Bella could thrive with:
-A mellow cat
-A cat friendly-dog
-A quiet adult-only home where there are no children
Belle loves to go for outdoor walks on her harness and leash. She’s really comfortable navigating adventures. The good news is that she’s not a door-darter (thank goodness). Her foster says that the outdoor walks definitely help to curb Belle’s “excessive zoomies.”
Belle’s original owner reached out to us because she had moved into a 12-story
condominium with a porch with large round rails. Loving the outdoor life (attended of course), the owner did give her access… until… Belle began to jump up on the railing and nearly went over. Her owner was terrified that she would fall.
Now why wouldn’t the owner just keep Belle off the balcony? She couldn’t. Belle was obsessed. That’s when Belle’s owner reached out to us to see if we could find her safer accommodations.
Belle was initially shy, upon meeting her foster, who is extremely experienced with hybrid cats. Upon arrival, our foster shared with us that Belle was initially quite reactive. In those early days with her foster, she growled, hissed, swatted, and even scratched her foster - but this was definitely fear. She didn’t mean it.
Patience won out and now she loves her foster Mom, and greets her at the door of the room
where she is living (away from the other cats in the home - she’s not a fan of other cats).
Belle enjoys getting petted, and loves her head rubs. But beware of her showing her tummy - it’s a TRAP! She only does it so that she can ensnare people. So we’ve declared her tummy a “no fly zone.”
Belle is experiencing some issues with her joints - we believe she has a slight amount of arthritis. We noticed she was tentative jumping up on things, so we took her to the Vet to be checked. We had her X-rayed and the Veterinarian found that she has petrification between her discs, mid back area. We got her a Solensia shot and it’s definitely helping her. She would likely benefit from adding Cosequin / Glucosamine powder into her food.
This is a manageable condition - Belle isn’t in pain. Seems to us it’s simply a congenital issue that she’s managed throughout her life without too many issues.
Belle has been a picky eater and currently only seems enjoy fish-based foods. We have finally found a wet food she will eat, and she has been eating that for a while now. We think she would benefit from transitioning to a raw diet, but it will take time to help her learn how good raw is. You can read our article about feeding your cat on our website https://bengalrescue.org/resources/feeding-your-cat/
Belle weighs 11.8 pounds, which is quite large for a female Bengal cat (dry food is likely the culprit), however she’s active so nothing to worry about there.
Belle has great litter box skills but like a lot of Bengals, she occasionally gets “elevator butt” when she urinates. For that reason she’ll always need a large litter box with high sides. Her former owner sent a tall, enclosed litter box, along with an automatic water bowl and automatic dry food feeder.
Belle is NOT a fan of other cats. Her foster has been trying to introduce her to her other
cats slowly, but this has not been successful. One of the foster’s resident cats is very
dominant and repeatedly tries to get in Belle’s face. Belle will run from her even though Belle is twice her size. She hisses and growls at the other cats so it’s obvious she’d rather be the only feline in the home. She did live with a large dog in her original home and got along well with the dog. We believe Belle would do well with a mellow cat, or dog, and quiet adult-only home with no children.
Belle needs a home that has experience with the Bengal breed and will understand the
patience needed for her to become a confident cat. Her new family must understand that it will take time and patience for her to adjust to yet another - final - new home.
Belle’s foster also wanted us to tell you that she would 1,000% adopt her, but she already has 6 cats 😹
If you’d like to read more about the history / popularity of Blue Bengals, here’s a fun article: https://articles.hepper.com/blue-bengal-cat/
Belle is spayed, vaccinated, microchipped and overall great with her litter box skills.
Is Belle the one for you? Click the Adopt Me link!
