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I blame my husband for introducing me to Bengals.
I grew up loving cats - lions were my favorite. As a child
Lello, my female orange cat, was my bed warmer, tear dryer,
cuddler, and listener. So when my husband and I bought a house
in 1999, I, naturally, was ready to get cats. I pictured two
fluffy orange cats I would find to reincarnate my childhood best
friend. But my husband said, "No, if we're going to get cats,
we're going to get "real" cats."
What the heck is a "real" cat, I wondered.
Apparently he had seen a Bengal, in a gun store, nonetheless, and
that was his idea of a real cat.
Our first eight-week-old kitten was an intact girl from a
going-out-of-business breeder in Paradise, so no, she was not
the result of hours of research that breeders all suggest their
first-time-breeder clients do. But Arks Koa is still beautiful
and special - just as every Bengal is. Having no kids and being
full of dreams, we decided we wanted to breed her. We did a
little more research this time and ended up with Awagati
Basmatti as her mate. Through this, of course, I met Judith who
took me under her wing and shared with me a depth of knowledge
that sustains me to this day.
Arks Koa - My first Bengal Cat
Bundas Rupee of Awagati - My first EG crush |
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Judith introduced me to foundation
cats, and it was at this point I met a "real" cat.
I'll never forget my first bonding moment with an F1. I was
bent down scooping poop when suddenly this incredibly powerful,
over-50%-wild cat jumped onto my back. Yes, there was instant
fear - OMG, what do I do? What is she going to do to me? But
the fear instantly drained as she tenderly began grooming my
head picking and pulling through my massive amount of hair with
both her teeth and her claws extracting everything that she
deemed foul. This was her expression of love. I had earned her
trust. When she was done and jumped down, our eyes met.
Dumbfounded, I was incapable of saying "thank you" in anyway
that seemed sufficient.
That moment was all it took; I had been bitten by the foundation
bug, and foundation cats have been in my life ever since. I
think it is safe to say I will always own one even if I am not
always a Bengal breeder. Growing up in the country, having only
experienced city life for about seven years of my entire
lifespan, I've owned and loved many animals. But once you have
been selected by an F1 or F2 as the object of their affection,
there is no comparable bond. Words don't exist to describe the
love and trust of an EG cat. |
Breeding Bengals was fun and exciting as my then childless life
gave me plenty of time to dote on cats, but around 2005 things
changed. My husband and I decided to have children, and for
some incredibly insane reason, we thought it was a great idea to
build a new house. Not having excessive amounts of cash but
having an incredibly skilled husband with his contractor's
license, he literally built our house after hours and on the
weekends. Which meant we lived in a trailer and with his
parents (once the second child arrived) for nearly three years
as this process took place. Living in a trailer - the travel
kind, with wheels - and breeding Bengals do not go well
together. Between the living conditions and arrival of human
children, I kind of dropped off the Bengal map from 2005 to 2010
cutting back until I ended up with two intact girls (F1 and F2,
of course) and one intact male. At the rate the EG girls have
kittens, I had years in which I may have raised three kittens
within the whole year - probably three too many, but I hung in
there.
During this time there were countless days I was ready to quit
breeding altogether. I have two young kids and a part-time job
as an English Teacher - which means I'm grading essays on the
days I'm not in class. But a philosophical, hypothetical
conversation with childhood friends on Facebook changed my mind. One
of my friends - also a busy Mom - posed the question about how
much do we give up of ourselves to raise our kids. The cats are
what I do for me. They bring me peace; they give me passion;
they provide me an arena in which to hope, dream, struggle, strive, and
imagine that is not directly tied to my job, my children, or my
husband. They are all mine. I need the cats to keep Robyn
grounded, so that she doesn't morph into Mom, Wife, or Teacher. So in 2010 I
started to keep cats again and have more than three kittens a
year.
Still holding true to the vision burned into my mind's eye by
Judith and my first exposure to her foundation cats, I'm setting
off to see what creations I can come up with and loving every
minute of it! The best part is that my children are showing
interest in chasing the dream with me. I will certainly do all
I can to pull them up into my cloud, but should they decide my
cloud isn't the right one for them, I don't have to jump off
with them.
Please go to our resources tab or
our blog to
learn more about our breed goals. |
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Changing
our
Cattery
Name |
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As our
experience
grew in
breeding
Bengals,
our
family
grew as
well.
We now
have two
wonderful
"human"
children
in our
lives
which
prompted
a move to
a
property
that
adjoins
our
children's
grandparents.
While
exploring
the 1904
farm
house, we
discovered
a
postcard
addressed
simply to
"The
Solana
Ranch, |
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The
original
1904
Solana
Ranch |
Lincoln,
CA".
Since our
original
cattery
name,
Bijou
Bengals,
had no
deep,
personal
significance,
we
decided
to
revitalize
the old
ranch
name to
signify a
new
chapter
in our
lives - a
new home,
a new
family,
and a new
generation
of
Bengals.
Solana
Ranch
Bengals is a member of
The
International
Cat
Association. |
*Header
photo:
Our son,
Jarob,
with
Independence,
our F2
Queen. |
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