Wednesday, July 6, 2011

We're Not Calling It A Cat House....

The Bengals are getting their outdoor Cat Run! (I was calling it a "Cat House" but that was creating problems of its own) I met with my Builder this morning, and we planned it all out. He'll build it next week for me. For us. This is looking out into the area where it's going to be.

Here's the view from the other side. It's going to enclose from the edge of the deck, completely enclose the shed, go off a bit into the woods, and up to the driveway.

They will have a Cat Door into the shed, where they can have a nice place to hide, and there will be trees for them to climb, things to perch on, a small pool, grass to stalk thru. It will be roofed, of course. These Kitties can CLIMB.

To get TO the Cat Run (Leopard Run?) there will be a Tube, running from just the left of the Garbage House, at rail level, out to about the end of the deck, where the enclosure will start. Bengals love running thru tubes and have several already inside the house, so this will be no big change. We'll watch Magic's diet so we don't end up with a Pooh and the Honey pot stuck situation.
Here's a view from Inside the porch. This is one of their current Scream Porches, which they get at thru a window, or the kitchen door, if it's open.

I've had this idea for a long time, and it's only partly Mim and her Pee Issues that is prompting it now. Bengals ARE bred from leopards. Small leopards, true, the Asian Leopard Cat. It is not always true, there are may Bengals who are happy as indoor kitties, but Venus, Mim and Magic want OUT. They can't roam free, it's not safe. Especially for F1 Magic who has NO claws on any of his feet. I want them to live as nearly as possible tho, to the way they would like to be living.

We, as humans, bred these guys. Good idea? Perhaps not, but they are HERE. It's something to think about if you decide to get a Bengal. Especially an early generation one. They aren't that far off from Leopards. What cat isn't tho? The Royals, King Lear the Huge and Little Queen Mab are happy as indoor kitties, tho they will be getting the second Scream Porch for themselves, once this is built, accessed thru a door in their stairs. (My Spooky House has a LOT of doors. I have not been thru all of them)

Great Lakes Bengal Rescue (and ALL Bengal Rescues) need homes for Bengals. Forever homes and foster homes. But don't adopt a Bengal on a whim. Don't consider this unless you are in a position where you KNOW you are going to be able to take care of one for up to 20 years. Wait until you have a home of your own, when you're done with school, when you can afford spay/neuter, shots, vet care. When you have a place where, if you need to, you can adapt it for their needs.

Because, trust me, that's the way it is. Not the other way around.

Until then, if you want to be with Kitties, Bengal or otherwise, you can foster. You can volunteer at a local shelter. You can cat sit.

Trust me. It will be worth the wait.

Love and Leopard Run,
Lorraine

52 Comments:

At 10:56 Blogger Chantrelle said...

I was just talking with our neighbors about bengals. They are retired and think they are amazing cats but know they aren't ready for the commitment. They like to go on vacations and don't always have a house sitter, etc. I'm glad they thought it through.

I can't wait to see the cat-fort!

At 11:01 Blogger Phiala said...

The cats will be so thrilled when this is done.

At 11:02 Blogger Cecily said...

I am so excited for you and the kitties!

At 11:04 Blogger spacedlaw said...

Those kitties are SPOILED. I am definitely NOT showing this post to my wee beasties.

They are going to be so happy with this roaming space!

At 11:32 Blogger Kitty Cat said...

gonna see this in person NEXT WEEK!! xxoxo

At 11:38 Blogger spacedlaw said...

Take picture, Kitty, please. Lots of them.

At 11:50 Blogger Pi R Squared said...

Oh! The leopards are going to love it! (Wish I had one for me!) Looking forward to pics...

At 11:51 Blogger Meghan said...

You are so good to those kitties :)

At 11:56 Blogger Marjorie said...

The Leopard Lounge (better name than cathouse?) sounds amazing g, and bigger than I'd expected. They will love it!

At 12:03 Anonymous Anonymous said...

I love the name Leopard Run. I just KNOW they are going to be thrilled. I did laugh (out loud) at the Pooh comment. My cat, Firefly, has gotten plump, so I feel your pain on that. She is on a restricted diet, too.

I can't wait to see the finished product for this. Yay!

At 16:03 Anonymous AmyK said...

Can't wait to see pics of it done.

At 16:32 Blogger LihuaEmily said...

Big responsibility, but, I should imagine, an amazing experience.

At 18:33 Blogger Dragonsally said...

You're building my dream cat run...what I'd have for Tysie if we were in our own house. I'm like Nathalie, I am not letting her even get a glimpse of this post or she will nag me relentlessly.

I'm really looking forward to seeing more photos as the run is built.

At 18:46 Blogger Jane said...

Lucky cats!

At 18:47 Blogger Jane said...

tick

At 18:49 Blogger Jane said...

My cats are also not seeing this. I do think Abyssinians are not quite as wild as Bengals, but truthfully, I think inside their tiny kitty hearts they are all still wild.

At 18:51 Blogger Chantrelle said...

Maybe we should make a tube from ben's room to his fort ;-)

At 19:11 Blogger Dragonsally said...

Ohhh - the fort is looking really good Robyn. A tube to it would be awesome...

At 19:26 Blogger Cecily said...

I like The Leopard Lounge. :-)

At 19:33 Blogger Beez said...

That is going to be amazing!

At 21:39 Blogger dabbler said...

Leopard Run reminds me of Chicken Run.... need a stop motion animated Bengal film next.

And picturing Magic with tea towels hung on his feet until he slims down makes me laugh...and really want to tickle those toes.

At 22:17 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

I am very exited about this. The Bengals are too. I think. Hard to tell.

Maybe they will keep the deer out of my yard too. They are wrecking my beautiful garden!

My neighbor came over and sprayed some foul smelling stuff all over them, in hopes that it will help some.

Feeling that practice from last night, oh, poor legs, all we need to do now is go up to bed...

At 22:51 Anonymous Anonymous said...

I like Leopard Lounge. This *IS* what they do best, right?
I was gonna suggest something like: Bengal Bungalo = Bengalo

Can't wait to see the progress/completion.

At 10:02 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

WAKE UP you Fiends!!! Can we not dust this poor blog off? I know I've been busy, but I'm here NOW!!!

And Building a Leopard Lounge!!!

And waging all out war on EVIL DEER.

At 10:08 Blogger Chantrelle said...

I'm AWAKE! Not very, waiting for water to boil for tea.

I can't wait to see the Leopard Lounge.

At 10:11 Blogger spacedlaw said...

Poor deer. It was just hungry. And thought it could help you with gardening: mow the grass, prune the bushes...

At 10:20 Blogger Marjorie said...

i'm awake! I've been awake and workign for hours. In fact, i shouldn't be skiving off to read this blog even now.

In other news, Today I reached the bottom of my In-Tray!!
You have no idea what an extraordinary achievement this is. Of course, it will be buried again tomorrow, but still...

At 10:26 Blogger spacedlaw said...

Argh. That reminds me that, Monday, I will have to face a three weeks' worth of emails.

Still. Well done.

At 11:10 Blogger Chantrelle said...

My non-derby derby skating girls flaked on me again last night so yet another week of no skating (nope, not going alone). *sigh*

Wish all the fiends were here so they'd drag my ass to the rink.

At 11:36 Blogger Cecily said...

Sorry my fearless leader, I have seriously been lacking in my commenting.

The weekend of the fourth was looong and wore me the hell out. I spent the last two days recovering!

At 18:35 Blogger Na said...

that sounds like neither house nor run nor lounge: it sounds like what in zoo parlance is dubbed an enclosure.

speaking of zoos, we learned this summer that a cousin who is a zookeeper named a couple of baby primates after our offspring! so, a gibbon at the Sioux Falls zoo bears the boy's name and a squirrel monkey the girl's. oh, so appropriate...

today we went hiking in the Black Hills! my legs are doing that noodly thing. but yay!

At 20:54 Blogger Cecily said...

I want to say something witty, but I have nothing to give...

At 21:21 Blogger Siri said...

Na - that's wonderfully wonderful! Next time I'm in that neighborhood, I'll stop and say "Hey!"

No, I'm not often in that neighborhood, but I'm closer than you......

At 21:31 Blogger Dragonsally said...

*stomps around making lots of noise to keep Fearless Leader happy*

At 23:56 Blogger DataGoddess said...

*peeks out from blanket over head*

Am currently v depressed and not good company.

Hey, if I come pee everywhere like Mim, can I come play in the Leopard Run? I'll pee on the plants to keep the deer away!

I'm goofy and should go to bed.

At 10:27 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Good Morning, Fiends!!!!

Wake up, get going and well, that's all I have. I'm up after getting home WAY too late last night. Not fair I say, but sore let's no women sleep.

Nor does Lear, whose habits do not vary.

Just cleaned up the guest room for a guest this weekend and found a Derby T shirt and pair of Manties in there.

Guest room is getting some action, I think! More than me. Hmmph.

At 10:43 Blogger Cecily said...

"Guest room is getting some action, I think! More than me. Hmmph."

Please take this time to imagine me make all sorts of "about to say something that might get me hit" faces and stopping, repeatedly, until I finally finish with a coy grin.

At 11:01 Blogger Na said...

manties, what? ;)

At 11:07 Blogger Cecily said...

I made the assumption that Manties are girl underwear that look like boys underwear. I call them boy shorts.

At 12:02 Blogger Arwenn said...

Is that what they are? I was thinking undergarments of manta rays..

At 13:21 Blogger Cecily said...

I have finished my work for the day, and the girls have all gone to play at the park...the house it...quiet...

Anyone want to test out the hangout feature on Google+?

At 15:49 Blogger LihuaEmily said...

At work at the library and STILL wondering - off and on, you know - what kind of thing is on my white buckled jacket. This needs more thought, seriously ... hmm.

At 00:52 Blogger Dragonsally said...

Bloody blogger just ate my comment...I was hijacking the blog, to point you all to a great Aussie author who is a friend of mine, and whose books are now available in e book format. you can read about it here

At 09:07 Blogger vampi said...

hey drive by. still in discworld. loving it. *twirls*

At 09:08 Blogger vampi said...

drive by posting, oh my. madison is a lovely town.

At 09:20 Anonymous maqart said...

For deer damage, try Deer Guard spray- no stinky odor to bother you or the kitties, works REALLY well.
http://bugsource.com/tree_guard.html is one source but can be bought many places. Make sure you wash your sprayer out immediately and don't get any in/near your mouth- it tastes FOUL (ask me how I know).

At 09:41 Blogger vampi said...

ok maybe not cat house, but it should have a name. cat's berry farm?
bengal land?
5 flags, more bengal, more fun?
bengal kingdom? (queendom?)
the sanctuary?

At 09:52 Blogger Cecily said...

Em, Your comment had me looking to see how cheap I can get a strait jacket...*rubs hands together*

I'm wondering how tall will the Leopard Lounge be?

At 10:57 Blogger Cecily said...

How's the Leopard Lounge going?

Off topic: This coming Wednesday I am going to meet a friend I have known online for almost 6 years, and I am so freakin' excited about this.

At 15:51 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

New post is UP....

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