We believe that she is barely out of the kitten stage, and she is TINY. We made sure to get her to a loving foster who would have the time to not only assess her (behaviorally and medically) but also to get some weight on her!
Ariel’s Spay procedure is schedule for September 27, 2022. In advance of this we thought it would be a good idea to start looking for the ideal home for her! We are accepting adoption applications for Ariel, in advance of her surgery and recovery.
Ariel has already settled in beautifully at her foster home. Her foster has learned so much about her, and here is what she has to say:
Ariel is a healthy, highly adoptable cat. She is gaining weight and should be ready to be adopted shortly after she is spayed. ( I am not going to get attached!!!)
Ariel is simply beautiful, with big green eyes, soft fur, tiny paws and just about the prettiest pattern on her coat I have ever seen.
Ariel doesn’t act like she has ever been around dogs. Our dogs are not allowed in the basement and Ariel spends most of her time downstairs. She comes up on her own for about an hour in the evenings. I think this is because of the dogs. She will sneak up to them as they are sleeping and sniff them but won’t go near them when they are awake. If she is upstairs when they are awake she watches cautiously from a cat tree.
I am not sure if she could get used to dogs over time. My dogs are really good about reading cat body language and completely ignore her, loud dogs or dogs that approach her would be an absolute no. ( I have an office in the basement that I work in during the day and then my son comes home so she has plenty of interaction and isn’t lonely in the basement.)
Ariel is head over heels in love with my teenage son. If he is home she is with him. If he goes into the bathroom without her she screams from the hall until he opens the door. He took care of her the first 5 days she was here and it was so interesting to see her attach to one person so quickly! She would prefer to sleep on a bed with someone. She is not noisy and sleeps through the night.
Ariel is handsy…. I am not sure if that is the best way to describe it? She uses her paws for everything. If she wants to be petted she will grab you with her paws and put your hand on her. It is really sweet but it could also be unsettling to small kids, because you can feel her little claws when she does this and if you move your hand away too fast you might get a small scratch. She is not being mean she just demands attention at times.
Ariel doesn’t seem familiar with toys and likes to play with hands. We are working on her grabbing toys instead of hands. If she sees a fly she grabs it out of the air with her paws. When she drinks she scoops the water out with her paws.
She is very aggressive about kneading when she is especially happy, so put a blanket under her to save your thighs from happy little claws. She does occasionally claw furniture but is easily redirected to cat scratchers. It will just be a matter of new owners helping her to make good habits about what she can scratch from the beginning.
She loves to sit on laps and has a great purr. She will follow you around as you work and has a lot to say. If you sit down she is curled up on your lap.
Her favorite game may be the floor is lava. Ariel will need a home that understands her need to be on top of things. Book cases, cat trees, kitchen counters, and the back of the couch. She likes to find the highest vantage point in the room to observe from when she isn’t following you around or curled up in your lap. Ariel will need cat trees, the more the better.
We don’t have small kids so I am not sure how she would do. My guess is she wouldn’t mind small kids but may scratch them occasionally because she uses her paws for everything. Her prior foster said that Ariel chased her daughter and it scared her. I can see Ariel doing this to try to get someone to pet her.
I think Ariel could get along with one patient cat with a slow introduction. She is interested in our resident cat and will walk up to sniff him and then hisses or turns and runs. I think over time she would get used to him, but he is very chill, and not bugged by her hissing. A more reactive or playful cat wouldn’t work.
Ariel has a low play drive, which kind of surprises me for a bengal. She has her moments but would prefer to curl up on your lap and purr. She also has a touch of ADD. She will start playing and then sees your hands and decides she actually needs to be petted. She has a very high love me/pet me drive!
Overall, Ariel has terrific litter box skills. Like most bengals, she just wants to be wherever the humans are! Given her age, she will have a long and beautiful life ahead of her, and make a special family very happy!
As mentioned previously, Ariel is scheduled for her Spay surgery on September 27. She has been given her Rabies Vaccine and will receive FVRCP and a Microchip at the time of her upcoming surgery.
If you are interested in adopting Ariel please fill out our Adoption Application: https://bengalrescue.org/adopt/adoption-application/
