Finding the best cat insurance for your hybrid cat isn’t an easy task. A lot of basic cat insurance providers won’t actually cover hybrid cats, firstly because of their value and secondly because of their ‘reported’ tendency to fight and hunt.

If you do manage to find a few companies willing to insure your hybrid you’ll still have to work hard to ensure you get the best cat insurance policy possible.

Shopping for the best cat insurance

In order to get the best cat insurance possible you need to ensure the company you choose will a) pay out when you need them to, b) offer affordable premiums for the level of cover you want and c) let you choose your own veterinarian practice.

Hybrid cats need top quality and often specialized care when they are sick and so you need to be able to use a veterinarian you are confident in. If an insurance company specifies where you can and can’t take your hybrid cat then it isn’t offering the best cat insurance policy available.

Image used under Creative Commons from sofafort.

What to look for in a cat insurance policy

The best cat insurance policies will offer cover for accidents (injuries, burns etc), illnesses (dental problems, infections, cat flu etc), prescriptions, surgeries should you ever need them and time spent in an animal hospital. You can often spend a few extra dollars on the premiums and cover annual vaccinations and any other veterinarian bills that your hybrid cat might incur as well.

The price of the best cat insurance available

Every insurance company that is willing to insure your hybrid cat will work out the premiums using a different set of criteria. The majority of them will at the very least take the following into consideration:

• The age of the cat, to the best of your knowledge if it is a rescued cat
• Any ongoing or previous illnesses, again to the best of your knowledge
• The exact breed of your hybrid cat
• The level of cover you want
• Your zip code.

Once you supply this information you’ll be able to choose the insurance company that is offering what you perceive to be the best cat insurance for the price you want to pay. Remember though that your hybrid cat is in every sense of the word ‘unique’, and so you shouldn’t skimp on your insurance premiums just to save a dollar or two. Pay as much as you can comfortably afford and buy the best cat insurance policy you possibly can.

The demand for Bengal and other hybrid cats continues to grow throughout the world, but unfortunately most prospective buyers choose local breeders over Bengal cat rescue centers as their first port of call. Although Bengal cat breeders are usually reputable they are also usually expensive, and a good example of a Bengal kitten can easily set you back a couple of thousand dollars.

Bengal Cat Rescue: A Better, Cheaper Alternative

The alternative to your local breeder is your local Bengal cat rescue center. Most areas have at least one cat rescue center in the vicinity and it is becoming more and more common to find hybrid cats within the compound. You may well ask why such expensive and unique cats are dumped in a cat rescue center to be adopted for a fraction of their worth.

Image used under Creative Commons from markkilner.

The answer has to do with the negative behaviors exhibited by neglected Bengal cats. Yes, Bengal kittens are lovely and fluffy and incredibly cute, but as they grow into adult cats they require mental stimulation and activities that satisfy their needs to hunt and fight.

A lot of owners fail to keep their Bengal cats entertained though and their destructive behavior invariably ends with them being dropped off at a regular animal shelter, or hopefully a dedicated Bengal cat rescue center.

Finding a Bengal Cat Rescue Center

As mentioned above most cities will have some form of cat rescue center however there are still relatively few dedicated Bengal cat rescue facilities. A quick internet search will allow you to locate your nearest rescue facility and it is well worth visiting before buying from a breeder.

Visiting Your Local Bengal Cat Rescue Facility

Most Bengal cat rescue facilities are privately run by individuals or small groups i.e. organizations, who have a love and a passion for the breed. This means that a cat adopted from this type of rescue facility will probably have been given the attention and stimulation it needs to break its bad habits… and it should come to you as a well trained and loving cat.

Bengal cats that are found in normal cat rescue centers however may have been slightly neglected, through no fault of the staff, so that their behavior problems still remain. On the upside, your Bengal cat will probably have been micro-chipped, neutered and vaccinated upon arrival which is always a good thing.

In summary, it is always worth searching around for Bengal cat rescue facilities near you before turning to a breeder, simply because you never know where you might find the cat of your dreams for a fraction of the breeder’s price.

Hybrid cat behavior problems are a common concern among hybrid cat owners, but it would seem from recent reports that not all hybrid cats suffer from behavioral problems. If you’re unlucky enough to buy a hybrid that still retains a good proportion of its feral instincts though, you’ll certainly find out soon enough.

How do hybrid cat behavior problems come about?

Hybrid cats are ‘genetically manufactured’ with the end result being a unique, oversized, well-marked cat that certainly turns heads. Most hybrids are created when a domestic cat is mated with one of the larger, wild breeds, and it is the wildness of the parent that contributes to the hybrid offspring’s behavior.

By the 5th or 6th generation the feral, hunting instinct has been sufficiently diluted so that most hybrid cat behavior problems can be controlled. If however a breeder decides to back-breed a hybrid with another wild cat then the behavior problems will return in any offspring.

What are some common hybrid cat behavior problems?

The behavior problems exhibited by hybrid cats are born out of their strong instinct to hunt and fight. This means that a hybrid cat will bite if it feels threatened and kittens will nip even during play. Hybrid cats will also attack other pets if they are made to feel uneasy…and they don’t discriminate between cats, dogs or any other type of pet.

Of all hybrid cat behavior problems, one of the most annoying negative behaviors exhibited by hybrid cats is their insistence on spraying urine wherever they go. As in normal domestic cats, this behavior is a way of marking territory but in the case of domestic cats the behavior is often limited to the males. All hybrid cats tend to spray though and it is a behavior that is difficult to break.

Limiting hybrid cat behavior problems

Hybrid cats are generally very intelligent and as such they tend to get bored very easily. Boredom ultimately leads to typical hybrid cat behavior problems, namely destructive and aggressive behavior, and so the answer is to keep them stimulated as much as possible.

Image used under Creative Commons from AussieGold.

All hybrid cats benefit from human company and they love activities that allow them to climb, hide, fight and generally let their ‘wild’ side out. To limit hybrid cat behavior problems, some form of climbing frame is a must in a home with a hybrid cat, as are a number of mental activities for when they are left alone. Providing a hybrid cat isn’t neglected, either mentally or physically, they can learn to behave as domestic cats… and if they are trained well from kittenhood they can also be taught to walk on a lead and urinate only at appropriate times. In most cases, hybrid cat behavior problems can be greatly reduced or even eliminated.

The Norwich, CT Norwich Bulletin has an article featuring Debra-Ann Milette, an exotic cat rescuer. During her career, she has rescued, retrieved and relocated African servals, tigers, cougars and caracals, traveling to Texas, Illinois and Kentucky to find them. She has had her own exotic cats as pets, including a 38-pound caracal named Sara-Linda and a 52-pound Savannah African serval.

Today, she owns a 22-pound F2 Savannah cat named Matahah Me Al (Hebrew for “gift from above”), whose grandfather was a wild African serval. This cat, nicknamed Motzie, stands 16 inches tall and is described as “doglike.”

Motzie is appearing at the Helping Paws fundraiser, in Norwich, CT, on September 21 and 22.

Norwich Bulletin: Pet Talk: Come meet Motzie

In addition to the more common hybrid cat breeds featured on this site, there are many more rare and experimental hybrid cats that have been produced or are being attempted. Here is a more complete list of hybridisations and hybridisation attempts.

Breeds derived from Hybridisations between domestic Cats & wild Felids

• Bengal: domestic Cat / Asian Leopard Cat (Prionailurus bengalensis)
• Bristol: domestic Cat / Margay (Leopardus wiedii)
• Chausie aka Stone Cougar : domestic Cat / Jungle Cat aka swamp-lynx (Felis chaus)
• Cheetoh: Ocicat / Bengal
• Jungle-Bob: Pixie-bob / Jungle Cat aka swamp-lynx (F. Chaus)
• Jungle-Curl: Hemingway Curl aka American Curl / Jungle Cat aka swamp-lynx (Felis chaus)
• Layanese: Tonkinese / Himalayan
• Machbagral and/or Viverral: domestic Cat / Fishing Cat (Prionailurus viverrinus)
• Pantherette: Pixie-bob / Asian Leopard Cat (Prionailurus bengalensis)
• Punjabi: (domestic Cat with Indian Desert-Cat aka Asiatic Wildcat (Felis s. ornata)
• Safari: (domestic Cat with Geoffroy’s Cat (Leopardus geoffroyii)
• Savannah and/or Ashera: (domestic Cat with Serval (Leptailurus serval)
• Serengeti: Oriental / Bengal
• Toyger: domestic Cat / Bengal
• Ussuri: domestic Cat / Amur Asian Leopard Cat (Prionailurus b. euptailura)
• Caracat: Domestic Cat / Caracal (accidental Hybridisation, Moscow Zoo, 1998)
• Oncicat: Domestic Cat / Oncilla (Little Spotted Cat/Tiger Cat)
• Domestic Cat / Black-footed Cat (F. nigripes)
• Domestic Cat / Rusty-spotted Cat (Prionailurus rubiginosus) (wild-occurring Hybrids, India)

Breeds derived from multiple Hybridisations between domestic Cats & Felids

• Afro-Chausie: Chausie / African Wildcat (F. s. lybica)
• Euro-Chausie: Chausie / European Wildcat (F. s. silvestris)
• Scottie-Chausie: Chausie / Scottish Wildcat (F. s. grampia)

Attempted or unconfirmed Hybridisation between domestic Cats & Felids

• Jaguarundi Curl (alleged name) aka Mandalan Jaguar (proposed name) : Domestic Cat / Jaguarundi
• Domestic Cat / Canada Lynx
• Domestic Cat / Bobcat (Felis rufus)
• Domestic Cat / Pallas Cat (Otocolobus manula)

According to Steve Dale at My Pet World, “If a cat breed can have attention deficit disorder, it’s the Bengal.”

Bengals are bright, active cats that demand activity like few other breeds. If their natural playfulness and demands for activity are left unfulfilled, they can resort to destructive behavior, such as trashing their litterbox or knocking things over. If Bengal owners make the effort to meet their unique needs, they are rewarded by the cats’ intelligence, playfulness, and affectionate natures.

Marilyn Krieger, a cat behavior consultant and coordinator says Bengals require places to climb and activities when people are not there to entertain them. “A cat tree with various levels is important, and perhaps it overlooks a window is where you put the bird feeder. I suggest a Turbo Scratcher for Bengals because it’s two toys in one for cats twice as active (as most). This combination scratcher and track toy is available online and in pet stores.”

From Steve Dale’s My Pet World