Then he got so sick, lost a good deal of his pretty fur and was a bit of a sorry sight.
But the ugly duckling turned into a swan and person after person remarked that he looked like a Bengal. What did I know? I had no idea what a Bengal looked like. So to the internet I went.
I'm the furthest thing from an expert, but I gotta tell ya, the boy does seem to have a lot of the traits.
Here's a photo of a Bengal kitten that I found online:
Here's Alvin:
Bengal:
Alvin:
Again:
And again:
And then there's this:
I don't think Alvin could ever be described as an "ugly" duckling :) Such a sweet little man. Jean is so lucky to be adding this little guy to her family.
ReplyDeleteps - Rosie's face on the video is just funny. It looks like she is saying "okay - who have the kid coffee?"
ReplyDeleteI had wondered if he might be half Bengal. After these pictures, perhaps he is all Bengal? have seen the tummy spots and the feet/knuckles, do his sides also have typical Bengal patterns?
ReplyDeleteHe has a home? Awwwww,
I meant to but gave in my second comment. Its clearly too late for me to be typing, lol.
ReplyDeleteSimba - read the comments from "whose toes are those" and you will see Jeans adoption comment.
For some fabulous Bengal pictures and videos, see Erin's Asia and Bayou at
ReplyDeletewww.epetmeadow.com
(scroll back to earlier posts before Asia's illness).
It had crossed my mine that Alvin may have more than a touch of Bengal about him, the markings and colouring. My neighbours have one, and in strong sunlight his fur looks like satin.
ReplyDeleteAlvin certainly looks like a Bengal. Its hard to see what his body coat looks like, but to me he looks like a Marble.
ReplyDeleteIf you can hold him up to the daylight without him wriggling too much, look for a gold 'glitter' on the fur. If its there you'll see it. It looks like it twinkles in the light.
Also look for traits in what Alvin does. We've got three Bengals, all with different personalities as you would expect. Bengals have not lost their natural wild habits, like tapping the water before they drink, or preferring to get up somewhere high (top of cupboards).
They are also VERY talkative cats. So if in doubt as to whether Alvin really is a Bengal, ask him!
I say Alvin is Bengal, and he is handsome little boy : )
ReplyDeleteI vote for Bengal, too. He has the coloring, the markings (marble), the bone structure, the energy and the knuckles!
ReplyDeleteBengal or no, he is certainly one gorgeous boy. Why, I'd say he's nearly as beautiful as my Corbie - and you know that's high praise coming from me. :)
ReplyDeleteWhatever he is - it is adorable!! Mom loves the marks on his face.... and the video is great!
ReplyDeleteSo freaking cute! And your cat always has this surprised look on her face that is too adorable haha
ReplyDeleteBengal or not, he sure is an adorable little dude with a LOT of personality. Congrats to Jean!
ReplyDeleteAlvin's striping is utterly and completely gorgeous and he is way beyond cute. What a handsome young man!
ReplyDeleteWow, now that is indisputable resemblance. All the markings fit to the dot on his face!
ReplyDeleteI'm kind of dreading the moment when Alvin goes to a forever home... he really is a special little one and I'll miss seeing him here so much.
What a lovely boy Alvin is! Oh how I love his markings and belly spots!!!
ReplyDeleteThat was my first thought when I saw the photos of him all recovered, "Wow, he's got Bengal belly spots and patterning." I figured he must be a mix... gorgeous boy.
ReplyDeleteIf anyone is interested,another blog I read often is http://blog.fabulouslorraine.com/
ReplyDeleteShe is the author Neil Gaiman's assistant, and has written a great deal about her foster Bengals.
Rosie's expression seems to be "Will he NEVER stop????" even tho she seems to enjoy interacting...
ReplyDeleteI hear Bengals have quite the energetic style. And if Alvin doesn't have Bengal, he is still adorably gorgeous.
Alvin, Bengal or not, you are a complete and total adorable, silly, goober boy. :D
ReplyDeleteHe certainly looks like that Bengal in the photos...
ReplyDeleteEither way he is beyond adorable and gorgeous.
Would that make him Bengalvin, then?
ReplyDeleteWhatever he is, he is a beautiful little kitten.
HOW LUCKY AM I?!?!?!
ReplyDeleteYup, Bengal! More so even than the kitty in the example picture. Soooooo handsome!
ReplyDeleteJean, all blessings for you and Alvin!
Sister Jean - you definitely won the kitty lottery! :)
ReplyDeleteI hope we'll get updates :)
That Bengal kitty and Alvin could be twins! So, yup. And Rosie cracks me up! She is so patient with the little ones.
ReplyDeleteLooks like he is at least half Bengal if not full. Get ready for lots of mischief!
ReplyDeleteMmmhmm. Here's mine. Found him behind a bar, skinny but beautiful even then.
ReplyDeletehttp://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/39629_431761807616_695362616_5182385_6907421_n.jpg
and
http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/150892_130258933696900_123504627705664_195709_7055718_n.jpg
and oh yeah, the belly spots:
http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/74133_126789724043821_123504627705664_177298_5728707_n.jpg
Jean, if the personality matches the coat and feet and face, you are getting a LOT of cat. I hope he's not quite as vocal as Sampah, for your sake ...
I did a double take on the toes post because I couldn't figure out why it was so impressive. I see toes like those every day- on my bengal :) They make his paws look gigantic but luckily he grew into a svelte 10 pounder and not the 15+ pound cat I was expecting from the size of those paws.
ReplyDeleteSpots are dominant on bengals- marbled patterns (which is where the spotting gene and a tabby gene get confused and create a coat that's supposed to look like someone dribbled dark chocolate all over your cat) are recessive to both spots and tabby, so I'd guess your boy has a little tabby in him- which is not a downside- my marble boy has way too much kitten energy left at almost 3 years old and announces the dawning day like a rooster. I love him to death but I could do with a little more tabby to temper the bengal insanity! :D
Bengals are not like other breeds of domestic cat(Persian,Siamese,ect.), they are a hybrid of the domestic cat and the Asian Leopard Cat. Alvin could be a Bengal but I doubt it, Bengals are expensive cats so not many strays out running around. My cat looks and acts exactly like a Norwegian Forest Cat but she is really just a mutt. On a controversial note, more than a few adult Bengals, Savannahs, ect. end up at shelters when they show too many wild traits, like spraying EVERYTHING in your house and the breeder 100% wild cats get dumped at places like Big Cat Rescue when their breeding days are over. Hybrid cats are really "hot" right now much like the Wolf dog craze 10yrs ago and that did not end well. Just my 2 cents:)
ReplyDeleteHi Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteI agree with most of what you write, but just wanted to let you know that Bengals get dumped on the streets by unscrupulous breeders and uneducated owners, just as they get dumped into shelters. So, yeah, there are Bengal strays.
Another thing which happens is that breeders will dump kittens with undesirable coloring or conformation. That is how I got mine. An unscrupulous breeder dumped half a litter at a local pet store* because they weren't spotted enough. Alvin just might have ended up as a stray because he is bow-legged (i.e. not meeting the conformation standards)
Can I prove my cat is a Bengal? No, but she has all the traits other than the marking (esp. the knuckles!). There are other clues, such as she is only now mellowing out at 12 years of age!
Can Sue prove Alvin is a Bengal? No. But Sue & Jean might benefit from thinking of Alvin as a Bengal in case he exhibits some of the more difficult behaviors of the breed.
I didn't find out about my cat until she was about a year old and the breeder was arrested for wild cat permit violations. That led the pet store owner to let me know, which shed light on all sorts of things I was doing wrong with her. If I had known she was a Bengal at the beginning, I either wouldn't have gotten her or raised her completely differently (exercise wheel, tall cat trees, lots more hunting-type games).
As for peeing all the time, I know that is a big problem with Servals, Ocicats and Savannahs, but not with Bengals that I've heard.
I agree with you and Big Cat Rescue about wild cats and wild hybirds being bought for pets. I just think Sue's fostering of Alvin isn't promoting that horrible trend and that is Jean is up for it, Alvin could be a really interesting pet!
Hi - New mom checking in here! Thank you for your input too, Doodlebean! I just wanted to say that aside from helping to make that sure I am aware of certain traits of Bengals (just in case he HAS those traits)I don't think any of us really care if he is a TRUE Bengal. It is not about his breed - fancy and expensive or not. It is about him being an adorable, silly, gentle, loving and lovable creature that just happens to have the beauty of a Bengal.
ReplyDeleteI feel lucky because of how precious he is when he is completely passed out on his back in my lap - making little 'swimming' gestures with his paws - and how he looks at me all dreamy-eyed. And how funny and entertaining he is when he is feeling silly. And I can't wait to see how he develops -
Tomorrow is the day he comes 'home' and I CAN'T WAIT!!!!
The moment when Alvin flips out of the tunnel kills me. I can almost hear him saying, "Whoops!"
ReplyDelete(Oh wait, he meant to do that. Right.)
1st time commenter. Thank you for all you do, Sue, and I'm happy Alvin is off to a great forever home. He is gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteIt was fascinating to read about Bengals. One of my cats might have a bit of that in her. Of course its hard to tell with rescues but her face is quite like the kitten's in the photo and she has the "glitter" that Robert described, along with kind of splotchy not-quite-stripes but not quite rosettes along her sides. I call her my "splotchy tabby." :-) Even if it's not the case, how much fun to learn more about different types of cats.