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There are a lot of sites out there that talk about Bengals a lot but a lot of them don’t describe what it can be like to live one of these beautiful creatures. There are also a lot of rumors that travel around about Bengals and here we’d like to stop one of them that shows up every once and awhile. That’s the question of whether they’re dangerous or not. In this article we will cover the following:
If this is your first time visiting our website we’ll start with explaining a little bit about what the Bengal breed actually is. This is just a quick note on who they are. But, if you would like to know more about them on our website.
Bengal cats are a breed that originally came from crossing domestic cats with the Asian Leopard cat which is a rather small wild cat. The whole reason for breeding them were to produce a cat that had the personality of a domestic cat but the wild and beautiful markings found on the Asian Leopard cat.
The very first hybrids called F1’s which denotes they were a first generation of Bengals, were bred together over numerous different generations. Over time there were more domestic lines that would also find themselves thrown into the mix. The result of this type of breeding resulted in an extremely beautiful, very intelligent, and quite often a bit quirky domestic cat. These results became ideal to have as a companion and household pet that we now lovingly know as the Bengal cat.
Bengals are a vastly varied breed of domestic cat. They come in a nice variety of colors, patterns, and eye colors. Their weight can even vary quite a bit from one cat to another. But, they still tend to maintain the distinction in the domestic cat world for being one of the bulkiest breeds when it comes to their overall muscle mass. Male Bengals especially have large muscles that tend to ripple under their beautiful shimmering coats.
Probably their most wonderful feature is their elegant and beautiful coats. For a lot of people they tend to think of spots when it comes to Bengals but their coats can also be rosetted or marbled. It’s the rosetting that actually causes some of them to have spots that almost look like donuts. The marbling is a type of horizontal striping. Marbling comes in beautiful and even fascinating swirls and swishes that can be found on their backs and sides. The swirls often resemble cinnamon rolls.
Their coloring can include any of the following:
Most melanistics and other colors such as blue that show up occasionally are seen as cross breeding and generally will not be recognized by the cat clubs.
Their eye color can range from a really deep copper gold color to a bright minty green, to a bright yellow to an almost ice blue. This all depends upon the type of breed that was used in their original ancestry.
One of the key things about Bengals is that they are generally the most intelligent cats that you’ll ever come across. Because of their high intelligence combined with their wild ancestry they often seem to come with some pretty quirky behavior. This is not to say that they are dangerous, because that couldn’t be further from the truth. Just because their ancestry is wild, doesn’t make them dangerous. However, their ancestry does give them some leftover traits from their Asian Leopard cat cousins. For example, their wild cousins seem to just adore water and so do domestic Bengals.
When it comes to water, nearly every Bengal seems to have an near obsession with water. You might find them drinking from a dripping faucet by putting their paws under the faucet. You might see them putting their paws in their water bowls and then licking it off their paws instead of drinking out of the water dish like a “normal” cat. They also tend to like to play with the water in their water dish or anything else they might find some water in. This is why it’s really a good idea to keep their food dish away from their water, you might find them putting the food in the water.
Another thing to realize about their love for water is that you might end up being interrupted when you’re taking a bath or shower, they just might want to join you. They also seem to have a fascination with the flush of a toilet and often many have taught themselves how to flush it themselves and then sit on the toilet seat just to watch the water to rush down the bowl. It’s advisable if you don’t want your Bengal doing that to keep the toilet lid shut at all times.
Here’s a cute video of two Bengals in a bathtub together:
Since Bengals have very strong hunting instincts it’s very important that if you have other smaller pets in the home that you keep them away from them or at least make sure that you supervise them when in the presence of smaller pets. It’s just natural for them to hunt and you wouldn’t want an unfortunate accident to occur.
You’ll also discover that Bengals are one of the more active breeds. Because of their high intelligence this can be the ideal recipe for them becoming little troublemakers. Understand that no amount of toys is ever going to keep your Bengal totally satisfied. They tend to get bored and often go off to find something else that intrigues. Watch out, because many of them are known to be little thieves and often will steal random items and run off with them. So, make sure you keep your expensive items out of their reach.
Even though Bengals are not dangerous they do tend to be extremely territorial. This means if your Bengal is the only pet in the home and you bring a new pet into the family you need to be very careful with the introductions. You’ll need to give them plenty of time to adjust to the new member of the family. This is because they really don’t like huge changes in their environment and you should have a safe place that’s just for them so they can retreat whenever they may seem to be stressed.
After all is said and done, Bengal cats are extremely affectionate if they’re raised with plenty of love and attention. They bond well and deeply love their humans and often act more like a dog. They love to play fetch for their pet parents, love to be taught to go for walks, swim, and other activities they can enjoy with their pet parents.
Word of warning, the closer they grow to their pet parents the more likely they will pick up little tricks from you by watching all that you do. They will often learn to turn door knobs, turn on your faucets, flush the toilet as stated earlier and much more.
Here are a few tips to help you ensure that your Bengal lives a long and happy life and that your relationship is one of love and joy:
So does this help answer your question about whether or not a Bengal cat is dangerous? Please let us know what you think by leaving your comment for us.
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