Calling All Bengal Owners

[seffieuk]

I adore my two bengals and boy are they funny - they seem to have only two gears, manic or asleep!

Would love to hear from other bengal owners......especially their stories and behaviour traits

One of my boys puts his paw in his water bowl as if he is making sure there is nothing floating on the top (must be a throw back to the wild leopard cat, ensuring the stream had no bits in when they drank?)

My other boy, who is sadly not with us anymore, used to play catch with anything you would throw for him, he also loved playing fetch.

I don't let my boys out anymore, they just don't seem to have any road sense at all - that's how i lost my Barney , he had a road accident, vet said to me it wasn't fair to keep them in.....so stupidly i followed his advice.......result, one dead boy!

I actually have three bengals - but one is so besotted by my other half and hates my boys, not keen on me either......very dog like behaviour

Do yours meet you at the door when you come home?

so, traits and stories PLEASE, can't wait to hear them - wonder how many people on here have Bengals?

 

[Flagfin]

Hya - where do you start with Bengal stories! The first word that springs to mind is hooligan (can't repeat the others!).

I also lost one of mine to the road, I called her in for tea and wham - right in front of me - instant. My vet actually recommended not letting them out as they are so thick with roads but I can't bear young cats locked in (only my personal opinion, i'm NOT saying it's wrong). One of the vet nurses used to put hers in a carry case and set it next to the road when they were babies to make sure they were terrified of the road - seems nasty but she hasn't lost one to the road, I have.

I have kept all sorts of cats for years but there's something that sets Bengals apart. Mine meet me at the door and can recognise my partners squeaky brakes when he pulls in.

They can open the cupboard and get their own crunchies out.
I have fished them out of a fish tank twice!
The male is obsessed with cuddly toys and pinches them from next doors garden, I have to check our garden then return them! (how embarrasing)
They shout at you at the kitchen tap so they can drink from it
As I get out of the bath they slide in with their back legs hanging over the edge then just sort of let themselves go - they are obsessed with water and are totally under my feet on water change day.
They charge along the ceiling beams which are 25 foot high in the living room (terrifies me)
One chewed through a filter pipe which resulted in 100 litres of salt water on the floor before I woke up
They cost me £300 of my deposit when I moved out of a rented house (carpets, curtains - destroyed)
One got between the floorboards when we were having work done - result: re-do work after removing cat

I could go on (and on!) but don't want to hog the thread

 

[seffieuk]

Oh please do go on, it makes great reading

Mine have also spent time in the fish tank, Billy went head first in when he was a kitten, bet the fish got a shock and Alfie also went in head first but did the most amazing balancing act on the side to get himself out - all in a split second.

If i go to the loo, Alfie sits on the side of the bath and shouts at me - he is only happy when i turn the tap on

 

[alessasavoca]

I'm very sorry as my two are not bengals although I would love one!! They are siamese but some of their traits are quite similar.

My little baby JJ who had to be put to sleep at 3 years old (heart murmur complication that caused paralysis of his back legs and tail ) used to open the fridge and give the dogs 'hush money' ham so he could help himself and not be disturbed. In the end we had a child lock on the fridge and whenever he found there was no way to open the fridge he would go around the kitchen opening every cupboard in protest! RIP little man.

The current gruesome twosome, Neo and Basil are a law unto themselves. Neo loves to talk to anybody, it's quite funny as you can have a full blown conversation if you meow at him. He also plays with my guitars with his teeth and tongue, he's well on his way to being the next Brian May lol.

We have a rope banister going up the stairs and Neo will shimmy along it upside down (like a squirrel) then swing himself round so he's upright at the top and open the door into the spare bedroom by pressing his paws down and leaning on it.

Basil has a funny way of sitting since he shattered his elbow (he was hit by our next door neighbour's car, since that incident we have only had house cats) but he puts his good leg up on the arm of the sofa and leans on it, he looks very human like when he does that!

Lastly, at christmas time the tree REALLY suffers. Basil makes himself a nest underneath it, using any wrapping paper as bedding, and Neo insists on climbing up it! It's a 7ft artificial tree and it's quite difficult even for me at 5ft9 to try to coax him down!

 

[dulce]

Orientals are just full of characters arent they our bengal tom does various things like:

lunging at your ankles and biting and kicking if you walk past him without stoking him (be is a big cat to lunge!!)
growling like a nutter if our chuihuahua even looks at him from a distance
plays fetch with a thimble
insisting on staying in the bed while you make it then clawing you from under the covers
running into a window ledge where birds sit as there is a feeder nearby
mauling ANYTHING vaguely stringy

they certainly are a handful !!!

 

[alessasavoca]

that's something I forgot! Neo plays fetch with the little triangular foundation sponges you can buy. He loves them!

 

[seffieuk]

excellent stories - just what i needed after a hard day

Alfie, my little baby snow bengal talks all the time - he gets louder and louder until you talk to him back then he starts a sort of chattering noise, it's very funny. talking of chattering noise, my two boys make the most odd noise at birds out in the garden - didn't know what it was when i first heard it

 

[Flagfin]

Hya

Mine chatter at the birds as well (and butterflies and leaves). I saw one of them sitting on the back fence and wouldn't come in when called - went over to get him and found that he was talking to the neighbour on the other side while they were weeding the garden!

Alessasavoca - so sorry to hear of your three yr old - it's heartbreaking. One of ours is - believe it or not - half siamese half bengal not sure which traits he has the most of - somedays I think he's a spotty siamese and others I think he's a skinny Bengal!

as for making the bed...Grrrr. We have a little rescued queen (spent the first 15 months of her life in a four foot cage). She was easier when she was timid - now she decides it's time to get up, stands on her back legs, shoves her front legs under the covers and proceeds to rip my feet apart - NOT a good start to the day. Yesterday she pinched all the cheese of my other half's rivita - I have to admit I had far more fun watching her do that than telling him what was happening!

 

[alessasavoca]

talking of chattering both Neo and Basil do that- they have a cat tower by the french windows and they sit on the highest platform chattering (very wierd noise compared to their usual howl) and pawing the glass.

When Neo gets cold he lifts up the duvet and climbs underneath with you, putting his head on the pillow and stretching out so it's easy to hug him. He also talks in his sleep sometimes and snores....typical man!!

Another thing he likes to do is look up ladies skirts....something I've never quite understood but he's one funny cat! Yours all sound lovely!

Basil looks quite similar to the Bengal in Bloo's avatar, he's a Chocolate tabby point siamese but they have similar markings and the same strikingly blue eyes...