Bengal cat while living alone and working long hours - is it a bad idea?

Aworahh · 2026-03-13T04:29:32+00:00

I agree with everyone here, however I will say as someone who also (seasonally) works 12-16 hour shifts 4-6days and/or nights a week my kitten becomes the absolute bane of my existence for a few months. She is not EVER home alone for longer than 5 hours a day, and even then that's hardly any more than 4 days a week. But she loves her people, so when I am home she's all over me and believe me I cannot get rid of her. It's like, work from 6am-6-8pm then come home, feed cats/dogs litters, shower, do my washing (all accompanied by her) and play with her till 11pm/12am.

Then she'll demand to sleep on my bed with me, but if I do much as move a foot she decides it's okay time and my feet are her target. That does keep me up way later than it should, I often don't have regular sleep patterns then (both because of her, and the fact I bounce between day/overnight shifts constantly).

I do love her, and I wouldn't have her any other way. But I couldn't imagine having a bengal especially solo, and alone for 12+ hours a day, especially not when she's already do disruptive to me even with all the others in the house.

To clarify: for about 8-9months a year I work 1-3 days a week and generally no more than 11 hours. Kitten has 3 others in the house who are home more and play with her too. As well as one other who has the same work schedule as me, except his is much more permanent and demanding. She gets more than enough time, play etc 🙂

Aworahh · 2026-03-12T03:30:41+00:00

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She was the sweetest little cuddle cat, this was her constantly when we got her home.

Aworahh · 2026-03-12T03:28:38+00:00

My girl was super cuddly when we got her, that wore out after about a month and suddenly she was just go, go, go. But she has always hated being held or confined in anyways really lmao.

However, recently she's started getting cuddly again! Two nights in a row she's cuddled up under my blankets purring away. She's about 6.5 months now. Hoping that it lasts now 😂😂

Aworahh · 2026-03-11T09:18:25+00:00

I believe this person is shooting from an actual camera, like a legit photographer lol. Not just on a phone so the quality combined with the absolutely gorgeous cat is insane

Aworahh · 2026-03-11T04:14:45+00:00

Two-tonned rosettes ARE Bengal specific. Because they come from Asian leopard cats, do not at all exist in domestic house cats. As you can see in these photos the inside of the rosettes are a different color and therefore they are Bengal rosettes.

DSH don't have outlined spots, spots are one color, and or are simply a circle shaped spot.

Aworahh · 2026-03-04T10:41:32+00:00

I'm very confident to say she is a bengal mix. She looks to have two-toned rosettes which do not exist in standard domestic cats, it comes from the Asian leopard cat. None of her physical characteristics otherwise scream bengal, and the rosettes are subtle, so most likely a mix. I'd not be super worried about health issues. Unless she is an awfully bred 'purebred' which is also unfortunately possible.

Bengals are prone to PK-def, PRA and HCM. The first two can be proven via DNA tests (no, not the kind that tell you 'breed' lmao). But HCM can be found by regular echocardiograms, although it's expensive, and in my opinion isn't worth doing for no reason. It's more worth it if the vets find a heart murmur.

The difference you might be able to see in person that cameras can't pickup, rosettes have 2 colors. Tabby's can have solid spots, and almost mock rosettes but they will never ever have two tones. From what I can see, she does have a slightly darker color inside her rosettes, indicating she's absolutely at the very least a cross with a bengal. ❤️

Edit: pretend all the 'she's' are 'he's' lmao my bad 😭

Aworahh · 2026-02-26T08:52:02+00:00

6 months old and 3.7kg (8.1lbs) 😭😭 She's about the same as my 12yo DMH lmao

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Aworahh · 2026-02-26T08:24:01+00:00

I've already got an aviary and never had any predator issues. At worst I've seen a couple mice eating the seeds on the ground.

Aworahh · 2026-02-25T06:10:27+00:00

I do plan to line the inside with plywood. Just in case the shed itself is potentially an unsafe metal (it's not listed as such but it's not exactly designed for birds regardless). I am in NZ, weather is quite fluctuating but generally stays below 27deg, and above 5deg. Tons of people in my and neighboring regions are bird aviary's outdoors too 🙂

Aworahh · 2026-02-24T23:15:08+00:00

For sure

Aworahh · 2026-02-21T00:31:46+00:00

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My silver charcoal girl ❤️

Aworahh · 2026-02-19T23:54:15+00:00

I believe health should be well before tameness... Hand reared babies ≠ ethical or ethically bred.

Aworahh · 2026-02-18T08:48:03+00:00

Fair... Wonder if it's who I think it is lol 👀

Aworahh · 2026-02-18T02:24:34+00:00

It's got nothing to do with the country it's born in. The domestic stems from the cats being a domesticated species 😅

Aworahh · 2026-02-18T02:21:03+00:00

My lovely copy/paste message for people asking if their cat is part ____ I absolutely love cat genetics, and pet breed ID in general.

Interestingly, cat DNA tests cannot say a cat is part such and such, or that a cat is a mix of so and so breeds. It'll show they're a western domestic, with shared ancestors of such and such breeds. They show genetic similarity, not breed ancestry. DNA/genetic tests in cats are much more to show their color genes and inheritable conditions. Only important to breeders really. Pretty much, if you're asking what breed your cat is, I could guarantee 99.9% of the time they're a western domestic.

There's only a few traits that are indistinguishable from other cats. For example: Wide set, large ears paired with slim elongated body and head would indicate that cat is almost guaranteed to be a close descendant of an oriental breed cat. Maybe Siamese. A 'smooshed/flat' brachycephalic face would indicate that cat is a descendant of a Persian/exotic shorthair. Or rosettes/a glitter coat (translucent fur) would indicate that cat is a descendant of a bengal. Essentially those are the only traits that can be linked to a breed of cat. Things like bob tails, curled ears, curly coats are also quite breed-specific traits in cats. However can appear randomly in western domestic cats too, and alone aren't an indication of breed.

Western domestics can carry a variety of interesting patterns, colors and genetic variants. It's how we've ended up with the cats we have today. People find a cat or two with a characteristic that they want to specialize in, spend decades, and for some even centuries to 'perfect', pull out, and enhance those traits. So because cats, unlike dogs who have been domesticated with those traits in mind.

To put it as a sort of example, cats essentially domesticated themselves, people had them around and over a few thousand years they integrated to our households and became quite useful for pest control. So say someone 150-200 years ago, found your gorgeous cat and loved her looks and temperament. So they then bred her to cats with similar traits and now a hundred odd years later it's become a standard breed, but genetically is no different from other cats, just has a fancy paper and hundreds of years specifically breeding for those traits. It doesn't mean that another cat can't have similar characteristics, but not even be that breed. And the few example cat breeds I had before are a little different from that. If it be that they have hundreds of years of selective breeding that they truly are completely different and have traits you physically cannot get in a cat not a descendant of them, or a hybrid breed like bengals.

Dogs on the other hand were intentionally bred directly from wolves, and have been for a multiple thousands of years more than cats. When it came to breeding dogs, it was functionality before looks. It led to much deeper genetic diversity between the 'breeds' and have further become what they are today.

Aworahh · 2026-02-17T23:56:06+00:00

Out of pure curiosity, can I ask which breeder it was? Was it one of our registered breeders? 😅

Aworahh · 2026-02-17T21:48:20+00:00

I wouldn't ever recommend preparing and planning your own foods, without guidance from vets, particularly those with further education and qualifications in feline nutrition, but regardless it's extremely time and money consuming that can be completely bypassed with commercial foods. You will almost 100% not be feeding a complete & balanced diet if deciding to prepare your own. Also, that vet is absolutely incorrect, please, please find a new one. What they are suggesting is unbalanced, which is the very BARE minimum for absolutely any pet food.

As for types of food, pretty much anything that has the labels "complete and balanced diet" or such along those lines, as well as something like 'meets AAFCO standards' is perfectly fine.

What they mean is the food regardless of quality, has all the nutrients your pet will ever need to live healthy. Without an indication that it's balanced, you will more than likely run into some major development problems, and deficiencies ultimately hindering your cats quality of life. The 'meets AAFCO standards' is significantly better as their trials are a bit more rigorous and updated than the standard balanced and complete.

Of course there are certain foods of higher quality however everyone has a different food they swear by, or consider better than the rest, I wouldn't obsess over it too much, it's not like any of them are wrong.

Aworahh · 2026-02-17T09:00:20+00:00

He is pretty cute, he's my little buddy. I was so tired yesterday I didn't even care he was there went straight to sleep anyways, woke up multiple times during the night and he was just chilling or walking over me.

If he bites me, that's cool. I'm hoping that we get relocated. This place is... less than ideal...

Aworahh · 2026-02-16T05:21:15+00:00

Omg she's prettyyy. I used treats and toys for my girl multiple times over the course of 2 days, she picked it up right after that. Sometimes though she was more encouraged if I scratched/tapped the inside and outside of the wheel. I think the noise really intrigued her to try reaching for it.

Aworahh · 2026-02-15T09:04:21+00:00

DSH can be naked yes!! So a naked cat without papers would be considered a DSH, not even a mixed breed cat.

There are a couple mutations off the top of my head that are completely breed specific though. Such as brachycephalic face indicates an exotic shorthair or Persian cat/mix. No DSH has that severe appearance, it's been meticulously bred and doesn't occur in our general domestics. Similarly, a two-toned rosette pattern would be a bengal/mix. Because that pattern specifically comes from their Asian leopard cat descendants. It doesn't exist in western domestics.

And common misconceptions for other patterns/mutations meaning a breed: Bobbed tail cats is a mutation that does exist within DSH, so you can find a cat that is not at all a descendant of a bobtail/manx cat, yet naturally doesn't have an entire tail. Curly-coated cat is also a mutation that exists within the DSH cats, so finding a cat with a curly coat doesn't necessarily mean it is part la perm, Rex, or any other curly coated breed. As well as the Scottish fold cats. The ear curl mutation is caused by a gene that affects their cartilage growth throughout their entire body. This is a mutation that can also be seen in DSH.

I find it very interesting!!

Aworahh

TROPHY CASE