I just wanted to say I've really enjoyed reading all the posts on this thread. The story of Heidi made me want to cry, and nutkitty, Sasami is a very lucky cat to have you! Fancidots I can imagine how crazy your household must be with all the cats but it sounds like never a dull moment...

By the way, Fancidots I do not have a name yet for my little guy, I can't seem to find the right one yet. I love the names you have nutkitty, how did you choose those? I pick my kitten up in 3 weeks, I can't wait!

My bengal will be my first "breed", I've always taken in unwanted/stray kitties. I already have two cats and a dog, all were strays. One of the cats I have now was going to be killed along with the rest of the litter, a friend of mine found out about it, gave me a call in panic to see if I'd take one to save it, we both did. Unfortunately those were the only two to make it, by the time she got to the farm to take the kittens the others had already been killed. I have a dog (border collie mix) that we acquired the same way, a farmer already had a hole dug to bury the litter, but a relative of his (who was also a friend of ours) happened to be there and scooped up the entire litter of 7 puppies and brought them home. He then had the job of finding homes for all of them and of course we were talked into one!

It does make my angry that people feel I'm doing something wrong by buying a Bengal. If I were not getting a bengal I would not be getting another cat anyway. I asked one of the people harrassing me if they would find my bengal acceptable if I asked the breeder to let the kittens run loose and have the shelter pick them up first. I didn't really get an answer to that though.

All three names are japanese... I er... like japanese cartoon and manga. ^_^;

Sasami means: Girl in the Sand (appropriate for a cat, eh?)

Kinomi means: Nut (get it? Nut Kitty) hehe... my boyfriend's idea.

Yuki means: Snow, or courage.

At least, that's what I'm pretty sure all three mean....

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- Dawn

http://www.nutkitty.com

What a great set of posts, thankyou all....

I particularly liked fancidot's "Bengal 500" comment, that made me laugh out loud , we have a 2 bengal race every night, in fact there's one going on right now and they get pretty crazy, I can only imagine what happens when 9 of them get going

Yes the "Bengal 500" - do I know what I am getting myself into???? This is my first Bengal!

Hi everybody,

Sorry for the DELAYED reply, but life is crazy around here! I still check up on the messages every once in a while but between cats, computer problems, my 3 year old, and 3 jobs life is quite hectic!

Don't ever let anyone make you feel bad about buying a purebred cat. You know what you want from a pet, and you got it. You're not causing the death of a shelter cat, and the people who would try to make you feel bad about your decision are probably just trying to make themselves look righteous.

And the comment about breeders not breeding if they couldn't sell kittens for money is absurd! I've been in this for years and have yet to make a cent!!! I know I've spent thousands (one of my old posts describes some of my trials and tribulations) and I would still breed bengals (albeit keep the numbers low) if no one bought them!

I still rescue cats too, but I pick up ones that shelters would probably just let die anyway, the most recent one was 3 days old when I found her and her dead mother, she was tiny, cold as ice, and covered in biting flies, she almost died in the palm of my hand. I thought I had found a dead kitten, until I poked her and she just barely twitched. I drove home on an eighty degree summer day with the heat in my car on full blast (boy was I sweaty!!) to try and warm her, and gave her some kitten formula. "Calliope" the little tortie, is now more than a year old and is the most spoiled thing! (my mom owns her now)

I wouldn't have been able to save her if I wasn't a breeder, because I wouldn't have had an "orphan kitten kit" handy in the short window she had to be saved!

Sorry for dragging on, but it makes me mad to hear people that think that purebred cats take homes form shelter cats, because it simply isn't true... most of those types don't see that the eventual goal of the groups pushing "adopt one until there are none" is the abolishment of any pet ownership at all, and I (and the rest of you) know how bleak our lives would be without pets!

Athena

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Heidi

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- Dawn

http://www.nutkitty.com

<!--QuoteBegin-NutKitty+Nov 26 2004, 09:51 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (NutKitty @ Nov 26 2004, 09:51 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Your signature image is the perfect example of a squishy bengal face!!!  [/quote]
Maybe we should start a new thread..... "Squishy Face" and get everyone to post pics of our cats best squishy faces .....poor cats

Looking forward to seeing your pics!

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Heidi