Building for our Bengals.

We or rather Ivan invests a lot of time building for our Bengals. The most important reason is of course that toys and cat trees shows signs of wear and tear. Especially toys are a subjects of wear and tear, because they substitute prey, and therefore liable to the hunter instincts of our enthusiastic hunters. Therefore, maintenance is a recurring activity and we share out the tasks: I take care of toys and Ivan takes care of everything our Bengals need to live happily. I now realise that we have very traditional roles and hat is a surprise for me.

You need to be very creative and you have to be able to think out of the box. When I see a pile of trunks, Ivan already sees a beautiful cat tree. The pile of trunks is waiting to be reborn in our garden. I just see a pile of trunks. There are questions about Ivan building adventures, and I will try to provide some answers. Unfortunately, I cannot provide you with any plan, because Ivan does not have a plan.

First, I should like to draw attention to two matters: firstly, you can buy Bengal proof cat trees; secondly, you can use wooden poles. Of course, sturdy cat trees are expensive, but the building materials Ivan needs are not cheap either. The huge advantage of using poles is the possibility of working with your own design. The creations of Ivan take a lot of room because the “flow of the Bengal run” is his objective. You must take account of investing a lot of time in preliminaries.

Preparation is very important and when Ivan has a plan, building begins. Shopping for the right parts is time consuming. You have to take the weight of the trunks in consideration and the power of a jumping of an adult Bengal. Please do keep the safety of the Bengals and their people in mind.

This cat tree is almost free standing, because we sometimes have to move the tree for cleaning purposes. You need an assistant helping you holding some trunks. When satisfied the building starts.

Ivan fixed two trunks on opposite walls the other trunks maintain balance. Use sturdy materials to attach the trunks to each other and to the wall. To assure nothing will harm the Bengals Ivan first drills a hole in the trunk, to hide the screws. The trunks intertwine and on critical places attached to each other or the wall. This is the most difficult part of building this cat tree, without using any screws this pole can stand vertical, building for Bengals necessitate adjustment the tree to the wall. I hope these pictures will help you making your own cat tree.

In the next blog, I like to show you the making of another cat tree.

         Have a nice walk in the great outdoors.

                        Love Conny

Frolicking in pink.

 The kittens are developing very fast now, what they could not do yesterday, they are doing today very easily. Therefore, we like to keep a close eye on them. Kittens of this age often overestimate their skills so we have to ensure that our sweethearts enjoy a safe and inviting environment. We always have to adapt their playground to their needs this way we are able to give them opportunities to become very skilfulness kittens physically, mentally and socially.

Moreover, we love shopping for toys and we love watching them even more.

 

Raising six Bengal babies.

When emotions after the birth of the babies have decreased, we silently watched Tsukiko and her babies in amazement. In total admiration, we experienced Tsukiko changing in a perfect mother taking care of her babies.

After she has bit the umbilical cord of each of her babies, she started to wash them thoroughly.  Her babies immediately started to look for her teats although they do not always took the shorter route. Fortunately, each kitten found one and immediately started to drink. When all her babies were born and her family is cared for, Tsukiko lied sleepy in her den.

Seal mink spotted Bengal cats.

These Bengals are often called “Snow Bengals” because of there almost white appearance. When Seal mink spotted Bengals are born they have a very creamy white colour. Sometimes they already have their spotted pattern, but often the spots are still vague. Their eyes are blue and after five weeks you can catch a glimpse of aquamarine.

“Snow Bengals”.

We share our house with our Bengal cats; we are one big happy family. We have Black tabby Bengals and Snow Bengals. In this blog, I would like to introduce our Snow Bengals. Officially, the name Snow Bengals does not exist, the name refers to the colour of their coat. There are three types of Snow Bengals:

·         Seal lynx point Bengals, these cats have blue eyes.

·         Seal mink Bengals, these cats have aquamarine coloured eyes.

·         Seal-sepia Bengal, these cats have green eyes.

Extreme fondness for Black tabby Bengals.

In this blog, I would like to share my love for Bengal cats with you. Our cats are not just beautiful cats, but they are certainly our friends. Bengal cats manage to fill your life completely; they are always welcoming you when you come home. Regardless your state of mind, they are welcome you happily and playfully. You will forget your daily problems because their enthusiastic welcome will lift your heart. In this blog I would like to tell you more about my love for Bengals cats and especially my love for Black Tabby Bengals.

 

Wild cats.

In the late fifties’ an American breeder had a dream. She was anxious about the increasing numbers of wild cats kept as a pet in the USA. In European laws it is not possible to keep wild cats as a pet. The breeder appreciated the beauty of a wild cat, but she was a firmly believer that wild animals should live in their wilderness.

She started to breed a friendly pet with the looks of a wild cat.She mated the Asian leopard cat with a domestic cat to produce hybrid offspring known as the Bengal cat.

In 1983 The Bengal was accepted by TICA ( The International Cat Association ). 

Small wonders happen every day.

 

Deshima’s kittens are growing and developing well. Every day there is a surprise for me. One day a witnessed a small wonder.

As soon as their eyes opened, their little faces changed immediately. A few days later, they were able to see their world. The first two weeks mummy was their world they smelled her, they felt her warmth and they heard here coming.

We also were a part of their world and they turned their little heads towards us, when we visited them. We caressed them and spoke softly with them; I also like to sing for them.

Baby frolicking about in the snow

Our cats love to be in the garden. We have made our garden a safe place for them where they can play, run, climb and run.  This morning Baby discovers the snow in the garden and she wants to get into the garden.

Baby is one year old and she is the only daughter of Tsukiko and Storm, she has four brothers. Baby likes to play, to run, to jump and to hunt but she also likes to sleep on top of the cupboard in the living room. She likes high places so she can keep an eye on things.

In the garden she is a real predator, she is always on the hunt, her eyes, nose, and ears fixed on the plants. She really loves to observe birds; as soon as she sees or hears one, she would call the others to join her in a hunt.
Early this morning she discovers Mr. Robin he was singing in the hedge and she wants to get into the garden immediately. “MEOOOOOW “

 

How to catch a robin?

First, you have to observe his habits. Where does he prefer to sing his song?Then you have to hide in the bushes near his stage as soon as he enters the garden. As soon as he enters, his stage and start to sing you have to wait for the right moment.Fortunately, I have the perfect camouflage in the snow, so I think I will be lucky to day. It is matter of patience and focussing on my prey and patience, a lot of patience.

 

Frolicking in the snow.

It has been snowing and the Bengals are very anxious to get in their garden. Agitated they waited for us in the kitchen and they all crowded round the kitchen door. They meowed: “Where are you waiting for, open the kitchen door please.” When we took our time, they decided that we need motivating. Wasilla has the most effective method for getting our attention. She waited for us to come into the kitchen and then she turns her head, looked at us, scratched the kitchen door and meowed. Opening the kitchen door was just what she expected us to do and so we did.
Sammy has another tactic: he meowed and meowed loudly and continuously. He is convinced that his wish is our command, that is the way a male Bengal thinks.

If you can dream it, you can do it.

I am 13 days old now, I have opened my eyes today, and it is about time too. I cannot see very well yet, but I will be soon. For now I can distinguish something. I cannot see mummy but I can smell her and I can feel her warmth when she is close to me. I can hear very well, I can hear mummy coming long before she is actually here.

Deshima's gorgeous snow babies.

Deshima was lazy the last week when she was with young. She was enormous and when she walked, agility disappeared. Surprisingly she easily jumped on the sofa. She demanded my presence constantly and when I left her, she called me out loud. Deshima is half the size of Wasilla but her voice is twice as loud.

 

 

 

 

 

Airashii’s home videos.

 

We try to make as much pictures and videos as possible, and we keep them all. They are all happy memories after all, although some videos are a failure. Some are too dark and some are like a rollercoaster ride because I am moving my camera.J   Sometimes the video shows Rotterdam in the midst of hurricane. That is impossible; it can be very stormy in the Netherlands but a hurricane? Never   J. A hurricane video mostly means that a kitten is threatening to fall and my instinct tells me to catch it. Up to today, the kitten’s acrobatic tricks prevent them from falling .Mostly our visitors enthusiastically express their admiration on the top of their voice. Often just household noise is disturbing enjoying the video.

In this blog I will show you videos with a little flaw. Enjoy.

A daily kitten’s workout

 

When they are approximately four weeks old they are getting more interested in each other and they play around. Straight away, after their birth, they started looking for their own teat and they start pushing each other.  After a few days, each kitten has found his or her favourite teat, and everything’s back to normal. All kittens are peacefully drinking and mummy is purring.

 

Good fun in the snow.

We haven’t had much winter yet we just had  one winter’s day.  The temperatures were seldom below freezingpoint, instead we had a lot of rainy days. Most Bengals don’t like rainy days but they love snow. Looking out of the windows they see that their territory has dramatically changed. Storm is about to be bold and briljant when he goes into the garden. As soon as the kitchen door opened he sprinted into the garden but he immediatly came to a standstill. What’s is happening?
 

Toys….toys….toys… Everywhere there is something to play with.

I don’t need a pair of helping hands, I’ll just do as the others did and climb out. It’s very slippery and climbing out is not an option, so I'll jump on top of the fence. I can use those shiny things sticking out and reach out for the grey rim, than I am almost there.