Bengal?

[Sagareve]

hi everyone!

Girlfriend and I purchased a kitten awhile back. The guy claimed to be a breeder, invited us to come see his bengal/shorthair tabby mix kittens and the parents.

He sent us an address to meet, but once we arrived it was a library? The guy got off a bus with a carry case and the smallest kitten I’ve ever seen. The kitten was crying and absolutely stunk- we bought him right away because he did not look well. The man claimed to of sent us everything by email (shots ect) and advised the kitten was 8 weeks old- we were both skeptical. Gave him a bath in the sink and brought him to the vet the next morning.

Our vet was very upset. Kitten was super dehydrated and aprox 4 weeks old- she wasn’t sure he would make it. We skipped work for a couple days to force feed him milk and make sure he was warm and out of trouble. My vet, parents and multiple friends are convince he’s a bengal who was stolen. We’re both sleptical of this as well. I’ve looked online for stolen kitten reports but never found anything.

He’s not your average cat... he likes to shower with us, hes best friends with my dog and tears apart EVERYTHING - I mean he rips apart my walls and has destroyed every roll of toilet paper. Nothing is out of his reach. He also is the most talkative thing I’ve ever heard, very annoying but we love the little bugger.

Now that he’s a little bigger we’re just looking for opinions! He also seems kind of small for 8/9 months - but he weights 10lbs!!! (Pictures are from my instagram so they do have filters)

 

[Sagareve]

A week or so after we first got him

 

[Sagareve]

Kitten

 

[Wile]

Hi! Cute Kitten I would say that he definitely has something of the bengal look about him. If I saw him on the street and you told me he was a bengal mix I would believe it.

Edit: BTW 10 pounds is a perfectly normal weight for a growing male cat. If he does have bengal heritage his skeleton will continue to develop until he hits a year, and then he will fill in more muscle mass for a few months after that. My bengal boy who is on the larger size for the breed at his age was about 12 pounds, and his final healthy weight was 14-15 pounds. My guess is that your boy might wind up being 12 pounds as a fully grown adult, but time will tell.

Also, about the "bengal look" I mentioned, your boy does appear to have some of the typical bengal physical traits: longer back legs and shorter front so they walk with a bit of a crouched back, horizontal flowing marble patterns. It's hard to tell from the photos since the resolution is not high, but he also appears to have a pretty clear spotted belly. If he is a bengal he is definitely not "pure". The coat length seems a bit long and colouring towards the back resembles a tabby more. His facial structure is also not typical for the breed. Sounds like he is an awesome buddy though

 

[goingpostal]

I don't see anything that screams bengal but dang is he ever cute and good thing you got him and took great care so he made it, sounds like a rough start for sure.

 

[Sagareve]

Thank you both for replying!! and yes he is a cutie.

 

[lutece]

"Tabby" is not a breed, it's a color. Almost all Bengals are tabby in color (the majority being either brown spotted tabby or brown marbled tabby).

It doesn't sound like the "breeder" was very honest with you, so there's no reason to believe he was honest about the kitten's breed. Most likely, your cat is a brown classic tabby domestic shorthair, but it's theoretically possible that he may have some Bengal in him. In any case he is very handsome, and he looks like he has truly blossomed with your good care!

 

[jen]

Doesn't look like a Bengal to me either. Some traits slightly resemble one though. Who knows where the "breeder" came from or got him from but he sure is adorable!!

 

[abyeb]

You did such a good job caring for him! He has grown into such a handsome cat! I would describe him as a brown classic tabby Domestic Shorthair. I think he could possibly be a backyard breeder Bengal mix.

 

[British Girls]

He is a very handsome cat. I agree that he has some Bengal in him, but definitely mixed with a different breed.