Anyone who loves cats has heard of the Bengal. These controversial beauties are a crossbreed between a domesticated cat and an Asian leopard cat and have attracted the eyes of cat lovers worldwide. According to Cat Time, Jean Mill, a breeder in California was the first to breed a Bengal— although it was by accident. She had bought an Asian leopard cat from a pet store to keep her domestic black tom cat company. Because the cats looked so different, she never expected them to breed. But, sure enough, the female leopard cat gave birth to a litter of spotted and solid kittens and well, here we are now.
Thor is a Bengal cat that lives with his human mom Rani Cucicov in Kortenberg, Belgium. Rani came across the gorgeous kitty at a Netherland cattery in 2013, and when she saw his gorgeous fur, she knew she had to have him.
“We actually came to look at another kitten,” Rani told the Huffington Post. “But then the breeder said she had another one that was available, and then she can with Thor in her hands.”
“We immediately fell in love with his beautiful ‘orange-brown’ colors.”
When Rani brought Thor home, the kitten garnered a lot of attention.
“That’s because Bengals are not so very common like normal house cats,” Rani explained. “In our neighborhood, everyone that saw Thor for the first time was surprised because they never saw anything like him.”
After seeing all the attention Thor was getting, Rani decided to make the Bengal his very own Instagram account. From there, Thor exploded directly into internet stardom.
Sadly, not all Bengals are so lucky. Because Bengals are a crossbred between a domestic and wild cat, many of them carry “wild” traits that new owners can be unprepared for. In fact, Wild Cat Sanctuary reportedly receives nearly 20 calls a month from Bengal owners trying to give them up.
Bengals are an amazing pet, but it’s imperative that owners know what to expect before they make the decision to adopt. If you’re interested in purchasing a Bengal, please make sure to do your research beforehand. And, if you still decide a Bengal cat is the cat for you, please adopt from a cat-specific rescue instead of going directly to a breeder.
