SASKIA KARINA & HER BENGAL
beauties There’s a new breed of pet cat in town
that’s fast gaining popularity around the world today. They look like miniature leopards and cheetahs and some even
look like tiny versions of tigers. Known as Bengals, these cats are crossbreds
between the domesticated house cat and the Asian Leopard Cat, and are often
mistaken for relatives of the Bengal Tiger as their beautiful markings resemble these big cats. Their names come from “bengalensis” the scientific name for the Leopard Cat, smaller than the carnivorous leopards and tigers, but wild nonetheless. Saskia Karina Baharuddin introduces her brood to Jennifer Too.
B
igger than your regular domesticated feline, they were first developed to satisfy the market looking
for exotic animals that could fit in as pets in a home environment. The goal was to create a breed that bore a strong physical resemblance to their wild counterparts, but one that possessed none of the characteristics that made them unsuitable to be handled by man. On meeting with Oscar, Ophelia and Olaf, indeed the breeding program seems to have worked wonders. Saskia’s Bengals are not only domesticated, they behave more like dogs than cats. Even with a perfect stranger, they seem to be happy enough to be picked up, cuddled and played with. They make the same cat meows and noises, with a distinctly louder purr, and they respond to stroking and hugs. Oscar, the biggest of the three,
38 FENGSHUIWORLD | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011
Saskia with Oscar, the largest of her bengals.
is larger than my cocker spaniel Luckey, and as heavy. His coat is patterned with spots that look like they belong on a leopard, and he is friendlier than many dogs I know. The kitten Olaf, who is just 4 months old, lies happily cradled in my arms and when I try to let him go, he extends his claws as if to say “Not yet. Hug me some more.” This one has markedly rounded ears that look like they belong on a lion or a tiger, and darker spots than the big one Oscar. The third cat Ophelia is a little more aloof and also seems to be the most active. Her spots are rosettes rather than circles, where the darker outer ring of the spots encircle a smaller lighter coloured ring, giving the coat a richer overall colour. These cats are lively and animated, and we have a hard time getting them to sit still to be photographed. But wait awhile and
they quickly seek to re-establish a connection and jump up on the furniture to be part of the action. Olaf even obliges us and sits very still throughout our teatime conversation in a decorative porcelain bowl as if parading himself for the interview. So are they wild at all? You would certainly expect a hybrid with a wild variety to demonstrate some wildness in temperament. But Saskia explains that, “No, as long as you get a fourth generation one, they are friendlier than house cats!”
The first generation (F1), where
a Leopard Cat is bred to a domestic cat, produces a hybrid unsuitable to the home environment; these cats are usually kept in zoos or with professional breeders. A second generation known as F2 is a cross between an F1 and a domestic cat. An F3 has one domestic parent and one F2 parent. F4s are the only ones
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