| Foundation Page Welcome to the wonderful world of F1 Bengals. A foundation cat. This foundation page was created to be as informative as possible about this wonderful animal. Please read it carefully before making the decision to take one into your home. F1's thru F3's are considered to be foundation cats...hybrids if you will. F1's having 50% Asian leopard cat behind them, F2's 25% and so on. Female F1's are primarily sold to other breeders. Some females make excellent queens and can be quite an asset to any Bengal cattery. Male F1's however, are born sterile and are neutered and sold as pets. The reason they are neutered is not to prevent breeding because they can breed they just wont produce off spring. They are neutered to prevent urine marking behaviors and to reduce or eliminate stud cat attitudes.. Here at Stonehenge we bottle raise our foundation cats, they are most definitely raised under foot, spoiled and every whim catered to. They are exposed to as many sights sounds and smells as possible to ensure domesticity that rivals that of our domestic kittens. Their diet consists of Royal Canin kitten food and raw meat, (turkey legs, thighs, gizzards and hearts) They thrive on this, better yet, they demand nothing else but love and affection. We earn their trust at an early age and prefer them to go to there forever homes by 8 weeks of age as so they can bond with their forever people. They imprint early on their humans, their diet and their surroundings, not taking well to extreme changes, especially as they get older and more set in their surroundings and routines. I can't stress enough before I get into the idiosyncrasy's of foundation cats..that these precious animals are NOT for everyone. The decision to get one has to be a life long commitment..emotionally, financially and yes, even spiritually. They are breathtakingly beautiful, curious, vocal, outgoing, fearless, intelligent almost problem solving, irritating, annoying, sweet, loving, crazy, intense and tempermental..{kind of like a 2 year old child} messy, destructive...need I go on ( I just don't want anyone to say "I didn't know".) As adults they can become less dependent upon their people, I'm NOT saying that this is true of every foundation cat BUT if you bring this type of animal into your home and just throw some food down every day and you don't interact and stimulate his needs he WILL drift away almost to the point of becoming feral. You will have undone all that we did the first 8 to 12 weeks of his life and what you will end up with is a cat that merely tolerates your presence, hides and possibly hisses and growls at you. You may end up with a cat that developes neurotic habits, hair loss from pulling out its hair from fear or nervousness or a cat with horrible litter box habits among a few other things. It is my goal to thoroughly educate people on owning foundation cats. Too many end up in shelters, turned loose, euthanized or worse yet..abused or neglected because their owners were not thoroughly informed about the proper care and needs of these unique animals. It's my opinion that we need acknowledge what these animals are first and foremost...They are Asian Leopard cat FIRST then they are Bengal. Genetically they are 50% and sometimes more, a wild animal. You CAN'T and SHOULDN'T bring one of these animals into your home because it matches your bedspread or your purse...or because it's cool. You do it because you're committed to giving this animal the best life possible..you do it because of what he can offer you, Joy and affection and loyalty. We need to treat these animals with respect, feed them the appropriate food, keep them safe and healthy and most of all love them despite the times they make you question your sanity. F1's are intense cats..I have heard it described in such a way that i agree, it's like owning 10 cats..all rolled into one. Their affection can be sweet with loud purrs head butting you while they weave in and out of your legs or their affection can be painful, they are known to give what we call affectionate love bites..your nose, your chin, they are being as gentle as they know how..but it still hurts but it also is a great honor to be treated in such a fashion. They play hard, sleep long and eat heartily. I strongly believe in a raw meat diet, morning feedings consist of cat food and missing link and dinner is a raw turkey leg. This combination creates no wasted food and less waste and odor in the litter box. We introduce a harness and leash at 6 weeks of age, they take to it very well and love to go out for walks. F1's have a love for water as evidenced by finding them curled up in the toilet or jumping into the bathtub or even my swimming pool..and to the dismay of my dogs...playing in their water bowl. Much to my delight they also will use the toilet if you leave the lid up.. They can be trained fairly easy if you start early. I have one that fetches, sits and sits up on command. They typically are nocturnal cats, but can usually adjust to your sleeping schedule. If your F1 can't have his own room, you will need to re-evaluate your decor before he does, breakables, plants, anything precious or valuable must be put away because as I always say, if it's not nailed down it's fair game!! Foundation cats are priced in such a way that hopefully encourages serious and responsible pet owners and if it is NOT a match made in heaven he must come back to Stonehenge Bengals unless we approve other arrangements. If you have anymore questions please feel free to call or email. If anyone has purchased a Stonehenge Foundation cat, we are always available to answer questions. We love to recieve updates and pictures of him too!! |
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