Selling To The Stars

By C. Esmond Gay

1st written; 11th July 1997

Updated; 15th May 2003

Just ten years ago I could never have dreamt that a unique ‘leopard look-a-like’ cat would enter my life and change it so much, giving my previously unhappy existence so much pleasure and joy - a breed of cat that was so very special and that would give me something to nurture and to live for. After all, at that time, why should I ever have thought that my previously unfulfilled and empty life would change at all? My dismal existence had reached an almost unrecoverable low from which everyone close to me silently believed that I would not recover...I had suffered a trauma that had been so horrific and heart wrenching that I had had to go into hospital for long term treatment after suffering from a severe nervous breakdown.

I believed that I had nothing more to live for, no future and absolutely no happiness ahead of me...but then the Bengal Cat swept me off my feet answering all of my prayers and making those ‘unrealistic’ dreams of happiness come true - solely because of their boundless energy, constant frolicking and playing and because of their incredible adoration for life itself! But most important of all, these very special cats brought me the one thing that I so desperately yearned for - the devoted love and dedication that they so readily bestow upon anyone who is willing to return their undying love! As a consequence of these most endearing cats, all of my ‘unobtainable’ dreams of experiencing happiness and contentment have now been answered as my precious felines have not only made my life more complete, more joyful and more fulfilling, but they have also inadvertently allowed me to meet and become close friends with so many dear people...including many of the worlds greatest stars, celebrities - and even royalty!!

I didn’t really have big goals and ambitions when I first saw the Bengal Cat and only wanted one or two of these majestic cats to be family pets within our ever-loving feline orientated household. However, I soon became truly addicted to this unique breed of cat as I was overcome with awe and amazement after watching them jump from table to table, from chair to chair and from cat palace to cat palace as they enjoyed their frantic games of leaping, prowling and stalking!! Whenever I was sad, miserable or unhappy, my beautiful leopard look-a-like babies would come to me and smother me with their silken soft bodies and purr contentedly in my ear telling their ‘Daddy’ that “...everything would be alright and that they were there to look after me and love me...”

It didn’t take long for me to grow very, very passionate about these cats and soon after I had left hospital, I had a household full of the very best quality Bengal cats. My dreams and ambitions had grown by that time as I now wanted to breed from my beloved Bengal’s and give other people the opportunity to own these ever-loving kittens so that they could also gain the same pleasure that the Bengal cat had so readily bestowed upon me. However, even my wildest imagination did not prepare me for what was soon to take place within our feline orientated lives...the stars were coming!!!

I am a perfectionist by nature and this was passed down to my Bengal breeding programme. I only wanted to produce the very best quality kittens and I would stop at nothing and would pay virtually any price if it meant owning the rarest, the most special and the most unique breeding Bengal’s from around the world. I didn’t really expect anyone to notice what I was doing and so when the publicity surrounding my name and my breeding programme grew so quickly over the few short years that we have been breeding the beautiful Bengal Cat, it did come as quite a shock! After all, all that I had ever really wanted to do was to give ever-loving homes to our special feline ‘children’ and to provide pleasure for other people - the same pleasure and life fulfilling happiness that I was being blessed with by owning these unique leopard look-a-like babies.

It wasn’t that long before the national newspapers became very interested in our rather ‘strange’ and very ‘eccentric’ lifestyle because within just one year of first hearing about the stunning ‘Bengal Cat’, we were happily living with about 60 of these breathtakingly beautiful pedigree cats and their awe inspiring kittens! This intense publicity soon over took us and to cut a long story short, over a period of just a few years, we have had features written about us and our beloved cats in over 50 national and international magazines, articles written within every single national newspaper in Great Britain, some of them being front page cover stories which were over 7,000 words long, and we also had the great honour of being interviewed on television over 45 times by many of the worlds most famous stars!

At first this intense and overwhelming publicity came as an exquisite surprise for me because I had not been used to people being so interested in what I was doing - but my babies seemed to speak for themselves and wooed the journalists and the TV reporters from all over the world. It wasn’t just their immense quality and their unique characteristics that these journalists were interested in - it was the fact that even though we owned 60 of the worlds rarest cats and kittens (including the only F1 and F2 Bengal’s in the UK and the only Asian Leopard Cats in private hands), we had absolutely no outside pens (except for studs and some ‘non-house trained’ queens) – virtually all of our cats and kittens were born, reared and kept inside our own family house - this was the only way in which my dear fiancée and I wanted to live with our babies.

To us, this was as natural as keeping ones own children within ones home, yet the journalists seemed to think that this ‘unusual’ dedication towards exotic felines was ‘eccentric’, ‘amazing’ and almost ‘unique’...to say the least!! The journalists stated that few other breeders kept their cats in such luxurious surroundings, but as I responded to this by saying; “one wouldn’t keep ones children in outside pens, so why do so with such exquisite cats!”

This was the way that I had always dreamed of living my life - surrounded by graceful and elegant cats that had an ‘...air of wild nature...’ about them. I had adored all types of cats, including wild ones, from a very early age and it had always been my greatest desire to live with many, many wondrous felines. After so much past tragedy and misery within my life, that dream was fulfilled in the form of the beautiful Bengal Cat...but at the same time, the intense publicity surrounding our name, our cats and our lifestyle, soon inadvertently brought us to the attention of many well known people - little did I realise that my life was about to change for the better yet again due to the babies that I held so close to my heart and which I brought up with all of the passion within my body...and loved every one of them more than life itself!

Sadly some jealous rival breeders say that such famous people only ‘…buy animals on a whim…’ and ‘…because of their hectic schedules, cannot be expected to look after them properly…’. But that’s wrong! All of the people mentioned within this article have been friendly, down to earth and most important of all; they have taken the time and trouble to thoroughly research this breed prior to purchasing their kittens. None have purchased without careful thought and all have provided permanent loving family homes with friendly warm laps to sleep on. It doesn’t take a genius to realise that the stars have the money to look after their pets and to keep them in absolute luxury. That the stars have huge mansions for their pets to run around in and great gardens where the cats can freely roam without ever encountering a road or other such danger! And even when the stars are away from home, their plush houses are never left empty and their will be countless staff who are more than willing to look after and love these creatures. We carefully vet ALL our clients – and we have only this to say about the following famous personalities…

Rolf Harris

When one enters ones own living room and sees the famous Rolf Harris sitting in ones favourite armchair, it is a great shock to ones system! This happened during the filming of a programme in which we starred called ‘Cat Crazy’ - I was mortified at the thought of meeting ‘the famous Rolf Harris’...so mortified that I couldn’t even open the front door!! Rolf was shown into our living room and sat down with his film crew. I finally plucked up the courage to go in and introduce myself and still trembling all over, I pretended to be calm and returned his vigorous yet amiable handshake. Rolf and Alwen Harris turned out to be two of the sweetest people that I have ever met. They didn’t act in the ‘snobbish’ manner that I thought all stars would act, but were down to earth, kind, caring and incredibly considerate. I became great friends with Rolf during the filming of this TV programme and was astounded to realise that he was so willing to return my friendship and even my deep feelings of affection that I had towards him.

This lovely man and his dear wife immediately fell in love with our Bengal kittens and it wasn’t long before he had purchased one for himself and his wife - befitting the kitten’s appearance, they named him ‘Leopard’. Rolf and Alwen now live happily with their beautiful Bengal and we frequently go out to dinner with them, are invited to tea and visit their river side mansion on a regular basis - both Sarah and I feel so terribly proud at having found such compassionate and caring friends - two people who I know will be our friends for life.

When I realised that ‘the stars’ weren’t any different to any other people and when I realised that they indeed had a great respect for ordinary people such as myself, I began to relax and feel confident and self assured whilst in their presence - its lucky that I did begin to relax because I was soon to meet many, many more celebrities, stars and royalty - all thanks to my beautiful Bengal cats and to the truly fulfilling way in which we lived our feline orientated lives.

Lord and Lady Nourse, the Lord Justice of Appeal

They were the second famous people to visit our home and once again I realised that these people were not to be feared and only wanted to be friends, talk about pussy cats and for me to help them to enjoy this stunning breed of cat just as much as I did. Lady Nourse and I stayed in constant contact over the following years after she had brought her first kitten from me who she calls ‘Little Tippo’. Having been inspired by her own little ‘baby leopard’, Lady Nourse has become so addicted to this delightful breed, that she now has a second cat from which she hopes to breed and produce beautiful leopard look-a-like babies of her own. Lady Nourse is the most caring and compassionate person that I have ever met!

When I first met these lovely people I was still suffering from severe psychological traumas (including Manic Depression/Bi Polar Disorder) created not only by the trauma I had previously suffered, but also due to events that had occurred during my childhood. These traumatic memories were fast catching up with me and had made me very sensitive and highly vulnerable to the more vicious and unscrupulous people within the outside world (especially the rival Bengal breeders who by now were hounding me incessantly and quite mercilessly).

Dear Lady Nourse seemed to take me ‘under her wing’ as she was aware of the horrific memories from which I still suffered. She tried to protect me as best she could from the rantings and ravings of the rival breeders. She publicly spoke out against them and the wicked lies that they were attempting to spread. We became very close to one another - so close that I now see her as a second and truly compassionate Mother! Lady Nourse helps me in many, many ways. Her caring voice and deep devotion calms me when I am anxious and panic stricken through stress created by the rival breeders who, if they truly cared about the Bengal, should have been working with me and my superb breeding program, instead of against it.

Lady Nourse cares for me when I am ill through severe Manic Depression (Bi Polar Disorder) and she is always there for me whenever I need her. It is a beautiful relationship to have with someone who is so well respected throughout the world...but why should people of Lady Nourse's status show any kind of feelings, let alone affection, towards someone such as myself? - Someone who has achieved so little throughout his humble existence. Looking back, I can only feel a great honour knowing that these caring celebrities have the heart to give me so much of their valuable time...let alone their love, kindness and compassion!

Lady Nourse’s kitten, ‘Tippo’, took over the Nourse household and loved nothing better than to run around their huge park-like estate, frolicking in the undergrowth, climbing trees and proving to them and to anyone else who was watching, that he really was a typical energetic and full of life Bengal cat!! ‘Tippo’ swims in their pond, catches fish which he believes will be eaten by the Nourse household at their dinner table and entertains their variety of famous guests for hours on end. Lady Nourse’s addiction for this breed of cat soon fell upon the ears of her close friends Lord and Lady Jeffrey Archer and so it wasn’t long before yet more famous celebrities entered our village.

Jeffrey Archer

I don’t care what the press nor what anyone else says about the Archers. I speak only as I find people and both Lord and Lady Archer are two of the kindest animal lovers that I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. Lord Archers private life is none of my business just as it is no one else’s business. As long as they adore animals and the two babies I sold them, I will never judge them. And I certainly couldn’t have found a better home for two of my babies than within the Archer’s animal orientated household.

Lord Jeffrey Archer has been my idol ever since I was a young child and read the famous ‘Kane and Able’ book. I was in awe at Lord Archer but had always seen him as an ‘unapproachable hero’. I had always admired him from afar and I have read almost every single one of his many superb books – pure genius and anyone who says otherwise is simply envious of him and his outstanding success. At the tender age of just 16 whilst reading one of his first books, never could I have dreamt that this highly respected gentleman and his dear wife would ever grace my home!!

Lady Nourse brought the Archers to my home one Sunday and as their limousine pulled into our village all of the neighbours rushed out to watch! I felt proud that my beautiful Bengal cats were now finding ever loving luxury homes within the households of the stars - and even more honoured that my precious Bengal’s were now introducing me to so many of the worlds most famous celebrities. However, the old feelings of fear came over me once again at the thought of meeting ‘the Lord Archer’...and so I silently hid in the kitchen when the doorbell rang!

My dear fiancée Sarah showed them into the living room but much to my delight, all that I heard from my refuge in the kitchen, was Lord and Lady Archers gasps of excitement as Sarah showed them just a few of our Bengal cats. These gasps of delight and incredible awe from the Archers gave me the courage to come in and introduce myself and very soon, much to my amazement, I found yet again that Lord Jeffrey Archer was just another human being, albeit a very, very important one who had achieved an incredible amount of success throughout the world.

Within just a few short hours of talking to Lord and Lady Archer, I had relaxed completely and found them to be truly delightful guests. They showed so much enthusiasm towards my cats as Sarah and I showed them around our house, showed them all of our cats and then our stunning array of wild cats including my Asian Leopard Cats, my unique collection of F1’s, F2’s and F3’s and of course my two beautiful hand reared Ocelots...but never did I expect Lord Archer to react in the way that he did when I told him about the terrible plight that such wild creature’s face within their natural habitats. I explained that I felt so sad and so sick that over 250,000 Ocelot pelts had been imported into the United States in one year just to fulfil the desires of the fashion industry. Lord Archer’s face fell when he heard this because he realised that he was looking at two beautiful wild cats prowling around their luxurious enclosure, but which at the same time thanks to humans, were so terribly threatened and so highly endangered.

Lord Archer and his animal loving wife became quite passionate when I told them about my desperate bid to help to save these and other species of wild cats within ‘The Sarez Wild Cat Conservation Programme’ which I had founded a year earlier and was funded by the income raised through the sale of our Bengal kittens. I was delighted when Lord Archer told me that he would love to own and help these wild cats himself and of course I encouraged him as much as possible knowing that not only would his own passion and enthusiasm allow him to adore such wild cats, but I also realised that his famous name would surely bring a huge amount of publicity to the plight that these stunning wild cats face within their natural wild habitats. I was even more honoured when Lord Archer saw, stroked and spoke softly to some of the many abused and rescued animals within our ‘Sarez Animal Rescue Programme’.

As I showed Lord and Lady Archer around my home I thoroughly enjoyed their gasps of delight as they entered each room and saw our baby Bengal’s frantically playing and gleefully pouncing on one another within every room that we went!! Lady Archer, a strong and independent lady, knew exactly what she wanted and soon chose a majestic looking Golden Marble kitten and a beautiful Golden Leopard Spotted boy that had huge pitch black spots and rosettes covering his entire golden body. The Archer’s lived up to their reputation and only wanted the very best for their household and I was overjoyed to know that my two babies, who they very aptly named ‘Laurel’ and ‘Hardy’, would now be loved and cared for in all of the palatial splendour that the Archers could provide!

His Majesty the Sultan of Brunei

After Lady Archer’s kittens were proudly displayed within the centre pages of the Daily Telegraph, His Majesty the Sultan of Brunei sent a representative to our home to choose some kittens for himself. Once again, I only had the utmost of respect for this important royal gentleman and I ensured that he only had the very best kittens that we could possibly produce. His representative, a kind and most endearing Malaysian lady, chose a rare F2 Golden Leopard Spotted Bengal, a Golden Marble and a Snow Leopard - and once again I happily knew that my beloved babies would end up living in the lap of luxury within the Sultans 240 roomed palace in Brunei! I felt so happy and so overjoyed that so many of my kittens were now going to live within the most splendid houses and palaces in the world and the only words to describe how I felt was true honour and gratitude that these down to earth people had chosen my Bengal’s above any other breed of cat.

Harrods of Knightsbridge

Soon after this intense publicity surrounding the Archers, Mr Al Fayed approached his staff regarding the possibility of Sarah and I exclusively ‘showing’ our babies at this, the world’s most famous department store. We agreed and on several occasions visited Harrods and once met and spoke to the great man himself. I had always hated the bickering and back biting that was so prevalent at all of the normal cat shows, but having accepted Mr Al Fayed’s kind offer, I must say that we had the most brilliant time signing autographs and showing our rarest cats off to so many of Harrods clients within a special enclosure that has been set up specifically for our Bengal’s. Photos of myself and of our cats were placed everywhere throughout Harrods promoting the dates that we would be showing our Bengal’s. Mr Al Fayed and Harrods took a great interest in our wild cat conservation programme and for the publicity this gentleman helped us to bring to endangered animals, we thank him with all our hearts.

Showing our kittens exclusively at Harrods even for a short period of time, seemed to make the fame of our kitten’s spread even further afield and one of the many TV stations that subsequently got in touch with us was the BBC, even though by this time they had already filmed us on numerous other occasions. They telephoned one day and asked Sarah and I to appear on a chat show called ‘Esther’ saying that they wanted the public to hear all about our ‘...amazing feline orientated lives...’ and ‘...how my beloved Bengal’s had aided my health and my recovery from the horrific mental breakdown...’.

Esther Rantzen

I had always admired Esther Rantzen not just because she was a famous TV celebrity, but also for the work and dedication that she has put into ‘Childline’. ‘Childline’ has always been very close to my heart because having had an abused upbringing (to say the very least!), I knew exactly what these neglected and abused children were going through and I subsequently took a passionate interest in the work that Mrs Rantzen was endeavouring to undertake whilst trying to protect these poor children. Mrs Rantzen interviewed me at length during the TV programme about my love and undying devotion towards my many beautiful feline ‘children’ and I explained ‘on air’ just a little about how my animals and my work with them had help me to partially recuperate. But the surprise came afterwards...

All I wanted to do after the show was to congratulate Esther Rantzen for the superb work that she was doing on behalf of ‘Childline’...but then she asked me in great detail why I was so interested. Stuck for words, I knew I would have to expand upon what I had said ‘on air’ about the childhood abuse that I had suffered. I told her just a little about the traumatic experiences from which I had suffered. I couldn’t believe my eyes!! This famous celebrity’s face dropped when she heard just a few of the minor things that had happened to me and she asked me more and more details after taking my fiancée and I for a drink in one of the local public houses. Why on earth does this famous lady care about ME, I asked myself as I saw tears well up in Esther Rantzens eyes!! I truly couldn’t believe that this famous person could be so compassionate and so caring over what had happened to a complete stranger!!

Mrs Rantzen told me to write everything down and to send it to her home address, but this was far more difficult than I first thought. The 135 page letter to Mrs Rantzen took me over 1 year to write and I spent almost everyday trying to remember everything that had happened to me with tears constantly brimming in my eyes and with my dear fiancée who was typing my dictation, continuously bursting into tears after hearing events that even she had never known about.

Mrs Rantzen took the time and trouble to read my letter and wrote a beautiful reply back which gave me much more confidence and a stronger will to carry on fighting to regain control of my life, to fight the other breeders and the wicked and untrue rumours that they were spreading and she helped me to compose myself and work towards the future. Even to this day I find it difficult to understand why such an incredibly popular and famous celebrity should care about someone as minor as myself. That 135 page letter slowly grew and grew until I had written a full autobiography. An autobiography that is so personal and explicit that I have vowed never to have it printed until my death – even though Lord Jeffrey Archer’s publishers offered to print it immediately.

Lady Miranda Rothschild

This lady from the famous banking family telephoned out of the blue and asked to visit our home. By this time I was getting very, very used to the famous and titled people telephoning us and so I was not at all nervous about entertaining her. This beautiful and eccentric lady came with her devoted friend and companion who not surprisingly is a devout Monk!! Lady Miranda Rothschild proved her wonderful eccentricity not only by having the constant companionship of her own Monk, but also because of the way that she spoke, her mannerisms and her unique and quite exquisite characteristics. I knew that she lived solely for her cats and this dear lady immediately fell in love with two of our Golden Leopard Spotted Bengal’s.

Lady Miranda Rothschild also suffers from severe Manic Depression (Bi Polar Disorder) and so as we became friends, we would talk for hours on end about what we were both going through and how we both felt and how our lives had been so horrifically changed by this devastating illness. We found solitude and a caring understanding of one another during these long conversations. Once again, as I got to know Lady Rothschild I began to love her as one would love ones own Sister because her sensitivity and ever-caring personality reached out and struck a chord within my heart.

Like so many others, I knew that Lady Rothschild really cared about me and what I was going through whenever the painful memories of the past would come back to haunt my mind. But this time I knew that she actually felt some of the pain that I was going through because she herself often went through that same horrific mental agony that Manic Depression brings upon its victims. This understanding of one another created a very close bond between us and to this day I maintain that I will always love her just as I love Lady Nourse - as part of my own family. This might seem pathetic to those who do not understand the illness of Manic Depression, but to those who do, it will make perfect sense.

If one suffers from severe Depression, then one really needs ones friends around them - but those friends have to truly understand the horrific effects of this illness. Lady Miranda Rothschilds attitude was exactly like that of Esther Rantzens and once again her words of comfort gave me renewed confidence to strive above this illness, to come to terms with it, to rise above the cruel and nasty individuals, especially the less successful rival Bengal breeders who still haunted me within the outside world. Lady Rothschild helped me to realise that I have something incredibly beautiful to live for...my ever loving and ever-devoted Bengal cats!

Louis Manzi

This gentleman is widely known as the ‘Richard Branson of the south’. This charming gentleman and his dear wife, draped in diamonds, saw one of the front page Sunday Mail features about myself and our cats and immediately made arrangements to visit us. I never dreamt that he was a famous billionaire who owned most of the night-clubs around the south of England - he fooled me into thinking otherwise because like all of the other stars, he didn’t act like a billionaire and was as down to earth as anyone else.

Lou and I simply talked and talked about anything and everything and yet again we soon became very close to one another. I personally believe that a very special bond developed between us after he had purchased his two rare baby ‘F2’ Bengal kittens who he named ‘Mouffassa’ and ‘Jambo’. Lou Manzi and I have ended up becoming more than just ‘friends’. Whilst Lady Nourse’s affection borders on that of ones own Mother, whilst Lady Rothschilds love is like that of ones own Sister, Louis Manzi has shown so much care and compassion towards my stressed and psychologically traumatic life, that he has now become like a Father towards me – a Father who I have grown to love with all my heart.

Lou knew that the previous trauma that I suffered years ago, that my severe mental breakdown and my tremendous problems coping with the memories of my childhood, as well as the incredible amount of time that we spend looking after of beloved cats (20 hours a day, 7 days a week), had left Sarah and I reluctant to leave our house – and so unbeknown to me, the famous Louis Manzi decided to do something about it...

One day this kind gentleman gave us no choice but to enjoy ourselves for just one evening!! He sent his £250,000 chauffeur driven Bentley Turbo to pick us up from our home and drove us 200 miles to his home in Southend on Sea! Lou and his stunning wife Marion, took us out for a beautiful meal and then knowing that we never relaxed due to the intensely hard work that keeping 60 of the worlds rarest cats entails, he took us both to one of his famous night-clubs as ‘guests of honour’ and splashed out on every luxury including caviar and the very best £150.00 per bottle champagne which neither my fiancée nor myself had ever had before!!! Sarah and I ended up having the best evening of our lives! We all talked about cats and about our mutual passion for them and we talked about his two dear baby Bengal’s who by now were sending all the housekeepers and servants up the wall due to the mischievous, yet most endearing havoc that they were creating within the Manzi’s palatial home!

Lou made me feel so proud when he said that his new babies had “…enriched his life…”, “…had given him something very different to live for…”, and had “…brought something truly special into his already full life…”. I am so honoured that my beautiful Bengal kittens can stir up so much emotion and passion within the lives of so many celebrities who already own almost everything that they could ever want…almost everything except for the beautiful Bengal cat – that is, until they met myself and my family of ever-loving, ever playful miniature Leopards!!

Cindy Jackson

Model Cindy Jackson is a very close friend of Lord Jeffrey Archer and upon visiting the Archer’s one day and seeing their kittens, this world famous American model excitedly contacted us when she returned home about the possibility of owning a kitten for herself. It was very evident that Cindy also has everything in the world that she could ever want, yet she was terribly excited about the prospect of owning one of our kittens!! With great anticipation she made immediate arrangements to fly over from America in order to see our family of cats.

Cindy Jackson was as beautiful in real life as she is in the many thousands of professional photos that her modelling career had created and I immediately felt very at home with her. Like so many other world famous individuals, Cindy was easy to talk to, seemed to really care about Sarah and I and truly appreciated the hard work that we give whilst breeding our babies. She actually screamed in excitement when she walked into our living room and saw our beloved Leopard look-a-likes prowling around our living room!

Cindy and I chatted for over 6 hours and she even cancelled a very prestigious modelling appointment just so that she could stay at our home a little longer! What an honour!! She chose a very rare and quite stunning little ‘F2’ boy who she named “Cato” and happily took him home with him sitting contentedly on her knee and she promised that she would walk him everyday in Hyde Park, and would take him with her on every photo shoot and modelling appointment that she goes on…and Cindy even stated that she could make her new companion world famous by including him in many of the modelling sessions that she so often undertakes – and she wasn’t exaggerating!!

‘Cato’ is now world famous having been photographed with Cindy in all the major fashion magazines, and he goes for walks in Hyde Park everyday on a harness and lead, and he’s met all the royals during the many gala parties and functions that this little ‘F2’ has been to. His beautiful spots, his laid back, chilled personality…and his £250,000 Cartier diamond collar brings admirers everywhere he goes. Cato is now probably the most famous F2 in the world thanks to Cindy and the way in which she has brought him up – as her own son.

Kevin Bacon

Our next guest and client was even more interesting because I didn’t even recognise him at all! I feel shame that I didn’t because I have watched him in so many famous films! A gentleman named “Mr Kevin Bacon” phoned and booked to visit. I knew that he was flying over from America in his private Leer jet solely to purchase one of our babies, but that does actually happen quite a lot with affluent clients flying to Britain from all over the world (especially the Arab Emirates) to visit our home. Mr Bacon was a very quiet gentleman who showed a keen interest in the breed but was not overly assertive nor commanding as one would normally expect from a Hollywood star. I wasn’t nervous at all but have to admit that that was just because I really had no inclining as to who he was nor had I realised that I had watched him in “Hollow Man” just the night before!

Mr Bacon and I solely talked about my cats, our conservation program for wild felines and about our rescue sanctuary for abused animals. He chose a very rare Snow Leopard ‘F2’ female which was the first of her kind that I had ever actually been able to breed. Kevin Bacon played with the little baby non-stop for hours and said that if I did agree to let him buy the little kitten, then he would keep her in the best of environments. Little did I know that that environment would be a palatial Hollywood mansion! I hadn’t actually wanted to sell the little Snow Leopard F2 because she really was a one off who I would have liked to breed from and there was a very high possibility that I would never breed another one like her again (luckily I have). I was eventually persuaded by this gentleman because he had shown so much commitment to the Bengal cat by flying from America in his private jet – something that must have made the actual purchase price of the kitten look quite inexpensive!

Sarah and I graciously showed him out when he wished to leave and it was only then that my fiancé told me exactly who he was! Like most young ladies Sarah knew of him because he is apparently part of the “Brat Pack” and is idolised by many young girls. But I felt like such a fool when I realised that he was the Kevin Bacon and felt quite ashamed that I had not recognised him – especially as I adore his films! But at least Mr Bacon really does show the world that stars such as himself (and all of the others to whom we have sold our babies), really are just down to earth humans who do not see themselves as being anything special. We keep in contact with him and he is intending to fly over again for a second companion F2. This time I will be waiting with my camera!

Jonathon Ross

Is it going to sound repetitive if I say that Jonathon Ross and his family were equally charming and down to earth? Well, that is the case and perhaps it’s because these people are so very much like us all when it comes to cats and animals.

Jonathon Ross wasn’t an exception. Incredibly friendly, completely down to earth and very courteous, this gentleman invited Sarah and I and some of our F2 Kittens to his mansion in London. Sarah had only just come out of hospital having given birth to our daughter who we named Kitten Patricia Pixie-Bell Gay. This was quite a coincidence as ‘kitten’ is a very unusual name - but is also the middle name of Jonathon Ross’s eldest daughter “Betty Kitten Ross”. I had known for years that I’d call my first daughter ‘Kitten’ with the reason being so obvious, so it was an immense coincidence for this to happen just four days after our new baby ‘Kittens’ birth. Sarah felt well enough and so we set off with our four day old daughter to bring a little bit of the wild to the Ross household.

As with all the other stars there was no “time limit” as Jonathon and his whole family wanted to know everything about the breed. I happily obliged and spent four hours telling the Ross family as much as I could. They fell in love with a young Golden Leopard F2 male but he wasn’t quite ready to go yet. We reserved the kitten for Mr Ross and booked a date when the family could come to our home to pick up their new baby when he was 13 weeks old. We showed him round but the part of their 7 hour visit to our home that will always remain vividly in my mind is being in my field on my tractor with Jonathon Ross, his wife and his three children sat in my tatty, dirty old trailer – being towed around my fields.

But they never complained about this rough “make shift transport” and they adored our rescued animals and hand fed deer that had previously been hit by cars or injured by poachers. They fed and stroked rescued wallabies that had no other home. They fed my three legged pig and the lightest of the Ross children had a little ride on our rescued 55 year old donkey. They played with our ostriches and were intrigued as to how we rescued them from a “Bush Meat Restaurant” in London. They fed our ducks, geese, swans and our many cockerels that had also been saved from various injuries or fates. They really seemed so interested in our animal rescue work and they marvelled at our African Leopard and hand reared Ocelots that are part of our wild cat conservation program. When one receives so much grief from jealous rival breeders, the approval and praise from people such as Mr Ross, Kevin Bacon, Jeffrey Archer, Lord Nourse and Rolf Harris are so important for ones lagging spirit. We now visit the Ross household regularly, take photos of our baby and have become firm friends whose daughter shares an extremely unusual feline name with our daughter.

Louis Mariette

In May 2003 I received a phone call from a very flamboyant gentleman named Louis Mariette. His reputation went before him and I realised that I was talking to the world famous bespoke hat designer who sold exclusively through our own acquaintances, Harrods of Knightsbridge. His unique, individual ladies hats are worn by some of the world’s most famous personalities and he is especially adored by British royalty. Louis is also regarded as an “international sensation” by the fashion media and like one of his own hat creation’s, he truly is a most amazing individual who oozes great passion and imagination.

Louis told me on the phone that he had just finished a bespoke hat collection and had organised a huge fashion show event at the famous Kensington Roof Gardens. He said that he had heard many wonderful things about us and our cats during his travels and had seen our babies on TV many times. He stated that his current collection of hats was designed under the “Snow Leopard” theme, and as such enquired as to whether we would take some of our spotted cats to accompany the models on the cat walk. When one sells a kitten, no matter how careful one is, one never truly knows what social life is going to be bestowed upon the cat by the new owner. Sarah and I therefore attempt to get our kittens used to every eventuality and as many of our London clients take their kittens with them to social events and parties, we decided that Louis Mariette’s fashion show would be a superb excuse to socialise some of our babies at a refined but packed event.

We decided to take a very rare Snow Leopard F2 and also Quadruple Grand Champion Stargazer an adult male Sphynx. And we also decided to take a third kitten who, until that event, was “our little secret”. This kitten is a 90% wild blood F1 (“Sarez Zeus”) who has an F1 Mother, an F2 Grandmother and an Asian Leopard Cat Father. Prior to this event he was sold for £100,000 making him the world’s most expensive cat. Our cats were the centre of attention as soon as they reached Kensington Roof Gardens and prior to the cat walk show the models would come and pinch one of the cats to show their family and friends and then bring them back. And the 3 cats loved all the attention!

Rather than the models and their unique hats stealing the limelight, it became quite apparent that it was the cats who were creating the most excitement at this wonderful event. Our F2 Snow Leopard behaved wonderfully and at the end of the fashion show Louis Mariette proudly strode down the cat walk with our little Snow boy galloping in front of him on a harness and leash. Both Louis and our kitten posed beautifully for the waiting press and audience at the end of the cat walk and both did a dramatic twirl and returned back stage amidst astounded applause and gasps from the public.

Sarez Zeus, “The world’s most expensive cat” was then taken by model Lady Emily Compton to an awaiting Jaguar car and was photographed entering the building holding the world’s most expensive cat… and wearing the world’s most expensive hat – an amazing diamond studded, gold leaf creation for sale for £5 million!

After the show we mingled with the star studded audience and spent half an hour with Princess Ann and HRH Zara Phillips as they stroked and petted our very contented 90% wild blood F1. They were a delight to talk to and absolutely adored our cats. We are looking forward to their booked visit to our home this summer. Elton John stroked our Sphynx and our Snow Leopard and chatted to us briefly but was soon driven away by the mesmerising Count Alexander and his Mother who also wanted their turn to stroke our babies.

Even though the Bengal’s that we took to this flamboyant event all had very high percentages of wild blood, they have been bred in such a manner that we were able to take them to this function in the full knowledge that they would not be frightened and would actually enjoy all of the rather intense attention. Our beloved cats proved us right and for a while, they became the topic of conversation for London’s elite fashion designers. Subsequent to this event photo’s of our babies appeared in the arms of Louis Mariette, Count Alexander, Elton John and Lady Emily Compton in “Hello” magazine, “OK!”, “Cosmopolitan” and “Vogue” to list but a few. But best of all, our cats proven that when reared properly, even very early generation Bengal’s adore being the centre of attention even at hectic, packed out social events. It was obvious to everyone that the cats had the most fun at this world famous event!

There are many other very famous stars, celebrities and royalty to whom I have sold kittens, but it has been made very clear that I have to remain confidential with regards to their details. However even though I cannot give full details as I have been able to do with the stars mentioned above, I have been given permission to just mention the names of some of the other stars. And these include Donatella Versace, Goldie Hawn, Uri Gella, Princess Doria and Princess Michael of Kent as well as many members of the Arabian royal family to name but a few. Like all of the other stars before them, such people have only ended up ‘...enriching…’ their own lives if they do have a little baby Bengal of their own. Why? Because even though all of these people are themselves unique, one must remember that nothing and no one is more unique nor more special than the Bengal cat!!

I still remain truly overwhelmed that all of these famous celebrities have given up so much time and so much of their energy to get to know me properly and have subsequently shown me so much kindness, care and compassion. I am just an average, even though ‘eccentric’, human being who does what he loves most – breeds beautiful baby Bengal kittens with a view to letting them give pleasure to others.

These famous people have added a new dimension to the lives of Sarah and myself because their caring words of affection make us feel ‘special’ and ‘wanted’ – something that years of abuse from malicious rival Bengal breeders stripped from us. These stars and royals have chosen kittens that have been bred by Sarah and myself above any other Bengal cats, and this is a true honour which I hope shows just how desperately hard we work in order to ensure that our kittens are not only the very best quality, but also have the most adoring personalities. I still remain in awe that these famous people still phone me, visit me and invite both Sarah and myself to their palatial homes and mansions for parties and for dinner and I will never forget the joy and the happiness that they our Bengal Cats have brought into our previously unhappy and unfulfilled lives.

I have become so close to so many of these wonderful people that I have the confidence to ask my dear friend billionaire Louis Manzi, to be the Best Man at my impending wedding. Lou Manzi is also the Godfather of my Daughter (Kitten Patricia Pixie-belle Gay). Kitty (my daughter, not my baby cats) also has Lady Lavinia Nourse, Lady Miranda Rothschild and Donatella Versace as her 3 Godmothers. Hopefully they will help give her a better and more stable upbringing than I had.

Perhaps this goes a little way to showing that the stars and celebrities of today are not to be feared and are not to be seen as ‘different’, but are instead beautiful, caring and very compassionate people who anyone can become very close to if one has something in common with them. Within my life, it is my precious Bengal cats who have made this possible and that is yet another reason why I love my dear felines with all my heart – because a passion for cats also brings many new and wondrous friends!

Ten years ago, never in my wildest dreams would I ever have believed that I would have such famous close friends who now see me more as part of their own family rather than just the ‘average cat breeder’. Their friendships honour me so much that I will never be able to repay the kindness and compassion that all of these famous celebrities, stars and royalty have shown towards me.

However, it is not just the rich and the famous people who are immensely important within my life. I need to mention the many, many other people who are not famous, yet have also brought so much joy and happiness into the lives of Sarah and myself. A great many people now own ‘Sarez Bengal’ kittens and I am very close friends with almost every single one of them! I simply cannot just sell a kitten and then never see that kitten again nor speak to their owners – that’s just not within my personality or nature. I care passionately about my babies and I care about where they go and with whom they live. The many wonderful people who are not rich or famous but have brought our kittens are some of the only friends that I have in the world because many of the other rival Bengal breeders have vigorously turned against me, unfortunately due to the slight amount of success that we have inadvertently achieved whilst breeding our baby Bengal’s.

My many friends in the form of our kittens new ‘parents’ have always been there for me when my depression reaches the stage of attempting suicide and they also have worked alongside the stars in order to help me to regain some form of happiness and a life that is worth living. All of these people who own my babies, whether they be famous or not, are the kindest, the most compassionate and the most caring people that I have ever met and I am so proud that so many of them stay in such close contact with us. They return the feelings of deep affection that we have towards them by seeing us as their close friends of even as members of their own family – rather than just as ‘average cat breeders who do not really care after the kittens are sold’.

I will never forget any of the people to whom we have sold kittens, nor the kindness and love that they have shown towards both Sarah and myself. I will never lose contact with any of our kittens new ‘parents’ because they have all brought me true happiness and peace of mind and close friendships – close friendships which I have never had before. But why have we become so close to so many people, both famous and unknown? Simply because we share one beautiful thing in common – a deep respect of one another…but also and perhaps more importantly, we share a unique, a beautiful and a truly compassionate love of the majestic Bengal cat!!

C. Esmond Gay
Sarez Bengal’s
1st written; 11th July 1997
Updated; 15th May 2003

Addition;

Our Bengal breeding, our wild cat rescue and our wild cat conservation work was truly exhaustive and stressful and so in 2004 Sarah and I decided to retire. We had achieved all of our goals within the Bengal fancy and some of our many goals for our wild cats and we wanted other parties to continue with that work.

Most of our unique collection went to Frank and Pauline Turnock of Gayzette Bengal’s and we are so grateful to these two dear people for giving our cats such a good home.

So if you are interested in seeing the mothers, the fathers and the brothers and sisters of the above stars kittens, then simply give Pauline and Frank a ring!

What they are breeding is so very similar to my kittens because they brought all of my breeding adults – and to this day I personally remain in very regular contact with Pauline and Frank and intend to do so for decades to come. We are EXTREMELY close and every other day emails or phone calls flow between us. I continue to offer them my full support and advice on all topics of the Bengal and also wild cats. I closely follow Pauline and Franks breeding programs and their many successes and achievements - but without intruding.

Behind the scenes and behind the public eye, I will always be there for them… and the stunning cats that I once so proudly owned.

And by being so closely involved with their work, means I never really lose my beloved cats…

I am also actively helping and encouraging them to hybridise from another non-endangered species of wild cat of which they now own a number - but only time will tell if that program is successful – to date the creation of this new breed of pedigree is SO complex that it has only been achieved in very small numbers within the USA.

But such is their expertise with cats and with my support behind the scenes, if anyone outside of America can accomplish it, then its Pauline and Frank!

So watch this space…

C. Esmond Gay
Sarez Bengal’s
Addition made June 2008