Bengalis 2009-2015

It is with major sadness that I, the owner of Bengalis, will have to put this blog through its first hiatus for a great period of time. The reason is Bengalis has, during the past year-and-a-half, developed what seems to be cancer lumps all over his body. It started around August 2014 when I found the very first lumps, that were eventually removed in September the same year. A few months later more lumps had appeared, slowly at first, but then grew rapidly. Bengalis went through 3 surgeries in less than a year (as described in his writings) but as of summer of 2015 I decided that he would not go through another surgery session, and started preparing for the fact that he may never see his 7th birthday (March 2016).

Since the last surgery more lumps have appeared and by the last count, around 20th September, he had as many new ones as was previously removed (12). In an attempt to avoid the inevitable I pondered letting him live with the current lumps for some time, but fate smacked me in the face when I found not 1 but 2 lumps in his face – one of which was located on his right cheekbone, just below the eye. As a pet owner, who loves her cats, I cannot let my cats deteriorate just to keep them around. It is extremely selfish and I will never do that. I have done it out of complete blindness with my previous cat. She died of old age but should have been put to sleep long before it actually happened.

So it is with massive sadness that I had to let Bengalis move on to Kitty Heaven prematurely on 28th October. He is by far the strangest, loudest, cuddliest, most scared and absolutely most loving cat I have ever encountered and I can now safely say I will never find a cat as special as he was (I said the same after my previous cat died and look who took over my home!). 

But as Bengalis put it, “hope is the last thing that leaves a being” and I hope that my belief in the afterlife and reincarnation will grant me the luxury of having him return to me. Because there will be other cats in the future…

Such a Beautiful Day

Today has been bliss to be perfectly honest. I shared the bed with my human and we had a bit of a very warm cuddle moment under the covers. It’s been a while. Sometimes I don’t feel like it, sometimes she doesn’t feel like it, or have time, but that’s fine. Today we cuddled and I got my belly rubbed. When it was time to get up I got more cuddles in the bathroom, and I decided when I had enough for a change. I did complain a little when my human delayed. Showers. Why? There’s no shed fur to remove.

After my tuna breakfast (and later that … yoohghuuurrt) I went back to bed and slept for a while. It was cold though, so just in time for the sun to spread its rays across the living room window I showed up and made myself comfortable. My human kept herself occupied with something or other while I graciously moved positions in the warmth of the rays. A little bit of sideways. A little bit of paws in the air. A little bit of curled up ball.

I also did some grooming. Slow washing. Front left paw. Toes. Front left leg. Belly. Front right leg, paw, toes. Private parts – cannot neglect those. More paws. I know I was filmed but I ignored it – for the most part. Apparently filming got boring because my human decided to give me more belly rubs and speak to me in a whispering voice. Purring commenced!

All days should be like this. Bliss!

Play with me

It’s early morning. I’m awake for a change. My human is asleep. I want attention. I want to play. So I start verbalizing my need.

Nothing happens.

I raise my voice. The cover scrunch. I up my voice. A respond.

“Shush!”

I complain some more and get shushed at, more irritated than before. Suddenly the entertainment box awakes. It wasn’t me. My human gets up and I’m like “woooow, that’s what it takes” and begin to chase around her legs for some action.
The entertainment box is silenced and my human returns to bed.

Whaaaat?!

Now I’m frustrated. It is time to get up, to play, to cuddle, to eat tuna. But I get nothing. Then something completely unexpected happens – the bedroom door is shut – in my face! I shout WOE IS MEEEEEE. It didn’t help.

When my human finally got up I got some tuna. Everything is now forgiven and forgotten. By the way… have any of you fellow kitties tried the human food … yoohghuuurrt? It’s… milky… and it comes in different colours and tastes… different than milk. Sometimes it’s blue, sometimes red and sometimes purple. I just love it. If only I could get a canister of my own. The dollops I get are small.
I could probably teach my human to give me more. I just need some time.

Join the Riot

Sadly, Internet censorship is rife in many countries. Consequently hundreds of millions of people worldwide are denied daily their right to knowledge by governmental controls on sites such as YouTube and Facebook.

It is imperative we recognise and challenge the powers that restrict not only the public’s access to the simple joy of funny cat content, but to information as a whole.

Freedom is knowledge. Knowledge is power. Cats know everything.

From the very heart of the Internet we raise our banner with #ThePussycatRiot: a new protest movement to unite the cats of the world and their owners in opposition to cyber censorship. We aim to raise awareness of the oppressive regimes preventing people from freely enjoying the boundless wealth of mankind’s innovation and creativity… And cat videos.

Every revolution begins with a spark. Normally, a bright red dot on the wall would suffice.
Ours begins with five freedom felines, and a hashtag:

#THEPUSSYCATRIOT

For more information please visit:
http://www.thepussycatriot.org/

No wonder you’re cold

A few nights ago my human was sitting in front of the entertainment box wrapped in a blanket. I was laying on her legs, on the blanket, like a lose ball and was observing her. She had that blanket and layers of human attire on. Some parts, like hands and face, were bare. Smooth. Bare. It dawned on me…

She has no fur!

I mean… I knew fur was missing but never actually thought about it. It’s one of those things that just slips by. Sure, there’s something that could be called fur on top of her head, but it remains in that area. It doesn’t spread. How could someone not have fur?! It’s so practical. I find it practical. I don’t have to waste valuable sleep and play time putting on additional layers. She should consider getting fur. But I guess if she did we wouldn’t have a need for the thick bed covers that I really like.

For instance, the early morning recently. There was a bit of tossing and turning again and it was a bit … not annoying but… I felt the need to calm her down. So I washed her hair for a moment until we could both fall asleep again. A bit later it was time to move about again. This time I used a different tactic. A tactic that benefit both. I forced myself under the cover and made myself comfortable all stretched out next to her. Oh the warmth! Thankfully the opening wasn’t closed or I’d probably die of overheating.
We stayed like that for a while and I got belly rubs and massage. I purred in response. Looks like having no fur has its benefits…

Patience is a virtue

Finally! Success!
After years of training my human has finally understood that it is custom to serve shrimp more than once a week (I didn’t even get that) and tuna equally often. This week is the first time that I got shrimp two days in a row (praise Bastet!) and I do believe there are tuna cans in the cupboard. I haven’t exactly seen or smelled the cans but… you know, I hope. Hope is the last thing that an individual surrender.

Now there’s not a whole lot more I can teach my human. I have plenty of food to choose from even though I’m not picky. I have a relatively clean litter box that currently needs new sand. No biggie. There’s plenty of places to sleep, the bed being the best one because we share the warmth there. Oh I forgot to mention that we have changed the covers from thin ones to the thick ones. It scrunches when I walk on it. And it keeps us warm. Which leads me to the fact that all I have to do is poke the opening a little to be let under. No struggle. No bashing of a human head – although I have to headbutt her at times. Usually, I hit the nose and apparently that hurts because I usually get a loud “OW! in my ears. Suits you right for not letting me under quickly enough.

Few things beats sleeping in a warm lap.

And… like tuna garnish on a shrimp… I got to explore an area that I have never been allow to explore – the top of the wardrobe. It was exciting but dusty. It made me sneeze. I’ve been up there twice now. If I can make her clean up there it would be awesome!

What else have I managed? The walk-in storage opens up a little more often now. Sun… well, we can’t control that one but I take every chance I get to soak in the sun. Yesterday was one of those days. I have my favourite spot in the livingroom window. The second best is the kitchen during mornings. But today it’s cloudy so I’ve had to settle for the radiator pouch.

Few things beats a sleep in a warm lap.One thing that I’m still not allowed to do is to serve myself treats. There was a chicken pizza with human delicacies on top and I desperately tried to squeeze into the lap of my human. That worked. Then I desperately made my entire body, and especially my nose, longer so I could perhaps get a nibble. That didn’t work. I circled the plate but a hand stopped me from entering the chicken sphere. Hope. It never leaves, right? Well, bits of chicken appeared on the floor. I was circling the area and just saw them there, one after the other. Sooo tasty. So I guess not being able to serve myself treats is okay as long as I get something – one way or another.
To avoid getting fat I decided to have a run around my territory. I attacked the sofa and pulled back my ears to the best of my ability. The left one is a little daft and has been since birth. I heard a sudden noise and bolted across the back and down on the side. Then I leapt over our large cushions and rushed to the bedroom. Then I ran back, crawled under the sofa and attacked the cover hanging down from the seats. Now I just take it easy and rest.

I scream, you scream

We all scream for…

ICE CREAM!

This was my treat after complaining about a fly in my chardonnay moth in my water bowl. It had salty licorice in it. Cooool…

Not much else going on at the moment. The sun comes and goes as it pleases. One day it’s impossible to bask in the rays and other days it’s dark, rainy and windy. My home is cooling down though. Before, it was so hot I had to rest in the kitchen where the temperature is a bit cooler. Now I inhabit every place I fancy. Not even the birds outside wanted to come out and play in the heat.

Oh and my treatment is going well. I’m off the meds and my “battle scars” have transformed into scabs about to fall off. All is well in Bengalis-Land!

Escape artist seeking comfort

So… It is now safe to say, or conclude, that No Food equals Veterinarian. I shall be better prepared next time!
To make it really, really short, I was shoved into the carrier, taken to the vet, was prodded and shaved in the presence of my human (I gave her a sad ‘Why?!’ look but it didn’t help). I was left there, though I suppose the soft whispers and encouragements were out of love. That’s all I remember clearly. I have vague images of being put in a closed carrier in a dark bathroom, fully kitted with cushions, blankets and towels. I also got out of the carrier. I don’t remember how but I have seen the carrier after I got my usual self back and the whole zipper side has been torn apart! BOOOSH! You will not carry me anywhere anymore!

Yeah. We had a cuddle-fest for days afterwards. I enjoyed sleeping under blankets. More quiet, not to mention dark and warm.

Underneath a blanket all is well.

When I got my bearings back I chased a daft fly on the floor. It wouldn’t do anything but crawl. I might have eaten it. Ooops. Then I found one of my favourite places to sit and just be. I got warmed up and listened to the birdies outside. There may have been working humans down below in the “woodwork” but I’m not sure.

Day 1 after surgery – recharging batteries

Day 1 after surgery – warm sun on too cool body

Now I’m healthy and stare lovingly at my human to get some food. I know it contains medicine but that’s okay. I eat it anyway. It’s time… what are we waiting for?!

Double food, no food

Yesterday I held serenades by the door when my human got home. Long, drawn out exclamations of love (for soft food). Some tripping around feet. Tip of tail wiggling (yes I have started to master it now). Stretching up towards the counter to try speed things up. More serenades and voila, my food was served. I sometimes don’t eat instantly. Sometimes I continue my serenades until my human is about to leave the kitchen and then I eat.

But I ate. Salmon I believe it was. I would like that other fish, herring, but for some reason my human cannot catch one of those tins [owner notes: sold out in the store].

Later that evening, after some racing around in our home, looking at birds, sun worshiping, and minor cuddles I got more soft food. Wut?! I always try to get more food but never do. This time I did. What’s going on?
Then, this morning, when I decided it was time for my human to wake up I only managed one purr and slight poking at the cover before she bolted out of bed with a “Shit!”, rushed out in the kitchen and removed my dry food bowls. And I didn’t get any food at all. What the H is going on? Well, if I can’t get some service in this joint then I will cling on my human until I do. I’ll be the poo that never quite leave your bum, and you don’t want to lick it off because there’s too much of it. It’s there. It’s irritating. But you don’t want to deal with it. …okay, not the greatest analogy.

I better get some food later today!

Don’t touch my thighs

Apparently it’s all okay for a human to put her hands anywhere but it’s not okay for me to groom said human. Last night I was resting on my human while my human was resting in the sofa. It was warm and nice. I was stretched out on my belly like a sausage and felt two hands massage my thighs. I rolled over on my back, excited at first. But when the caresses turned more intense I tried to avoid them by bending my back and push my bum upward. That only made things worse. A fast paced movement of hands and a crazy laughter got me pissed. I tried to catch said hands while putting on my battle face and swatting my tail but that just generated more laughter. Is she demented?

For reference, when I groom my human I usually wash the hair. It’s sometimes an appreciated gesture, though not early in the morning it seems. That and trying to crawl under the covers usually ends with me being pushed to the side.

I liked an eyebrow this morning. Two slurps and then the hand wiped me away.

Oh and that post I just added – it’s a bit old. I’m very much healed and my fur has been growing back. I’m not completely furred yet but I will get there. The reason for the delay was … technical difficulties. Missing pictures.