Hi from Aly, Dave, Zeus + Hera

Aly · **Joined:** Wed Jan 06, 2016 6:48 am **Posts:** 8

Hi all!!!
I'll give you the short of it .....
I had a HUGE ginger Tom cat Garfield who everyone including vets used to say they were certain he was mixed with Bengal! He had suffered cystitis when he was 2 and was really ill with it but had done so well since!!

I begged my other half for a playmate for my Garfield and eventually he gave in and let me have a kitten - but one condition he wanted a full Bengal... Fine by me - enter Zeus.

Zeus was with us literally 2 weeks when Garfy fell ill, he had a really high temp and just wasn't himself, he stayed at the vets for 2 nights, then was allowed home, I went to pick him up and he just started getting ill again, so the vets told me to go away for an hour or so and see if he calms down, then see if I can get him home, sadly he didn't make it :( he wasnt strong enough to cope and had heart failure. I was absaloutly crushed!!! He was only 6yrs old.

My biggest worry - I had a little baby with no playmate and this was the last thing I wanted!
So Dave told me to phone the breeder and see if they had any left, I was convinced they'd all be gone but he made me call them.
This was meant to be - they had one girl left who was just never collected - a family had asked them to hold and just never bothered turning up!

Well you can imagine how quickly I rushed round there!!
So I now have Zeus + Hera my 7 month old babies!!!!!

Aly · **Joined:** Wed Jan 06, 2016 6:48 am **Posts:** 8

Darker one is the boy Zeus, light is Hera my little princess

spitspot · **Joined:** Mon Jan 12, 2015 2:26 pm **Posts:** 734

Welcome! Gorgeous pair of kitties! So sorry that you lost Garfield. Six is too young :sad:

Clare&magic · **Joined:** Sat Oct 31, 2015 9:44 pm **Posts:** 707

Your babies are gorgeous, so sorry to hear you lost your lovely Garfield, I fully understand how you feel as I lost my first bengal at only 5.

I hope you have lots of fun with your furbabies, I have hours of fun with Magic, I love him to bits.

Keep up with the photos.

Aly · **Joined:** Wed Jan 06, 2016 6:48 am **Posts:** 8

Thanks guys!
There's another photo attached - slightly better than them sleeping in a box!! Promise this isn't there bed, well not officially but they seem to think it makes a great bed!!!

There's also a photo of Garfield and his pooky - naturally, it's horrible to loose any pet but one so young is heartbreaking and he was so special to the whole family! After his cystitis he was never 100%, always had weight problems etc so to be fair he would've been in a terrible condition the older he got so I know deep down it was best for him to go young!

I'm already having so much fun! It's so lovely to see them growing together and it's amazing how Zeus is nearly double the size of his sister! They both eat the same I swear lol!! They're breeders have even commented how big he is - I'm thrilled cause i want him to be big!!
It was so sweet when we brought her home - the knew each other straight away even though it had been two weeks! I didn't actually get to play/fuss/cuddle for about a week because they just loved the fact they were back together!!!

Xx

spitspot · **Joined:** Mon Jan 12, 2015 2:26 pm **Posts:** 734

What a pair of beauties, and Garfield was very very handsome - I have a special place in my heart for ginger toms. Zeus almost looks like a Toyger with all his stripes! If you search where you login at the top of the page for Toyger, then Dexter and Eva, two beautiful rare Toyger cats will come up for you to compare! I think cardboard boxes are the best beds as cats just loooove sleeping in them.

Clare&magic · **Joined:** Sat Oct 31, 2015 9:44 pm **Posts:** 707

What beauties, I have also always loved ginger toms, my very first cat when I got married 28 years ago was a huge ginger boy I also had his sister but sadly she vanished at the age of 3 I never saw her again, my cat after him also vanished aged 8, ever since then and having bengals I have never let another cat out by himself.
I wish I had gotten 2 bengals when I got Magic but I think at nearly 4 it's a bit late.

Aly · **Joined:** Wed Jan 06, 2016 6:48 am **Posts:** 8

He does look a bit like a toyger! I'd never heard of them before now!! I might look into that a bit more as he does look very similar, his breeders said they thought he was a charcoal Bengal?
It's difficult I can't wait till they're older and fully grown but at the same time I want them to be cute little kittens forever!!

I love love love ginger toms! I was tempted with another after garfy but my dad said I would probably end up comparing the baby to Garfield for the rest of his life and going with something different was better. It sounds mad when I speak so fondly of him but he really was so so special to me!! He was the pet I'll always remember - probably because he was still just a baby at 6!

Glad you have fun with magic! I don't let mine out, Garfield used to go out with my Dave when he was doing stuff in the garden but that was all, these two won't even be doing that because they are so interested in EVERYTHING I know I'd loose them!!
I hate hearing people tell me it's cruel, it's my decision to not let them out, they're such beauties they could easily be stolen etc, or worse! Plus I think you get a better bond with a house cat!

Me and Dave both say we're sad to of lost Garfy but it is lovely that these two have each other, they have this unbreakable bond and it's beautiful to see, I think you'd be OK to introduce another cause my Garfy was so good with Zeus the few weeks we did have them together, I'm sure magic would tell you if he really wasn't happy!!

Clare&magic · **Joined:** Sat Oct 31, 2015 9:44 pm **Posts:** 707

I am seriously thinking of getting a little girl for him to play with, he does get bored very easily.

I think keeping a cat in is the kindest thing you can do when there are so many dangers outside, when my previous bengal was in the hospital there was a cat who was poisoned with rat poison he was in a terrible state, I would never want that to happen to my boy.

There is nothing cruel about keeping them in, what they haven't had they don't miss.

Aly · **Joined:** Wed Jan 06, 2016 6:48 am **Posts:** 8

Couldn't agree more!!
Get a girl one!! Do it - I think you'll be surprised how well they'd get on!!
X

Sherry · **Joined:** Thu May 23, 2013 2:21 pm **Posts:** 9217

Welcome, Aly! Your Garfield was a stunning ginger. I am so sorry you lost him. Your new babies are super adorable! Congratulations. I'm happy to hear you will be keeping them inside. You can always create a catio or outdoor enclosure for them so they can enjoy the fresh air and if you are up to it, bengals can easily walk on a harness and leash. May take some time for them to get used to it. However, know that once a kitty has smelled that outdoor air, they want it almost constantly! So if your babies are fine being inside, that's where they belong.

Aly · **Joined:** Wed Jan 06, 2016 6:48 am **Posts:** 8

Thanks for the advice sherry!
I think the other half is planning on making them a garden playpen when we get a bigger garden (hopefully buying in about 2yrs)
Not sure about walking them - if you live in the uk you may have seen there's been a rise in the theft of bengals in my area and I would be too scared to take them out, I'm a protective momma!!

Xx

Sherry · **Joined:** Thu May 23, 2013 2:21 pm **Posts:** 9217

I sort of "stole" my bengal from my neighbor! I had a stray I was feeding go missing and 5 cats showed up in my yard, one of them being Raiden. I befriended him as I had never seen him before and had no idea he lived 4 doors down from me. The owner want to rehome him and I was willing to take Raiden in. Some days I regret it as he's extremely vocal and cries constantly! Other days, he can be super sweet. That being said, I would never have another bengal. I had moggies all my life and they suit me much better than a demanding, vocal, highly energetic cat, especially at my old age. I love Raiden with all my heart and soul, but he can be a pain sometimes.

Happy to hear you plan to keep yours inside! Raiden does love his enclosure and uses it a lot in the spring, summer and fall. Not so much in the cold winter, but he does check it out every single day at some point. He can watch the birds and be safe from harm's way.

Clare&magic · **Joined:** Sat Oct 31, 2015 9:44 pm **Posts:** 707

I am the opposite, I have always had moggies all my life, then we decided on a bengal which was Frosty my first, when I lost him to cancer I knew I had to have another bengal which is Magic, I don't think I could go back to a cat that isn't vocal even if he is naughty sometimes.

Years ago I recommended a bengal to a friend she now has 7 of them plus several older cats, indent think I could cope with that many.

Clare&magic · **Joined:** Sat Oct 31, 2015 9:44 pm **Posts:** 707

Hi from Aly, Dave, Zeus + Hera

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