Jezebel doesn't mind being picked up, but she would rather not be cuddled. She sleeps on my bed but in her own space.

Zelda will occasionally ask to be petted by me, but she often prefers not to be petted. She does like to play often, and she will chase my fingers or run after my moving hand to play with me.

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Cat Friend

I wouldn't say my Bengal is cuddly, I'd describe him as snuggly.

He's got two gears though - his high tempo self loves to race around and chase, scratch and bite stuff - luckily nothing too valuable yet! In this mood, he still responds nicely to forehead strokes and cheek tickles, but he won't settle until he tires out. So I have to play with him to tire him out, or he stays hyper and attacks my feet when i go to bed. That's the only place he'll intentionally use his claws or teeth on me, and only playfightingly... the more he wants attention, the harder he goes.

When he does shift down into relaxed mode, he becomes incredibly purry and affectionate and likes to lie next to me and lean against the curves of my torso or my legs. Never on me, but always by me or near me. He follows me around like a shadow, I love it!

Archer does not cuddle but he is at my feet 24/7. He is always within a 3 foot radius of me. When we watch movies, he will sit up top by my head but will not get on my lap. I can hold him for about 10 seconds and then the squiggly and struggle takes over. At night though, he does curl up to me!!!!

I am curious- how many of you have another pet with similar behaviors? I've wondered if they pick up behaviors from watching other cats or if each just have their own preferences.
I have two older cats that are more standoffish so I am curious if that has rubbed off or influenced him.

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Archer- Born March 8, 2016 gold with amazing ink jet rosettes
DiVinci- Born July 31, 2016 charcoal seal lynx point

Since I had Griff neutered he's become almost as cuddly as Arya and now actively asks for cuddles and will come over and pat me with his paw until he's petted and stroked or even start meowing if I ignore him. I think to a large extent he learnt from Arya to be more cuddly. Griff also likes to just sit either on my lap or next to me and groom and lick my hand and suck on my fingers.

He also is fine being carried around the house now only for short periods as he still spooks easily with loud noises, he will rush to great me when I come home and reach for me with his paws when I come through the door. I have noticed though it's only me who can stroke and cuddle him anyone else and he runs away or will only tolerate for a few seconds. Lmao I think he's decided he only wants his mummy, he also only purrs around me. He's definitely the shyer and more skittish of the two even though he's over twice Arya's size. I do find my bond with Griff more special though than my bond with Arya because I had to really work for it with him, he hadn't been handled anywhere near as much as Arya was and I had to work for it until he learnt to trust me.

Arya is everywhere I am she's either on my lap when I'm reading or watching something, on my lap when I'm working and if she's not on my lap she's on the desk next to the screen whilst I work, she thinks she's helping. She's also very dependant if ever left on her own she will constantly cry. Arya though unlike Griff will let anyone cuddle her as long as she's known you for about 20 minutes, then as far as she's concerned you're her new best friend and she'll happily be kneeding and pawing on their lap. Arya is extremely similar to Mina and how she was with cuddles and being extremely people orientated, although Arya is Mina's distant great niece so maybe it's that.

I've always had very cuddly bengals maybe I'm just lucky lol, I also have a very cuddly chihuahua called Maiko who's always next to me. My main issue I've found is my lap isn't big enough for all 3 of them lmao

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- Sarah
Arya 24/04/16 - Seal Lynx Point Rosetted Bengal
Griffith 16/04/16 - Silver Seal Lynx Point Rosetted Bengal
Mina (in my avatar)- 1999-2016 - Seal Mink Spotted Bengal (Snow) - run free at rainbow bridge

Nala LOVES to cuddle. If I'm sitting anywhere she will hop up and lay in my lap or if I'm laying on my side then she'll cuddle up against me or lay on my side lol.

My first bengal, Natawni, loved to be petted and when she was about 8 years old she was bugging me so I picked her up and placed her on my lap, she at first resisted but I started to give her the best pets and massage and form that day forward she would always jump and sit on my lap.

My 6.5 yr old male, Onyx, is a rescue so he has some anxiety issues and wouldn't let us even touch him for many months. However, if he thought you were asleep he would crawl in the bed and snuggle. Years later now, he loves to be petted but is not a lap cat. He does love to cuddle on the bed though and he wants to be right there with you snuggled up touching you, either curled up against my side or laying on top of me.

Just got a new addition today, Zakira, we picked her out because we were told by the breeder she likes being held and sitting on laps. It has only been 1 day but sure enough... she seeks out laps and does not struggle when being handled. She really seems to love people.

All my cats were older when I got them, maybe around 4-6 months age, Natawni and Zakira were kept longer to see how they developed but then the breeder decided not to keep them and Onyx was a rescue so he was a bit older. This have proven a good method for picking out cats based on temperament instead of their patterns.

Loki is in and out of my lap all day and likes to sleep on my hip when I lay on my side. He LOVES belly rubs and is a little meowing purr machine...on his terms...which lucky for me is a lot. But you can't force him and forget holding him unless expressly transporting him to bed. (we call it a kitten taxi) I had a male friend over who was used to my Siamese cat and he tried to FORCE loki into his lap and hold him there. I guess he figured he could handle one little kitten, dominance or something. Anyway my Loki tore him to SHREDS...Good for you Loki!~

My Koneko loves petting, will often flip his belly up to you as u walk by. But refuses to be held. He also tolerates a harness and will come outside. Working on leash training and car rides. Can't wait to move to florida and toss his ass into the pool! lol Currently we live in Kentucky, no point having a pool here. Too much maintenance for 3 months of swimming. But he does enjoy playing in tubs of water. Hasn't joined me in the shower yet tho.

Oberon is snuggly, next to me on the bed or the recliner, but rarely on my lap. He loves to roll on the bathroom carpet and demand to have his tummy rubbed when I am sitting on the pot.

Sometimes when he is purring and kneading me, he will drool like a St. Bernard. If I move or try to escape the kneading claws, he wraps his large jaw around my wrist as if to say "I am not done with you yet." and "I can hurt you...". But he is very gentle and doesn't actually bite.

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Kuma will lay on my lap, legs, on the couch leaning against my legs or just on the couch. It's really relative to how soon I will need to get up to use the washroom or get a drink. She initially didn't mind being picked up, but has grown either independence from getting carried around, or she's just been picked up too many times by family that just can't resist the urge.

She is extremely affectionate if not downright possessive of her family. When she lays down she will often put a paw on you so you can't sneak away without her knowing. If you are petting her and decide to stop she will grab your hand with both front paws ( sometimes with claws depending on distance :( ) and hold on until you pet her again, although it's more a belly rub at that point.

I wish Raiden were cuddly. He head butts me, but that's only because he wants something. I got him when he was six years old and I'm sure his previous owner did not try snuggling with him. My moggie will lay on my lap and wash my hands and fingers. He will sleep on my husband's lap, but mine isn't big enough for him.

So far Chili loves to be scratched on the head and pet. I can pick her up over my shoulder and scratch her head as well and she doesn’t seem to mind. But won’t cuddle even a little bit. She’s starting to rub up against my legs :) So no, my bengal isn’t very cuddly. Won’t sit on laps or cuddle on the couch beside us.. but we don’t mind :)

So my girl was quite the lap dog when she was a kitten. She still is a kitten, but the lap phase only lasted the first couple of months. She had to nap in someone's lap. About the time she really got comfortable in the new home and realized this was her home, she was done with the lap thing.

She does not enjoy being picked up or held. It's more of a job and something she tolerates vice enjoys.

Those two things aside, she loves attention, is NOT independent, and sleeps at the foot of my bed, or somewhere against my legs every night. Sitting on a couch or anything, she'll come sit by you and hang out, spend time together, but not much for cuddling.

Overall, a pretty darn great balance between super cuddly and independent. But she does thoroughly enjoy being petted, scratched, and rubbed on.

Our black Bengal was affectionate from the start, loves people, but hates little kids, our part Bengal female has always disliked people, but has grown to be very affectionate when she knows the person. They are both 3 1/2 now and have different personalities but I believe their environment has a lot to do with their attitude toward affection as they grow.