There are Cats, and then there are Bengals

My sister in Texas sent me a query not too long ago. She asked if we might be interested in adopting a kitty. Well, we have four cats now (down from a high of seven cats - waaaa-ay too many, in my humble opinion. Even four is a LOT to care for!) All four are litter-mates. We really shouldn't have any cats. The idea, way back when, was that once Ol' Lucky and Mozart had left this world, we would no longer have any cats.

That was the plan.

A wrinkle in that plan came the day Kandy saw teeny, little kittens running along side the house in the rain in late Fall of 2000. Seems we had a feral litter of kittens living in the back forty (feet), living in the bushes and what-not. Their Mama was a Tortie that no neighbors took responsibility for. Long story short - we started caring for them. I've talked about these kitties before. You can read about them here, if you're so inclined.

It seems that a friend of my sister's raises Bengals. My sister and her husband even have one - his name is "Butch," but his name used to be "Merlin." She says that Butch is a much more suitable name.
I'd have to take her word for it, since I've never met Butch.

Here is one picture of Butch.

Don't you just love those markings? He is quite the character, I'm told. He looks pretty sleek. If we ever introduce a cat into this household, it would have to have a personality to hold his or her own place in the resulting shuffle of the pecking order. I like the next picture as well. Kind of shows his mischievious side, don't you think?


It seems that there are two lovely Bengal adult females up for adoption. As much as I would love to have a Bengal, I am leary of introducing an adult into a household of semi-feral adult cats of which only one (Spot) approximates a normal housecat.

However, I might consider a kitten or pre-adult... but we just cannot afford to buy a kitty of such lineage. It just goes against my nature to buy a pedigreed animal anyway. Although I would adopt one and give it a good home.

So, perhaps someday there will be a younger kitty in need of a home.

Mystery Disappearance of a Little Froggy

Do you see a little froggy?

A few weeks ago the girls came home from a pond with some tadpoles. As kids often do, they lost interest in caring for said tadpoles. We lost a few right away, and eventually ended up with one tiny little one. We fed it, changed the water, watched it grow hinde feet. Katie took a little interest in it. Not a lot. But, Kandy - the kind, old soul that she is - changed the water, and fed the tiny thing, and slowly grew attached to it.

A couple of days ago, the front feet popped out. The frog was getting active. Last night, before we went to bed, Kandy and I were remarking that the little tail was beginning to get a lot shorter. It was less than a half inch long - just a little less long as his little almost-froggy body. I allowed as how the neighborhood pet store has little froggy aquariums, and maybe we should look into getting that? Off we padded to bed.

So, this morning as I was getting ready for work, and Kandy was puttering around in the kitchen, I heard an unexpected,

"He's GONE!"

What? Who's gone? Of course, I had an idea, but how could that be?

"I've looked everywhere. He couldn't have hopped out of the bowl - could he? No, he couldn't have. I've moved all the rocks around and he's not there."

So, I go in there. The bowl always sat on the back counter, across the way from the window, on the other side of the dinette table. That's just where it was. No little tadpole/froggy. No tadpole/froggy on the floor. No tadpole/froggy behind the cookbooks. No tadpole/froggy under the fridge. No tadpole/froggy anywhere.

It's a mystery. I wish I had a picture of the little tadpole/froggy - but I didn't expect him to turn up missing.

The cats have never, ever exhibited any interest in the bowl. They're kinda stupid like that. But, they are cats. After all it's said and done, they're felines.

So, here's the only scenario we can come up with that makes sense. Maybe the little froggy did actually climb out, jump out - some how make a break for it out of the bowl. Okay, maybe so. Then, the cats noticed something small moving around the floor.

"Yumm!"

Says the cat. (Identity of said feline is unknown - paw prints were not found at the scene of the crime.)

Someone must have had a mid-night snack. It's the only thing that makes sense.

What do you think?