Bengal Shed

DO BENGAL CATS SHED?

Whether curious or interested in buying a Bengal of your very own, Bengal shedding may be one part of many in deciding whether Bengals make good pets. Take a look at the previous post to learn more about other intricacies of owning a Bengal. But for the matter at hand, a Bengals coat may look beautiful and feel silky, but is it going to cover your house in stray cat hairs? For this topic, we’ll look into it as such:

• So do they shed?
• How do I deal with shedding?
• Are Bengals hypoallergenic?

SO DO THEY SHED?

Well, yes, but… They shed so little that the answer is practically “no”. They shed minimally, some so minimally that it appears that they don’t even shed at all. Compared to domestic cats, they don’t shed but in reality they do. Another way to look at it is that domestic cats shed insanely heavily compared to Bengals. Whether this is due to their pelt-like coats or something else doesn’t really matter, it just makes our beloved Bengal even more wonderful.

Bengals are even listed as the number one least shedding cat on Cat Time.

However, even the most minimal Bengal shedder can occasionally start shedding heavily for a short amount of time. This can happen for a number of reasons which we’ll investigate further in the next section.

HOW DO I DEAL WITH SHEDDING?

For the occasional bout of heavy shedding, ending the cause will stop the shedding. It could be caused by stress, anxiety, or a change of weather. Whether the weather needs to change back, the cat relaxes after moving, or whatever the cause, once these problems are fixed, the heavy shedding should cease.

Another possible reason for this excessive shedding could be their nutritional needs. Something in their diet may be lacking. In this case, their food might need to be changed or they could just be in need of an added supplement.

Speaking of supplements, sometimes the listed changes don’t fix the shedding. In these cases, Omega-3 taken daily can help to stop the shedding. If administered in a liquid form, it can be easily ingested by putting the dose into their food. Some Bengal owners are lucky enough that their cat is willing to take the supplement plain. Adding Omega-3 can also help to make their coat even glossier, but this is just the cherry on top compared to your Bengal being happy and healthy.

But for the rest of the time, a Bengal’s coat is easy to care for simply by combing it weekly. This removes dead hair collected in the fur and distributes skin oils across the body to care for the skin of the entire body.

While combing is all that is needed regularly, occasionally a bath is necessary. You can check out our post about Bengals and water to learn how you Bengal might react to a filled bathtub in this case. Still for some Bengal owners, they may have to treat the situation like the stereotypical understanding of giving a cat a bath.

ARE BENGALS HYPOALLERGENIC?

A cat allergy comes around from the dander in the cats’ fur. Because Bengals shed less than other cat breeds, they release less dander causing less of a, or no, reaction in the allergically afflicted person.

They have been shown to cause a minor reaction to some persons allergic to cat dander, and have also been known to elicit no reaction from allergic persons. As always, each Bengal is unique. Whether or not a certain Bengal’s dander is going to cause an allergic reaction or not depends on the Bengal. Each Bengal is different. Even within the same litter, some Bengals may produce allergic dander while others do not. The best option would be for the person in question to spend some time around a specific Bengal that they may potentially own to see whether that cat’s dander in particular sets off the person’s allergic response.

However there is also experience that persons allergic to cat dander better tolerate the dander of a Bengal (if the cat in question even produces enough to cause a reaction) than they do to other breeds of cat.

As we’ve seen, Bengals are pretty notorious for shedding less than other breeds of cats and this affects how humans with feline allergies react to them. This can even be an intrigue into purchasing or adopting a member of the breed. Read more about Bengal Cat Hypoallergenic.