Our Bengal cats

In My Humble Opinion
1

Always enjoy reading the threads about cats. We have had innumerable cats over the years, all rescued from shelters or given by friends. When we retired, swore would not be tied down by pets, but that only lasted about a year until we saw some Bengal cats. These guys are bred from the wild Asian Leopard Cat in India, Burma, etc and often an Egyptian Mau or other spotted cat.

They usually are either spotted or “marbled” or a third color called Snow Leopard, almost white with spots. They are amazing guys, loads of fun, and the first ones we ever actually bought (from breeder).

These guys are only five generations away from the wild cat, so are a bit standoffish with strangers, but follow us everywhere, even though they don’t like to be picked up.

As their ancestors came from India, we named them Zubin and Mehta. :slight_smile: Zubin, the spotted guy is 15 lbs and Mehta, who is marbled, is only 13 lbs. Mehta hardly ever meows, but Zubin is a non-stop talker.

Zubin looks much like a bobcat. Some people call them Livingroom Leopards.

Should you want to see some pics, go (link removed - TYM)

2

Sadly, your link doesn’t work.

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Perhaps because I just set it up, and forgot to check “Shared” so you could see them, you think? :smack: :smack:

Just did that, so you may want to try again. Sorry 'bout 'dat.

4

Hmmm, on second look, it begins to seem as though these pics can only be shared by somebody whose email address I list, or through IM. That makes the site useless, so sorry if it does not work.

If this is the case, perhaps the moderator will be kind enough to delete this post all together. Thanks.

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It’s not taking me to your album, I think it takes each person to their own album if they have a Yahoo! album. Can you try a different site maybe, like ImageShack or strike9.com?

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Yes, please fix the link! I’d love to see your Bengals!

They’re on my list of ‘breeds I’d like to own one day’.

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Thanks for those links, will try to set up there, as obviously you are right about Yahoo not working.

Will let you know if can get that done.

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Why not leave this thread open, and answer questions about your lovely pet’s temperaments and care? :wink: Then if you can get the photos posted elsewhere you can just come back here and post them! :smiley:

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I’ve removed the link as you requested, but I’m going to leave the thread open, as there seem to be some folks who have opinions on Bengal cats.

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Thanks, I followed one suggestion to try to post to ImageShack, so put one picture there, and will see if that works. If it does, I’ll add some more pics.

Try http://img455.imageshack.us/img455/9770/twocats1rt.th.jpg]this

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It’s a little small, but they are gorgeous!!

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I sooo want Bengals. But my two tabbies are just about the limit for my poor hubby. I think they are beautiful. A few questions, if you don’t mind.

I read that they were illegal. Or maybe I’m misremembering and only 1st gens are. Or maybe I’m talking out of a dark, smelly recess of my body. Anybody got the SD on the legality of these beauties?

I also read that they are pretty mean. Sort of like Siamese, only worse. And they do not do well with other cats. Does anyone have the skinny?

I should mention I’m talking about the U.S.

P.S. Look at the lovelies for adoption in Australia. Soooo pretty.

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Here’s a site that answers some of my questions.

Yeah, I can google with the best of 'em. Still, I’d love some first hand info and anecdote.

.

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They’re not illegal in the U.S. - one of the lawyers here in town has a pair, and they are beautiful! They seemed very sweet, also, although it’s kind of hard to get an accurate gauge of a cat’s temperment when they are at the vet’s office.

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They’re gorgeous!

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Heavens, no. They are a recognized breed and are becomming more common now even it cat shows. There are breeders almost everywhere now. They are not cheap, however, and can cost in the thousands. However, most breeders will sell one at a “pet price” of far less if you agree to have them fixed and never to show them. In our case, the breeder would not provide the papers until we got the certificate from the vet that they had been neutered.

I’ve know many Bengals, and they vary as much as any cat as far as how affectionate they are, but they are absoluely wonderful house cats, and never heard of a mean one. You may be getting them mixed up with some other breed (mountain lions? :smiley: ).

They have some unusual characteristics such as liking water. They will come right in the shower with me, and when my wife takes a bath, they love to sit on the edge of the tub and paw the water, and even drink it, as hot as it is.

The standard states that even if marbled, they all have spots on their tummies, the bottoms of their feet are always black, and they always have a black tip at the end of their tails. They are built like a lot of wild cats with their back end higher than the front, so it looks like they are going downhill. :slight_smile:

Of the dozens and dozens of cats we have had over the years (at one point we ran out of names, so started calling some of them Cat A, Cat B, etc), these are absolutely the best of all, very funny, they fight and chase each other through the house at top speed (killy stampede) and are a real hoot.

If you have any specific question, post 'em and will try to answer, but there is a wealth of info about them on the 'Net.

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My family has two Bengals, though sadly I’m not in the same city as them at the moment. When it comes to people, they are two of the biggest puffballs I’ve ever met. I don’t think I’ve ever seen either of them even snap at somebody, and you have to really piss them off for them to claw at you in anger. They have been known to lie in wait in high places and launch sneak attacks at people’s heads for fun however, but that’s just play and they’re as likely as not to have their claws retracted when doing it. They can be fairly mean with each other and with other cats though.

They’re also extraordinarily friendly with strangers. They appear to believe that everybody loves them, and I’ve actually seen the one guy chasing people down the street trying to get attention. Unfortunately, because of their size and appearance they do scare some people, and I’m firmly convinced that somebody seeing Bilbo wandering through their backyard was the source of a cougar sighting a few blocks from my parents’ place last month.

Here’s a couple of photos of Bilbo, plus a couple of Mungo, including one where he’s having fun in the water. Mungo isn’t really an accepted colour for the breed, since he’s grey and his spots don’t show up all that well, but we like him anyway.

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I waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaant one!!!

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Geoff posted the thumbnails of his hi-res pics.

Here’s the hi-res version:
http://img455.imageshack.us/img455/9770/twocats1rt.jpg

I wish I could get a cat, but I live with someone who’s allergic.

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I used to have one. I had to give him up – he went to a breed rescue. I miss him.

I forget exactly what his coloring was called, but he was a rare one; one of the snows, though. Absolutely beautiful cat.

He was a bit free with his claws and was easily overstimulated (a couple of pets will do, but he loved those couple of pets) but was a fun kitty. He was essentially a pet store rescue so who knows about his breeding but Cloud was great.

I miss my kitty.