I need some help deciding - Bengal kittens

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Portia they''re sooooo adorable! I love that sleeping pic, and all the others! I actually remember looking up savannahs a while back - probably because I saw pics of yours, and I think a couple other PSers'' savannahs. They''re gorgeous cats - how is Zoe getting along with the two Bengals? Are they tired out from kitten energy?

Portia, I forgot you were in Chicago as well - I should''ve asked you for Bengal recommendations a while back.

My first breeder still has not gotten back to me about returning my deposit...her e-mail communication has not been good lately....

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Oh and I think I'm going to start shopping soon for the kittens!!!

ETA: and we decided on names! We wanted a boy, and we were going to name him Kipling. And we're not sure if we're going to get a girl or another boy, but if it's a girl, we'll name her Carolina (BF is from the Carolinas) and if another boy, we're calling him Dante.

 

[Maisie]

Awww I am in love with these kitties!! I will try to get some pictures of Gracie soon. She is still a bit of a nervous cat and won''t pose. I am sure that will change over time though!

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 7/4/2009 6:44:45 PM
Author: SanDiegoLady
Portia, your babies are gorgeous.. I can''t wait to have my forever home.. seeing these babies, I know I''m going to have to get 2 so they''ll grow up with a buddy..

SDLady, I hope you get your forever home AND the Bengal babies soon! I think you should definitely get two as well

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 7/4/2009 7:14:41 PM
Author: Maisie
Awww I am in love with these kitties!! I will try to get some pictures of Gracie soon. She is still a bit of a nervous cat and won''t pose. I am sure that will change over time though!

I bet in a few more months, she''ll be posing for you1 She looks like she has way too much personality to be shy forever

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

More updates: just got a call (which I missed) and e-mail from the first breeder (the one who I was going to go with until I heard she wasn''t that great). One of her cats just had two kittens - a boy and a girl. She asked if I want to see pics.

 

[portia]

Date: 7/5/2009 3:04:58 AM
Author: Brown.Eyed.Girl

Date: 7/4/2009 6:44:45 PM
Author: SanDiegoLady
Portia, your babies are gorgeous.. I can''t wait to have my forever home.. seeing these babies, I know I''m going to have to get 2 so they''ll grow up with a buddy..

SDLady, I hope you get your forever home AND the Bengal babies soon! I think you should definitely get two as well

Thanks SDL! I hope you get your bengal babies soon, too! I agree that getting two is a good idea. Ours are always together. We call them Frick and Frack because where there is one, you''ll find the other.

 

[portia]

Date: 7/6/2009 2:37:18 PM
Author: Brown.Eyed.Girl
More updates: just got a call (which I missed) and e-mail from the first breeder (the one who I was going to go with until I heard she wasn''t that great). One of her cats just had two kittens - a boy and a girl. She asked if I want to see pics.

BEG, hope this works out for you!!

 

[portia]

Date: 7/4/2009 7:14:41 PM
Author: Maisie
Awww I am in love with these kitties!! I will try to get some pictures of Gracie soon. She is still a bit of a nervous cat and won''t pose. I am sure that will change over time though!

Maisie, how old is Gracie? She''s such a cutie!! Maybe you can sneak some pics when she''s sleeping? I know how difficult it is to get photos... they''re always on the move!

My DH and I were on vacation last week. We got home last night and all three cats slept with us!! Usually it''s only Zoe. I think they missed us!! lol

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 7/6/2009 5:39:24 PM
Author: portia

Date: 7/6/2009 2:37:18 PM

Author: Brown.Eyed.Girl

More updates: just got a call (which I missed) and e-mail from the first breeder (the one who I was going to go with until I heard she wasn''t that great). One of her cats just had two kittens - a boy and a girl. She asked if I want to see pics.

BEG, hope this works out for you!!

Aww well I don''t think I''ll be going with her. I already asked for my deposit back - she''s the one who apparently doesn''t have the greatest cats (according to the really reputable breeder I spoke with) and her cattery name is REALLY similar to a very reputable one in Canada. But it made my decision harder since the kittens that I''ll be choosing from (from my new breeder) haven''t been born yet.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 7/6/2009 5:50:39 PM
Author: portia

Date: 7/4/2009 7:14:41 PM

Author: Maisie

Awww I am in love with these kitties!! I will try to get some pictures of Gracie soon. She is still a bit of a nervous cat and won''t pose. I am sure that will change over time though!

Maisie, how old is Gracie? She''s such a cutie!! Maybe you can sneak some pics when she''s sleeping? I know how difficult it is to get photos... they''re always on the move!


My DH and I were on vacation last week. We got home last night and all three cats slept with us!! Usually it''s only Zoe. I think they missed us!! lol

Aww cute!!

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 7/6/2009 2:47:39 PM
Author: SanDiegoLady

Date: 7/5/2009 3:04:58 AM

Author: Brown.Eyed.Girl

Date: 7/4/2009 6:44:45 PM

Author: SanDiegoLady

Portia, your babies are gorgeous.. I can''t wait to have my forever home.. seeing these babies, I know I''m going to have to get 2 so they''ll grow up with a buddy..

SDLady, I hope you get your forever home AND the Bengal babies soon! I think you should definitely get two as well

Thanks honey I hope you get your babies soon too.. good luck with the breeder who emailed you!

SDLady, do you have a timeframe in which you''ll be moving to a new home? Will you be staying in San Diego?

 

[cara]

Portia, I was wondering if you could comment on the temperment and other differences between your Bengals and Savannahs? Of course, always risky to extrapolate from individuals to breeds. I've tried reading a bit about both but haven't quite figured it out... the Savannahs look more lanky which makes me think they are more aloof, while the bengals have these gorgeous shiny coats and are more playful? hah hah, as I'm typing I think I'm pretty clueless!

Brown-eyed-girl, now that you've soured on your first breeder I think its best to get your money back and move on. oh, i see that's what you did! it'd be one thing if you were getting a rescue or shelter kitty but if you are paying good money for a purebred, you should get a purebred that you are proud of and comfortable with the breeder in all respects.

also its great that you are getting two for their mutual entertainment. though my cat-loving friend swears by having 3 kitties at a time, separated by apx. 5 years each so that you can periodically go through the cute kitten stage every so often and also aren't as likely to have two losses in close proximity... though of course she hasn't been perfect at executing her plan (cats get sick and die on her!) and getting all her cats to get along (when she reluctantly agrees take care of difficult ones that their owners are otherwise going to abandon). hmm. maybe her every 5 years plan sounds a lot better in theory than practice.

 

[Squirrly]

i saw this thread and decided to look up bengals. through reading about them i was led to this lovely creature called a cheetoh. and now i want one

so thanks for my desire for a mini snow leopard, or leopard in general

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 7/6/2009 6:08:27 PM
Author: cara
Portia, I was wondering if you could comment on the temperment and other differences between your Bengals and Savannahs? Of course, always risky to extrapolate from individuals to breeds. I''ve tried reading a bit about both but haven''t quite figured it out... the Savannahs look more lanky which makes me think they are more aloof, while the bengals have these gorgeous shiny coats and are more playful? hah hah, as I''m typing I think I''m pretty clueless!


Brown-eyed-girl, now that you''ve soured on your first breeder I think its best to get your money back and move on. oh, i see that''s what you did! it''d be one thing if you were getting a rescue or shelter kitty but if you are paying good money for a purebred, you should get a purebred that you are proud of and comfortable with the breeder in all respects.


also its great that you are getting two for their mutual entertainment. though my cat-loving friend swears by having 3 kitties at a time, separated by apx. 5 years each so that you can periodically go through the cute kitten stage every so often and also aren''t as likely to have two losses in close proximity... though of course she hasn''t been perfect at executing her plan (cats get sick and die on her!) and getting all her cats to get along (when she reluctantly agrees take care of difficult ones that their owners are otherwise going to abandon). hmm. maybe her every 5 years plan sounds a lot better in theory than practice.

Portia, I''d love to hear more about the differences between your Bengals and your Savannah as well! And what made you decide to get a Savannah?

Cara, I love your friend''s plan! Fantastic in theory - I can''t believe that hasn''t occurred to me

I''m really excited to see my two running around the apartment - I so can''t wait until they''re born. But yeah, I agree - I would rather go with a breeder at this point who I feel is totally legit and reputable (not to say the other one isn''t, but I don''t want any niggling worries when I pick the kittens up).

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 7/6/2009 6:49:16 PM
Author: SanDiegoLady

Date: 7/6/2009 5:55:32 PM

Author: Brown.Eyed.Girl


SDLady, do you have a timeframe in which you'll be moving to a new home? Will you be staying in San Diego?

Hm... honestly it depends on hubby's parents. We rent the house we are in from them.. they are selling thiers to live here.. I'm hoping it doesn't sell...

not any time within the next many many months at least! We're just not ready and I'd like my son to graduate before we have to move. We'll both retire here so yep- we're staying.. for at least another 15 years!

Aww that seems like a great place to live and retire too, though! How long before your son graduates? I think it's great that you're trying to stay in one place until then - my dad retired from USAF right before I started high school, so I (thankfully) didn't have to move during those four years. I've always been really grateful to my parents for that!

ETA: You should take a look at Summermist! It's one of the recommended breeders from Dazzledots in Canada (I went with Dazzledots' recommendation and talked with Mystre, who referred me to Bengaland).

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 7/6/2009 8:34:23 PM
Author: Squirrly
i saw this thread and decided to look up bengals. through reading about them i was led to this lovely creature called a cheetoh. and now i want one

so thanks for my desire for a mini snow leopard, or leopard in general

Hehe, how do you think I got hooked on Bengals? I point you towards SDLady''s Brutus/Bengal thread.....

 

[portia]

Cara, BEG, sorry just saw your questions about the difference between our bengals and savannah.

I''ll preface this by saying that I''ve only lived with 3 cats in my life (Zoe, Haley and Ghengis) so this is from my experience with these three...

I guess it could be summed by saying that Zoe does everything that our bengals do x 10! And then some! haha She''s much more active (but then again she''s still young) and she seems to have more emotions than the other cats if that makes sense. She is extremely bonded with me and my hubby and not so much bonded with our bengals. She wants to get along with them, but they just tolerate her. She has an extreme sense of smell and sight and pounces instead of jumps. She''ll take off from all on four feet from the counter top and jump up, arc and land on all fours. It''s so funny to watch. She''ll cover like 10 feet! Hysterical! She chirps and trills rather than meows. Very dog-like in her behavior... doesn''t mind getting wet from the tub or shower, prefers to lay on the floor sprawled out rather than perched up high. Understands a firm NO better that Ghengis or Haley. Well, sometimes... she was just now chasing Haley around (Haley was not amused) so we had to give her a timeout. Seems to really work with her. She can jump 6 feet straight up in the air, but then again this can be very annoying as she''ll see a spot on the wall and just keep jumping at it when she''s in play-mode. Did I mention annoying? lol She''s pretty good at fetching and has been known to bank off walls (think the Matrix movie) when we''re playing. I guess she''s just kitty on steroids! LOL!

If we were to get another cat it would definitely be a Savannah. Zoe is an F2 and we''d probably go with another F2. DH thinks he''d want an F1, but that''s a bit too wild for us I think. Zoe''s ''grandfather'' is a serval... that''s plenty exotic for me!! And the funniest thing is that Haley, our little 7.5 lb. bengal girl, has figured out how to stand up to Zoe who is twice her size. She has found that when Zoe runs at her and tries to t-bone her, she can come back at Zoe and Zoe will just run away and hide. It''s really funny that Haley has figured it out, whereas Ghengis gets attacked by Zoe (fur flying) and he just screams and runs - not the thing to do with Zoe because she''ll just keep attacking (which equals playing in Zoe''s mind, she''s kinda rough).

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 7/8/2009 9:54:06 PM
Author: portia
Cara, BEG, sorry just saw your questions about the difference between our bengals and savannah.


I''ll preface this by saying that I''ve only lived with 3 cats in my life (Zoe, Haley and Ghengis) so this is from my experience with these three...


I guess it could be summed by saying that Zoe does everything that our bengals do x 10! And then some! haha She''s much more active (but then again she''s still young) and she seems to have more emotions than the other cats if that makes sense. She is extremely bonded with me and my hubby and not so much bonded with our bengals. She wants to get along with them, but they just tolerate her. She has an extreme sense of smell and sight and pounces instead of jumps. She''ll take off from all on four feet from the counter top and jump up, arc and land on all fours. It''s so funny to watch. She''ll cover like 10 feet! Hysterical! She chirps and trills rather than meows. Very dog-like in her behavior... doesn''t mind getting wet from the tub or shower, prefers to lay on the floor sprawled out rather than perched up high. Understands a firm NO better that Ghengis or Haley. Well, sometimes... she was just now chasing Haley around (Haley was not amused) so we had to give her a timeout. Seems to really work with her. She can jump 6 feet straight up in the air, but then again this can be very annoying as she''ll see a spot on the wall and just keep jumping at it when she''s in play-mode. Did I mention annoying? lol She''s pretty good at fetching and has been known to bank off walls (think the Matrix movie) when we''re playing. I guess she''s just kitty on steroids! LOL!


If we were to get another cat it would definitely be a Savannah. Zoe is an F2 and we''d probably go with another F2. DH thinks he''d want an F1, but that''s a bit too wild for us I think. Zoe''s ''grandfather'' is a serval... that''s plenty exotic for me!! And the funniest thing is that Haley, our little 7.5 lb. bengal girl, has figured out how to stand up to Zoe who is twice her size. She has found that when Zoe runs at her and tries to t-bone her, she can come back at Zoe and Zoe will just run away and hide. It''s really funny that Haley has figured it out, whereas Ghengis gets attacked by Zoe (fur flying) and he just screams and runs - not the thing to do with Zoe because she''ll just keep attacking (which equals playing in Zoe''s mind, she''s kinda rough).

Portia, I actually remember seeing your thread about Zoe a while back, and thinking she was one of the most beautiful cats I''d ever seen! I started researching Savannahs...but then realized I''d have a hard time getting and keeping one since I know I''ll be moving to NYC in a couple years, and there are strict laws in the city with regards to hybrid animals (has to be at least 5th generation removed, I think). I know SBT Bengals are classified as domestic cats, which is why I took the chance with these

But it sounds like Zoe is awesome, as are Haley and Genghis - life must always be interesting with those three! I love how Haley''s figured out how to make Zoe back off! How big is Ghengis? I''m wondering how big our Bengals will end up being.

Another update: before the Bengals, I had be considering Siberians and had a deposit down...I''ve just been offered one of the kittens from this litter (I''m on the waitlist). He is ADORABLE! We wanted a silver boy, and here he is - and now I''m thinking I should get a Bengal and a Siberian

But I think the problem is he''s almost ready to go home - in 8 days actually - and I can''t get him right away. So I may have to pass.

Pics! He is about 8 weeks old, and is $850. And I did visit this particular cattery - beautiful cats. I wonder - should I do two Bengals, or this guy and a Bengal boy? (To come home with me at the same time, although this guy will be a couple months older)

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

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[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

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[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

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[packrat]

Ohh he''s precious! Kitties are so hard to resist!

 

[swingirl]

Oh what fabulous kitties!! I love the spotted ones! I had a silver tabby years ago with belly spots. Was actually an ocicat that had more stripes than spots. Ugh!! I love those guys. My old snoring pug should be getting nervous about now!!

 

[princessplease]

OMG the kitties!!!!!!!!!

That is all!

 

[lvnut]

BEG - OMG that Siberian is adorable!

Portia - Loved the pictures of your Savannah! She sounds like a lot of fun to watch! How much bigger is she than your Bengals? Are both of your Bengals small? Mine will be 6 months old tomrrow and one weighs 8.5 lbs and the other is 8 lbs. I think they''re going to be BIG BOYS!!!

 

[portia]

lvnut, yes she is fun to watch and play with. Very entertaining! She's 14 lbs. and her rear end is at least an inch higher than her front end. She looks funny when she's standing up still. I guess that's what makes her such an incredible jumper and speed demon. Our male bengal is about 13 - 13.5 lbs. and haley is about 7.5 lbs (she's sooo tiny!). I think your boys are going to be big, too! 8.5 lbs already?! Wow!! We were hoping that Zoe would be larger, but then again... 14 lbs. is big enough with two other cats living in a condo! Would love to see more photos of you boys.

BEG, that Siberian to too cute!!

 

[lvnut]

Portia - wow Haley really is small! Has Zoe reached her full size yet? I have never seen a Savannah in person before, but would love to see one in action!

Here''s a picture of the boys relaxing - can you see how one has his paw around his brother''s shoulder? They are so cute together!

 

[lvnut]

I like this one too! I need to get the more recent ones off the camera...

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

So I passed on the silver boy. I talked with the breeder, and she didn''t want to hold him much longer after selection, and I wouldn''t be able to take any kitten until October. Oh well. I guess I''ll stick with my two Bengal babies. But the Siberian breeder said that Bengals are very high-allergen producers?? I never came across this in my research - I mean, Bengals aren''t thought to be "hypoallergenic" like Siberians are, but I didn''t think they were especially notable for producing higher amounts of allergen. On the Bengals board, people have said that they hadn''t had problems...but of course that''s anecdotal. I also e-mailed my Bengal breeder to ask, but haven''t heard yet. I''m a little confused....and also wondering if maybe the Siberian breeder is just saying that to dissuade me from getting a different type of cat. Gah.