A Bengal cat with enormous green eyes and no concept of personal space meows when his name is called and won't stop until he's cuddled up next to you.
Dominic Credit: Bengal Rescue
Dominic came into the care of Bengal Rescue. They are a foster-based nonprofit that specializes in Bengals and hybrid cats across the western United States, and he was abandoned at one of Utah's busiest shelters. No one knows his story before that, only that the shelter was an overwhelming place for him, and that he arrived with a sensitive stomach that needed more care than the shelter could give.
So the shelter called the rescue. Once Dominic settled into an experienced Bengal foster home and had time to decompress, the cat beneath all that fear came out.
The moment he felt safe, he claimed every lap in the house and started narrating his day, a rare kind of Bengal who does not merely tolerate cuddles but actively campaigns for them.
Curious as can beCredit: Bengal Rescue
He is a world-class couch surfer who will curl up beside you, nap on you, and cheerfully commandeer your lap. "Personal space? Dominic has heard of it. He just doesn't see why anyone would want it," Sharon Cantwell, who founded Bengal Rescue, told LoveMeow.
"Dominic's favorite place is exactly where his humans are, especially if they happen to be sitting next to, or underneath, his very favorite blanket," Cantwell shared. "He is an extraordinarily affectionate cat who really just wants to be part of whatever his people are doing."
Couch surfer supremeCredit: Bengal Rescue
He is also, as his rescuers put it, extremely vocal, as if those enormous eyes were not expressive enough on their own. Dominic has opinions, and he shares them, keeping up a running commentary with the people he loves.
His optimism does get him into a little trouble. His foster home has two resident cats, and Dominic would very much like all of them to be friends. His roommates have declined the invitation, so the rescue believes he will be happiest as the only cat in his home, with no one's affection to compete for.
Bengal cat meowing | LoveMeow Credit: Bengal Rescue
The one thing his future family will need to know about is his stomach, which arrived in real distress and briefly called for a solution no Bengal would ever agree to.
"Here are the first images the world has ever seen of a compliant Bengal, in diapers," Cantwell said. "Rest assured it was a short phase, as we got his uncooperative GI tract finally under control."
The diaper era, mercifully brief Credit: Bengal Rescue
The diapers did not last. Thorough testing ruled out anything infectious, and his fosters worked out the diet that keeps him feeling his best.
"No scary diagnosis. Just a Bengal belly that has opinions about the menu," Cantwell said.
My happy placeCredit: Bengal Rescue
Otherwise, Dominic is ready to go. He is neutered, vaccinated, microchipped, and has a clean bill of health. He has thrived in a home where his people are around often, where his commentary is welcomed, and where there is enough room for a cat with this much to say.
Plenty of people have already noticed those eyes. When Bengal Rescue arranged his photos into what amounted to a wall of enormous Bengal eyeballs, his adoption post unexpectedly took off, reaching tens of thousands of strangers who had never heard of the rescue. "It started as a joke about his enormous eyes. Then nearly 50,000 sets of eyes landed on him," Cantwell said. The response was overwhelming, and yet the right match has not come forward.
The look he gives youCredit: Bengal Rescue
As his rescuers have started to wonder, maybe Dominic hasn't found his family. Maybe his family hasn't found him yet.
Whoever ends up with him gets the full package: a lap warmer, a shadow, a chatty companion for every ordinary task, and a pair of eyes that never quite lets you forget he adores you. At two years old, he has a long, happy life ahead of him, and a whole lot of love saved up for whoever comes for him.
All he wants is youCredit: Bengal Rescue
It's a strange thing, a cat this funny and this devoted still looking for someone to belong to. But Dominic has never stopped being ready. He needs the right person to walk through the door.
Share this story with your friends. View more on Dominic and Bengal Rescue on Facebook, Instagram (@officialbengalrescue), and at bengalrescue.org.
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