Tales and Tails: Monthly cat stories shared by cat lovers

This month - Dreamstone Bengals

A brief introduction to Dreamstone Bengals
Bengals are a remarkable breed! The creation of the Bengal cat breed was founded by Jean Mills in America. Jean had a vision of crossing a wild Asian leopard cat with a domestic cat to create this new hybrid. Bengals have a striking beauty resembling a wild Asian leopard, their coat is like silk, covered with glitter, and they are a larger cat breed. Our boys range from 7-8.6 kg!

We were fascinated by this new beautiful cat creation and soon knew we wanted to help develop the Bengal breed. Dreamstone Bengals was founded in 2004.

We are proud to import the best bloodlines from around the world to create our exceptional kittens. Our kittens are raised in a family home, where we have three age-specific rooms, each specially designed and adapted to meet the growing needs of our kittens. RHR cat trees are an important element in our kitten rooms, ensuring the kittens have the opportunity to climb, play, and burn off their Bengal energy. Bengals need mental stimulation and lots of interactive stimuli to stay happy. It is very important that Bengal kittens are well socialized from a young age due to the nocturnal instincts of their wild ancestors.

What does the life of a breeder look like?
The life of a Bengal breeder is extremely hard work because it means working early mornings and late evenings 365 days a year. Breeding brings anxiety and anticipation, waiting for the babies to arrive safely. We also have to focus on the welfare of the mother and kittens, ensuring the mother is happy, content, and well-nourished. Many difficulties can arise after the birth process. For example, kittens are weighed daily to make sure they are thriving and getting the nutrition they need to grow healthy. If not, we intervene. Sometimes you have to hand-feed a kitten every 2 hours, day and night.

Although breeding is a stressful job, it is balanced by the joy of raising kittens from birth until they are 13 weeks old, when they are ready to leave us. Watching the milestones they reach, such as the start of weaning, the slow-motion play fights around 4-5 weeks of age, the development of their little personalities, and building their confidence. We document their growth and development weekly with videos and photos, which are shared with families so they can enjoy watching their new kitten grow until it's time to go home.

What kind of cat is a Bengal?
Bengals are known for their striking beauty and breathtaking, wild aesthetics, wonderful character, and high intelligence. A typical Bengal has a mischievous personality, intrigued by everything! They are not typical lap cats due to their high energy level, but they certainly love a cuddle when they want to relax. Families sometimes ask us: "How did you make a lap cat?" because Dreamstone babies have the balance between a fun personality and a loving character through the playtime and love they have received from our three children.

Bengals are the perfect coat buddies with most other animals. Our Bengal cats and kittens love playtime with our cocker spaniel and two Rhodesian ridgebacks. This helps kittens build confidence around dogs, and is especially important for kittens coming into a family with a dog. Bengals are definitely the "boss" of the dogs!

Bengals are very trainable; and have dog-like traits, such as fetching and walking on a leash. Some of our kittens are even trained to use the toilet! They just haven't learned to flush yet! We start leash training from 10 weeks old. This gives families the chance to continue the training and take their kittens on adventures, to the beach, the forest, and much more. Some of our kittens/cats even go on vacation
with their families!

What personality traits does a Bengal have?

We meet wonderful families and some of our Dreamstone kittens have the privilege of being part of prominent families, who fly in private planes all over the world to their new homes. The latest well-known family is Jos Verstappen. Jos and his family now have three Dreamstone kittens.