Tough decision...

roimata

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As some of you may know, I really like the Bengal breed, I like their energy and I love their look. I used to want a Bengal until someone here told me that they wernt paying enough attention to it and it pulled its fur out or something. I wouldnt want to take the chance of this happening if I were to get a Bengal, but I still loveeeee the Bengal look. Does anyone know if I were to get a Bengal/tabby mix, or a Bengal mixed with something if it would still have that Bengal personality? or can you not predict these things? Because if it still fully has that Bengal personality then thats not a good thing, they require A LOT of attention from what ive read, and of course I can pay my cat alot of attention but I wouldnt want to take chances of it doing something harmful if I cant give it all the attention it needs.

What are your suggestions?
 

ping

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With mixed breed animals its hard to tell what the personality will be like. It could be all over the place. Same goes for looks. Ping is part Siamese. He has the coloration of a mezzer, some of the body type, but personality I think he is all over some mezzer like some not so much.
 

noludoru

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You can't predict the personality... it's a roll of the dice. You have to evaluate each mix as an individual. Some may be in the middle, or at extremes. You never know.

I would say if you are not 100% positive you can give a Bengal the time and exercise it needs not to get one...
 
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roimata

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Originally Posted by noludoru

You can't predict the personality... it's a roll of the dice. You have to evaluate each mix as an individual. Some may be in the middle, or at extremes. You never know.

I would say if you are not 100% positive you can give a Bengal the time and exercise it needs not to get one...
Makes sense
hmm... then is there a cat breed out there that LOOKS close to a Bengal? I also wouldnt want a lazy cat, I want one I can play with, not one who just wants to be lazy and sleep all day, but I also want it to be a lap cat (im picky, obviously LOL) anyone know of a breed that might be right for me?

When I get my own cat, id just like it to be the perfect cat for me, I hope I dont come off as shallow
 

denice

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The ocicat looks a lot like a Bengal. Most are spotted, as a hybrid some are marbled, have ghost spots, or more of the ticking like an Aby which is one of the cats used in the creation of the Ocicat. They are still an active cat that requires attention and stimulation but not as much so as the Bengal.
 

noludoru

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Also, you do't necessarily have to pick a breed.... there are certainly going to be some shelter cats with the markings you're looking for. Tiz (my friend's cat) has almost Bengal-like luminescence.. he is well-marked and has rich coloring. He was a shelter kitty.
 
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roimata

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Originally Posted by noludoru

Also, you do't necessarily have to pick a breed.... there are certainly going to be some shelter cats with the markings you're looking for. Tiz (my friend's cat) has almost Bengal-like luminescence.. he is well-marked and has rich coloring. He was a shelter kitty.
True. Im not too picky with its looks, but if I "HAD" to choose, id pick the Bengal look, but without all that energy. Its important to me to have a lap cat. The family cats are really lazy and you cant play with them and dont like to be on your lap, so they dont really feel connected with me, ive always wanted a lap cat
(btw the family cats arnt fat
)
 

white cat lover

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If you want to be sure of the purr-sonality, pick an adult. It is impossible to know what a kitten's purr-sonlity will be when it grows up. There are often tabby mixes in shelters that have a look similar to a bengal. When you are ready, perhaps you can start to search shelters or petfinder(if you go that route)?
 
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roimata

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Originally Posted by white cat lover

If you want to be sure of the purr-sonality, pick an adult. It is impossible to know what a kitten's purr-sonlity will be when it grows up. There are often tabby mixes in shelters that have a look similar to a bengal. When you are ready, perhaps you can start to search shelters or petfinder(if you go that route)?
One thing I would never do is get an adult, ive wanted a kitten for so long lol. I want to watch it grow and be part of its young life (I raised my own family cat from a kitten). Id rather risk not knowing its personality then get an adult, id feel like I missed out on so much.
 

proudkittiemom

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Originally Posted by Roimata

One thing I would never do is get an adult, ive wanted a kitten for so long lol. I want to watch it grow and be part of its young life (I raised my own family cat from a kitten). Id rather risk not knowing its personality then get an adult, id feel like I missed out on so much.
I understand what you mean, but maybe you should go with an older kitten/ young adult! I have 6 cats, and well 1 I have had since 10 weeks old...and the one I raised since 10 weeks is not cuddley at all...we have are own special bond though
But my bella who found me when she was a year old she is the most cuddliest out of the bunch! Blue now she loves to have fun with her lil sis Stormie but we got Blue at 8 months and she is such a cuddle bug and still loves to play! But this is all my own personal experience!

But like others have said I agree with exploring shelters and petfinder and reading the descriptions..or who knows if you go to a shelter and find ur look then see if you can maybe foster the kittie and see where it goes from there or try to spend some time and see if thats what you want..the right cat will find you sooner or later
!! 6 have managed to find us! At this time last year we had 2...now we have 6
 

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I would suggest looking into Bengal rescue ...
 
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roimata

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Originally Posted by ProudKittieMom

I understand what you mean, but maybe you should go with an older kitten/ young adult! I have 6 cats, and well 1 I have had since 10 weeks old...and the one I raised since 10 weeks is not cuddley at all...we have are own special bond though
But my bella who found me when she was a year old she is the most cuddliest out of the bunch! Blue now she loves to have fun with her lil sis Stormie but we got Blue at 8 months and she is such a cuddle bug and still loves to play! But this is all my own personal experience!

But like others have said I agree with exploring shelters and petfinder and reading the descriptions..or who knows if you go to a shelter and find ur look then see if you can maybe foster the kittie and see where it goes from there or try to spend some time and see if thats what you want..the right cat will find you sooner or later
!! 6 have managed to find us! At this time last year we had 2...now we have 6
Yeah, a year is a BIT old though. Ive put alot of thought into this, its not just "Ooo I want a kitty, theyre so cute!". But I get what you mean. I could tottaly handle a kitten, its not too much for me. Petfinder is good idea, ive been to that site before, they have alot of good options. Id probably end up getting a cat at a local shelter or pet store though, im sure I could easilly find one I like.
 

white cat lover

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Originally Posted by Roimata

Yeah, a year is a BIT old though.
I know you probably didn't mean it this way, but a year is NOT old! A year means you are making a 19 year committment rather than a 20 year committment. I get upset when people come into the HS here who have no thought through the kitten thing(which you have) & insist that a kitten is what they want....not wholly thinking through how long they will have the cat for.

Just be sure though, that you are prepared for a kitty who may not like to be touched or held. My only cat I've had since a kitten hates to be touched, bites, & attacks people. She was the sweetest of the litter. Just be prepared, I know you would be upset if a kitten did not turn out how you expected, but if you have broad expectations, things can be better. And I have no doubt in my mind that you will love a kitty regardless.
 
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roimata

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Originally Posted by white cat lover

I know you probably didn't mean it this way, but a year is NOT old! A year means you are making a 19 year committment rather than a 20 year committment. I get upset when people come into the HS here who have no thought through the kitten thing(which you have) & insist that a kitten is what they want....not wholly thinking through how long they will have the cat for.

Just be sure though, that you are prepared for a kitty who may not like to be touched or held. My only cat I've had since a kitten hates to be touched, bites, & attacks people. She was the sweetest of the litter. Just be prepared, I know you would be upset if a kitten did not turn out how you expected, but if you have broad expectations, things can be better. And I have no doubt in my mind that you will love a kitty regardless.
LOL of course 1 year isnt old, I ment it by "I want a cat less than a year old". I know cats live for a LONGGG time, ive owned my cat for about 13 years (we found a litter of kittens under my grandmas house, I got to pick 1 and I choose Sweetpea
). I might seem stubborn in wanting a young cat, but im confident in my decision, even if the cat doesnt grow up how I expected, I wont love it any less.

Thats why I wanted someone to perhaps suggest a breed, or something. Like tell me what cat is generally playfull, and known to be lap cats and are good with people....
 

white cat lover

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Originally Posted by Roimata

LOL of course 1 year isnt old, I ment it by "I want a cat less than a year old". I know cats live for a LONGGG time, ive owned my cat for about 13 years (we found a litter of kittens under my grandmas house, I got to pick 1 and I choose Sweetpea
). I might seem stubborn in wanting a young cat, but im confident in my decision, even if the cat doesnt grow up how I expected, I wont love it any less.
I knew you had an older kitty, so figured you had an idea of what you were getting in to. Might I suggest, if you go the route of a kitten, that if you are financially able to, get two kittens are once? I've got my two foster boys, PJ & Punky, who entertain each other rather than use my face to entertain themselves!


When you see "your kitty" you will know, trust me.
 
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roimata

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Originally Posted by white cat lover

I knew you had an older kitty, so figured you had an idea of what you were getting in to. Might I suggest, if you go the route of a kitten, that if you are financially able to, get two kittens are once? I've got my two foster boys, PJ & Punky, who entertain each other rather than use my face to entertain themselves!


When you see "your kitty" you will know, trust me.
2 kittens? is that nessicary? When I got my cat, we didnt introduce another cat into the picture for years. I really only wanted to start out with 1 cat. I know I wont mind if the kitten bugs me....believe me, thats what I WANT it to do LOL (im weird).

oh, and yes, im sure when I see "my kitty" it will be love at first sight!
 

white cat lover

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From what I've seen from adoptions here in almost 2 years, when people adopt 2 kittens at once, the kittens are much better socially. They are more "mentally stable". They learn kitty manners better, too. I guess, for the health of the kitten(s), I always reccomend 2 at once. (My main reasoning is for the kitten's sake, not necessarily the humans!
)

But, you have to be able to care for two at once. If you get a kitten & already have an adult, sometimes that works, too.
 

proudkittiemom

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Originally Posted by white cat lover

From what I've seen from adoptions here in almost 2 years, when people adopt 2 kittens at once, the kittens are much better socially. They are more "mentally stable". They learn kitty manners better, too. I guess, for the health of the kitten(s), I always reccomend 2 at once. (My main reasoning is for the kitten's sake, not necessarily the humans!
)

But, you have to be able to care for two at once. If you get a kitten & already have an adult, sometimes that works, too.
Man u type to quick for me


But anywho...we didnt plan on getting 2 kittens let alone a total of 6 cats
but anywho..The kittens are best friends here, its always good to because when you are at work and what not then they have some one to play with and everything! And well out of our 2 kittnes, they still come spend individual time with meowmy, and they love their own time as well
 
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roimata

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Originally Posted by white cat lover

From what I've seen from adoptions here in almost 2 years, when people adopt 2 kittens at once, the kittens are much better socially. They are more "mentally stable". They learn kitty manners better, too. I guess, for the health of the kitten(s), I always reccomend 2 at once. (My main reasoning is for the kitten's sake, not necessarily the humans!
)

But, you have to be able to care for two at once. If you get a kitten & already have an adult, sometimes that works, too.
Thats something to keep in mind. I had my heart set on only getting 1 cat, but I guess I have to do whats best for it..hmm
 

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Roimata, I'm not sure which type of Bengal you were most interested in, but Siamese/tabby mixes do bear some resemblance to snow spotted or snow leopard Bengals. And you'll find a lot of those mixes at Petfinder.com, as well as at local shelters. Their markings will be very faint when they're kittens, and they may be pure white at birth, but by the time they're old enough to adopt, faint traces of the spots and stripes will be showing up.

I wasn't aware of the resemblance myself until a few years ago when someone who saw a photo of my Frosty, a Siamese/tabby mix who'd been abandoned by a bike trail when she was about ten days old in October 1991, asked if she was a Bengal. At the time I had no idea what Bengals looked like, but I checked out a lot of sites and soon understood the question. She has similar markings and eye color, and even has a temperament similar to that of Bengals. (She also has an unusually thick, strong tail, which I read somewhere was typical of Bengals, and she was an amazingly strong cat for her size when she was younger; she's thinner now, hyperthyroid.)

I'm going to post links to some photos of Frosty below, and you'll see two of my cats who are now at Rainbow Bridge in some of those pictures. Those cats and their relationship with Frosty are why I agree with the recommendations that if you adopt a kitten, you should adopt two -- ideally littermates, but even kittens close to the same age should bond like littermates.

My older cat, Sinbad (a female cat despite the name), was five years old when we rescued Frosty, and she was entertained by that tiny kitten but not the least bit interested in mothering her or even cuddling with her.

Thank God another kitten appeared a couple weeks later, crying for help in the middle of the night. Her momcat was a feral cat I'd never been able to catch or tame, but that night the kitten was afraid to follow her momcat through snowdrifts after an early winter storm, and I was able to catch the kitty and bring her in and she turned into a very contented, self-assured housecat in about 24 hours.

And Tiger bonded instantly with Frosty, and they were as close as littermates all their lives. The last two pix of them together were taken 13 years after the first, just weeks before Tiger went to the Bridge (she'd been diagnosed with untreatable cancer of the jaw by then, went to the Bridge a few weeks after the diagnosis).

I believe it helped Frosty immensely to have Tiger there. I know it saddened and puzzled her when she'd follow Sinbad around, copying her a lot of the time, but generally being ignored by her.

The links to the photos are below.

Cindy

Frosty's first baby pic

Baby Frosty with Sinbad

Frosty and Tiger as kittens

Frosty grooming Tiger when they were 13 years old

Frosty napping with Tiger, when they were 13

Frosty at 14 - this shows her markings pretty well

And one of my favorite photos of Frosty, taken two years ago; she was named Frosty because she literally sparkled in sunlight, as if her fur had been frosted
 
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