In september i had to say goodbye to my 16.5 years companion who was terminally ill. Even though it might be strange to say i have enjoyed our last weeks together, i knew she was ill and it would soon be time to make the big decission, so i really spoiled her with attention and the best food (in her eyes), every time we had a special moment. But still, its so hard to make that decision on when its really time to let her go. Im still grieving each and every day, since we knew eachother through and through.

The moment i realised that she was terminally ill, i had put myself on a waiting list for a new kitten, a Thai (traditional siamese). However before the kitten would be in my home it would probably be feb/march since they werent born yet. I have wanted one for at least 20 years (im 38) and knew that if i wanted one, this would be the time since you cant see in the future, 15 years from now.
But it became awfully quiet in my house, im single and never experienced an household without pets. And realised that to stay 'sane' i needed a pet (cat) to give love to, to interact with, to come home to, to talk/play with etc.
My original planning was to get a kitten from the shelter at the same time as the Thai, so that they would have eachother and grow up together.

Soon after i had to say goodbye to Vivaldi i started looking in shelters (there is actually a website in the Netherlands where most shelters put up their pets) and ran into an add of 'Bengals'.
I knew a Bengal is a very active and vocal cat and thought that might be the best friend for my future Thai kitten.
The shelter they were located was even only 4 km's from my home, when i discovered that ... well it felt like it should have gone this way.

The next day i went to see them (its actually very very rare to see purebred cats in a shelter in the Netherlands), and was sold in the instant.
But since it would be months before the Thai kitten would come to my home i felt it would not be fair to the Bengal kitten and decided on taking 2.
(i now decided to wait a couple of years on the Thai because i dont think my appartment is suitable enough for 3 young active cats, just a side note)

The group in the shelter came from a breeder, all were very very ill with cat flu when they came in and had lots of medical issue's, a few had to put down immidiatly to end their suffering and 5 of the kittens needed an eye removed by the vet.

The moment they came home to my place they were 6.5 and 7 months old.

Ayla (female, now 8.5 months) and Finnley (male, now 8 months) i renamed them.
They are my first Bengals.

Finnley, silver rosetted (at least thats what his pasport says, dont really know it lol), only has one eye (and from the eye he still has his cornea is damaged, but not too bad) . Is the cuddly of the 2, he is, at this moment, the boss (allthough it isnt clear all the time), is a stalker in games, is absolutely obsessed wit feathers, starts to retrieve toys now (a bit, we are in a learning curve), loves bellyrubs, miauws very softly when he is on my lap and i stop petting him, makes clear he wants me to continue. And loves water, both the sink and in the bath, usually i put a layer of water in the bath and throw a toy (which can be anything, even a q-tip) in it and he is happily enjoying himself.

Ayla, brown rosetted, both eyes have damaged cornea's and one is a bit cloudy, because of that it sometimes looks as if she is odd-eyed which makes her very cute looking. Though they are at about the same weight, she looks small, she has more the bengal 'built' as i thought before i came into the Bengalworld. Lean, long leggs etc. Ayla is a bit distant, defenately not the cuddly type, i feel honored when she purrs for me, and last week was the first time she came onto my lap and slept there for half an hour (i felt very special :) )
She is however my shadow, more then Finnley is, if i move from one room to the other she is always close to my feet. She absolutely adores the outside. I started training them on the leash and she has no problems with it at all, she acts more like a dog then as a cat on the leash.
I live 300 m from the forest and she loves it there, is purring non-stop, sometimes growling at the birds she sees (and absolutely growling at the dogs we encounter, but i pick her up then, which she allowes), and has a puffed tail the whole time she is in the forest (out of exitement... never saw that before in a cat)
She is the instigator of chasegames and wrestling, but looses with wrestling, but it doesnt encourage her to jump on Finn directly after again.
She is the hunter of the two... any toy that moves is fair game.
I suspect Ayla of having chronic 'catflu' (we call it sneezing disease), she sneezes a lot more then cats i have encountered in my life and often has a bit of a crusty nose (mostly in the morning). We have been to the vet twice (and tomorrow the 3rd time), first time was within a week of them comming home

Before i registered here i read a lot of the topics... and concluded that... i dont have very vocal bengals (just some yowling when (raw or wet) food is insight), they are active... ofcourse, they are kittens, but not the overly ADD type of active. Both sleep through the night and also sleep some of the time during the day. However i do realise that if i didnt had 2 cats at the moment i would have been the play/interact partner every waking moment, but they play a lot together (chasing, wrestling).

I play with them at least twice a day for 30-45 min, active games with da bird/wand, and they are both ok with playing by theirselfes as well sometimes. Finnley with/in water, Ayla with small toys (or a paper bag the last 2 days). If im at home the whole day they both get to be outside on the leash (ofc not together lol), Ayla for about an hour, Finnley as long as he can handle (he is a bit insecure, when he has had enough 'stimulation' i take him inside again), if im from home during the day only 1 of them comes out, i like to equally swap it. However it has to be dry outside, both seem to melt in the rain when on a leash. And since i dont want to be blamed by my neighbours of animal cruelty because of the sirene i have on the leash when its raining, i stopped trying.

I bought a new scratchpost, a pole from floor to ceiling (with 3 beds) and plan on installing some shelves as well and to buy 2 beds which i can attach to the windows.

I suspect Ayla of having chronic 'catflu' (we call it sneezing disease), she sneezes a lot more then cats i have encountered in my life and often has a bit of a crusty nose (mostly in the morning). We have been to the vet twice (and tomorrow the 3rd time), first time was within a week of them comming home, after a few days she started sneezing more then usual (and it became yellow) and had some discharge from her eyes. But a course of ab and eyesalve made it a lot better, when she sneezes now its 'watery', you can hear her breath often however she doesnt snore, but she also is the huffing and puffing type when playing or when she's excited.

They brought energy and laughter to my house. As i said before, im single and live alone and a couple of times a day i literally laugh out loud because of their actions or behaviour. Ofcourse i still miss Vivaldi dearly, as i said before, we knew eachother from the inside out and with Ayla and Finnley its still an exploring expedition, it was long ago that i had kittens in the house and yes i also have to adjust to that, ofcourse sometimes they make my blood boil with their high energy but i still love very very much :)

It sounds like they found a wonderful home after a bad situation and like you will have endless hours of fun!
Welcome to Bengal parenthood and please update us with pics of the rascals... We'll love to meet them!

First, welcome, and sorry for your loss. It sounds like you are going to have your hands full with two special-needs bengals. The "catflu" and "huffing and puffing" sounds concerning, but it sounds like your vet is on top of that, so hopefully you can work through it and/or manage that condition. Even in cases though where the problem itself is relatively benign, when there is sneezing and stuffy noses, you have to carefully monitor your cat to make sure they are eating their food and drinking their water ok. Cats are so dependent on their sense of smell that sometimes if they can't smell the food, they won't eat it. With my bengal Serafina, who was diagnosed with feline herpes and also is a "sneezer" (although sounds like quite a bit less than yours), I think this manifested itself in a very strong preference for seafood (stronger smell) by her. Also sometimes when Serafina is refusing something I can heat it up just a tad in the microwave to bring out the smell, and then she is happier with it (sadly doesn't always work though). As a result, I'm always trying to monitor her intake, and take action when I feel like she isn't eating enough.

Since you are contemplating a similar arrangement this might be of interest:
I have 2 bengals (Serafina and Gaga) and one oriental (Neytiri). The bengals were about 6 months old when I got Neytiri (who was 12 weeks or so when she came). Gaga was immediately very motherly with her, but Serafina is the jealous one and made a hissing/growling fuss initially. As kittens they eventually became playmates, as they are all very playful cats, although Serafina always got the best of the "play fights".

Now fast-forward 8 years or so, and they mostly live pretty well together as willing roommates. Gaga and Neytiri continue to be cordial. They mostly just steer clear of one another, but they can sleep quite close to each other on a bed for example with no problems. They just accept each other and don't make a fuss about it. Serafina (my "Napolean" cat) is a different story though. Serafina and Neytiri mostly also steer clear of each other too except that they both seek me out and demand petting and affection, and in the occasions when they both desire that at the same time, there is usually a "dust up". Typically Serafina whacking Neytiri very hard and fast on the head with an open paw while growling/yowling as Neytiri runs off. That's the typical encounter between them, then they go back to ignoring each other for the rest of the day/evening. Occasionally, Neytiri gets fed up with being bullied by Serafina and instead of running off will retaliate by launching herself at her, tackling her and rolling a bit. A big, loud few moments of shock and awe, followed by Serafina running off. But that's about it, just some little territorial squabbles that are quickly resolved with no actual harm done, and otherwise they are willing roommates and have been so for 8+ years now.

Anyway, your mileage may vary. It depends a lot of the personalities of your cats, and also your ability to provide a home that allows them to all "own" territory and stay out of each other's way when they feel so inclined.

_________________
The little monsters 3

Welcome to our forum. I am so sorry for your loss of Vivaldi. It is heart wrenching to lose a pet. They are such a part of our lives. It is only natural to want the companionship of another cat. And the decision on which type of kitty to add to the household can be difficult. Bengals are terrific cats. Bless you for giving these special-needs kitties a wonderful home. Thank you for such an in-depth post about your experience.

This forum is a wonderful source of information and help for owners. Not only do we try to help when questions and situations arise, but we love it when members just post about their kitties and experiences. We hope you will continue to share with us. It definitely brightens our days.

And pictures are welcome in the Gallery section of the forum.

Aww, Ayla and Finnley are spectacular kitties. They are so lucky to have you.

Note, pictures have to be under 256k to post. But links work just as well. They are just gorgeous. I hope you will keep us updated on how they are doing.

Oh yes. Very beautiful cats. And such a heart warming story of how they found a wonderful home with you!

_________________