Bengal Kittens For Sale

Demanding Your Attention Like a Dog, the Bengal Cat Can Be A Handful!

Bengal cats are the product of breeding domestic cats with wild Asian Leopard Cats. The result is an exotic animal that is the size of a house cat or a little larger, and looks like a cross between a Leopard and a Tiger – truly an extraordinary-looking cat! Most Bengal felines have a distinctive "M" on their foreheads, what appears to be heavy black eye make-up, along with sleek coats, high haunches, and an extra vertebra in their backs that makes them longer than ordinary housecats.

Bengal cats move in a feral way, and are able to leap to great heights in a single bound. Bengals must be at least four generations removed from Asian Leopard Cats in order to be considered suitable as house pets. At only sixteen weeks old, Bengal kittens have been reported to have already mastered such diverse antics as unlocking a kitchen window and shoving it open, going for long walks with their owners at night, taking a dip in the toilet bowl, and yowling non-stop when not getting enough attention. Bengal kittens can be a handful!

Bengal cats, a relatively new breed, are extremely popular these days, yet there are many Bengal kittens for sale. Many people acquire them for their exotic looks, not realizing that they may be biting off more than they can chew, for Bengals are NOT your "ordinary" cats. They have very demanding temperaments and seek constant attention and involvement in the action at hand, be that typing, showering, cooking, or trying to take a nap. They are very affectionate cats, and very attuned to the vibrations around them.

One of the early breeders of Bengals, Jean Mill, explained that she deliberately crossed leopard cats with domestic cats for several important reasons. At that time, wild cats were being exploited for the fur market. Nursing female leopard cats defending their nests were shot for their pelts, and the cubs were shipped off to pet stores worldwide. Unsuspecting cat lovers bought them, unaware of the danger, their unpleasant elimination habits and the difficulties of keeping wild cats as pets.

She is quoted as saying, "Most of the wild kittens from this era ended up in zoos or escaped onto city streets. I hoped that by putting a leopard coat on a domestic cat, the pet trade could be safely satisfied. If fashionable women could be dissuaded from wearing furs that look like friends' pets, the diminished demand would result in less poaching of wild species."

And indeed, Bengal kittens do look like wild cats and ARE the "living room leopards" that Jean Mill aspired to create. They are bold, adventuresome, exceedingly curious, into everything, but also easy to train. Many a Bengal cat likes to swim (since the Asian Leopard Cat provides for itself by swimming for fish). They can be taught to perform many tricks, and they love to go with you, wherever you are going. Get a Bengal, and you won't have an aloof, self-contained, egocentric cat. Instead, you will have a very close, very vocal companion who has unlimited energy about half the time, but sleeps as if in a coma the rest of the time.

Bengal cats are not for display purposes only! Professional Bengal breeders who share adoration of the breed, describe Bengals as extremely intelligent, very loyal, not afraid of much of anything, and having aspects of a dog, in that they follow you around, take walks with you, are easily trainable, love to fetch, and will sometimes literally end up in the bathtub with you.

Further, Bengals demand a lot of attention, like having a dog with a Springer Spaniel’s temperament. If you are old and infirm, or extremely passive and sedentary, this may not be the breed for you. But even quiet people can often be matched up with a quiet kitten; they DO exist. Finally, "Once you go Bengal, you never go back!"

Another professional breeder concurred saying that the outstanding feature of Bengals is that they look like wild leopard cats, but have a sweet, friendly, outgoing personality. She emphasized what wonderful pets they make, despite their exotic clothing.

While all kittens share some traits, they also evolve as distinctly different individuals at a very early age, and so it IS possible to know which kittens are likely to be more relaxed and which ones are going to be lovable "tyrants." Since Bengals love children and generally get along fine with family dogs, they are just totally unique and strikingly beautiful pets.