Waiting for Babies... of the Feline variety.

[Evol_girl]

OK.

With all this talk about baby snakes on the way - I just can't hold in my excitement about a litter of kittens I'm waiting on.

In about 2 weeks a littler of Bengals will be born from the same parents of one of our current bengals. IF there is a boy and IF the breeder doesn't want to keep him, she will offer him to us.

The significance of this is that we really do not WANT another cat... We have 4 (along with our other pets) and honestly 5 seems like a LOT of cats. BUT... Like any animal I assume, but perhaps a little more with Bengals and exotics like them - the parents really do influence their personality. I've seen some really crappy bengals, personality wise. AND to top if off, this is the last litter either parent is having, they are both retiring after this. So it would be our LAST CHANCE at getting another 'purrrrfect' Bengal from this pairing.

So, this is our one loophole. This is the only way we will add another kitty to our house - and as much as I say we don't want another cat - Who CANT be excited about another new kitty?!?

I seriously can't wait another 2 weeks to know if there is a boy in the litter at all - let alone a few more weeks after that for her to determine if its one we can have.

*breathe, Summer - Breathe*

Thanks for listening to my rant. Carry on

 

[Christen]

Oh you will have to post pictures. I sure do hope that you are able to get a baby.

 

[Shiari]

What I've noticed with the bengals is that the closer they are, generation-wise, to the original 50/50% cross, the more psychotic they are. They have conflicting input genetically on how to handle human beings and it seems to make them more than a little crazy. Most bengals are pretty far from those crosses now, and the majority of them are really quite sweet.

And now we have the Savannah cats having the exact same issue, only they're scarier because they're far larger than any bengal.

 

[DanaP]

I've always wanted a bengal! I hope you get one

 

[Evol_girl]

What I've noticed with the bengals is that the closer they are, generation-wise, to the original 50/50% cross, the more psychotic they are. They have conflicting input genetically on how to handle human beings and it seems to make them more than a little crazy. Most bengals are pretty far from those crosses now, and the majority of them are really quite sweet.

And now we have the Savannah cats having the exact same issue, only they're scarier because they're far larger than any bengal.

Our bengals are F3 - through SBT (Standard Bengal, more than 5 generations removed). They are all just as friendly and nice as a regular domestic cat - with a bit more intelligence and 'dog' like behavior. They are lap babies, sleep under the covers with us, and do fun things like play catch and talk I wouldn't consider any even close to psychotic! They all come from the same breeder because I know how she raises her kittens and how she treats her adults. She has an ALC (the Asian Leopard Cat) that is practically as sweet as the farthest generations away from him, with some obvious differences - he is after all wild. Its all how they are raised and brought up for the most part.

The only bengals I have seen that have a bad attitude or aren't friendly are ones that are raised by bad breeders - ie. in cages instead of 'in home' - hardly handled, etc. They end up more feral that way obviously - like any cat would, even a typical domestic. Its just with the ALC blood in them you have to be even more aware of the socializing part when they are kittens.

Its the same thing when it comes to Savannahs / Servals. You can just throw a little of kittens in a cage, wait 12 weeks and send them to someones house. Cool looking or not - they will be unmanageable. You need to do your research on breeders almost more extensively then you have to do on the breed you are looking to get. I know a lot of Savannahs that I would put in the exact same category as my bengals - sweet, docile and SUPER cool behaviors. I just prefer the Bengal because they have softer fur

 

[Evol_girl]

*woah. really bad typing. Last paragraph should read "You CANT just throw a LITTER of kittens..."

 

[Hypancistrus]

Bengals are one of the breeds I really love the look of, but their prey drive is, I think, too great for our household. I think if we ever get another indoor only cat it will be some big fat, lazy fluffy thing, like a ragdoll.

 

[Evol_girl]

Bengals are one of the breeds I really love the look of, but their prey drive is, I think, too great for our household. I think if we ever get another indoor only cat it will be some big fat, lazy fluffy thing, like a ragdoll.

If you have mice or rodents of any kind - I would think ANY cat would be a wee bit close to "asking for it" IMO I learned this the hard way when I was younger with birds... I had 3 birds over the course of time and they all succumbed to the food chain in our own house. It was heartbreaking.

Although while a big fat rag doll might WANT to eat them, perhaps wouldn't be fast enough to do so at least Our Bengals are damn quick - I'll give them that...

I'll say this though - oddly enough - the 'purest' Bengal we have (the closest in generation to the actual leopard cat) would probably be the least likely to be the hunter out of our brood... She would scoff at it and consider it beneath her I'm sure

 

[Tavia]

My boyfriend has (sorta) a Bengal cat. She is 11 and the loudest, most talkative cat I've ever met. She acts just like a youngster though, if I didn't know better, I would only guess her age at 3 to 5.

 

[Evol_girl]

Kitty updates: Sadly, the litter I've been waiting on and super crossing my fingers for was born, but due to complications they were all stillborn...

However, we are getting another from from the breeder (mostly because once you decide to get another kitty its almost impossible to say no to one offered to you).

Its a little bittersweet because we were so looking forward to having a full sibling to one of our bengals now - but this little guy is a nephew, so its close AND - the *only* upside is that he is ready to come home in 2 weeks, whereas with the other litter we would've had another 3 months to wait to bring him home!

So now its frantically clean the house, get the kitty room ready, new kitty box - kitty food, kitty-proof the house time! We are super excited. His name is Mr. Smudges. We had planned on naming him Jaxx, but since Jaxx was technically born and stillborn we felt like it was necessary to give him a different name.

 

[Christen]

Oh no I am so sorry. But you will have to post pics of Mr Smudges. I completely understand the name thing.

 

[Michael823]

I think if we ever get another indoor only cat it will be some big fat, lazy fluffy thing, like a ragdoll.

Sounds like my brother's cat. I've never met a more content cat in my life. He is the absolute most loveable, lazy, quiet and cuddly impersonation of a cat that I've ever had.

Congrats (hopefully) on the Bengal, though. Sounds exciting!

 

[Evol_girl]

Here are a couple of pics of mr. Smudges - keep in mind, bengals are a lot like snakes in the sense they are hard to photograph. You'll see he almost looks 2 different colors in each pic! And he's still young and in the "fuzzy" stage. His colors and pattern will mature as he gets older. He's only 6 weeks in these pics

And here is his Aunt, Neenah. Shes a seal mink Bengal (snow colored). This is one of her at around 6 months...