IGR PR ADMILSH ZABARI (Ziggi)
GCCF: Imperial Grand Premier
FIFE: International Premier
TICA: Champion Alter
The very first Bengal Cat to be Titled by all three UK showing organisations!
Even as a kitten, Ziggi displayed the characteristics of a wise old man. He could look at you with his expressive green eyes and you would somehow get the feeling that this cat has seen it all, and done it all in one of his previous lives. He reminded me of Aslan, the Lion in the Narnia tales. Although a huge and imposing male neutered Bengal, Ziggi was the most good-natured and gentle cat I had ever known. As one judge put it, 'a gentle giant'.
He was incredibly affectionate as well as being as faithful as a puppy. But despite this, he was a very demanding cat and he had the whole household trained to his every whim. When he wanted something he would go on relentlessly until he got it. He hated it when I had a lie in, and would persistently nag me until I got out of bed.
His antics resulted in door handles having to be replaced with doorknobs as he learnt very early in life how to open them. A child lock had to be put on the fridge door as he kept breaking and entering and emptying the contents onto the kitchen floor. The two-way locking cat flap on the double glazed french doors was a complete waste of time, opened in an instant with one flick of a claw. If he needs to be confined, a large block of wood had to be slid along to block off the cat flap, jammed in by a table. Life was never dull with Ziggi around!
On a whim, I decided to teach Ziggi to sit. Amazingly he responded immediately. I tried it a couple more times to check that it was not a coincidence and no, it wasn’t. You see, having three dogs in the family, Ziggi already knew what the word ‘sit’ meant and was only too pleased to demonstrate his knowledge of the English language and show the dogs that they weren't the only clever dudes on the block! Teaching him to come to the whistle was also effortless, leading me to think that maybe he WAS a dog in a previous life.
At the age of six months I introduced Ziggi and his sister to the UK show scene. At that time Bengals were still only at the Preliminary stage, so their Open class was not competitive. Each cat was judged individually on their conformity to the breed standard and, if they reached that standard, they were awarded a Merit Certificate. Apart from this compulsory Open class, they were also eligible to be entered in the competitive miscellaneous classes, usually against other breeds. At this stage Ziggi was fairly successful and in his first year he went to seven shows and had fourteen first placings in the miscellaneous classes and one nomination for Best in Show. Sometimes he was in the same class as his sister Misti, though she had a slight edge on him, and he was pipped to the post on many occasion into second place by her.
A year later the Brown Spotted Bengals qualified for the next stage of competition, the Provisional stage. One step left towards the coveted goal of Championship status. At this stage they were in competition with other Bengals in their Open Class, and the winner was awarded an Intermediate Certificate. Ziggi was the first male neuter Bengal in the UK to gain an Intermediate Certificate and it was a truly landmark day for him winning, as it was against a very large class of stunning Bengals who had been waiting in the wings to be brought out for this very auspicious day.
The GCCF kept the Brown Spotted Bengals down at Provisional level for a full two years after this, despite having the required number of qualifying cats to take them up to Championship status. This was unfortunate for Ziggi as he was getting older and I was afraid that his age might restrict his progression to gain any Titles. During these two years he was awarded an incredible nineteen Intermediate Certificates.
In July of 2005 I took Ziggi to the very prestigious Bengal Cat Club show at Cricklade near Swindon. I’m afraid, against the top Bengals in the country, my aspirations for him had already been surpassed in the previous two years when he came third in both years so I was praying for a third once again even though the competition was the hottest so far.
From mid-day onwards at the show I don’t really remember much. I don’t remember driving home, or the bottle of Cava I downed when I got there or probably the rest of the following week. My astonishment at him coming first out of eight in his class, being awarded Best of Breed out of a total of eleven cats, AND winning two trophies was just too much for me to take in! It was the pinnacle of his show career and Ziggi and I were on cloud nine!
At last, in June 2006, the Brown Spotted Bengals were able to compete for Championship status with the GCCF and Ziggi did it once again when he was the first male neuter Bengal in the UK to be awarded a Premier Certificate.
Two weeks later he went on to gain his first Title when he was made up to Fife Premier during the two-day Aristocats Cat Club show near Bristol with the International showing body Felis Brittanica. He has since gained his second Fife title, that of International Premier. In January of 2007 he gained his GCCF Premier title after gaining his third Premier Certificate, and four months later I took him to his first Tica show where he gained enough points to be awarded the title of Tica Champion Alter. He is the first Bengal cat EVER to be titled by all three showing organisations and as many judges have remarked, a true Ambassador of the Bengal breed. By September Ziggi gained a further title, that of GCCF Grand Premier.
In July 2009 Ziggi reached yet another pinnacle in his long career by gaining the title of Imperial Grand Premier after he gained his fifth Imperial Grand Premier Certificate at the Wiltshire and District Cat Club show. This was an aim I hadn't dare dream about when the Bengals first went up to Championship status as, because he was by now getting on in years, I nearly retired him after he became a Premier! What a mistake that would have been, because as time went on, Ziggi enjoyed his show days more and more and it really was a pleasure to continue to show him. Ziggi reached another milestone in his show career by winning BEST IN SHOW FOREIGN EXHIBIT at the National CC show 2009 and retired soon after as a true Ambassadore of the Benal Breed!
But, first and foremost, Ziggi was just a regular cat, with an ordinary cat life consisting of hunting, exploring, eating and sleeping, all his favourite things!
He was incredibly affectionate as well as being as faithful as a puppy. But despite this, he was a very demanding cat and he had the whole household trained to his every whim. When he wanted something he would go on relentlessly until he got it. He hated it when I had a lie in, and would persistently nag me until I got out of bed.
His antics resulted in door handles having to be replaced with doorknobs as he learnt very early in life how to open them. A child lock had to be put on the fridge door as he kept breaking and entering and emptying the contents onto the kitchen floor. The two-way locking cat flap on the double glazed french doors was a complete waste of time, opened in an instant with one flick of a claw. If he needs to be confined, a large block of wood had to be slid along to block off the cat flap, jammed in by a table. Life was never dull with Ziggi around!
On a whim, I decided to teach Ziggi to sit. Amazingly he responded immediately. I tried it a couple more times to check that it was not a coincidence and no, it wasn’t. You see, having three dogs in the family, Ziggi already knew what the word ‘sit’ meant and was only too pleased to demonstrate his knowledge of the English language and show the dogs that they weren't the only clever dudes on the block! Teaching him to come to the whistle was also effortless, leading me to think that maybe he WAS a dog in a previous life.
At the age of six months I introduced Ziggi and his sister to the UK show scene. At that time Bengals were still only at the Preliminary stage, so their Open class was not competitive. Each cat was judged individually on their conformity to the breed standard and, if they reached that standard, they were awarded a Merit Certificate. Apart from this compulsory Open class, they were also eligible to be entered in the competitive miscellaneous classes, usually against other breeds. At this stage Ziggi was fairly successful and in his first year he went to seven shows and had fourteen first placings in the miscellaneous classes and one nomination for Best in Show. Sometimes he was in the same class as his sister Misti, though she had a slight edge on him, and he was pipped to the post on many occasion into second place by her.
A year later the Brown Spotted Bengals qualified for the next stage of competition, the Provisional stage. One step left towards the coveted goal of Championship status. At this stage they were in competition with other Bengals in their Open Class, and the winner was awarded an Intermediate Certificate. Ziggi was the first male neuter Bengal in the UK to gain an Intermediate Certificate and it was a truly landmark day for him winning, as it was against a very large class of stunning Bengals who had been waiting in the wings to be brought out for this very auspicious day.
The GCCF kept the Brown Spotted Bengals down at Provisional level for a full two years after this, despite having the required number of qualifying cats to take them up to Championship status. This was unfortunate for Ziggi as he was getting older and I was afraid that his age might restrict his progression to gain any Titles. During these two years he was awarded an incredible nineteen Intermediate Certificates.
In July of 2005 I took Ziggi to the very prestigious Bengal Cat Club show at Cricklade near Swindon. I’m afraid, against the top Bengals in the country, my aspirations for him had already been surpassed in the previous two years when he came third in both years so I was praying for a third once again even though the competition was the hottest so far.
From mid-day onwards at the show I don’t really remember much. I don’t remember driving home, or the bottle of Cava I downed when I got there or probably the rest of the following week. My astonishment at him coming first out of eight in his class, being awarded Best of Breed out of a total of eleven cats, AND winning two trophies was just too much for me to take in! It was the pinnacle of his show career and Ziggi and I were on cloud nine!
At last, in June 2006, the Brown Spotted Bengals were able to compete for Championship status with the GCCF and Ziggi did it once again when he was the first male neuter Bengal in the UK to be awarded a Premier Certificate.
Two weeks later he went on to gain his first Title when he was made up to Fife Premier during the two-day Aristocats Cat Club show near Bristol with the International showing body Felis Brittanica. He has since gained his second Fife title, that of International Premier. In January of 2007 he gained his GCCF Premier title after gaining his third Premier Certificate, and four months later I took him to his first Tica show where he gained enough points to be awarded the title of Tica Champion Alter. He is the first Bengal cat EVER to be titled by all three showing organisations and as many judges have remarked, a true Ambassador of the Bengal breed. By September Ziggi gained a further title, that of GCCF Grand Premier.
In July 2009 Ziggi reached yet another pinnacle in his long career by gaining the title of Imperial Grand Premier after he gained his fifth Imperial Grand Premier Certificate at the Wiltshire and District Cat Club show. This was an aim I hadn't dare dream about when the Bengals first went up to Championship status as, because he was by now getting on in years, I nearly retired him after he became a Premier! What a mistake that would have been, because as time went on, Ziggi enjoyed his show days more and more and it really was a pleasure to continue to show him. Ziggi reached another milestone in his show career by winning BEST IN SHOW FOREIGN EXHIBIT at the National CC show 2009 and retired soon after as a true Ambassadore of the Benal Breed!
But, first and foremost, Ziggi was just a regular cat, with an ordinary cat life consisting of hunting, exploring, eating and sleeping, all his favourite things!