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Are Bengal Cats the Best Choice for Your Kids? Discover the Truth

Are Bengal cats good house pets? Untamed Lists of Rewards and Drawbacks

Bengal cats are among the most sought-after breeds in the UK because of their outstanding intelligence and playfulness. Although these little tigers are also quite beautiful, their untamed aspect sometimes makes people question: Are Bengal cats suitable for housemates?

Bengals, being descended from the Asian leopard cat, could appear scary, but appearances can be deceptive. From their temperament to their care needs, this page will outline what to expect when you adopt a Bengal so you may choose whether the species is appropriate for your household.

Are Bengal cats suitable pets?

Bengal cats are great friends for homes with solitary individuals and couples. These are:

  • Smart
  • Simple to teach
  • Energetic Affectionate
  • Regional
  • Low maintenance, in terms of grooming
  • Bengal intelligence: unparalleled
  • Three elements set a cat’s IQ:
  • Changeability
  • Pique of interest
  • Memoir

In all three areas, the Bengals score relatively high. They have a great memory, are curious, and react quickly to novel events. These small leopards are skilled at exploring and appreciating the excitement of hunting!

Are Bengal cats suitable pets?

Bengals’s level of trainability?

Bengals are easy to housetrain and teach tricks because of their intelligence and fantastic recall. They can learn to sit, lie down, high-five, or fetch. Never forget to reward your Bengals anytime they behave properly; have tiny morsels of premium goodies ready.

Training will give these intelligent and active kitties cognitive stimulation and exercise. They will also value the quality time you provide, so training is a great way to connect.

The Energy of Bengal: A Challenge for Control

Bengals often act like kittens all their lifetime. They need much room to leap and run since they are energetic and playful. Your house might have to be changed to fit their vivaciousness and provide entertainment value. Among the valuable additions are:

  • Perches
  • Cat treks
  • cat wheels
  • Many amusing toys
  • Food puzzles
  • Scravers

Bengals would rather interact through play than lounge in your lap. Make sure your calendar lets frequent playtime keep kids interested.

Not a Lap Cat but rather quite affectionate

Loving dogs, Bengals can develop close bonds with their humans. Although they are not the cuddliest animals, they are entirely devoted and will often sleep next to you on your bed until it is time to wake up and play!

Bengals love kids and are terrific friends for dogs that appreciate the companionship of cats. If they are first exposed to other cats as kittens, they usually get along with them. If you are thinking about bringing another cat into your house, choose a cat with a similar temperament (if not another Bengal, a Siamese cat would be a suitable choice).

The territory of a Bengal is just theirs

One of the most territorial domesticated breeds, Bengals are descended from territorial wild cats. They enjoy their own space, which they will mark and guard from invasions. While they are still kittens, let them meet your family or other pets.

When a new animal wanders into their domain, these kitties may get agitated and start fighting. Still, you can reduce these problems with appropriate socializing and training. Your Bengals will become fantastic friends if you train them early on manners and discourage aggressive play.

Bengals Are Easy to Look After

Apart from the maintenance Bengals require, they are deficient. You may keep your Bengal content with appropriate:

  • Diet
  • Grooming
  • Healthcare
  • Personal Hygiene

Most Bengals today are several generations away from the African leopard cat; hence, they are just big domestic cats and do not need particular care. Regular grooming—brushing your Bengals monthly to eliminate dead hair and stop hairballs—will help them remain looking their best. Every couple of weeks, clip their nails; clean their litter box every day.

Bengal cats are energetic and like to jump, so be sure to provide climbing trees and other chances for them to reach a perch and examine their surroundings. One excellent approach to involving children is through interactive toys. Spend time playing with them and teach them to chase or grab a laser pointer.

Fascinatingly, Bengal cats enjoy water—a quality most cat species lack. Your aquarium could turn into a “fishing pond,” so you need to be mindful of it. If your yard is safe, you may even provide Bengal with a tiny pool to enjoy.

Like any cat, Bengals should be kept indoors to protect against infections, predators, and mishaps involving vehicle strikes.

Bathing a Bengal

Bengals have easy care for their short, thick fur. Brushing one or two times a week will help rid yourself of dead hair and dander. You should increase your brushing intensity during the shedding season.Bengals, unlike many other cats, adore water and might even get a bath.

Health Issues Relevant to Bengal Cats

Though they are generally a healthy breed, Bengals are prone to some health problems, just as any cat. A good diet, along with regular veterinarian visits, helps with most ailments that are prone to be avoided or controlled.

Health Issues Relevant to Bengal Cats

Typical health issues Bengals face are

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a disorder of the heart muscle that increases the challenges of heart pumping action. Often progressive, it might cause cardiac failure.

Caused by a range of elements including age, genetics, food, and environment, chronic renal failure (CRF) Proper management and identification will greatly enhance your Bengal’s quality of living.

Patellar luxation is a condition whereby the kneecap slides out of position and causes limping. Usually, surgery can correct this issue, but keeping a good weight helps prevent it.

Like domestic cats, Bengals demand the same vaccines and preventative treatments. They are not resistant to cat diseases including cat leukemia (FELV), hence regular immunizations are rather crucial.

Diet and Health: Unstoppable

Whatever kind of food you ultimately decide on for your Bengal—wet, dry, raw, or homemade—should be premium and nutritionally balanced. Obesity, diabetes, renal disease, infections of the urinary tract, and heart disease can all follow from a bad diet.

How to Make Sure Your Bengal Gets Maintain Your Health Meals

Bengals are so busy that they need a diet high in nutrients to support their daily exploits. Poor eating might lower their alertness level and lead to behavioral and physical problems.

Good cat food should have:

  • Animal Protein, maximum of fifty percent
  • Animal Fat (up to twenty%)
  • Minerals and Vitamins
  • Carbohydrates—up to three percent of the total

Maintaining energy levels, muscle tone, skin integrity, and general organ efficiency depends on protein. Obligate carnivores, cats require animal-based protein from sources including turkey, chicken (cooked or raw), duck, liver, tuna, and mackerel.

Important fatty acids involve omega-3 and omega-6 found in animal fat help organs work properly, absorb nutrients, preserve cell integrity, and boost immune systems.

Foods to Avoid

Bengals ought to refrain from grains (like corn, wheat, rice), vegetables (such peas, carrots, or broccoli), or carbs. These components can cause food allergies and digestive problems and have little nutritional worth.

Feeding your Bengal food of the highest quality that captures their ravenous character will help to ensure their happiness and health.

MicronutrientFunction
CalciumPromotes bone growthKeeps teeth strongSupports blood coagulationContributes to good nerve signalling function
Vitamin AEnsures normal muscle and nerve developmentPromotes healthy skin and coat
Vitamin EProtects cells from oxidative damageImproves immune response
Vitamin B complexStrengthens the immune systemContributes to the healthy functioning of the nervous systemHelps with digestive tract issuesMaintains a healthy cognitive function
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Meat provides all the nutrients and vitamins needed by cats.

Cat food, including supplements among the components, should be avoided since this indicates a low meat content.

Consumes carbohydrates

Although cats do not need carbohydrates, small amounts are reasonable—especially if you observe your cat has constipation and requires additional fiber. In this situation, you could provide them with tiny amounts of broccoli, green beans, or boiled carrots.

Keep your Bengal content and happy with the untamed.

Untamed provides healthy food that fits your Bengal’s dietary requirements and energy consumption.

Our recipes are grounded on the following ideas: we create our cuisine utilizing human-grade products:

High animal protein levels — Twice as much protein is found in every Untamed tin than in other commercially sold goods. Served in paw-licking jelly or gravy, we exclusively utilize premium, entire meat—that is, chicken breast, chicken liver, tuna steak, prawns, salmon fillet, and like cuts. 

Our single-protein dinners (Chocka Chicken and Tuck-in Tuna in Jelly) are ideal for sensitive tummies and fit for dogs suffering from allergies.

Consumes carbohydrates

Vet-formulated meals: We collaborated with vets to design meals that respect Bengal’s natural feeding patterns at all phases of life while totally meeting their dietary demands.

Our meals are appropriate for geriatric cats who could have dental problems or have lost some teeth, energetic adult Bengals with excellent energy levels, and kittens who have begun eating solids.

Ethical manufacture: Every bit of our packaging is recyclable. Our activities are carbon-neutral, and we exclusively source products from ethical and sustainable vendors that are free of cruelty.

Amazing taste: All ingredients maintain their nutritional worth and the taste stays natural thanks to the mild steaming technique.

Every cat is different, hence we have developed an online quiz to guide you in developing a customized food schedule for your Bengal.Get the Untamed Trial bundle right now!

Three quick steps can get your Bengal a trial pack of wholesome, Untamed meals:

  • See our Try Now page here.
  • Could you share details about your kitty with us?
  • Select your meal schedule and order.

There will be no further shipping costs; the food will arrive within a day. Once your Bengal approves with a soft purr and a snuggle, we may send you a fresh batch of their preferred food every month.

Those cat owners who switched their little tigers to Untamed claim the following advantages:

TimeframeEffects
Within a weekEven energy levelsBenevolent playfulnessNeater litter box
After two monthsLeaner, more muscular shapeShinier coat
After four monthsFewer hairballsLess shedding
LifelongBetter health (no urinary tract infections, struvite crystals, cystitis, irritable bowel syndrome)Easy weight managementGood mood
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Breed Review

Personality: loving, vivacious, dynamic

Weight: Though usually about 12 pounds, up to 20 pounds

LENGTH: 18 inches or so

COAT LENGTH: Variations of short and long hair

Brown tabby, seal sepia tabby, seal mink tabby, seal lynx point, black silver tabby, seal silver sepia tabby, seal silver mink tabby, and seal silver lynx point

COAT PATTERNS: Marbled or spotty

EYE COLOUR: Gold or green

Life span: Up to fifteen years

HYPOALLERGENIC: United States; Origin

Bengal Cat Features

Though they have a wild, exotic look, Bengal cats usually fully mature in about a year and hardly grow much bigger than a strong house cat (approximately 12 pounds). Their attractiveness is only one aspect; their demeanour is equally intriguing. Along with other dogs, Bengals are friendly, lively, and affectionate toward people of all ages. Being active dogs, they require lots of room to play and investigate.

Affection LevelHigh
FriendlinessMedium
Kid-FriendlyHigh
Pet-FriendlyHigh
Exercise NeedsHigh
PlayfulnessHigh
Energy LevelHigh
IntelligenceHigh
Tendency to VocalizeMedium
Amount of SheddingMedium
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History of the Bengal Cat

While there were earlier attempts at breeding Africadain leopard cats with domestic cats, the Bengal cat hybrid is credited to Jean Sudgen Mill in the 1970s. She acquired hybrids from Dr. Willard Centerwall, who was breeding them at Loyola University, to study their genetics. 

Mill mated these hybrids with domestic cats to generate a breed with the personality of a domestic cat and the exotic appearance of a wild one. Greg and Elizabeth Kent also crossed African leopard cats with Egyptian Maus to develop their own line of Bengal cats.

Hybrids are identified by the number of generations they are separated from their wild heritage, with F1 being the first generation, which has one African leopard cat (ALC) parent. F2 has one ALC grandparent, and F3 has one ALC great-grandparent. By F3, it is believed that the cats have the temperaments of domestic cats.

histroy

To be shown, the International Cat Association (TICA) accepts only cats that are F4 or more generations removed from an ALC ancestor. Today, most Bengal cats are bred from other Bengal cats.

Bengal cats were first recognized as an experimental breed by TICA in 1983 and achieved full status in 1993. The breed obtained official approval from the Cat Fancier’s Association in 2016. They are also recognized for registration by the American Cat Fanciers Association, the Canadian Cat Association, and the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy.

Common Health Problems

Appearance

Bengals are enormous, muscular cats with long faces and large ears. Most are short-haired, although there is also a long-haired variation. The Bengal breed is not considered hypoallergenic.

Bengals are well renowned for their wild-looking markings.

Though their official marks are limited to spotted or marbled, rosettes, marbling, spots, and stripes produce leopard-like patterns that vary in the Bengals’ display. These patterns are always highlighted in black, chocolate, or grey/silver.

Bengal coat colors include brown tabby (the most popular), seal sepia tabby, seal mink tabby, seal lynx point, black silver tabby, seal silver sepia tabby, seal silver mink tabby, and seal silver lynx point.

The patterns range from colors of brown to black, with brown tabbies generally having white fur on their whisker pads, chin, chest, abdomen, and inner legs. Bengals’ eyes are typically green or gold.

Diet and Nutrition

Bengals eat the same food as other house cats—cat food—but many owners choose a grain-free or raw diet, especially for Bengals during the first three generations. Most Bengal owners find the most sensible approach to feeding their cats to be buying a formulated, grain-free diet.

Where might one adopt or purchase a Bengal cat?

A breeder in your vicinity could have a purebred Bengal cat available. If you would instead adopt, then look at these rescue groups:

Grand Lakes Bengal Rescue Me

Petfinder

Take a Pet

Bengal Cat Presentation

Families seeking affectionate, playful friends free from too-wild behavior will find great satisfaction in Bengal cats. Cat trees (and patience) are absolutely essential since these big, strong cats like jumping and climbing.

Although they may spend some alone time, they like communicating with their humans and will demand attention when they want it.

Benefits: gorgeous, exotic, wild-looking look

Fun, affectionate, and playful

Get along with other cats and dogs

Cons: May “fish” for aquarium inhabitants

Demand a lot of attention

Prone to eye disorders and cat infectious peritonitis (FIP)

More Cat Breeds and Further Research

If you’re interested in similar breeds, check out:

Egyptian Mau Ocicat Savannah Cat

Otherwise, explore all our other cat breed profiles.

FAQ

Are Bengal cats allowed to own?

Most late-generation Bengal cats are legally acquired without a permit. However, check your local laws before purchasing one and make sure you have documentation of their generational status.

Are Bengal cats good pets for families?

Bengal cats are much tamer than their wild ancestors and relatives; they make fun, engaging pets for families.To learn more about them and their features or their secrets that you don’t know, how to make them good and how good pet they are.

How much do Bengal cats cost?

From reliable breeders, Bengal cats usually run between $1,500 and $3,000.

Pictures of Our Bengal Kittens with Children

Kittens with Children

The answer is 100% YES if you were wondering whether Bengal cats would be suitable for children as pets! Bengal kittens have been raised in our own children from birth; the cats are pretty sweet and caring with them.

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