(07-31-2012, 04:35 AM)Victor Leigh Wrote: Thank you for the information and the link.
Now that I have a chance to study in closer detail the characteristics of a Bengal cat, I noticed one common feature. The underlying theme is "wildness". The writer of the article summed it up at the end as the Wild Essence.
Just curious. Does the wildness mean that the Bengal cat is less friendly than other domesticated cats?
All breeders of Bengal cats that I've looked into claim that their Bengals are very friendly, loving and affectionate. I've not found that to be true though. My Bengal is very "stand-offish", skittish and is not a lap cat, like my other cats have been or are. I'm lucky if I can get her to sit beside me on the couch. She has never sat by my husband, ever. My brother had two Bengals and he ended up getting rid of them to a shelter (he is abusive and should never have any kind of pet!). They were very shy and unfriendly and wild, but he kept them at his 2-story office building, and they peed everywhere and he most likely beat them, though I can't say he abused them for sure as I didn't witness it personally. A friend in Canada had a Bengal, which she had to have put to sleep because he kept viciously attacking her, for no reason, and she was getting her scalp and face ripped apart, needing many stitches. She loved him very much, but her husband finally made her take it to the vet to be destroyed. The vet thought it might have been a brain tumor, but not sure, and they didn't take x-rays before killing the cat. That's my only experiences with Bengals. So I've not known them to be friendly for various reasons.