Farms and ranches LOVE kitties! Lots of room to roam around. Not that there aren't dangers there. Had a friend who lost every kitten due to owls. As soon as the kitties were old enough to start walking on their own ... they disappeared! But ..... that's a totally different situation -- it's lovely to have acres and acres of land. Unfortunately, us city dwellers don't have that option. We live on less than 1/4 acres, so our neighbors are close. Not much yard once you put a house on it. That means even the kitties are close. There are no cats who can handle traffic. They don't know to look both ways before crossing a street. A beautiful orange and white long-haired kitty I was feeding ended up getting hit on the main road and I saw it laying there on my way to work one day. I'm sure the car could not have seen the cat as it was around a curve -- and the kitty couldn't see the car either. I'd much prefer Raiden just stay indoors, but he refuses. Having roamed the neighborhood for six years, he was not going to become an indoor cat willingly, so our compromise was twice daily walks outside and the cat enclosure. He is not a happy cat -- he would like six or seven walks a day. I can't believe someone didn't snatch him as he is a pretty easy cat to befriend. I did it!!! People say he's the most beautiful cat they've ever seen -- I don't think any of them had seen a bengal before. On the other hand, the neighbor's cat who hangs around is strictly an outdoor kitty. Will not stay inside their house no matter how hard they try. He escapes through the door when they are trying to come in or out of their house, so now he's just around my house. What a decision one has to make as to whether to let their kitties go in and out. I can usually get anywhere from 4 to 18 months with a stray outdoor cat and then they vanish.

Sherry, I can believe how Raiden must be to other people.

I remember the first time we brought Dexter home I couldn't keep my eyes off him. I don't think I ever got over how beautiful he was. That's the Bengal breed for you.

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Oscar and Jasper (or one ear and two ears as dh calls them) black rescue mogges

RIP my sweet baby Dexter, Snow Bengal 19/5/14 to 5/3/15 and my lovely dear old friend Muskey, Brown Burmese put to rest aged 15 on 14/11/15.

Debbie

I agree, Debbie, and Raiden is a cool pelted bengal, so there isn't a lot of contrast on his pelt. I've seen warm pelted bengals who are just spectacular. This picture was taken at the vets when he was sick in July.

Aww! You can tell he doesn't feel well in that picture (poor guy), but he still looks lovely. Raiden is very handsome.

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Guardian of Zelda - Brown Spotted Bengal

Raiden is beautiful.

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Oscar and Jasper (or one ear and two ears as dh calls them) black rescue mogges

RIP my sweet baby Dexter, Snow Bengal 19/5/14 to 5/3/15 and my lovely dear old friend Muskey, Brown Burmese put to rest aged 15 on 14/11/15.

Debbie

We don't see enough photos of handsome Raiden.

I do take quite a few pictures of him, when I can get him to sit still.

If you have been looking for a Bengal for 3 years, why settle on a backyard breeder? Yes, there are some very rude breeders out there, but also wonderful breeders. I’m sorry you have had such bad luck with them, but that’s why it is so important to do research on breeders. I spoke with and emailed so so so many breeders for both my cats before I decided. Both have been lovely to me and I am very happy. In response to your subject line – ‘Breeders are encouraging back street breeding IMO’, I really must disagree. It is about finding the right breeder, which can take time. But there are many wonderful, caring, lovely breeders out there.

Of course, if you are happy with your kitten, that is all that matters in the end. Generally, however, you should not have had to pay so much for a kitten who is not registered with TICA or already neutered. So you may have been a little ripped off there.

Why after waiting for 3 years a BYB?

Because every time I have rung up for a suitable cat they have already gone, Due to my age, my family history health wise & the age a cat can live to I felt time was running out. I can't predict my own mortality but my birth Mum nearly died last year - after 3 major seizures, hypoglycaemia & kidney cancer (Thank you NHS for saving her & making her better -ish) she is only 71 & my birth father died at 71. I am 51 & a cat can easily live for 20 years. I would not willingly put a pet in a position where it may need to be rehomed as an elderly animal.

Yeah my cat could stray or get run over but at least he is not imprisoned. I personally think cats should be allowed outside. Like I said in the 18 (now almost 19) years I have lived in this property I have never had a cat, stray or get run over. There are only 3 houses in my Cul-du Sac & our road is off a no though road with 7 small cul du sacs off it so not much passing traffic & no great speed can be achieved in my road as it is 2 houses long, 2 houses wide & one in the corner. The breeder & her family were heavy smokers I personally think that is more harmful to a pet than allowing it outside access, She also lived in the centre of a town, I don't.

fred again in bed.jpg


My Back street boy

Beautiful kitty, I would hate to have something happen to it. It only takes one car to maim or kill a cat! You are super young! We can't spend our lives worrying about our kitties outliving us. If it happens, it happens. I'm happy Raiden is an older cat -- he will be 9 next month. Hubby and I are older and hope we can hang on the rest of Raiden's life. He should live to an older age since he's not allowed outside unsupervised. The neighbor's b/w cat that I'm caring for showed up last night limping (again). This time it's the back paw. Only emergency vets are open today but if he is still limping, I'll have to take him to the vet tomorrow. Would not have happened if he were an indoor kitty -- but Raiden wants to kill this sweet baby every time we go outside for our walks.