always! (nowhere is too high for a leopard with a desire....trust me on that!):wink:

Another party trick of the breed is to fetch and retrieve things.....You can train them quite easily without much encouragement at all, our girls love to play fetch and are always ready to entertain unless they're busy upto no good as they usually are.


As for food it sounds like you already know or have been given some good advice already, I'd recommend a good quality dry food (royal canin or something like), and if you want to go with wet food the same aplies.....only use mainstream quality brands. Pregnant and lactating queens need to be kept on kitten food as its higher in nutrition, thats the only difference between breeding/pet dietary needs.....when they're not pregnant and have no kittens to feed its back to normal food!

Some people like to supplement with raw food, but we always lightly boil any raw food we give ours just because we feel they like it more that way.....anything from chicken breast to turkey mince....they love it all provided its fresh!

I'd definately give some fresh food as a weekly treat even though they can surive on cat normal cat food alone.....Just imagine eating the same old stuff day after day, they deserve something a little special every now and then in my opinion.....It helps keep their pelts silky smooth also.

I don't think I'd give ours anything with bones in other than the odd raw chicken leg or thigh just because I don't want them chipping any teeth off with them being show cats.....some cats can get very fussy about raw food though....some will and some won't, so I guess its trial and error really and you'll find out soon enough when they'd rather eat your dinner than their own.....it happens all the time around here!

opps....I forgot to mention the prawns, Bengals worship at the altar of the sacred prawns.....They will do almost anything to get their sweaty little pads on them!