Hello everyone! I am a crazy cat lover and a few years ago fell in love with the Bengal breed. As anyone who knows me can tell you I take a lot of time learning and researching before I get a new pet. Though I really know my stuff with Siamese cats as my family was one of the first here in the US to have them as pets (thanks to my Senator Great Grandfather) I quickly found that Bengals were a breed unto themselves and I treated getting one like I had never owned a cat before. You hear so many things about this breed, some wild, some plain crazy. People love to put up videos like "So you think you want a Bengal" and such. It can be hard to know what owning a Bengal for the first time will really be like. And truth to tell, I was almost scared out of getting one on a few occasions. After Soooooo much reading and searching I am happy to say that on March 16, 2017 MY Bengal kitten was born at the Anjou cattery in CT. and he came home 12 weeks later. His name is Loki! I have owned cats my whole life and as a Siamese owner I am well versed in smart, loyal, energetic cats, but this experience has been like nothing else in my life. I don't know quite how to put it in words that make it come across right. It's like, as Loki has grown, with each milestone, every new bond formed there is this moment when he looks me right in the eye and I can FEEL him saying, I love you, you earned this purr, or rub or whatever. He has brought me to tears on many occasions. Here is a perfect example: Loki was really bonded to his litter mates and had a very rough time when he first came home. You could tell he wasn't scared, he was looking for his family. He cried and cried. I couldn't get him to eat or drink a thing. I kept the light on and stayed up with him talking and soothing him as best as I could and then had an idea. I had done my research and knew that play was often the way into a Bengal's heart. I grabbed this fishing rod toy with a shinny blue fish on the end that I bought new for him and began to play with him. It was slow at first, but then he crept closer and closer. As we played he stopped crying and began to really go for it. I dangled that toy until my arm about fell off. When I stopped, he stood up, went over to the food and water bowl, ate, drank and then did something I will never forget as long as I live. He walked up to me after two days of no luck with him, he looked me in the eyes for several moments then let out a new sound. We call it his Pokémon call as he uses it to this day when he is about to Love attack you. He let out the sound and ran full out into my arms. He jumped up trusting I would catch him and he flipped onto his back and went all floppy purring and begging for his belly rubbed. I had never cried so hard and so happy. It was so pure. so sweet. It was the most honest and innocent moment in my life, No exaggeration. From then on he never looked back. We are friends, equals, true companions. There is a give and take that you just don't see with other "pets". He is eager to show me everything he discovers and is just as eager to be taught by me. Never has a little creature come into my life and so totally swept me off my feet. People talk about how active they are. They like to try to scare you with stories of destruction and wild behavior. Some down right condemn the breed or question it's legitimacy. I was prepared for just about anything. What they DON'T tell you is how these cats are the sweetest most rewarding companions possible. You really DO earn it with them and they with you and neither one of you is ever the same again. THIS is what it is really like to become a Bengal owner.

What a beautiful post and never a truer word said. I feel you.

No truer words have been spoken. Thank you for sharing such an intimate experience with us. Bengals are a breed onto their own and are incredibly amazing kitties. You have a very special bond with Loki that will never ever go away.