You Don't Know Hell Until You Live With a Bengal Cat

Have you heard of these things? I'm sure you have. Bengals are designer cats, created from cross-breeding an Asian Wild Cat, yes, an actual wild animal with domestic cats. The goal was to create a house kitty with the exotic coat of their wild ancestors but with the "sure I'll live with humans as long as they feed me" personality of domestic cats.

The first two generations carry too many wild characteristics to live in your household as pets. They were beautiful but destructive. The males were sterile leaving only the females to breed with domestic studs. Generation three was more tolerable and generation four started settling down to proper "housecatness." When they were an unrecognized breed, different breeders tried various cat breeds to interbreed with the Bengals, though now that the breed is established, only Bengal to Bengal breeding is allowed.

Up until recently, only cats with the signature spots of the Bengals, dark outline with lighter color inside, were considered for show. But some breeders gained an interest in marbled Bengals, hence the newest addition to our household, Twix.

This is Twix at an estimated six months old. See, we don't know who Twix's parents were, or where he came from. He got trapped in my son's garden shed, and only because my son was moving to a new location was Twix found. His eyes were still blue, so he was about six weeks at the time.

We knew something was different about him. For one thing, he didn't act like a normal kitten. There were those markings, of course, but he didn't have the undercoat of a normal cat. The way he jumped and climbed was not normal either, and even today at 13 lbs. he fits his body in spaces I can barely get my arm into. Twix was way too curious too, poking his head in the middle of any human activity. At the beginning, he was absolutely feral. He bit, clawed and hissed his way through the household.

Tons of internet research led us to the conclusion he was a Bengal, later confirmed by the vet, which was a mystery. Bengals are pricey kittens, fetching a grand and half or more on the market. I couldn't understand why someone wasn't looking for him. Finally, I settled on the theory that somehow a Bengal stud got lose and spread his seed, so to speak.

It's taken him about a year to settle down and learn house rules (no, you cannot attack the rabbit, Twix) and my brand new cloth dining chairs (bought before we got him) will never be the same.

We will not talk about the year of scratches on hands, arms, and legs that are just now beginning to fade. I'm just glad he finally settling down to ignoring us like a proper cat should. And no, we do not let him outside. His prey drive is just too high for the area in which I live that features a broad assortment of wild creatures. I can see him trying to tussle with the groundhog living under my shed, which would be unfortunate for both of them.

For those of you considering a Bengal, this is not a cat for an inexperienced cat owner. And be prepared to build a variety of climbing places for it, because a Bengal who can't climb is an unhappy kitty.

All I'm saying is if you are considering owning such a cat, check it out very carefully because they are not like the housecats you know.

Photo Credits--Bengal Cat Creative Commons LIcense issued by Flickr user tcostella

Twix © 2017-2018 Beth Riggott-Turnage