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My basic info
Breed
Bengal
Color
Black (Mostly)
Age
Adult
Sex
Female
Pet ID
–
Hair Length
short
My details
Shots current
Spayed / Neutered
Declawed
My story
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Here's what the humans have to say about me:
Sheeba: 3 yr old female, front-paw declawed, black Mokave Jag Cat
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Well, I expect you just said, “What on earth is a Mokave Jag Cat?” That is what I said when I was asked if I wanted to foster one. Of course, the next thing I said was "YES, I would love to foster her!"
A Florida exotic cat breeder wanted to start a new breed and he named it after his cattery calling it a Mokave (Mo-KA- ve) Jag. This cat is a mixture of Bengal, Highland Lynx, and Asian Leopard Cat. The Mokave Jag is not a breed recognized by the Cat Fancy world. The Highland Lynx is another rare breed, mostly from this same cattery, that has the curled ears that Sheeba has, so you can see where that feature comes from. In the light. you can see the rosettes and banding from her Bengal heritage. Out of direct sunlight, she looks like a slightly unusual black cat with a funny looking head.. She is a complex cat, and her appearance seems to change in different light and poses, from odd to amazing.
I think when she arrived she was not in good shape. She looked lumpy and did not seem to have good muscle tone. I think she was a couple pounds above her normal weight. It is so hard not knowing what she had recently gone through. Her owner had bought a new, large dog, and she did not get along with it (Yes, she is declawed ! ), so he left her at a shelter. I wonder if she hadn’t been locked up in some small space for a while. She was also hesitant to jump down from a 4 foot high shelf, and I wondered if possibly her declawed front feet bothered her when she landed. When she jumps upwards, she floats up effortlessly.
Her black coat is an accepted melanistic Bengal color. Her fur is short and glossy and the subtly of her rosettes and banding is wonderful. (“Oh ! Now you can see the rosettes! Look ! Look! Look!“) Her tail is extremely long--probably the longest I have ever seen on a cat. Her legs and feet are slender and delicate, almost out of proportion to her body.
Sheeba now seems trim and gorgeous. I have had her almost two months, and now she is solid as a rock, all muscle. All athlete. I think she is also all hunter. Oh, does her body language change instantly when she sees a bird from her catio! She is all business. All black jaguar. 100% involved.
So someone ordered her from the Florida cattery and their little trophy kitten was shipped across the country and subsequently declawed and three yrs later, the novelty having worn off, and the new dog was the center of attention. Sheeba ended up at a Sacramento shelter. Her paperwork from the past owner gives as the reason for abandonment as “didn’t get along with the new dog,” so we know that much.
Aside from all this info about her heritage, what is she like?? Well, she is as nice as can be. She loves attention and is very affectionate. She wants to be with her humans. She gives head bumps and rubs against you. She calls to you to tell you it is breakfast time, and she wants you near. She is not thrilled to be held on a shoulder, although she is polite about it. She is not hard to handle at all. Of course, she is super smart.
When we got her, she was definitely NOT cat friendly. She has mellowed some. She has the heart of a warrior and her lack of weapons, her ten claws, does not go well with that. It would be easiest to place her as an only cat. I would not put her with a dog, however good-natured. Maybe she could learn to be with another non alpha cat, but that would remain to be seen.
What Sheeba wants is to be with her humans all the time. She is not a good cat to leave home day after day as you go off to work. I noticed that the Mokave Cattery said the same thing about these cats needing human bonding and lots of company. I think Sheeba would be fine with older children. She is not at all scary. She needs a family that will enjoy her intelligence and enjoy exercising and playing with her. You can never leave a feather toy with her. She will render it useless in about 4 seconds so keep it waving in the air and she will jump and have a great time.
She would love a catio if you have space for one. She uses the ones in her foster home all the time with great enjoyment. She needs to be very carefully kept inside. She is strong, and if she sees a bird, she will try her best to get to it and that means she would get outside if she could. For example, would a screen keep her in?? I am not sure. It is a challenge to keep Bengals of all sorts inside and in the same way extra care would need to be given to keeping Sheeba safe inside. Of course, as a declawed cat, going outside would be even less safe for her.
She eats wet and dry high quality food and is litterbox perfect.
Some family will be so lucky to have the company of this girl!
