We were so happy with Panther that we became in our brother-in-law’s words, “cat-crazy”. Two months after adopting Panther, we began looking for a youngish female as a companion for him. Through a no-kill shelter (operating out of a PetSmart store) we found Jennifur. We talked at length with the woman whose house she was living in. We were happy to find a shy female who would get along with our calm, regal Panther.

Boy, were we in for a surprise!

According to the shelter person, Jennifur had a rough start in life. Born July 4, 2000 under a mobile home near a school to a feral mother, she had been at the bottom of the feline social hierarchy in the shelter home. Jenni had had her shots and been spayed, and the shelter had verified she was free of any disease or ticks. We had her checked by a veterinarian, and brought her home.

It took three days before she would crawl out from under our bed to eat more than one bite at a time. She ate fast, barely chewing her food. She only ate if we stood by her to “guard her”. Jennifur was very thin, her coat rough. Every noise frightened her. Jenni would often make mistakes when jumping and miss an easy perch and fall. We called the woman whose house she had lived in many times to ask about various behaviors and problems. A few times in the first month, we talked of giving her back to the shelter because we thought she was starving and neurologically damaged and beyond our ability to help her live.

Jennifur decided to bond with David first. They both kept late hours, he working on the computer, Jennifur prowling the big office. She ate a bit more food than before. Then she starting drinking out of David’s glass of water. In 6 months Jenni no longer ran in terror if one of us entered a room. Very slowly Jennifur reached her current weight of 9 lbs. She rarely misses a jump now and her coat is glossy.

Three years later Jennifur is calmly lying by the screened window on a shelf, next to me as I write this.

Jennifur has taught us endurance, fortitude and the power of forgiveness.

…completely out of nowhere…

…how can I say this…

…we suddenly…

…got another Bengal!!!

I can’t possibly explain this, except that we feel Charger is just the right companion for Glory. He’s the perfect male for her, because he’s just too big to be intimidated…but he’s so wonderful that he never got aggressive with her, even when she provoked him like crazy. He’s about 1 1/2 years old, and was given up by someone who was moving into an apartment that didn’t take pets. How she could have separated from this cuddly, friendly, gentle fellow I don’t know, but he was living with this woman’s mother since the beginning of October and felt sad that he was not wanted. Can’t blame her too much, because she already has a cat and a dog, who are both small (the mother is skinny and 60ish), and Charger…

…is Catzilla!!!

He is as big as a bobcat (Susan even visited a local zoo to check)!!! He could pick Glory up and carry her around like a kitten. And speaking of carrying, I can barely lift him up from the floor, so luckily he’s a good jumper…you should feel his muscles!!!

He does have the most amazing growl I’ve ever heard. Actually two…one is a "warning" growl that sounds like a big V8 engine idling, and the "serious" one where he cuts in the auxiliary power amplifier and subwoofer…only a digital recording could do that one justice. The first time he did it, he was under our bed and it felt like it was shaking. And when he purrs, it sounds like a pack of Harleys riding by, or perhaps thunder in the distance…