Photo taken by Debbie Garcia-Bengochea

Champion CheetahsDen's Catkin
SBT Brown Spotted Tabby Bengal FEMALE

Sire: Champion Cheetahsden's Heads n' Tails
Dam: Asiankingdom Anastasia

And what do I say about Catkins? She came into the world in an unusual way, and has been determined ever since to see to it that no one ever thinks her ordinary. And she's been quite successful at that.

She was born first of two girls out of lovely Anastasia bred to wild headed Champion Cheetahsden's Heads n' Tails (yes, he is also here because of the generosity of a friend, but that's another story!). Born first, but not by minutes. No, Catkins had to see to it that she held a special place as firstborn for, not minutes, or hours, or even a week. My Catkins was firstborn girl for 8 days before she allowed her little sister an exit! It was a shock to walk into the bathroom where Anastasia slept in her bed with her daughter, to find a second scrawny little kitten struggling to feed against her fat little piglet of a sister over a week her senior! It took a little doing, but both have grown up and Catkins remained here at the Cheetahsden while her little sister went to live with a biologist studying REALLY BIG cats - the mountain lions of Yellowstone Park! Catkins originally wasn't the kind of kitten that you looked at and said, "oh my, look at those rosettes, or that glitter, or that orange color."

 In fact, she has none of those things. But when she turns and looks at you with that wild face and awesome profile, or moves with that "wild cat wiggle walk" that we see in the foundation cats, or jumps from the counter to the log rafters overhead, it makes you catch your breath. She is wildness personified. A simple tawny color with her horizontal flow of jet black spots that even travel all the way down her legs to her toes, she doesn't need the flash to set her apart. I have been graced with many bengal breeder visits this year - several of them from Europe - and I do believe it's safe to say that no one has remained unmoved by Catkins. Suffice it to say, she has plenty of offers should she ever decide to leave the Cheetahsden and start traveling :-)! I was hopeful that she would be my next female show cat, but, typical of Catkins, she decided otherwise. Her attitude is a reflection of the way she entered life. First and foremost, Catkins lives by the motto, "You do it my way or you can take the highway." And the show ring was not her idea of fun. Frustrating when, at her one and only adult bengal show, she took Best Cat in two rings!!! But I do admire and love that attitude, although I occasionally have to remind myself of that when I feel like strangling her! Luckily, she does love people and is overall a very sweet girl. That's a good thing, because she is so athletic, that she is a challenge to live with. Shelves and vases and hanging plants that have survived countless bengal years, have slowly succumbed to Catkins' athletic abilities. And whenever a visitor excitedly points out a bengal tail draped from a log rafter 10 feet over our heads, I don't even have to look to say, "And let me introduce you to Champion Cheetahsden's Catkins!"

Photo: Ericka Hughes

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