Thinking About a Bengal Kitten?
Thinking about adding a Bengal kitten to your family? As an experienced Bengal breeder in California with over 25 years of hands-on experience, I want you to know exactly what you’re signing up for. Bengal cats are beautiful, intelligent, athletic, and highly social—but they are not the right fit for every home.
Free Time
Do you have the time to actively play with your new Bengal? Bengals are a high energy breed; they need daily activity. This stimulation can come from either a high-energy feline playmate or a committed human companion. If your Bengal has a high energy playmate, it will demand less of you. When playing with your Bengal, you really need to wear it out and mimic a hunt. Read more about how to appropriately play with your Bengal here.
Bengals are also intelligent cats. Their mind needs to be worked as much as their body. Any form of training such as harness training or clicker training will be beneficial to your cat. We go over many ways in which you can exercise your cat’s mind in our article Mind Games for Bengals Cats. Are you will to offer your cat mental stimulation?
Bengals are highly social cats. For this reason, we are reluctant to place kittens into a home where there are no other pets unless there is a human companion who is home most of the time. Most Bengals are not happy being left home alone with no one to play with. If you have a home with no other pets, we will write into your contract that a second pet is the quickest fix should your Bengal have any depressive or destructive behaviors because its physical, mental, and social needs aren’t being met. You need to understand that if the Bengal cat is your only pet, the dema<figure class=nds on you to interact with the cat will be very high.
Housing/ Material Objects
Renters often find it both difficult and expensive to own pets. Do you see a move in your future? If so, will your Bengal Cat be able to move with you? It is important that you are secure in your living situation before bringing a pet into your life.
Are you willing to make adjustments to your home to help meet the needs of your cat? Are you open to creating a cat superhighway around your house, building a catio? Bengals will leave your furniture alone if you offer them their own furniture and make their furniture more appealing to them than your own. If you have doubts about space or are unsure of how to make your space cat-friendly, please read our article on how to use the space in your home.
Raw Feeding
All of our cats are raw fed as are most Bengals from other responsible breeders. We do not raw feed because they are Bengal cats. We raw feed because they are cats and a balanced raw diet is the best diet for any cat. On our Raw Feeding page, we provide options depending on how involved you want to be. We recommend any inexperienced raw feeder purchase a premade raw before jumping in and making their own. You will experience resistance from some veterinarians. Keep in mind that these are people whose education in nutrition has been funded by Purina, Science Diet, and Hills and they make money from recommending raw. They are also the people who see the cats who are not fed a BALANCED raw diet.
Veterinary Care
As all animal lovers know, when these cats enter our lives, they become one of the family. Just as one would never deny a sick child medical care, a sick kitten should have access to good medical care as well. Cats can live up to twenty years. Over the course of two decades, it is likely you’ll end up at the vet for something other than a routine check-up. Are you financially ready and able to ensure quality health care for your Bengal cat? Pet Insurance is an option many people are choosing. You may want to look into a quote from Healthy Paws. You do get a discounted quote when using our link.
If you are going to be looking for a veterinarian we have two recommendations that are not exactly fool-proof, but they go a long way to helping you narrow down the search. First, search your local area for a vet who practices both eastern and western forms of medicine. You may never use the eastern forms of medicine, but finding a vet who practices them means that vet’s mind is open to more than one solution to a problem. That vet is a thinker. Next, see how hard you are pushed to give your cat the Feline Leukemia vaccine. That vaccine is not universally the best option for all cats. If the vet you go to heavily pushes it for cats who are not at a high risk of being bitten by or mating with a stray cat, then the vet is prioritizing profit above your cat’s health.
Declawing
We are opposed to declawing as we have seen the negative effects it causes. Declawing causes more problems than it solves as it often results in depression, biting, and inappropriate elimination. For this reason, we do have a clause in our contract that does not allow any cat purchased from us to be declawed. If you are thinking of declawing, please do your research as most first world countries have made it illegal. Do not buy a kitten from us if declawing is something you’d consider.
Allergies
Many people believe that those with cat allergies are not allergic to the Bengal cat. Is this true? It depends. One would need to test out their sensitivity to Bengal cats specifically. We explain exactly why Bengals are considered to be a hypoallergenic breed and what you can do to reduce the allergens in your home in our article Are Bengals Hypoallergenic?
Read More about Buying from Quality Bengal Kittens
Why Buy from Quality Bengal Kittens?
Purchasing from Quality Bengal Kittens
Preparing for a Quality Bengal Kitten
The Difference between Pet, Breed, and Show
We’ve also started a blog about Bengal cat health, nutrition, behavior, and care. You may find helpful information on our BLOG.
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Still Haven’t Decided if a Bengal cat is for You?
Below are countless articles we have written which have mostly been inspired by questions we are asked. If you are still contemplating the decision to bring a Bengal cat into your home, read through some these articles to see if Bengal ownership sunds like fun or sounds like too much repsonsisbility.