This is a bit of a long story; there are lots of small details and background. I am going to write this in installments.
Last week I was taking our Bengal Makena for a morning walk. We were taking a wooded path that leads to our field when Makena hesitated and looked toward the road. I stopped and could hear faint kitten cries....
Makena on his leash for a hike
Makena is athletic and active, we usually walk him every day to get rid of excess energy. We have two Bengals. The second Bengal, Lilia, is timid and shy having had some trauma in her past. Both were rescues with behavioral issues, though they are now very well adjusted and happy. My wife and I have talked about getting another cat, but our house is small and the two we have are a bit of a handful. Still, I have wanted a kitten for some time. We talked about another hybrid, but decided the initial cost and the commitment of care would be too much. We talked about a regular cat, but decided to wait and think it over.
Makena is not allowed near the road, so I tied his line to a tree and pushed through the brush toward the noise. Down in the underbrush I could see the outline of a light colored kitten, all by itself, now silent. We have seen a feral mom several times lately, and I figured she had stashed the kitten here while she went off to hunt. I went back to Makena to finish our walk and thought no more about the kitten.
We did not plan on getting a full grown Bengal. Our last cat had passed away from a seizure disorder and we took time to debate what we wanted next. We decided to get a Bengal kitten. Fate had a slightly different plan. I was at work one day taking a break and researching local breeders when a colleague walked by and saw what I was looking at. "Oh, so you guys decided on a Bengal? We have a friend who can't take care of hers anymore and is looking to re-home it." A few days later we had an angry, unruly, overactive full grown Bengal stomping around the house..... he was anything but a kitten. With love and patience, we healed his angry and broken heart. Makena became a highly intelligent, gentle and obedient member of our home.
Three years passed and we had just started talking about getting a second Bengal (I was getting a kitten this time!) when our vet called. We dearly love our vet, she was instrumental in helping us get Makena settled in..... Our Vet had a client who passed away, leaving behind a sweet but heartbroken Bengal. Since we did so well with helping Makena, she wondered if we might be interested in giving Lilia a home.
At the vets office, Lilia clung to my wife and cried. We couldn't say no.
My wife holding Lilia at the Vet's office
Okay, now that you know what saps we are, we can get back to the kitten. It was now nearly midnight and I was just getting settled into bed. Because my wife had to get up early to go to work, I was going to sleep in the spare room with Makena. The bed in this room is right up against the wall and level with the window sill there. We leave the window open a little most of the time. Makena sleeps on the bed with his big brown nose pressed to the window screen. If he hears a noise or sees anything odd, he will wake us up. As usual, I was petting Makena and fell asleep with my hand on his back. Makena woke me with a soft meow. I could hear it too.... a slight rain had begun, and a kitten was crying loudly in the woods.
I threw on my pants and jacket, grabbed a flashlight, and headed to where I had seen the kitten earlier. I pushed through the wet brush again, and this is the little face I saw in the light...
The blue eyes were fierce, and the kitten let out a hiss as I quickly grabbed it by the scruff. The claws flew every which way and it tried to bite anything nearby. I pressed the wet kitten into my jacket, and headed back to the house. The kitten had been outside in the same spot for more than 16 hours. Kitten looked to be about 4 -5 weeks old and was wet and shivering. Outside the temp was dropping and the wind was beginning to pick up.
Will continue the story tomorrow.
Last week I was taking our Bengal Makena for a morning walk. We were taking a wooded path that leads to our field when Makena hesitated and looked toward the road. I stopped and could hear faint kitten cries....
Makena on his leash for a hike
Makena is athletic and active, we usually walk him every day to get rid of excess energy. We have two Bengals. The second Bengal, Lilia, is timid and shy having had some trauma in her past. Both were rescues with behavioral issues, though they are now very well adjusted and happy. My wife and I have talked about getting another cat, but our house is small and the two we have are a bit of a handful. Still, I have wanted a kitten for some time. We talked about another hybrid, but decided the initial cost and the commitment of care would be too much. We talked about a regular cat, but decided to wait and think it over.
Makena is not allowed near the road, so I tied his line to a tree and pushed through the brush toward the noise. Down in the underbrush I could see the outline of a light colored kitten, all by itself, now silent. We have seen a feral mom several times lately, and I figured she had stashed the kitten here while she went off to hunt. I went back to Makena to finish our walk and thought no more about the kitten.
We did not plan on getting a full grown Bengal. Our last cat had passed away from a seizure disorder and we took time to debate what we wanted next. We decided to get a Bengal kitten. Fate had a slightly different plan. I was at work one day taking a break and researching local breeders when a colleague walked by and saw what I was looking at. "Oh, so you guys decided on a Bengal? We have a friend who can't take care of hers anymore and is looking to re-home it." A few days later we had an angry, unruly, overactive full grown Bengal stomping around the house..... he was anything but a kitten. With love and patience, we healed his angry and broken heart. Makena became a highly intelligent, gentle and obedient member of our home.
Three years passed and we had just started talking about getting a second Bengal (I was getting a kitten this time!) when our vet called. We dearly love our vet, she was instrumental in helping us get Makena settled in..... Our Vet had a client who passed away, leaving behind a sweet but heartbroken Bengal. Since we did so well with helping Makena, she wondered if we might be interested in giving Lilia a home.
At the vets office, Lilia clung to my wife and cried. We couldn't say no.
My wife holding Lilia at the Vet's office
Okay, now that you know what saps we are, we can get back to the kitten. It was now nearly midnight and I was just getting settled into bed. Because my wife had to get up early to go to work, I was going to sleep in the spare room with Makena. The bed in this room is right up against the wall and level with the window sill there. We leave the window open a little most of the time. Makena sleeps on the bed with his big brown nose pressed to the window screen. If he hears a noise or sees anything odd, he will wake us up. As usual, I was petting Makena and fell asleep with my hand on his back. Makena woke me with a soft meow. I could hear it too.... a slight rain had begun, and a kitten was crying loudly in the woods.
I threw on my pants and jacket, grabbed a flashlight, and headed to where I had seen the kitten earlier. I pushed through the wet brush again, and this is the little face I saw in the light...
The blue eyes were fierce, and the kitten let out a hiss as I quickly grabbed it by the scruff. The claws flew every which way and it tried to bite anything nearby. I pressed the wet kitten into my jacket, and headed back to the house. The kitten had been outside in the same spot for more than 16 hours. Kitten looked to be about 4 -5 weeks old and was wet and shivering. Outside the temp was dropping and the wind was beginning to pick up.
Will continue the story tomorrow.
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