Friday, April 30, 2010

Lots of Magic....


Now that I am fairly sure it is really spring in our part of the world, I've moved some of the Cat Trees out to the Scream Porches. This makes for a New Chair in the Corner where the Cat Tree was. You can see it in the picture above. It is important to establish whose chair it IS, and Venus knows she looks good here.


Mim has been going a bit bonkers. More so than usual. She really wants to be outside, which is not safe where I live. She gets leash walks, and I am getting a new Cat Wheel for her to run on. (I'm going to fix the old one, and see if the Royals or Magic would like to run) I brought her a "new" cat tree from Magics room, thinking it might give her more fun. It worked.


Magic, as you know, has his own room and Screamed Porch. (Obviously, Underworld is his favorite movie. I think he has five posters now.) I put up a Scream Door on the door to his room a couple months ago, in hopes of starting to get him, Venus and Mim a bit used to each other, and give him more to see. Seems to be working.


I've been closing off the basement and letting him out from time to time for some Family Time. Today was the best yet. Venus and Mim don't attack him, but they do bully him, and chase him back. Today they were pretty tolerant.



Magic, as a lot of you know, was a Rescue, from Great Lakes Bengal Rescue. I was his last shot. Death, or cage. Those were his options when a shelter in Madison called us. I know I say this a lot, and actually I wish I could get it on the Breaking News somewhere, but Early Generation Bengals are NOT pets. Later Generation F4 or higher, yup, great pets, kind of extreme kitties, but kitties.

Magic is an F1. Half Leopard. If you have an Early Gen Bengal and want to debate with me and tell me how wonderful your Kitty is, well adjusted, fun, playful, GREAT. Congratulations. You obviously know what you are doing.

The problem is, especially for those of us in Bengal Rescue, is that most people Do Not.


Whom ever first had Magic thought they were getting a Leopard who would love them. I'm sure he did as a kitten. They hedged their bets tho and had him de-clawed on ALL FOUR paws. I am sure when he hit teenage Leopard he started to change. Probably peed everywhere. Most likely didn't feel real safe. (Having no claws and all) So they gave him to a friend. And another. And then I am really pretty sure he no longer felt safe.

He ended up at a shelter who were really pretty sure they couldn't adopt him anywhere.

This happens a lot.


Early Gen Bengals are far more timid than the later ones, and need to be socialized from a very early age, a good breeder will bottle feed them, to help this. They also will BOND, generally with one person. Or another cat of a person isn't available. They are very vocal, they make an astonishing range of noises. They can growl like, well, a Leopard when it is feeding time. They can get aggressive. If they are bored. In a bad mood. Scared.

They need a lot of time and patience, and very often, that is simply NOT ENOUGH.

They can react quite seriously when frightened. In the wild, a Leopard that doesn't, is dead.



These are truths about Early Generation Bengals. I am all for the later generation, F4 and higher. Foster one. Read on them. There is a truth to the saying "Once you go Bengal, you never go back." They make wonderful pets. (In the right home, know what you are getting)

I love all my Bengals, but I wish the people who had Magic, and Lear, my F2, had known what they were doing when they decided to bring a Kitty that is too much a wild animal into their lives.

Because it is their life too.

Love and Magic,
Lorraine

87 Comments:

At 16:47 Blogger Phiala said...

He's lovely, and you've done an incredible job with him.

Me, I've done three of the four things to be done this week (the big one with the deadline, the smaller one with the deadline, the complicated administrative thingie), and made enormous headway on the complicated mathematical one.

(And I wonder why I don't have enough brainpower left to write at the end of the day...)

I think it must be time to go home, where Nick has theoretically been doing useful things. He seems to have gotten some idea how close to the edge I am... no clue if it will last.

At 16:51 Blogger Jane said...

He IS lovely and you saved his life. And are educating others.

I feel like that about Abyssinians; after we got our first 2, we've never wanted anything else, they are so amazing.

Phiala, sounds like you've had a productive week :-)

At 16:52 Anonymous Ardiril said...

I can read the love in your words.

At 16:53 Blogger Phiala said...

Jane, I have. I may not be getting caught up (hah!), but I'm not falling any further behind. And given the travel and meetings and craziness this month, that's pretty damn good.

I'm completely fried though... and I'm not taking any work home. So there!

At 16:59 Blogger One Sock Short said...

Can't hardly keep up with all the wonderful posts lately. Tick.

At 17:01 Blogger DataGoddess said...

Magic is just a gorgeous guy, and he's come so far from the poor scared thing who didn't trust to where he is today, through your patience and love.

I don't know if we'll ever be able to get a cat, but I do want to try a bengal at some point!

Dan and I apparently have food poisoning from dinner last night. I'm not as bad off as he is, and I hope it stays that way.

I did get my Nook today, getting ready to play with it some more. I need to find people I can share my books with - I love the loan concept, especially since I will always get the book back and don't have to physically pass the book around.

And I'm officially Out Of Cope.

At 17:05 Blogger Jane said...

Out of cope, I like it. Not that you're out of it but as a concept. You know.

Hope you guys are on the mend.

At 17:08 Blogger mistressmousey said...

Hold on a sec there. You mentioned in an earlier post that Magic was getting FAT. I'm looking at pictures of Magic, and pictures of my cat. I'm seeing a lovable little butterball there, and it's not the one with the spotty coat. :)

Jane, I used to have an Abby. <3

I love kitties.

At 17:17 Blogger ariandalen said...

It's _so_ good to see Magic out of his room. Seems the scream door is working for Venus and Mim accepting him, as much as it is Magic feeling more a part of everything.

Hi, Ultragotha and Ardiril! Glad you decided to delurk and announce your membership in Fiendom! Here are your white, buckled jackets; every Fiend has at least one. Over there you will find a table loaded with anything you might need to personalize your jacket. :)

At 17:18 Blogger LihuaEmilyP said...

My mother won't like cats. She just won't. It's really a shame.

At 17:29 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

I think I shot him at good angles, Mistress Mousy, by luck, he is a bit of a Pudge these days, but he is happier. I think he likes coming out. He was in the window by Venus while she was in the chair, in that pic, and she just looked at him.

Progress.

At 17:35 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Mim just peed on my feet. Right. She needs her cat wheel. Badly.

At 17:35 Blogger Marjorie said...

Wonderful pictures, and when I think back to how Magic was when he came to you, it's like seeing a totally different cat. He is so llucky to have found you.

(and I love that we get to see Kelli's picture on the wall!)

At 17:39 Blogger Precision Grace said...

I was amazed I wasn't tearing up (started with close up pics from the end working up to the beginning). Just was so incredibly happy for Magic.
Good point about him being a wild cat really.

And finally the cat tree painting is on the wall! Yay.


BTW, it's almost midnight here and I am STILL cleaning the house. No kidding. Since 5pm.
Went upstairs for a cuddle with Louie and kinda slid down into sleeping position with his paw in my hand. Next thing, Tonks mewl mewls us out of comfort zone (I am meant to go to other bedroom and sleep with Him, not Louie. So I had to do that for a while.) At this rate I won't get any sleep tonight...

At 17:55 Blogger Dragonsally said...

Ahhh Grace, we are so well trained by our furries.

Like everyone else who has been along for the ride, I just love seeing how far Magic has come - and seeing him out with the girls just makes my heart sing.

I just surprised myself. My first thought on reading that Mim had peed on your feet Quiche wasn't "ewww" but "at least feet are easy to wash
Its already May here in tomorrow land. where has this year gone?

At 18:03 Blogger ariandalen said...

I know what you mean about the passage of time, Sally. My girls only have four more weeks of school until summer break.

At 18:06 Blogger Dragonsally said...

And by then the year is half over! Sheesh, couldn't time slow down just a little?

At 18:42 Blogger Phiala said...

Peed on your feet? Now that's impressive. Or soemthing.

Hi Sally, welcome to May! Say I from April...

I'm lounging in the courtyard with my cat. It's lovely here today, finally gotten over that cold spell.

At 18:53 Blogger Dragonsally said...

We're having a nice sunny respite for May day too Phiala. which reminds me - I wanted to put a load of laundry on.

At 18:53 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Yeah. Peed on my feet. She ain't happy. It is not physical, she wants OUT.

Pretty simple, needs the cat wheel, if she works out more, she will be less stressed.

Go figure...Lol...

At 19:10 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Just took a quick leash walk. Thunder brewing, kid down the street, lady with two dogs, made for a VERY quick walk!

Mim is calmer tho.

Morel hunting with Birdchick in the morning!

Trail riding Sunday. Ah, weekend, be good to me.

At 19:38 Blogger Phiala said...

Hey, I'm going morel hunting in the morning too, I think.

At 19:44 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Any advice????? I am new to it, except by accident.

At 19:50 Blogger Phiala said...

Nope, that's the only way I've ever found any morels either.

At 20:12 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Well, much luck to both of us then, Mistress. At least we will have a tale to tell..

At 20:18 Blogger Phiala said...

Morel hunting is an excellent excuse to wander around in the woods as soon as it gets nice in the spring. Finding morels would be an added bonus. Wolfie likes mushroom hunting too - go slow, poke around under trees, look at (and sniff) things - good times for lazy old dogs.

At 20:55 Blogger Fluffy said...

I've got two mad teenage girls here, hopped up on pizza and dessert. They are foam-sword fighting. I guess their options are somewhat limited now that the cute pizza guy is gone and they have noone to ogle.

I want to Photoshop one of those Magic pics with lasers coming out of his eyes. "Pew, pew, pew!!"

At 21:46 Blogger ariandalen said...

I seem to recall that there were some dogs trained to hunt truffles. Not as good at it as pigs, but if you don't like pigs...

At 22:09 Blogger Jess said...

What a fine boy he is! I love those big, wondering eyes. :)

Poowheels for everyone! \o/

Someone in our neighborhood apparently has a pet elephant. Or a giant robot that needs its legs oiling. Or a bandsaw that's escaped its fittings and is now working its way through a concrete wall. Something out there is going skreeooonk, anyway. :/

At 23:50 Blogger vampi said...

*shamble* tick tock

lovely pictures of bengals. i wish i had more time and space and could adopt one.

At 01:39 Anonymous Wendy Withers said...

I went out to coffee with the guy I might like...

There were five or six of his friends already there. Then, he went home, called me, and asked if I wanted to go to a movie. So, we went to the movie and I got a firm handshake at the end of the night.

So confused.

Also, I'm not sure what Kitty has been doing, but I think her face kind of smells like pee. :(

At 01:43 Blogger Dragonsally said...

Wendy, a handshake is contact though, isn't it. Nothing wrong with taking things slowly...

Jess "skreeooonk"...that is exactly the noise of a power tool cutting through something. It may be my word of the day.

At 03:37 Blogger Marjorie said...

Maybe an Elephant that needs oiling, Jess?

At 03:41 Blogger Dragonsally said...

How cool would it be to see that elephant coming down the road? Did you see it Marjorie?

At 06:09 Blogger Marjorie said...

Sadly not, except on TV. My cousins did & said it was even more awesome in person

At 06:54 Anonymous Sister Tracy said...

HAPPY MAY DAY FIENDS!!!!
I HAVE BEES!!!

At 07:18 Anonymous Sister Tracy said...

Rereading Lorraine's comments about taking wild animals into one's home, especially when one knows nothing about it, I'd like to point out a couple things:
#1- the bees will be living in their own hive in the orchard.
#2- I have 'Beekeeping for Dummies' so I can't screw them up too bad..... I hope. I even bought them SUGAR instead of splenda!

At 07:21 Blogger Phiala said...

But Tracy, I thought you were getting the weight-conscious house bees?

At 07:34 Blogger Marjorie said...

But as they are wild animals you know they can't wander free, and you need to leash walk (or fly) each them so they get to go out, right?

At 07:36 Blogger Marjorie said...

Also, happy May Day to all Fiends, & Happy BeeKeeping to Q & Sister Tracey

At 07:36 Blogger Phiala said...

Bee leashes!!!!

At 07:52 Blogger louisa said...

Bees!!! 'Bee rustlers' sting Japanese apiarists

At 08:45 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

It's actually putting on the ear tags that is the tricky part, you need to be able to identify them..

You wouldn't think so, but the Birdchick told me there ARE people who use SUGAR FREE hummingbird food. Kid you not. Because Humming birds don't need all those extra calories and sugar is bad for them.

At 08:50 Blogger One Sock Short said...

That's insane! Like vegetarians who try to make their cats be vegetarians too.

Settling down to a Saturday at work. Hope to be productive. For a change.

DG, I hope you and Dan are recovering now. When you do feel better, I have a Nook question for you.

Okay, time to work...

At 09:21 Blogger Ticia said...

Well said.

At 09:57 Anonymous Sister Tracy said...

BEEKEEPING HURTS!
I am less enthusiastic about the whole BEE thing after being stung in the FACE. You'd think they'd be more grateful for all the nice sugar and new hive.
They are BAD bees too, refuse to stay in the hive like the book says. The hail storm due this afternoon'll learn 'em....

At 10:04 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Tracy, BEE LEASHES, we keep telling you....

Were you wearing your Bee Veil when you got stung? BAD bees! You get 'em girl!

At 10:04 Blogger Ali Trotta said...

Magic is an amazing cat, and you've done right by him. I have to give you so much credit for that, too; you saved that kitty, and not a lot of people would've put the effort in.

The picture, with the table--I love that table. It's lovely.

All my cats have been rescues. My next is definitely going to be a Bengal. And I have you to thank for that, since I didn't know that they existed, until I read your blog. :-)

At 10:13 Anonymous Sister Tracy said...

she got me just as I took off the veil. Apparently you don't do that whist still standing by a hive of pissed off bees. Good news is I am not part of the 1% of the population who dies from beestings. Jay's out in the garage making the leashes now.

At 10:39 Anonymous ULTRAGOTHA said...

You fond morels! Will you fry them up? Beef stroganoff? Cream of mushroom soup? Chicken and rice and mushrooms?

At 10:46 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

FOUND MUSHROOMS!!!! Twittered pics! Who knew I could do this? Just in the YARD!!!

(I don't even like mushrooms)

At 10:54 Blogger Marjorie said...

Tracey - sorry you got stung. Well done for not dying. Maybee you need to put the book in the hive, so they can read it & know what they aresupposed to do?

At 11:16 Anonymous Sister Tracy said...

Marjorie, that is a very good idea, since the bees obviously know nothing about beekeeping. The library shouldn't be too upset by a little beeswax.
LORRAINE, I don't like mushrooms, either. Plus it's a good idea to let someone ELSE try them first anyways......

At 11:27 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

You don't have to eat 'em, sell 'em. You can make a lot, they are very expensive.

I am going to dry these for Boss.

Birdchick wasn't excited I started without her. I told her it was an ACCIDENT. I thought "Golly Gee, that sure does look like a dead elm", and there they were!

At 11:43 Blogger Cecily said...

I am SO happy family time is getting better! I think pet ownership is something that is way too often not taken seriously enough. In my family our cats are part of our family, and seeing as I wouldn't cut my kids fingers off at the first joint, I would never do that to my cats.

On a different topic, my birthday was Thursday and I have been having the best time EVER. Got sushi lunch and fondue diner. Last night was a surprise party for me, and tomorrow is a family gathering. Last weekend was the Kyle Cassidy workshop, which was part of my birthday present. And I finally got word back with a go ahead on the children's book I have been working on. I am so lucky and loved. And very freakin' happy right now. *glow*

At 11:50 Blogger vampi said...

*squee* happy firbay cecily!!!

eek bee sting on face! maybe the bees were confused and thought the book was calling them a dummy? maybe they read about what we do with honey and thought to stage a revolt. maybe you should show them bee movie? *

um, i think i missed more, but i'm still recovering from being sickly. i've been a bit stressed at work because my job is changing, and i think all the sickness finally got me friday. starting to feel a bit better, but till all weak.



*disclaimer, boy works for dreamworks.

At 12:31 Blogger Phiala said...

We found mushrooms, but not a single morel. *pout*

The dog is all happy and tired though. And it doesn't look like our thunderstorms will arrive in time to keep me from mowing the yarn.

At 12:40 Blogger Jess said...

Ow, Tracy!

Hurrah for the mighty mushroom hunters! We planted a Vorlon, which is only funny if you've seen Babylon 5. (I am Jess. I want tomatoes. )

At 13:43 Blogger Jane said...

Mow the yarn? I know *I* have yarn on the brain :-)

At 14:03 Blogger Siri said...

Off topic - what happened to Ziggy?

(Mow the yarn? That's a lot of yarn......)

At 14:24 Blogger Uisge said...

tick

At 16:52 Blogger Precision Grace said...

Fiends, I'm totally distressed.

My friend (and her husband) came to visit today. Her father had died recently and she is over to sort things out and attend the funeral etc. I was very happy to get to see her but things went a bit pear shaped.

Her cat, who her father looked after for years, has an uncertain future. Her sister may or may not be able to take care of it.
My friend said she is considering having the cat put down because she has lived such a spoiled life that any change would be a distress.

As you can imagine, this has upset me greatly. I've offered to take the cat but my friend thinks the cat would suffer because she is not used to living with other cats. This is probably somewhat true but I still can't cope with the idea that she'll have a perfectly healthy and bouncy 10 year old cat put down.

Any ideas? (I'm practically in tears over this)

At 17:01 Blogger Marjorie said...

Grace, If she or her sister can't look after it, and she doesn't feel your homebos right, has she spoken to the Cats Protection League? It's my understanding that they have a no-kill policy for healthy animals.

Or you could see whether she would let you lfoster it temporarily to see whether it will settle with your cats. If you have space that it can start in a single room so they can all sniff each other under the door - and it would give her/you longer to find a permanent 1 cat family for her.

At 17:08 Anonymous Wendy Withers said...

Your friend sounds like my mom. She's considering putting her cat down because her cat has diabetes. She also just got hearing aids and realized she DOES NOT, in fact, have a silent cat. I could have told her that.

I would be happy to take mushroom donations from any mushroom hunters out there.

At 17:12 Blogger Precision Grace said...

I've suggested all those Marjorie, but my friend seems to think the cat is better of dead than having a lesser quality of life even for one day.

Sorry to hear your mum is thinking that Wendy. :(

At 18:04 Blogger Cecily said...

Grace, I am an upfront type of person...I usually speak my mind. I try to do it as polite as possible and will often worry that i have hurt someone's feelings when they don't even remember what i have said. I highly suggest being upfront about how you feel about the situation. To let her know that the idea of putting down the cat without trying any other options makes you incredibly sad and has even put you into tears. Ask her if she is worried about having the cat come back to her because others can't handle it and if she finds that thought painful. Maybe she is in a place where she just can not have any reminders of her father around. That is understandable, but maybe you can offer to take responsibility for that cat. That you will take the cat and find a permanent home for it, and no matter what problems come up they will not be her problem. (((HUGS)))

At 18:24 Blogger dabbler said...

Hey,All, we got our bees, too! Ours haven't stung... but may have mysteriously caused one of our, admittedly old, cars to come apart during the process of obtaining and installing them. nice of the car not to come apart on last weekend's four hour each way trip, wasn't it!

Leashes weren't part of the starter kit. And one bee spent half-an-hour buzzing around me in the yard, wondering if maybe I had some pollen somewhere. I think it was the chocolate chip cookie breath.

At 20:24 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Making Morel and Asparagus soup!!!!!!

Ts was the best day EVER!

At 21:21 Blogger Fluffy said...

Those mushrooms look amazing! Since I don't generally care for the fungi myself, I will be very interested to know what Your Fabulousness thinks of it.

At 21:29 Blogger Kitty Cat said...

wow! he is in with the gals!
this is such good news, and i hope for continued peace in the valley--
now, if you can bring those Royals down into the fun,
but i do know that Kear has his Wolverine-blade claws, which he has caught in my skin, gently, but with purpose as if to say, "this CAN happen, so be nice"

great job, you keeper of Kings. xoxo love & miss you.
Kitty

At 21:41 Blogger Dragonsally said...

Grace...my niece who is a vet nurse rang me really upset and angry because a client was saying exactly the same thing about her cat. So I cried and got angry too. Tell her exactly what you think, and catnap the cat? Is that possible?

Tracy - can you take photos of the bee leashes when Jay has made them? I shuddered when I read about your sting on the face, cos I nearly died when I was 6 from a sting on the face.

My brother has just been driving in racing cars - his 50th birthday present from above mentioned niece (his daughter) and her brother. They are about to call in with my great-nephew and great niece. Squee! expect ranting from me later.

At 08:13 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Lear can yet be dangerous when he gets irritated, that's the EG kitties.Can turn if you touch them wrong. And he is STRONG!

I am so trail riding today. Another Adventure! I think I will bring my mushroom bag, just in case you know..

At 09:07 Blogger Jess said...

It's raining here. I'm going to stay in the house and sulk until 1:00. Then I'm going to the library meet-n-greet to greet the new director. Met her once already, so I'll just greet her. And then stand round awkwardly for a while, like I do.

At 11:52 Blogger Marjorie said...

It rained here, on and off. But I dodged the rain for long enough to walk into town to buy lightbulbs, and spend my book tokens. Of course, I ended up buying rather more books than the tokens covered, but these things happen.

And I did a bit of weeding, and now I'm waiting for some poppy seeds to steep so I can bake a cake, because I'm in themood for cake-baking.

Hoe everyone else is enjoying their Sunday.

At 13:43 Blogger Jess said...

Marjorie's making opiate infusions!! :O

My question for the day is this: how does a Library Events Coordinator who isn't willing to actually coordinate events keep her job? And why I am stuck with the task of trying to talk her into doing what her job description involves? But no: that's two questions. Don't bother answering that one.

At 15:43 Blogger Martha W. said...

I don't think it's ethical for a vet to put down a perfectly good cat. Maybe there could be a vet conspiracy to take in the cat and find it a safe place, and just hand the cat's "owner" a can of random ashes.

At 15:44 Blogger AletaMay said...

Waves at Siri as. I pass through Des Moines. WillreeAd more later.

At 16:20 Blogger Siri said...

I know where Aleta was - I know where Aleta was.....

Waves back!

At 18:04 Anonymous Wendy Withers said...

It's been raining here, too. So, I went to the park and took a walk.

At 18:14 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

I want to hot tub, but I am too dirty. SO shower first, which is way up stairs.. But then I would have to go to the basement for something to wear in the hot tub or the neighbors will get more than they bargained for.

Hungry too. But then I would have to make food.

Which would require moving.

Be glad you don't have my problems, my dears...

Rode Channel, who may be my new horse, then went to the other farm and worked with Dim, who I can't bear to give up, even if I might not be able to ride him, and he is just sort of a big expensive dog at this point.

That's how I got so dirty.

And tired.

And HUNGRY.

At 18:19 Blogger Dragonsally said...

Has something gone straight over my head Quiche...why can't you ride Dim?

At 18:36 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Oh, I do ride him,and he is getting better all the time, but he still has problems from time to time...

He might do better in a show ring only situation. I am thinking I want a horse who can trail too.

At 18:40 Blogger Dragonsally said...

Oh phew. Thought I'd missed something bad...

At 18:43 Blogger Jane said...

Different horses for different tasks, seems reasonable.

Grace, let us know what happens with the cat. I would be upset, too. Sounds like a bit of trickery might be in order.

At 20:26 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Nine Pictures are worth a 1000 words...New post is up!

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