Our Bengal Story
Meet Cleopatra – or Cleo for short. The latter version is much more appropriate and how her name had been shortened when she came into our lives nearly 2 years ago.
Some Background
I have been a cat person all my life, but James has always had dogs. He was a life-long cat hater who in more recent years had grown into a cat tolerator. His distaste for cats had likely stemmed from allergies to felines. This posed a real heartache for me, although my love for my husband is greater than my desire to own a cat.
A few years ago, we began to hear that certain types were bred to be hypoallergenic. I perked up when I heard that, thinking that had solved all of our problems! Little did I know that along with that label came a hefty price tag – one that we were neither equipped nor willing to pay! Fast forward a few more years, and with an increase in Facebook traffic, I discovered several rescue sites for cats of a couple of hypoallergenic breeds. I knew there had to be more to the world of allergy-reduced or allergy-free cats than resorting to a hairless cat. I mean, have you seen those things? Better yet, have you FELT one of those things? EEK! It’s even creepier to hold than it is to see! I wanted a CUTE cat – not just some animal that didn’t make my husband suffer.
The Research Process
I stumbled upon several breeds and began to really research to determine what might be a good fit for us and meet all of the qualifications we had. Two breeds stood out – the Siberian and the Bengal. The Siberians looked more like what I had always envisioned, but those rescues were few and far between, and even when found, they still seemed to have a hefty price tag. I found a Bengal rescue site, which led me to another Bengal rescue site, and then another. I began to really follow several of them, along with Bengal cattery sites and Bengal owner sites. The two latter allowed me to really begin to get to know the breed, while the first few allowed me to monitor available rescues that might be a good baby for our home.
While there are more Bengals available than Siberians in the rescue world, many of them were still fairly far away. We got closer and closer to being ready to bring one home, so I looked at the bios of almost every Bengal that was within driving distance. One evening, this precious little face popped up, and I got super excited when I saw that it was in another suburb of Atlanta! She looked so sweet, and the more I read about her, the more interested I became. I reached out to her owner, got a few more photos and some additional information, then made a plan to bring her home. The price was right – a donation to a local rescue.
Our Lucky Find!
I was cautiously optimistic, still not sure how this whole “hypoallergenic cat” thing was going to go. I didn’t want to get really attached, then have James begin to struggle to breathe and have to part ways with our new addition. So we tiptoed into cat parenting….but after a few weeks, James had no issue whatsoever. A few more weeks went by, and he was still breathing well! I was so happy! We’ll share more about the Bengal breed as time goes by, but suffice it to say that she has filled our lives with MUCH entertainment since August of 2016 when we brought her into our household.
Here are a couple of additional photos of her markings and her ridiculously rotten personality! Isn’t she a beauty? She started off as the queen for a cattery and is now living a sweet life as the queen of our home in her senior years. She will soon be 10 years old, but you would not know it based on her energy and playfulness. Her age makes her market value negligible at best, but she is priceless to us!
Do you have experience with a Bengal? Their demeanors are certainly far different than any other cat I have owned!
This blog needs way more Cleo! She’s wonderful!
We agree and are happy you want to see more! Stay tuned… (Just don’t let HER hear either of us say it. Her opinion of herself is high enough! HA!)