Read This First Before Buying A Bengal Cat.
It’s an important question, “Who should own a Bengal cat?” I try to answer it each time I receive a call from someone interested in owning a Bengal.
I don’t try to dissuade anyone from buying a Bengal. It’s a matter of setting expectations. But let’s just get right to what people don’t realize they are getting into so you can decide if you will be happy with owning a Bengal cat. And yes, most people want a Bengal kitten, not an adult Bengal cat, but they all become adults. So here we go.
WHAT IS BAD ABOUT BENGAL CATS?
They say one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, so what some may find bad about Bengals, you may find awesome.
#1 bengals are not quiet
Do you like a quiet home? A Bengal may not be for you then.
Bengals are all kinds of talkative.
Sure, you may have owned a cat that meows at dinner. Bengal meowing is far beyond the kind of meowing of most any other cat.
To begin, Bengal cats take advantage of the fact that cats can’t wear out their vocal cords. If a Bengal cat wants something, anything — it will meow incessantly. This isn’t hyperbole. A Bengal will keep it up until you figure out what it wants, and it gets it. But more than that, your Bengal isn’t a typical cat. It’s louder. It’s more pronounced. It has a character to it’s meow that it seems to understand is… ‘annoying’. It’s almost an art. They meow in a manner to emphasize the aspect of annoyance.
Okay. Yes, they give up in time. Using dinner time as a, for instance, if your Bengal is one that chooses not to stare at you and wait, but rather talk to you — it will meow for a solid ten minutes even if you leave the room. If it’s genuinely hungry, it will follow you and meow.
What’s best to understand is that it’s not the simply that Bengals will attempt to meow with emphasis, it’s that Bengals talk a lot in general.
Your Bengal cat may be walking down an empty hallway, sit down and begin to wail. It borders on a painful sounding caterwaul. It’s loud and it will wake you from a dead sleep. Why this happens is often a mystery. I’ve avoided it for the most part. I hope to think it has to do with socialization as a kitten. To this end, I consider a selling point for my cats. But there are no guarantees.
#2 bengal cats are active
Here again, you may think this applies to any cat. Sure. Kid yourself. Bengals are not merely active, they are smart. Combine those two characteristics and you have the makings of a movie.
And still, you think every cat has these ‘qualities’. Can a ragdoll or siamese cat jump atop a six-foot-high refrigerator from a sitting position? A Bengal cat can do that and more. The good news, a little training goes a long way. My Bengals know what they can jump on, and what they can’t. I’ve taught them through word association and some negative reinforcement such as a scat mat. My point is that while Bengal cats are energetic, they are trainable and can be good housemates.
Of course, an active fun cat is ideal for families with kids. Young kids counterbalance the Bengal’s energy level.
WHAT IS good ABOUT BENGAL CATS?
Everything that’s bad about a Bengal for some prospective pet owners is good for others. Bengals will answer you quite often when you talk to them. That interaction is beautiful and you develop a bond that feels almost human.
For all their bouncing around, they can pick you up when in you are in the worst of sad moods. Bengals seem to truly know if you feel down. When I went through a tough spell, PixieCat would bring objects to me to throw for her. She did this without a prompt. It was endearing to be find myself looking down in a somber mood, and from what seemed out of nowhere she walks up and drops a bottle cap near my lap. I tossed it and she brought it back again and again. Many have told me similar stories, and of course not all sad like this one. Bengal cats are not supercats with super mental abilities, but they undoubtedly have some special qualities that set them apart from most other cats.
