Bengal Ashes was in need of a home. She arrived here at the sanctuary in 2019 at the age of four.
You can imagine how sad it is when we receive another email or phone call from a heartbroken Bengal cat owner at wits end. The story’s always the same.
They bought the adorable kitten from a breeder, fell in love with her/him, but now something’s wrong. What can they do?
We understand how upsetting it is to owners who weren’t expecting this at all. Breeders don’t tend to share what buyers may really face in the future.
Truth is, nothing’s wrong with the cats. They’re just maturing into the wild cats they were bred to be. That includes territorial marking, destroying houses when kept inside, having expensive health or dietary issues.
After several vet visits, and even behavior modification plans, owners can’t curb these issues and feel helpless about what to do.
Though it’s easy to love the look of a wild cat – a “lap leopard” – living with one is an entirely different beast, as the saying goes.
This is exactly what happened with sisters Ashes and Cinders. I’m sure you understand how easily it is to fall head over heels for adorable kittens like these. That’s what breeders, who charge $2000 for them, depend upon.
These sisters are sweet and have been through 2 homes already, but their litter box habits have been getting even worse.
We’re one of the few sanctuaries in the country who step up to pick up the pieces for hybrid cats like these. Knowing there’s really no other option, what do we say?
We say “Yes” yet again.
But, it comes with a renewed commitment to education. When the general public learns the awful truth, we hope they’ll stop supporting breeders exploiting for profit.
Otherwise, rescues like ours that depend on donations, will continue to have to foot the bill. It’s just not fair.
It’s a difficult position to be put in, especially when caring for Bengals can often be just as expensive as some of the bigger cats.
Life at the Sanctuary
Though Ashes and Cinders had lived together before coming to us, we saw that Ashes tends to dominate, taking over cat towers and toys. Also, sister Cinders has some sight issues. So, we felt it would be better for them to live separately after observing their behavior. And it has been.
Ashes is definitely an independent female who doesn’t really want a companion. We tried merging her with others, but it never worked out.
What she prefers is attention from caretakers, and she certainly gets lots of that! As soon as we approach her habitat, she jumps up on her high platform at eye level, meowing and rolling around, knowing she’s about to get lots of chin scratches.
She does have the company of other hybrids living on both sides of her habitat, too. But Ashes can live her life on her own terms now, and we’re very thankful for that.
How You Can Help
Hybrids usually come to us with special needs, genetic and/or medical issues due to their breeding.
Our sponsorship program helps support the cats’ care costs and allows you to form a special bond with them. Would you consider becoming Ashes’ sponsor parent?
If you’d consider becoming a sponsor parent at $150/year, that really would help defray some of the costs of taking Ashes and her sister Cinders in. You can pay it in a lump sum or $12.50/month.
Or even a one time donation toward her care would be so appreciated. It’s easy to do using the buttons at the top of this page.
Thank you for caring about the little wild ones, too!
