Some of the things our cats say to each other are rather nasty. No wonder cats are renowned for getting into fights!

Luckily, Susan is a regular Dr. Doolittle and is in a position to understand most of this.

The other day, Panther came by the bedroom, where we have Glory behind a steel security gate for everyone’s protection. Susan missed the opening salvo of the exchange, but she did hear Glory call Panther an "unkempt vagabond". Panther drew himself up with as much dignity as he could muster in such circumstances, said to Glory, "Well, your breath smells bad", and stalked away.

After Susan told me what the to-do was about, I straightened Glory out a bit, reminding her that Panther was quite a well-groomed gentleman, even if he was (and he was!) formerly a wandering cat. I didn’t remind her that her breath does smell bad, courtesy of some periodontal problems that we’ve been working on with her.

I don’t know what set Glory off, but she’s not the only one to exhibit bad manners in conversation. A few weeks ago, Glory went to the vet because she had been under the weather, who told us that she should put on some weight (she was around 6 1/2 pounds at the time, and although she is quite petite, that is still too light). After we brought her home, I was carrying her through the kitchen past Jennifur, who said something that suddenly got Glory extremely agitated. I asked Susan what had happened, and she advised me to bring Glory into the bedroom.

After I had done that and came back out, I found Susan trying to stop herself from laughing out loud. She whispered at me, as though Glory shouldn’t hear and get riled up again: "Jennifur called Glory a ‘sickly pipsqueak’"!

(Anyone who doubts that Susan actually hears the cats talking like this should reflect on the fact that Susan never uses words or phrases like "unkempt vagabond" and "sickly pipsqueak". At least, I’ve never heard her talk like that, but then I’ve only known her for 27 years…)

Today she spent the day in Steven’s room, lying on a down sleeping bag that was just so cozy she barely moved in 6 hours. I came in to visit and she romantically bit my hair…sigh.

Finding our first purebred cat was an interesting experience, and much more pleasant than, say, buying a car.

For some yet unidentified reasons, we decided we wanted a wild-looking domestic cat. We used the Internet, library, Cat Fancy magazine, and a couple of local cat shows to help in our research. We wanted to meet our prospective cat in person, so buying out of state (wherein the cat would be air shipped) was not considered. We eventually focused on the Bengal breed, so finding, contacting and visiting local Bengal catteries became our top priority. Way more important than what was for dinner, for instance…

We went to a couple of cat shows and spoke to various breeders and collected business cards. Soon after, we started calling or sending email inquiries to a number of local breeders. Not all returned our calls or email inquiries (for more information see our article Buying a Cat from a Cattery).

We spoke with one breeder who was very kind and informative, telling us about the breed, possible health issues, what to look for in a healthy cattery, and general pricing. Unfortunately, she had no Bengals for sale and would not for several months. Taking her advice, we contacted another breeder in our area. As luck would have it, this breeder did have a 5-year-old recently retired queen for sale as a pet. The breeder had decided that at five years (the human equivalent of 40+), Glory was too old to be safely having kittens. She was not cat show “quality” having a whippy (thin) tail and lacking pure black paw pads. We made an appointment to visit the cattery.

We packed the necessities (cat carrier with carpet pad, Feliway and money). First, we visited the cattery, which was located in a renovated barn, nicely set up with almost anything a cat could want. All the cats looked healthy and alert. Only the newest kittens were out of bounds, as they had not yet had all their shots. Then, we entered the house and saw Glory.

For the four of us, it was love at first sight. A gorgeous golden brown marble cat stalked elegantly through the house. Glory, however, was not so sure. We had been talking with the breeder since the moment we arrived, asking many questions. The boys used a glitzy feather toy to play with Glory. We petted, stroked, and tried to hold her. I finally started using my animal communication skills and talked to Glory telling her about our family and home. I talked about what we had to offer if she came to live with us. I also spoke with our other cats about Glory.

Talking with her I learned that being a mother, bearing and properly raising kittens was very important to Glory. It had been the primary focus of her adult life thus far. Glory did not yet understand that a few months earlier she had surgery to prevent her from conceiving again. Glory eventually agreed to join our family. We paid the breeder and she signed Glory’s TICA registration over to us, gave us her pedigree and medical history papers and Glory officially joined our family.

After the obligatory vet visit, we began to set up her domain. We built carpeted ramps to our bookcases, hidey holes, climbing and scratching posts. I noticed that Glory had some trouble jumping. Her back muscles were very tight. I massaged her back for about two weeks and this helped her movements tremendously. The vet suggested it was due to her carrying many litters.

For a time, she sang to the stray tom cat outside who crooned for her attentions. It would take several months for Glory to come to grips with the fact that she was not going to breed again.

She has become a pampered pet who sleeps on our bed. Glory sings us awake — OK, our idea of what constitutes a proper wakeup time can differ from hers — so we negotiate and discuss how much sunlight there should be before she starts singing. And I have to have a pad and pen ready to write down her more notable songs and wisdom. We share some of these with you in Glory’s Songs. Glory enjoys basking in the sun, chasing greeblings at high speed (the creatures only cats can see), and gives us advice on becoming better parents and living life with enjoyment.

Glory has taught us cat style meditation, that standing your ground is very important, and better patience and understanding with our own kittens (I mean, of course, our sons).

Glory is a beautiful and talented Bengal cat. After successfully mothering many kittens, some of whom became Champions and Grand Champions in the TICA cat show circuit, Glory has found time in her retirement to communicate her philosophy and songs to her human family. Glory communicates with her human Susan, both through song and thought. With her permission, we share these with you.

Philosophy

On living:

Peaceful beginnings are best before starting any enterprise.

It is not necessary to capture the moment,
Relishing the moment is [what is] important.

Peaceful, restful time goes quick/slow
depending on how much you desire it

Restful thoughts always waiting
Beneath the surface of turmoil
Let them shimmer [shine] bright

Good going and coming
Through fields and streams
Silently go all cats

On exercise:

Exercise is best taken in small doses. Enjoy what you do and try different maneuvers.

Sometimes exercise can be creative.

On creativity:

I sing when I have the urge to create my songs. The desire to create shows itself at different times and in different ways.

Morning Songs

It is a wondrous day
Like many another
Full of smells, sights, sounds
Delicious

A mellow day starting slowly
Becoming
Brighter Still

The light enters in patches
Spots of golden light
Moving slowly across the floor

Evening Songs

Night comes slowly, light fading
Colors change, shadows deepen
Walk among the coolness

I walk my territory
Bold is my grace
Silent as I choose (to be)
Covering ground low and high

Glory is a full-blooded Bengal; a retired breeding queen who we got from JungleKatz Bengals . Until yesterday, we had never even seen a Bengal, and suddenly we have one! Here’s JungleKatz Bengals’ FAQ page , and here’s a FAQ page from another site with some interesting photos of Asian Leopard Cats.

…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…