Temperament

The Bengal cat is an intelligent, affectionate, playful, extremely friendly and social cat that craves human companionship. Curious, entertaining and mischievous they enjoy playing in water - the sink or bathtub being their favourite hangouts - and watch the seat on the toilet!!! Bengals are brave and playful and get along well with children and other animals. They are easy to leash train and because of their bravery and curiosity love going for walks.

For a walk on the wild side with an affectionate companion, you can't go wrong with a Bengal.

But do be warned!

Bengals have a love of heights and climbing - which means they will jump on the counters, tables, furniture and sometimes hang from picture frames and hanging decorations/lights. They will most likely climb your Christmas tree and use every decoration as a toy. Basically if a Bengal cat jump or climb to any place in your house they will! You can train a Bengal to not do these things in your presence but they will most likely just wait until you’ve left the room before doing them. Or if they want your attention they will deliberately get on the counters etc.

Bengals love to do everything we do this includes eating. They will try to eat your food before, during and after you are eating or cooking. They will lick any dishes left in the sink, eat out of the pots left on the stove and some are even clever enough to learn how to open the cupboards to get at the food inside! Plants are also considered food to Bengals. And of course a Bengal favorite is to taste whatever is in your glass and knocking the contents out to get a better taste. This includes when you are still holding the glass!

Bengals are smart and need stimulating toys and activities every day. The best toy for a Bengal is an equally playful cat playmate! Two Bengals often mean less trouble then one. A tall cat tree and various toys will help keep your sanity! Toys need not be expensive – ping pong balls, paper (NOT plastic) bags, cardboard boxes, toilet paper rolls and small stuffed toys are great Bengal toys.

Bengals love water and will play in their water bowl and in your toilet. I recommend keeping them out of the bathroom entirely by closing the door as they may even learn how to flush the toilet just to hear the water *swoosh*. They are also known for unrolling entire rolls of toilet paper. Bengals also like to pee in water sources like sinks and bathtubs :)

Bengals love to run and play and keep themselves busy. Curtains are especially fun play toys to fight with and hide in. They knock things off of tables when they are jumping on them; this includes the breakables if they are not safely stored away. Newspapers can be made into surfboards; toilet paper or paper towels are often shredded and strewn around the house. Leather furniture, antiques and precious objects aren't taken into consideration when running, chasing and launching off. If you love your nice, valuable things and don't ever want any of these things scratched, damaged or broken, then don't ever, ever get a Bengal.

Bengals are smart. If they're doing something bad and they are not getting enough good attention, they will do the bad thing to get the bad cat attention. After all, bad attention is better than no attention at all!