Where's a videocamera when you need one?

On Sun, 08 May 2005 21:35:35 GMT, "Diane L. Schirf"
wrote:

I just came in from a few hours outside, and since it's close to
dinnertime (defined as 5:00 p.m. on weekends, according to Hodge), Hodge
was underfoot from the moment I got in the door. Literally underfoot. At
one point, I took a step forward, one of his feet got caught between my
toes, and in what must have been a judo-like movement, he ended up doing
a complete flip and ending up on his back. (No one was hurt, although my
guess is we were equally startled.)

I wish there'd been a video of that.

As I mentioned in my "Tiger=Houdini" post, cats are frighteningly
nimble.

I think in our day-to-day experiences of them sleeping on couches,
chasing after toys and gobbling their treats, we don't get to see
this.

But these are animals, IMHO, one step removed from ferrets. Cats don't
have collarbones, so they can fit through any opening as large as
their heads. To look at their musculo-skeletal systems from a
biologist's point of view, they are a stack of springs ready to engage
in all directions at any moment. They can stretch several times their
resting length - their spines are like rubber bands.

In my opinion, barring injury, we are blessed by these occasional
accisdents to see these incredibly well-adapted creatures performing
at their peak.

Louis the Bengal (admittedly somewhat genetically divergent from the
common housecat) is capable of the most insane standing-start-jumps.
He's rather skittery, so if I'm busy programming, making only noises
from tapping on my laptop, and I make a sudden move or upset a Diet
Coke can, he can jump fully five times his height straight up in the
air and hit the ground running at a speed which vanishes him in an
instant.

Even the most mundane moogie can do amazing things. What a great treat
we get to share our lives with these little marvels.

BLink

To look at their musculo-skeletal systems from a
biologist's point of view, they are a stack of springs ready to
engage
in all directions at any moment. They can stretch several times their
resting length - their spines are like rubber bands.

Have you ever seen a full x-ray of any of your cats? Absolutely
amazing.

Sherry

Brian Link wrote:
On Sun, 08 May 2005 21:35:35 GMT, "Diane L. Schirf"
wrote:

I just came in from a few hours outside, and since it's close to
dinnertime (defined as 5:00 p.m. on weekends, according to Hodge),
Hodge was underfoot from the moment I got in the door. Literally
underfoot. At one point, I took a step forward, one of his feet got
caught between my toes, and in what must have been a judo-like
movement, he ended up doing a complete flip and ending up on his
back. (No one was hurt, although my guess is we were equally
startled.)

I wish there'd been a video of that.

As I mentioned in my "Tiger=Houdini" post, cats are frighteningly
nimble.

I think in our day-to-day experiences of them sleeping on couches,
chasing after toys and gobbling their treats, we don't get to see
this.

But these are animals, IMHO, one step removed from ferrets. Cats don't
have collarbones, so they can fit through any opening as large as
their heads. To look at their musculo-skeletal systems from a
biologist's point of view, they are a stack of springs ready to engage
in all directions at any moment. They can stretch several times their
resting length - their spines are like rubber bands.

In my opinion, barring injury, we are blessed by these occasional
accisdents to see these incredibly well-adapted creatures performing
at their peak.

Louis the Bengal (admittedly somewhat genetically divergent from the
common housecat) is capable of the most insane standing-start-jumps.
He's rather skittery, so if I'm busy programming, making only noises
from tapping on my laptop, and I make a sudden move or upset a Diet
Coke can, he can jump fully five times his height straight up in the
air and hit the ground running at a speed which vanishes him in an
instant.

Even the most mundane moogie can do amazing things. What a great treat
we get to share our lives with these little marvels.

BLink

Intriguing post. I have been considering a Bengal for a short time (my
reason for visiting this forum) and appreciate your insights of Bengals. I
did witness some Bengals at a Bengal cattery and was quite impressed with
their activity and flight capabilities. How long have you owned your Bengal
and has the cat exhibited any unique health issues? Any training issues?

On Mon, 09 May 2005 16:40:42 GMT, "Philip"
wrote:

Brian Link wrote:
On Sun, 08 May 2005 21:35:35 GMT, "Diane L. Schirf"
wrote:

I just came in from a few hours outside, and since it's close to
dinnertime (defined as 5:00 p.m. on weekends, according to Hodge),
Hodge was underfoot from the moment I got in the door. Literally
underfoot. At one point, I took a step forward, one of his feet got
caught between my toes, and in what must have been a judo-like
movement, he ended up doing a complete flip and ending up on his
back. (No one was hurt, although my guess is we were equally
startled.)

I wish there'd been a video of that.

As I mentioned in my "Tiger=Houdini" post, cats are frighteningly
nimble.

I think in our day-to-day experiences of them sleeping on couches,
chasing after toys and gobbling their treats, we don't get to see
this.

But these are animals, IMHO, one step removed from ferrets. Cats don't
have collarbones, so they can fit through any opening as large as
their heads. To look at their musculo-skeletal systems from a
biologist's point of view, they are a stack of springs ready to engage
in all directions at any moment. They can stretch several times their
resting length - their spines are like rubber bands.

In my opinion, barring injury, we are blessed by these occasional
accisdents to see these incredibly well-adapted creatures performing
at their peak.

Louis the Bengal (admittedly somewhat genetically divergent from the
common housecat) is capable of the most insane standing-start-jumps.
He's rather skittery, so if I'm busy programming, making only noises
from tapping on my laptop, and I make a sudden move or upset a Diet
Coke can, he can jump fully five times his height straight up in the
air and hit the ground running at a speed which vanishes him in an
instant.

Even the most mundane moogie can do amazing things. What a great treat
we get to share our lives with these little marvels.

BLink

Intriguing post. I have been considering a Bengal for a short time (my
reason for visiting this forum) and appreciate your insights of Bengals. I
did witness some Bengals at a Bengal cattery and was quite impressed with
their activity and flight capabilities. How long have you owned your Bengal
and has the cat exhibited any unique health issues? Any training issues?


There are some good discussions of Bengals elsewhere in this
newsgroup. I'm far from an authority, having done the same googling
you no doubt have. From what I understand, Louis is a fairly good
exemplar of the breed, though he doesn't hop in the shower with us.

The big thing is playtime. You have really got to have some time set
aside every day to play with your Bengal. Our other cat is a
high-energy guy too (the reason we bought a Bengal for his companion)
and he provides a lot of activity for Louis, but Louis will tire Tiger
out. Then it's up to us. We don't have a cat tree yet, but it's high
on our priority list - we take Louis outside on a leash and he will
zoom up every tree he sees. He is constantly scanning the house for
the highest point he can get to.

They're a poor choice if you're gone all the time, and frankly I think
they'd do best with a playmate. Wonderful personalities, beautiful
animals, very intelligent and vocal. There's something
not-quite-domestic about their personalities, but that's okay. We're
very happy with Louis.

BLink

Brian Link wrote:
On Mon, 09 May 2005 16:40:42 GMT, "Philip"
wrote:

Brian Link wrote:
On Sun, 08 May 2005 21:35:35 GMT, "Diane L. Schirf"
wrote:

I just came in from a few hours outside, and since it's close to
dinnertime (defined as 5:00 p.m. on weekends, according to Hodge),
Hodge was underfoot from the moment I got in the door. Literally
underfoot. At one point, I took a step forward, one of his feet got
caught between my toes, and in what must have been a judo-like
movement, he ended up doing a complete flip and ending up on his
back. (No one was hurt, although my guess is we were equally
startled.)

I wish there'd been a video of that.

As I mentioned in my "Tiger=Houdini" post, cats are frighteningly
nimble.

I think in our day-to-day experiences of them sleeping on couches,
chasing after toys and gobbling their treats, we don't get to see
this.

But these are animals, IMHO, one step removed from ferrets. Cats
don't have collarbones, so they can fit through any opening as
large as
their heads. To look at their musculo-skeletal systems from a
biologist's point of view, they are a stack of springs ready to
engage in all directions at any moment. They can stretch several
times their resting length - their spines are like rubber bands.

In my opinion, barring injury, we are blessed by these occasional
accisdents to see these incredibly well-adapted creatures performing
at their peak.

Louis the Bengal (admittedly somewhat genetically divergent from the
common housecat) is capable of the most insane standing-start-jumps.
He's rather skittery, so if I'm busy programming, making only noises
from tapping on my laptop, and I make a sudden move or upset a Diet
Coke can, he can jump fully five times his height straight up in the
air and hit the ground running at a speed which vanishes him in an
instant.

Even the most mundane moogie can do amazing things. What a great
treat we get to share our lives with these little marvels.

BLink

Intriguing post. I have been considering a Bengal for a short time
(my reason for visiting this forum) and appreciate your insights of
Bengals. I did witness some Bengals at a Bengal cattery and was
quite impressed with their activity and flight capabilities. How
long have you owned your Bengal and has the cat exhibited any unique
health issues? Any training issues?


There are some good discussions of Bengals elsewhere in this
newsgroup. I'm far from an authority, having done the same googling
you no doubt have. From what I understand, Louis is a fairly good
exemplar of the breed, though he doesn't hop in the shower with us.

The big thing is playtime. You have really got to have some time set
aside every day to play with your Bengal. Our other cat is a
high-energy guy too (the reason we bought a Bengal for his companion)
and he provides a lot of activity for Louis, but Louis will tire Tiger
out. Then it's up to us. We don't have a cat tree yet, but it's high
on our priority list - we take Louis outside on a leash and he will
zoom up every tree he sees. He is constantly scanning the house for
the highest point he can get to.

They're a poor choice if you're gone all the time, and frankly I think
they'd do best with a playmate. Wonderful personalities, beautiful
animals, very intelligent and vocal. There's something
not-quite-domestic about their personalities, but that's okay. We're
very happy with Louis.

BLink

I"m sold ... except on the part about periods of being without company.
What happens then? Shredded furniture? Knocking things off shelves? What?
How long is too long for being left alone?

On Mon, 09 May 2005 21:14:24 GMT, "Philip"
wrote:

Brian Link wrote:
On Mon, 09 May 2005 16:40:42 GMT, "Philip"
wrote:

Brian Link wrote:
On Sun, 08 May 2005 21:35:35 GMT, "Diane L. Schirf"
wrote:

I just came in from a few hours outside, and since it's close to
dinnertime (defined as 5:00 p.m. on weekends, according to Hodge),
Hodge was underfoot from the moment I got in the door. Literally
underfoot. At one point, I took a step forward, one of his feet got
caught between my toes, and in what must have been a judo-like
movement, he ended up doing a complete flip and ending up on his
back. (No one was hurt, although my guess is we were equally
startled.)

I wish there'd been a video of that.

As I mentioned in my "Tiger=Houdini" post, cats are frighteningly
nimble.

I think in our day-to-day experiences of them sleeping on couches,
chasing after toys and gobbling their treats, we don't get to see
this.

But these are animals, IMHO, one step removed from ferrets. Cats
don't have collarbones, so they can fit through any opening as
large as
their heads. To look at their musculo-skeletal systems from a
biologist's point of view, they are a stack of springs ready to
engage in all directions at any moment. They can stretch several
times their resting length - their spines are like rubber bands.

In my opinion, barring injury, we are blessed by these occasional
accisdents to see these incredibly well-adapted creatures performing
at their peak.

Louis the Bengal (admittedly somewhat genetically divergent from the
common housecat) is capable of the most insane standing-start-jumps.
He's rather skittery, so if I'm busy programming, making only noises
from tapping on my laptop, and I make a sudden move or upset a Diet
Coke can, he can jump fully five times his height straight up in the
air and hit the ground running at a speed which vanishes him in an
instant.

Even the most mundane moogie can do amazing things. What a great
treat we get to share our lives with these little marvels.

BLink

Intriguing post. I have been considering a Bengal for a short time
(my reason for visiting this forum) and appreciate your insights of
Bengals. I did witness some Bengals at a Bengal cattery and was
quite impressed with their activity and flight capabilities. How
long have you owned your Bengal and has the cat exhibited any unique
health issues? Any training issues?


There are some good discussions of Bengals elsewhere in this
newsgroup. I'm far from an authority, having done the same googling
you no doubt have. From what I understand, Louis is a fairly good
exemplar of the breed, though he doesn't hop in the shower with us.

The big thing is playtime. You have really got to have some time set
aside every day to play with your Bengal. Our other cat is a
high-energy guy too (the reason we bought a Bengal for his companion)
and he provides a lot of activity for Louis, but Louis will tire Tiger
out. Then it's up to us. We don't have a cat tree yet, but it's high
on our priority list - we take Louis outside on a leash and he will
zoom up every tree he sees. He is constantly scanning the house for
the highest point he can get to.

They're a poor choice if you're gone all the time, and frankly I think
they'd do best with a playmate. Wonderful personalities, beautiful
animals, very intelligent and vocal. There's something
not-quite-domestic about their personalities, but that's okay. We're
very happy with Louis.

BLink

I"m sold ... except on the part about periods of being without company.
What happens then? Shredded furniture? Knocking things off shelves? What?
How long is too long for being left alone?


Well there's two responses:

1. For you, you may only have to deal with inappropriate urination and
some property destruction
2. For the cat, life is ****. Which causes depression, and can
possibly cause illness.

Bengals, like any other cats, sleep a heckuva lot. But if their
schedule doesn't line up with yours, it could be hellish. We've had
nights where Tiger was asleep, we hadn't played with Louis much, and
for hours he was either leaping over the bed like a porpoise, or
howling like a banshee when shut out of the bedroom. Despite being 9
lbs, Louis is without a doubt the loudest cat I've ever heard. I think
he actually practices -

You could consider a foster cat - one who had already lived with
humans and whose personality was known (a suggestion I've received).
But if you're out of town for days at a time, or work 12 hour days, I
just don't think it's fair to the cat. At least buy two if you have
long work days.

BLink

I got my first Bengal the first of April, a Silver Spotted Tabby male.
Due to the fact that the mother had quit nursing the litter I got to
bring him home at 8 weeks of age, very small, but typical of the breed.
While visiting with the breeder, she administered de-wormer and the
little tyke had an instant and adverse reaction, vomiting most of it
and within 15 minutes expelling what got into his system in the litter
pan. The little guy developed diarrhea, lost his appetite and was
Vetted when he was 9 weeks old. He was administered a liquid
antibiotic to cover any possible stomach infection and put on enzymes
to pre-digest his food until his system was able to build it's own
gastric flora. It seems the dosage was too high and it killed both the
good enzymes as well as any "worm" cysts he may have had. And damned
near killed him. Within two weeks he began losing fur, first on his
chin, then the back of the ears and his cheek. It spread from there.
It looked like mange to me, although I've never seen a cat or kitten
with it. His second trip to the Vet was scheduled and kept.

Gabby was checked with a "Woods Light" and fluoresced, diagnoses was
Ringworm. OK, I can deal with this, what is the course of action.
Program, one table with food followed by a second does in two weeks,
and and anti-fungal shampoo. It hasn't even been a week since the
first does of Program, and his fur is already growing back. This makes
me think it may not be RW, but a less virulent fungal infection perhaps
linked to the de-wormer. None of the other kittens from his litter or
other litters has had any signs of any type of skin/fur
disorder/infection. Which is another thing that makes me thing it may
have something to do with the de-wormer.

The thing of it is, we still will have to wait another three weeks
before he goes back for a follow-up visit and culture and a second one
two weeks after that. Unless the first culture shows it wasn't RW to
begin with (which I don't know how that could be determined since an
initial culture was not done to determine what strain of RW this
is/was).

We were supposed to pick up his play mate/companion on May 1st. but
because of this infection, we have had to put it off. HIs playmate is
a Snow Leopard Bengal and his half brother (same sire, different
queen). The breeder has already done the de-wormer thing with him -
using half the dosage, and has given him his first inoculation
(nasal/ocular). I have yet to administer this to Gabby and am not
entirely sure I will, although it probably wouldn't hurt to have this
protection since Gabby does go outside with me when I work in the
garden. I plan to train them both to halter and lead when they get a
bit older and bigger.

Gabby is a real character, with boundless amounts of energy and a
stubborn streak a mile long. He has reached the age when kittens have
mock battles with each other and since there is no one else, it's
usually my hand or forearm he attacking. No amount of scolding will
make him stop for more than a nano-second. As far as behavior other
than normal kitten, he hasn't developed any yet. He stays wherever I
happen to be and can be trusted to stay inside even when I have the
back door open to air out the house. I am not sure what he does with
his days while I am at work, he has several inter-active toys he plays
with and has found several other things he has mock fights with. It
will be interesting to see what he does when his half-brother arrives
and I dread to think of what kinds of trouble they will be getting into
when they get older. It's going to be very interesting!


Hemma