Once upon a time, there was a beautiful F2 (2nd generation from the Asian Leopard Cat) Bengal female named Luci. Actually, that's her nick name. Her real name is really long. Anyway, every one wants a Luci baby and I was included. I was on a waiting list and it certainly felt like an eternity. Finally the day came, and Miss Luci delivered 4 healthy brown spotted Bengal babies. 3 girls and one boy. All the kittens were spoken for, and so I was resolved to wait for the next group of kittens. However, one of the buyers decided they didn't want their kitten! Oh joy, I was next on the list!!!!! Here was a sweet little girl, and we named her Dulari. Her name means special daughter in East Indian. She certainly lived up to her name.

We finally were able to bring her home with us. We were so excited to have this special girl, and to have her bond with us so quickly. She was certainly a match made in heaven.

Dulari grew into a beautiful girl. Such a personality she had. She would prance when she walked, and meow when we called her name. She was a little shy around strangers, but would come around after a bit.

She finally came into her first heat when she was almost 14 months old. We bred her to a strong willed male, who wouldn't take her saying no. She wasn't a willing participant in the breeding at all. But the breeding took, and 64 days later, she went into labor. I rubbed her belly and felt the contractions. She didn't want me to leave the room. She made bread in the air. She had 4 kittens, and all were just huge! They weighed between 4 and 4 1/2 oz each. Most kittens are around 3 oz each. She still had 1 more kitten left. We brought her to our regular vet, who gave her shots of Oxitocin to try and get the last kitten out. I was there for over 5 hours. Finally, we decided to bring her home. Nothing was happening. About 9 pm, I saw the last kitten had the body out, but the head was stuck. Dulari was so exhausted, and couldn't even push to get the head out. I tried ever so careful to help deliver the kitten, but it was already dead. He was blue. After that, Dulari seemed to be going down hill. I sat with her, but she didn't want to be with her babies. Before that, she was a wonderful mom. Happily nursing her babies.

At this part of the story, I am in tears. You see, we lost our sweet Dulari on September 11, 1999. She had her first kitten September 9, 1999, and finished up over 24 hours later. She was so tired. We took her to the emergency vet after her last kitten was born. He reassured us that she was in no imminent danger, and would be fine. I had been up with her for almost 2 days, and I was so tired. Since the vet (a person with the supposed knowledge) said she would be fine, I went to sleep for 3 hours. When I woke up and went down stairs, she was dead. (To this day, we have no idea why our beautiful girl died as the autopsy showed nothing at all abnormal or gave the slightest clue as to the cause of her untimely death.) A panic set in about the babies. I fed them some kitten formula, and we had them in a heated box, so we knew they would be okay. There was a cat show that weekend, and we were suppose to be there. We called our friends, and they found 2 breeders that each had a mom that could take 2 kittens each. I am eternally grateful for them.

I still miss Dulari so. The way she would sneak up during the night and nip at my nose, or pull just a strand or two of my hair. Her sweet face, that I see in her babies. Dulari had 1 boy, Kajal, and 3 girls. All the girls are Dularislegacy with their names of Kalani, Pilar and India Rose. Kalani and Pilar live with very special friends. We have Kajal and India here with us. Each of Dulari's kids have just a little part of her. Kalani has her markings, Kajal has the spotted back legs, Pilar has her face (all the girls look like Dulari in the face), and India has her body.

I know Dulari is in a beautiful place over the Rainbow Bridge, but how I wish she was still here with me. Her light will always live in my heart. I love you my sweet baby girl.