Starbucks, World. World, Starbucks

Sonali Goes Through her Rationalization of Getting a Kitty

For the last year I had been playing around with the idea of getting a pet. Although I was strongly considering getting a Great Dane, the fact that I live in a studio remained a deterrent. Various things kept popping up in the meanwhile, which really prevented me from staying home at a regular basis. Over Christmas, my father and sister came to visit and brought my lovely 17 year old Chocolate-Point Siamese, Toffy. Having Toffy around was simply bliss.

Now, you can call me a snob but my sister and I would glorify the fact that Toffy was a pure-bred Siamese. Toffy is intelligent. He comes running from far and beyond the great outdoors when called, fetches paperballs and is generally perfect. However, I cannot dream of getting another Siamese just yet, because I cannot bear the subconscious possibility that that would mean I am replacing Toffy. And nothing can replace Toffy. If not a siamese, then what? What bred possibly comes close to the Siamese in intelligence and general coolness? Alas, our backup was the Bengal. Of course our vanity played a role in that. Siamese were cool because they guarded the ancient temples of the Kingdom of Siam. Bengals were cool because we are Bengali.

I meet a couple of Kitties

Unlike the very long and sophisticated breeding history of the Siamese, the Bengal Cat is a relatively new breed starting out as a cross between the Asian Leopard Cat and a domestic cat in the 1960s. What is striking about the Bengal is it’s pelt of spots. They really do look like small versions of a wild cat.

I had been researching various breeders in the Seattle area and all the kittens in the winter litters had been reserved. Out of luck, one of the breeders emailed me that 2 kittens were suddenly available because the young couple who had them reserved could no longer have them. I jumped at the chance to visit the 12 week old kittens. I spent 3 hours playing with kittens that were polar opposites of each others. One of them was the Queen of the litter and completely adoring but also a bully. The other was timid and shy. While the Queen was jumping at the chance to get into my lap, the other hated being held and would rather sneak up underneath my jacket and sit covered. Once the Queen was exhausted with all her rambunctious playing, the shy one finally got the guts to exert himself. I was on the fence with my decision on which kitty fit what I was looking for. Then, the breeder mentioned that his Mom was here and I could meet her. When I saw how much the shy kitty just came out of his shell around her and loved her completely, I was sold.

I wouldn’t describe Starbucks as the pathetic one of the bunch. He is more like the aloof/ambivelant one.

About Starbucks

Starbucks is an F6 snow mink spotted bengal. The breeder, Kelli, of Cheetahsden Bengals of Northwest, is awesome. She is kind and has offered so much information about the breed and Starbucks’ family. Starbucks’ mother, Junglebook Illustrated Fantasy, an F5, definitely displays wild-cat behaviors like prowling around the room in uncertain situations. Fantasy is gorgeous and also has the longer, leaner body type. Starbucks has inherited the oriental features of the domestic cats that the Asian Leopard Cats were bred with-a siamese on the mom’s side and a burmese on the dad’s-hence the homozygous recessive albino trait from both sides making him a “snow leopard” bengal. I like the fact that he is quieter and more alusive, compared to his brothers, sisters and cousins. Perhaps that’s the siamese owner in me. I also like the fact that he is a F6…it makes me think that I have way more special cat because he is so much closer to the Asian Leopard Cat.