Saw my first live Bengal the other day.....

[cozietoesie]

Sorry - been offline for a week with a dead router. But just thought I'd share before I looked at the other threads.

Sitting on the stoop outside with my Bro one evening last weekend when a woman walked past on the other side of the street with a Bengal on a lead. Huge, sleek and quite, quite gorgeous - sort of a chocolate colour with zingy ginger markings. (I say a woman had him on a lead but it rather looked as though she was the one being taken for a walk!)

Anyway - just opposite my house they encountered a dog, sort of terrier cross/mut, and the Bengal did this HUGE 'witches cat'. Then semi-relaxed into a Clint Eastwood 'go ahead, make my day' sort of stance. At which point the Bengal owner did a sharp about turn and led him off back whence he'd come.

The sharp money would have been on the cat, I think. The dog looked distinctly relieved when the cat left the scene.

I think I'll stick with Siamese. He was quite beautiful but I wonder whether I would get any sleep of a night if I had one of those in bed. Wondering how many toes I'd have left in the morning and all.

Bengals are beautiful. Not just to look at but to interact with. They have a gait reminiscent of a big cat and exude total confidence. When you stroke one you notice the smooth fur then the muscles rippling underneath. Totally unlike any other type of cat.

My mate's cat used to sit by the gate and observe. And beat up the local dogs. They learned to not go past his house. :o He was soft as a mop really.

I recall listening once to a wildlife assistant talking about the (big) cats in his care. Lions and tigers were pretty straightforward, he said. You had just to be careful. But Leopards - well they were a whole different ballgame. He used the word 'sneaky; but amplified it to say that they just spent their whole waking time working out how to put one over on the keepers.He confessed to being quite OCD on checking the bolts and locks on the Leopard pens - and not turning his back on them. Ever.

Bengals may look like tigers but their attitude calls leopards to mind for me. I'll stick with my Siamese, I think. (And one is yowling now! If he thinks I can upgrade from Gourmet cat food, he's got another think coming.)