Although titled Bengal Mania and sub-titled Bengal and Maine Coon Rescues Who have Rescued Us With Their Love, this blog is about all cats who have happened, in one way or another, upon our lives. For every cat, there are a hundred stories. Here are but a few of them.
I have had kitties my entire life. I've also been blessed with doggies, guinea pigs, chickens, fish and various other smaller creatures, but kitties hold the biggest spot in my heart. Never having less than three, most of the time I have a few more than that. Currently, we have 12. The oldest was born in my bathroom to another rescued stray who came to me cold, hungry and pregnant. Of course I took her in. Five of the current ones came to us as a set from a Maine Coon rescue group as an abandoned litter. I took them all, except for one that was adopted before I saw them. If she had still been with the rest, I would have taken her too.
Two years ago now, I spotted some feral kittens running up this country road with their mother. I was able to capture one of them. Later, I was told where the others had been holed up and immediately went and set humane traps to capture the rest of the litter. The mother had abandoned them by then, and I never saw her. I don't know what happened to her, or if she's fine and still feral up the road, but the 5 kittens were captured. I took them all in, fed them, fixed the various medical problems (including one emergency situation that would have let the kitten only live for a few more days if I hadn't caught and taken him right in). I was able to tame them and give them a safe and loving home here in their kitty sanctuary, but that brought the total up by 5!
And then last year, we started seeing a cow spotted big boy hanging around a lot. I had hoped he was just a visiting neighbor, but after several months, noting when and where he was hanging out, I decided that it was time to catch him and see if he had any diseases and to get him neutered. He was quite afraid and feral, so it became pretty clear that he had no home. I caught him, treated him, fixed him and kept him. He is now a happy, healthy member of the family as well.
Of course, along the way, I have lost many. It was this past year that my artwork had progressed enough that I could start using it to help myself and others deal with the pain of losing a beloved pet. And so Crystal's Kitty Memorials came into being. Crystal was my beautiful little tabby girl I got when I was 15 years old. She was with me through high school, college, moving out of my parent's house, moving away to a new state with a new husband, and then years later, moving again to a new state after a divorce. She was with me for nearly 20 years, very important years, and helped me through some really hard times. I use her memory, and the memory of others that I have loved so dearly to help make my memorial artworks as precious as they can be.
