KON-TIKI

10/8/2004

Tiki had several camping adventures this summer. In May he went camping at Lake Isabella with us. There was no tree cover and it was very windy and he didn't like it much, although we did find a jungle/marsh type area where he could walk in tall grass, climb trees and even fell into a pond.

In June he attended "The Great Escape", a large campout organized by our friends Brad & Kelley Rushing. This was Tiki's baptism under fire in the world of dogs. There were four medium to large size dogs camping with us. By the end of the weekend Tiki had intimidated each of the dogs and they were all going out of their way to avoid him!

In August, after another sailing trip to Catalina, Tiki accompanied us backwoods camping near Big Bear Lake. He had a great time wandering around the wilderness and even learned to go rock climbing. He actually climbed straight up the sheer side of a 12 foot high boulder! We were quite amazed to watch him dig his claws into the sandstone-type rock and climb up it like a tree. Unfortunately we didn't have a camera with us at the time, so you'll just have to take our word for it. However, we DID have a camera with us when he caught his first mouse...

Absolute Proof, the Camping Cat is Real!!!

  
 
Tiki hangs out during "The Great Escape". He's taken a great liking to these folding camping chairs.
  
In the forest in Big Bear Tiki caught his first mouse.
 
Much to our great chagrin, he killed the mouse, but didn't eat it. So much for the great jungle cat!

6/10/2004

Tiki turned one year old on March 5th and celebrated his 1 year anniversary with us on May 9th.  We apologize for the delay in updating this site.  After living with a Bengal cat for more than a year now, we can offer the following observations:  Despite what the breeders and literature try to convince you of, Bengal's are not quite as easy to deal with as most domestic cats.  Tiki is four generations removed from his nearest Asian Leopard Cat ancestor, but he still has plenty of the jungle in him.  The most obvious issue he has is his need to bite.  He bites EVERYTHING including, sometimes, us.  He climbs everything including walls.  He's VERY easily bored and needs constant stimulation (when awake).  He's more nocturnal than other cats we've owned.  Although he can be very affectionate in his own way (rubbing noses, having his belly rubbed, sleeping between our pillows) he simply cannot tolerate being held for more than a second or two, and he won't sit on your lap.   Oh, and his poop stinks far worse than any domestic cat we've ever been aware of.

But then there are the positive aspects.  He's much more adaptable than the average domestic cat. He walks on a leash, and is perfectly happy going new places with us.  He's endlessly entertaining, even when he's annoying us by being too rambunctious for a small apartment.  He makes an interesting variety of unusual sounds including growls, rumbles, and chirps which sound different from domestic cats.  He's very brave.  When confronted with a frightening new situation, he's easily startled, like any cat.  But he quickly faces his fear and then turns to examine whatever it was that scared him.  He still HATES dogs, but no longer runs away from them.  He stands his ground and growls at them.  If they turn their back on him, he pursues them like the hunter he is.  He's incredibly strong for an animal his size.  He's all muscle.  We're still not sure if this is a good thing or a bad one.  He's very social and likes to play with other cats.  Unfortunately, most domestic cats he's met so far have been intimidated by his forward behaviour.  His pal Zorro (a friend's Bengal cat) is the only one who seems willing to play with him.

But enough analyzing!  Bring on the pictures!  Here are some shots from the last eight months, in reverse chronological order.

 

Spring 2004

Tiki loves to walk in the woods.  We recently took him hiking with his pal Zorro, another Bengal cat that our friends Annette & Geo bought after meeting Tiki.  As you can see, Zorro is several months younger than TIki, and when these pictures were taken, he was noticeably smaller.  The picture at the top of this page was also taken on this outing.

Hiking
(Click on images below for larger versions)

Tiki & Zorro get reacquainted before their hike.  (Tiki's in foreground)
They set out on their hike.  Tiki's in back.   That's Annette, Zorro's "mom" in the red shirt.
They took many "exploration detours".  This is inevitable when walking a cat.
Tiki goes fishing in a little stream.  We didn't see any fish, but he seemed quite convinced they were there.
The leopard in the gorge.
Tiki rests in the shade before hiking back to the car.




Feb. 2004

We took Tiki to Big Bear Mountain (a local ski resort) to experience snow.  We got there later than expected and decided to spend the night.  Unfortunately, most of the hotels on the mountain were either booked or too expensive or wouldn't allow pets.  We finally found a small inn where the manager said "Sure, cats are part of the family too!".  Tiki enjoyed playing in the snow and wasn't bothered by spending the night in a strange place.

Ice Station Tiki
Tiki takes his first look at snow.
This was just a moment after he tried to dig a hole face first.
Tiki's much lighter than the human on the other end of the leash.  Where he stepped lightly on top of the snow, we plodded calf-deep.
Eventually his feet got cold and he was ready to go back to the car

 

Holidays 2003

Although Tiki didn't get to do anything special for Halloween this year, he did join in the celebrations of Thanksgiving and Christmas.  He even flew with us to New York to celebrate Christmas with Thunder's folks.  On the return flight, he sat on Debbie's lap the whole way back, and right across the aisle was a woman with a dog on her lap.  And Tiki didn't even growl at him!  We were outraged to learn that American Airlines charges $80 (each way) to bring your pet aboard in the cabin, AND they take up your carry-on allowance!

Christmas in New York
Tiki watches his "Grandma" prepare the mince meat pies.
Tiki "helps" trim the tree.
Tiki opens his stocking on Christmas morning.

Thanksgiving and pre-Christmas at Home
Tiki's table manners at Thanksgiving left something to be desired!
Tiki ponders his very first Christmas Tree.
Waiting for Santa.

 

Fall 2003

When our friends Annette and Geo met Tiki they decided they had to have a Bengal too.  Eventually they adopted Zorro.  He's about four months younger than Tiki and is nine generations removed from his nearest ALC ancestor.  They seem to have become good friends.  We've taken them hiking together, they've had several "playdates" and we try to take pictures every time.  Unfortunately, whenever they're within a couple of feet of each other they are in constant motion; playing, running, wrestling.  We have dozens of shots of spotted furry blurs.  These are the closest to decent shots we've ever gotten of the two of them indoors.

Play Date
That's Tiki on the couch, Zorro below.
Tiki's on the right.


9/14/2003

Tiki turned six months old on Sept. 5 (a day after Thunder's birthday) and he's getting big! As he reaches adulthood, the frequency of updates to this page will no doubt decrease. But right now, we have the biggest update yet!

Tiki's Excellent Adventure

Tiki had his first vacation when we sailed to Catalina for the last week of summer. He didn't particularly care for the crossing to the island (30 miles of open ocean sailing), so after fifteen minutes of complaining he curled up in one of the bunks and went to sleep. But he enjoyed his time at the island, both onboard and ashore. We took him ashore several times, and each time felt like the Pied Piper, because everywhere we went, hordes of children would want to pet him and follow us around as he walked on his leash. Every five seconds some adult would stop us with "Ooh, what kind of cat is that?!" Or, "Is that an ocelot?!" We felt like getting t-shirts printed up that said:

"He's a Bengal Cat.

He's part domestic and part Asian Leopard Cat.

He's about six months old.

His name is Tiki.

Now LEAVE US ALONE!!!"

Anyway, we had a great time and so did he. He climbed trees, he went hiking, he played in tall grass, he met some dogs (and tried to attack one - We're so proud!), he rode in the dinghy, he rode on a kayak (briefly), and he played on the boat. He even went swimming! Unfortunately, we didn't get a picture of this epic event as we were much more concerned with making sure he learned how to climb up into the boat via his custom made cat ladder. We needn't have worried.

We did get lot's of other pictures though.

(Click on images below for larger versions)
The good ship Earendil.
Tiki doesn't like wearing his life jacket, but we only make him wear it at sea.
He doesn't like riding in the dinghy, either. Here he makes his displeasure known. But it was the only way to get ashore...
Once on terra firma, Tiki is in his element. First a walk across the island...
Then it's time to pretend he's a wildcat on the savannah!
The paparazzi are everywhere!
He loves to climb trees...
He'd climb to the very top if it were up to him...
But he isn't allowed higher than his leash will go.
On the prowl.
 
Right after this was taken, Tiki swam from the kayak to the boat!
Then he took a well deserved nap.
Tiki's adoptive mom catches some rays in the cockpit.
The Skipper surveys his domain.

Next up for Tiki...

Halloween!!!

 

 

8/5/2003

Tiki had a couple of firsts this weekend: He climbed his first tree and met his first dog. The tree climbing (at the park across the street) went very well and he enjoyed himself so much that we bought him a couple more scratching posts and nailed them to a door frame. As you can see from the photos below, he can now climb about six feet up and get a look at the world from our perspective. The Dog meeting (In the Marina) didn't go as well. Tiki was exploring the docks on his leash when a boat neigbor arrived with her medium-size dog. What I didn't realize was that the dog was not on a leash. It just wanted to play with Tiki and jumped right at him. Unfortunately cats are hard-wired to view this kind of approach as an attack. Tiki hissed at the dog and swatted its nose. Then he backed away very quickly. Unfortunately, he was standing right at the edge of the dock, so when he backed away, he fell into the water! Luckily I was still holding the leash (while trying to pull the dog away) and kept him from going completely in. He even managed to pull himself back up onto the dock, where he proceeded to growl threateningly at the dog. Oh well, maybe next time he'll meet a little dog... and eat him!

Tiki can now go climb a tree indoors, as well as at the park.

It gives him a whole new perspective on the world.

Tiki has grown quite a bit since our last update at ten weeks of age. He's now almost five months old! And he's had quite a few adventures in his short life so far! He's spent quite a few weekends at our sailboat in Marina Del Rey. He seems to like being on the boat and exploring the marina on his leash and making new friends. In fact, he's taken to walking on the leash better than any cat we've known. Unfortunately he didn't particularly care for the motion of the boat under sail. But perhaps he'll become more comfortable with more practice. He's also accompanied us to the Penguin's Frozen Yogurt shop on a couple of occasions and enjoys the attention lavished on him by passersby. And just this past weekend he went shopping for the first time, exploring the local pet store and picking out his own snack food while we selected a new harness and leash befitting his growing stature. Unfortunately, just the other day his adventurous spirit got him in a bit of trouble: he made a mighty leap and managed to pull the bird cage down from the top of a 6.5' tall bookcase. Fortunately the birds survived, and TIki was so shaken by having this thing fall on him, that he graciously let the birds live. (We've since relocated the cage to an even more inaccesible location, but know it's only a matter of time till he figures it out.) In addition to more sailing, we expect to take him camping and kayaking with us this summer. One final hurdle awaits... This Tuesday he'll be going under the knife to spare the female cats of the world undue anxiety.

Adventure Cat
(Click on images below for larger versions)
Tiki loves riding in the car.
The trip to the marina is very restful!
Between the parking lot and the docks is a small jungle.
Then down the ramp...
On board.
Tiki trims the mainsheet.
Boats are for relaxation.
Tiki is sent below to clean up.
He's explored every nook of the cabin.
But seems to prefer...
The Sink!
Tiki's still not sure about this part!

 

 

May 2003

Tiki came home on Friday, May 9th at nine weeks of age. He's been here nearly two weeks now and has already grown a bit and put on about half a pound. He seems to alternate between total unconsciousness and frenetic insanity. Naturally the insanity usually occurs right around bedtime! He's very talented: especially adept at climbing legs, biting hair, and tipping over wastebaskets. He enjoys riding in the car, although not going to the vet. He actually watches TV with us, although like so many of his generation, he's more interested in fast moving colorful images than story or character.

Tiki At Home

At 10 weeks, Tiki is already most at home on a lap.
Tiki came home and spent his first two nights in this Customized Deluxe Cardboard Box.
He sleeps ALOT!
But when awake, he keeps a sharp eye on everything that goes on.
At 9 weeks, he was very very tiny.

Like most cats, he has a fondness for silly toys.
But thanks to his wild heritage, he has keen hunting instincts too.
Unlike the average cat, Tiki is already computer literate. He's helped Debbie write a paper and finished Thunder's latest screenplay!

 

 

April 2003

Tiki at Six Weeks Old.

These are the latest photos of our new kitten Kon-Tiki ("Tiki" for short). We visited him at the breeder on Saturday 4/19/03 for the third and last time before we bring him home in three weeks.

  
 

"Kon-Tiki" was an Inca god, and was the name Thor Heyerdahl gave to the balsa & reed raft he sailed from South America to Easter Island to try to prove that the ancient Polynesians may have come from there rather than from Indonesia. He was wrong, but it was a noble attempt.

Our Kon-Tiki is a purebred Bengal Cat. He's the first cat either of us has bought, rather than found, rescued, adopted, etc. The Bengal Cats are hybrids, originally a cross between the wild Asian Leopard Cat, and a domestic cat. Kon-Tiki is four generations removed from his Asian Leopard Cat ancestor. Bengals are considered "domestic" after four generations. Bengals are the fastest growing cat breed in the world and are being bred in many countries, but we are fortunate that the originator of the breed, Jean Mill, lives not too far away in Covina, CA, and so we went to the source for our kitten.

We will be bringing our little guy home in early May, and will post new pictures as they develop.

If you'd like to learn more about Bengal Cats, click here.
For more information on Millwood Cattery, click here.
For more information on the Asian Leopard Cat, click here.
To learn about Thor Heyerdahl and Kon-Tiki, click here.

Tiki's First Photo (at 4 Weeks Old)

 
 
 

Before Tiki, there was

NAVARRE


10/?/1985 - 10/4/2002

Our baby.
She was the best kitty in the whole wide world.
She was the child we never had,
and we miss her every day.

 

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