Any have cats here? We are picking up our Bengal next Month

[Tyson1980]

I've never been a cat person, but the wife wanted one.

We went to view a litter and to be honest i think they are alright. But the wife fell for one of them straight away...

She is currently scouring the net and spending money on cat trees amongst other things. Blood expensive business in all honesty...!

Here is a pic of Tyson. We picked him as he really was the runt of the litter, and had a bit of independence about him..



I called him Tyson, as his father was the biggest cat i had ever laid eyes on.

[choptop]

Unfortunately they do not stay that cute for long. Hope you have a deep pocket.

[vixen1700]

Cats are great, full of weird and wonderful behavioural traits and each have their very different personalities.

[911motorsport]

Would love a Bengal! Mind if I ask how much?

[Lost soul]

choptop said:

Unfortunately they do not stay that cute for long. Hope you have a deep pocket.

? do they develope a cocain habit or something

[Tyson1980]

911motorsport said:

Would love a Bengal! Mind if I ask how much?

Hi,

He cost us £395. He is from champion stock, his father was a grand champion and the mother was a champion also.

We are also considering going to a shelter to pick him up a friend as he may get lonely...

Last week we found out that both his mother and father and two other cats had been nicked from the breeders house whilst they were out. To say she was devastated is an understatement...

[mazdajason]

1st thing, just make sure you get him insured. A few jabs at the vets and there goes nearly a months wages.
We've got a 13 year Tonkinese cat, he's on 3 tablets a day to control an overactive thyroid and kidney problems. We got him 3 years ago and because of his age couldnt get insurance so now vert pills and prescriptions we have to pay for. They will bring you hours of entertainment though so best of luck with the critter

[blueg33]

We have 2 Bengals, they are great cats. As kittens and as adults they need lots of playing with. They are fast and characterful, lots like water, one of ours regularly gets in the bath with our daughter.

Make sure his heart has been checked out and get him chipped and insured. One of ours was ill last month and vets bills were over £1000!

He looks lovely, they look fuzzy for a few months then his coat and spots will really shine through. Expect his colouring to darken up.

Handle him lots as if they are not handled they can be a bit unfriendly (our vet has gauntlets to use when treating some people's Bengals)

Dont let him out until he is vaery familiar with the house etc and then the first outings are best on a harness (not a lead on a collar)

We keep ours in for the first 3 months.

Enjoy him, and post pics on the thread "Its caturday, post your cats"
Clicky

My two are both on there.

Edited by blueg33 on Tuesday 10th May 14:29

[911motorsport]

Tyson1980 said:

911motorsport said:

Would love a Bengal! Mind if I ask how much?

Hi,

He cost us £395. He is from champion stock, his father was a grand champion and the mother was a champion also.

We are also considering going to a shelter to pick him up a friend as he may get lonely...

Last week we found out that both his mother and father and two other cats had been nicked from the breeders house whilst they were out. To say she was devastated is an understatement...

That's a good price for a cat of that pedigree. Beautiful little fella. I'm toying with the idea of getting one but I worry about it getting stolen.

[blueg33]

911motorsport said:

That's a good price for a cat of that pedigree. Beautiful little fella. I'm toying with the idea of getting one but I worry about it getting stolen.

I wouldnt have one in a town or city, we live in the Country so its fine although one was killed by a car last year.

We paid £400 for F4 boys and last year £750 for an F3 girl.

Its important to choose the right breeder, one that handles the cats and brings them up in a home environment.

[Tyson1980]

911motorsport said:

That's a good price for a cat of that pedigree. Beautiful little fella. I'm toying with the idea of getting one but I worry about it getting stolen.

Aye, i am the same...

But we will make sure that when we do let him out, he is never out of our sight.

Forget the worrying, just do it...Despite my original post i am kinda looking forward to having some life in the house. Myself and the wife live in a house which is really too large for two people in all honesty. And it can get lonely..

The guy will be doted on no end!

[Tyson1980]

mazdajason said:

1st thing, just make sure you get him insured. A few jabs at the vets and there goes nearly a months wages.
We've got a 13 year Tonkinese cat, he's on 3 tablets a day to control an overactive thyroid and kidney problems. We got him 3 years ago and because of his age couldnt get insurance so now vert pills and prescriptions we have to pay for. They will bring you hours of entertainment though so best of luck with the critter

Hi,


can you recommend decent insurers??? I would be most grateful..

In all honesty my wife probably has this all covered, but it would be good to get any opinions...

[blueg33]

Tyson1980 said:

Hi,


can you recommend decent insurers??? I would be most grateful..

In all honesty my wife probably has this all covered, but it would be good to get any opinions...

Saisbury's for us, and they have been great. For Vertigo they pay out about £100 pa for his heart and just paid £1000 for his liver infection, they also paid out immediately when Zebedee was killed.

Check policies for claim limits in particular.

[mazdajason]

No sorry I cant recommend any insurers as ours isn't insured! Have a look next time you are in the vet or ask the receptionist about any good insurers they know of. Hopefully cats aren't as har dto insure as cars are..

[Marf]

Lost soul said:

choptop said:

Unfortunately they do not stay that cute for long. Hope you have a deep pocket.

? do they develope a cocain habit or something

[IainT]

blueg33 said:

We have 2 Bengals, they are great cats.

This is, IMVHO, the correct multiple that cats should be gained in! A single Bengal will get bored an into trouble - they're bad enough when they have playmates!

We had two brothers from kittens (an awesomely entertaining period in a cat's life) and lost one of them to anti-freeze poisoning so, to prevent lonely-cat syndrome, got two new kittens.


I'd reccommend the OP to consider a sibling to keep Tyson company.

[Tyson1980]

IainT said:

This is, IMVHO, the correct multiple that cats should be gained in! A single Bengal will get bored an into trouble - they're bad enough when they have playmates!

We had two brothers from kittens (an awesomely entertaining period in a cat's life) and lost one of them to anti-freeze poisoning so, to prevent lonely-cat syndrome, got two new kittens.


I'd reccommend the OP to consider a sibling to keep Tyson company.

Me and the wife have spoken at length about this. We are both for it. However, is it really essential????

My heart say's yes. But my head say's no..

Double the potential trouble, double mess, double smell, double cost. We are new to cats, i'm worried we might be taking to much on?

Maybe i'm being a bit facetious here? When we went to see him and his siblings on our third visit to bond with him. It was amazing watching them all bounce off one another.

I think we are going to get another Bengal. It will be a sibling from another litter though, Tysons father remaining the same but the mother being a different parent. Hell with it!

Edited by Tyson1980 on Tuesday 10th May 16:05

[Marf]

Yay! Two makes it so much more fun.

Like you say, watching them bound around together, pouncing on one another etc is great.

[IainT]

Tyson1980 said:

I think we are going to get another Bengal. It will be a sibling from another litter though, Tysons father remaining the same but the mother being a different parent. Hell with it!

You're definately option for a tougher route taking two at different times - depending on the age gap.

Cats grow up fast and certainly get set in their ways quickly and the introduction of a new cat into an existing cat's domain can be anything between simple and impossible. Depending on the cat.

If you can do it with two litter-mates there is nothign to do and they'll help each other adapt to their new home.

If you add the second kitten later on there's a very good chance the older kitten will not see it as sibling, just as another cat. Possibly a friend, possibly a threat.

Introducing our two kittens (Pip and Lily) to our existing cat (Link, 7 at the time) took two weeks of total separation and then another week of gradual introduction. The older cat barely tolerated the kittens for months until, totally out of the blue, Lily walked up to Link and curled up on top of him, got a few groom-licks and they both went to sleep. A few weeks later and we found all three in a heap on a bed. All-in-all it took about 6 months for them to become a 'family'.

It's much easier from the start.


As for should you have two... some cats are perfectly happy being solitary, some even prefer it but Bengals are highly active (get used to interrupted sleep) and from what we've seen having multiple cats will help keep them alert and playful.

When we lost Max we were unsure about getting company for Link but he became very very lethargic and quite listless. Slept more than normal and started to gain weight. He was also more needy than normal and that's saying something - Bengals tend to demand your attention.

Now he's a different cat - plays like a kitten, is alert and lean.

[okgo]

Get two.

We were in the same boat as you about 2 months ago and ended up listening to the breeder and buying two, having said that I didn't have £1500 to spend on cats so we ended up getting two that were 6 months old for a steal (in comparison) and they DO keep each other entertained, and I'm sure if they got bored in the day when we're not there without the mate they would have destroyed my flat.

Great cats though, ours took a little longer to come round to us as they have lived in a cattery for longer, but now they're happy they're fantstic.

If you do get two, then two males is the best combo, failing that a male and a female (all same litters). Make sure the female is chopped before it starts calling, Bengals calling is a HORRID noise, they're much louder than other cats. Ours jumped out the window the other day (not meant to go outside) and hid in a bush and started making the most horrendous noise, a crowd gathered outside our flat and rang the doorbell as they were worried it was dying, it was just scared.