Kathleen and her partner heard about the Bengals and knew they could help since they used to own one of the wild-hybrid domestic cats.
“We were ready to bring another cat home, and we thought our experience could be put to good use. Bengal cats have more energy, are more playful and are much more vocal than other cats,” said Kathleen.
“When we were driving Pixel to her new home, she let us know she wasn’t thrilled to be in the car and was ‘chirping’ as I call it in the back seat. I started talking to her to make her more comfortable.”
Soon Pixel was reaching out her paw to make contact with Kathleen’s arm and falling asleep.
Pixel settled into her new home very quickly.
“It is recommended to keeps cats in a smaller room when they are first brought into a new home and let them slowly get used to their environment,” said Kathleen.
“When we brought Pixel into our home, we shut the doors to all the rooms and let her wander around to see how she would react. She wasn’t nervous at all and didn’t try to hide. She was so calm we didn’t end up placing her in the smaller room and within a couple of days we had opened all the doors so she could have full access.”
One other thing people may not know about Bengal cats – they seek out attention much like a dog.
“The other day I ran an errand in the morning,” said Kathleen. “I was gone for 40 minutes, and Pixel came down the stairs to meet me for the first time. Bengal cats do that every single time. Very cool to see her doing the same thing. I like to think it is to welcome her human.”
Pixel also likes to play fetch.
“She loves to get her cardio in by chasing her cat spring toy down the hallway.”
Pixel’s bio on the website hadn’t mentioned she was particularly affectionate, but Kathleen and her husband soon discovered she was a love bug.
“She is constantly looking for us and will stand beside us ‘chirping’ until she is acknowledged and given a pet. In the morning, she finds us and gives us a head butt rub on our legs. Totally cute.”
Kathleen adds that although Pixel is a ‘velcro cat,’ she is not a lap cat.
“She loves to sit alongside you on the couch, but she won’t sit on your lap. She will put her chin on your lap, and part of her body. We call it a side or partial couch cuddle. She is happiest in a chair all by herself. The running joke is if you want to know which chair is the most comfortable, go find Pixel.”
Bengal cats are a mix of wild Asian leopard cats and domestic breeds.
The BC SPCA says hybrids require highly specialized care.
"To ensure strong welfare for these animals, the breeding of hybrid cats should be regulated. The BC SPCA opposes the breeding of wild animals with domestic animals, as well as the breeding of wild animals in captivity as exotic pets," the agency said.
"The importation, breeding, and keeping of exotic animals—such as Asian leopard cats and servals, which are used to create hybrid cats — should be prohibited under the provincial Controlled Alien Species Regulation of the Wildlife Act."
A ban is being proposed provincially on exotic cat ownership by the Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship.
While lions, tigers, jaguars, leopards and cheetahs are already regulated in B.C., other exotic cat species are not, allowing them to be kept as pets.
If approved, all exotic and non-domesticated cat species would be added to the list of approximately 1,200 species already designated as "controlled alien species" under the Controlled Alien Species Regulation in the Wildlife Act.
This includes, but is not limited to, servals, caracals, ocelots, European and African wildcats, Asian golden cats, fishing cats, jungle cats and marbled cats.
The Ministry says the ban would not include Bengals, Savannahs and Chausies, which are hybrid cats.
"If approved, the changes would, however, ban breeding domesticated cats with non-domestic and non-native species of cats to produce more hybrid kittens," the ministry told The Morning Star.
The BC SPCA is encouraging residents to support the regulation by speaking up at https://spca.bc.ca/news/speak-up-for-exotic-cats/.
There are still some Bengals available for adoption at the adopt.spca.bc.ca website.
"Others from the same seizure as Pixel have been adopted and are happily settling into forever homes," said Kaila Butler Wolf, BC SPCA senior manager, communications.
