Considering giving away my Bengal

[winterforming]

I am about to buy my fifth pair of curtains because she ween on them and rips literally hundreds of holes in them. She also scratched at my sofa and has chewed through some of the material. She has a scratch post that she used.

She has ruined countless pairs of shoes by chewing through them. She's now kept away from shoes.

She urinates everywhere, on the carpet (not allowed upstairs anymore) on clothes, on the kitchen counters, on the hard floor. I eliminate the smell with enzyme cleaner but it makes no difference.

She is also bitey and scratchy. She will attack for no reason.

My house stinks, there's wee absolutely everywhere. My curtains look awful. I'm covered in scratches.

Please help?!

Here is a pic of the little terror. She's 1.5 btw.

Does anyone have any recommendations for cat proofing the garden please?

i take my cat in a communal garden with a harness and lead on. He is a siamese so also at risk of getting stolen. I am looking to move now and have decided that now he is grown, when i do and i have my own private garden i am going to let him out. He is neutered so his wandering should be curtailed somewhat and i have to just take the chance as i cannot live life worrying about if he escapes etc. I will just do the best i can and thats all i can do.

Sorry but they make even worse outdoor cats than indoor ones.

The one we knew used to fight like a bastard with anything in what seemed like a 20-mile radius. Constant vet trips. Also a complete pain the arse - screaming, soiling - just a bloody nightmare. Would never leave anyone alone but didn't even seem happy to be on a lap.

They are awful, whoever commented that this is what you get when you start bringing wild animal genes into domestic pets was right.

You can catproof diy too.

My Bengal would wee indoors if he was stressed or his tray wasn’t spotless or I used the wrong litter. I had him on Cystease in his wet food and two trays.

Has she got an indoor cat tree?

My girl is 3 and wonderful. She's neutered and quite loving. She is brilliant with my 21 month old. She does go out as we have woodland behind the house. She's living the dream and loves to hunt. If it's too cold for her she does start getting aggressive with my other cat, she needs that exercise and to satisfy her hunting drive.

If you have an indoor Bengal you need cat trees cat wheels and lots for her to exercise on. She needs to be able to climb and get up high away from what she feels is predators. This will help her stress and help with the weeing. Also try a pheromone plug insuch as feliway or spray. My girl also loves cat nip. I also think u need to get her spayed ASAP, she's dealing with a lot of hormonal stuff and the weeing could also be part of her coping when she's in season. I was told cats are in season every fortnight by her breeder? So maybe you are not noticing. Good luck

Also get her checked at the vets to rule out cystitis or bladder issues.

I accidentally adopted a nightmare cat too. Furniture ruined. Mines a pedigree, I let her outside. Tbh this week is she was stolen ivv no wouldn’t mind too much, new owners would probably try to return her…

Hi. I have two bengals, one with wee issues. Start with a checkup to make sure she doesn't have a urinary issue and book the spay appointment. Make sure trays are large enough, try different litters and keep the trays spotless. Some can be really fussy.

For the scratching, make sure claws are clipped regularly - that will reduce the damage to furnishings and your arms. Get some catnip cushion type toys - if you can find them in a leather like material even better as they do like the texture. You'll need to train her to play with these instead of your furniture and you. The attacking is likely just playing.

Get used to the fact they will wee on any fabric they can reach, that's just a bengal thing and many of them do it. Clean any wee spots thoroughly with enzyme cleaner (simple solution works great). If they can smell any wee at all they will continue to go back to that spot and it won't improve till it's gone.

Consider trying feliway or a calming med, they can definitely work to ease anxiety and reduce the troublesome behaviours but it will still need some work on your part.

Is she otherwise loving with you? They're hard work but can also be the best at affection

Hello OP. That sounds very difficult for you, and for her. Bengals and similar breeds do look beautiful but they are usually high maintenance and not for the novice or faint-hearted.

It sounds like she has not had the best start in life, if you are her third home at this young age and she was bought online. Bengals really suffer for their beauty. It has led to online selling, overbreeding by people out to make a financial killing, and they often end up in homes where people, however well-meaning , struggle to meet their needs. Sadly it means they are overrepresented in rescues or just sold on and on.

My advice is:

1. Get her neutered. It will probably help to settle her down, avoid health issues and there are definitely too many kittens and cats in the world already.
2. Do not get her a companion cat. Bengals often don't get along with other cats and you will also probably find that the new cat will copy her behaviour, especially the weeing everywhere.
3. Build her a catio in the garden, where she can get fresh air and stimulation - this will also give you a break - but she will definitely need a warm, dry shelter in there.
4. In the meantime, while you are at home and if your garden is safe from dogs and potential thieves, put her out in a secure cat carry case for the odd hour once or twice a day. Make sure she isn't hungry or needing the loo. She'll get some fresh air and pick up scents and sounds, and can do some birdwatching.
5. If you haven't already, get a bird table and feeders and keep them filled. Make sure she can see them easily from the carry case, a window and the catio.
6. Make sure she has lots of the strong catnip toys of various sizes she can bite, kick and chew - cardboard boxes too.
7. Her scratching post needs to be a tall one - up to an adult's waist.
8. Don't buy more curtains as she'll do the same again at the moment. Try inexpensive wipeable or washable blinds. If you don't want to replace carpets with hard floors, keep her out of those rooms unsupervised. Be strict with yourself about not leaving things like clothes around for her to wee on. Take away as many of those weeing opportunities as possible, without restricting her life further. Has she got a large covered litter tray, the ones with a roof on? If not, I'd recommend one or more of those around the house.
9. Rehome her if you must, but please not online. Contact a rescue organisation and be honest about her lifestyle so far and behaviour.

10. She is still at an age where she might settle down with maturity, but only if you follow the above guidance.

Good luck.

Have you tried a heated pad for her to sleep on?

My Bengal boy went outside - no issues ever. Bengals are territorial and usually very wary of strangers, they aren’t the easiest to catch! That said, of course I understand the fear!

Bengals should always go to homes who anticipate the huge additional needs they do often have. Or they end up getting passed from pillar to post & sadly get worse and worse.

Meant to add, I introduced a Bengal girl and it was hell!!! Would never ever recommend to a cat who already has behavioural issues

I understand your concerns about cats getting stollen. We have a Bengal X and a British Short Hair. Both are let to roam outside. Yes it is a worry, but they would go crazy having to be kept indoors. They have GPS trackers on them and so far so good. Definitely go for a catio if you don’t want to let her out.

My Bengal goes outside. We do have a big front and back garden. She avoids neighbouring gardens because they have dogs, and has enough sense not to cross the main road outside the house.

Anyone daft enough to try and steal a Bengal will probably bring it straight back once they've spent a day with it in the house.

@twilightcafe

My Bengal goes outside. We do have a big front and back garden. She avoids neighbouring gardens because they have dogs, and has enough sense not to cross the main road outside the house.

Anyone daft enough to try and steal a Bengal will probably bring it straight back once they've spent a day with it in the house.

Aww my Bengal was amazing, so loving and naughty like a child, she thought she was one of the kids lol. Don't think I'll ever get over losing her.

Get her spayed (spaying also reduces the chance of her developing cancer) and get her chipped and checked out for a UTI. While she's recovering get a UV light and respray with enzyme cleaner.
Make sure she has somewhere to skulk away to out of sight if she needs to.
Get a feliway plug in.
Make sure the litter tray is out of sight and stay on top of the cleanliness of it.
Get a harness for in the garden whilst you're working out your cat proofing options.
They do calm down as they get older, still have a wild streak which is part of the attraction but less chaotic.
We used to have a laser pen which she would chase till she was tired, something you can do while just sitting but still gets her burning energy.
Can your friend get in touch with the person they bought her from and find out where they bought her from. You'll probably hit a dead end but you never know there might be a slim chance she's from a pure breed breeder and they'll take her back (unlikely I know...being from a reputable breeder that is).
Failing that as pp's have said re-home her responsibly. It's a hard decision but something will have to give at some point.
Wishing you lots of luck.x

Ours is the sweetest girl, so affectionate on her terms to people she knows but I have to warn visiting friends, trades folk etc. that she isn’t as friendly as she seems, she’d go for them. As tame as she appears she is definitely on the wilder side of pet cats.

@MiniLeopardInTheHouse
I took so long to reply whilst watching TV I've almost repeated what you've posted! lol

This organisation rehomes pedigree cats.
www.strawberrypersianpedigreecatrescue.co.uk/adoption/

Shes beautiful but Bengals need space to explore. I would built a catio with lots of shelves and high places for her to climb . You can get netting that attaches to fences to stop them climbing but Bengals love climbing, they often jump up and sit on top of doors. She needs neutering asap and the wee is frustration, marking her territory and stress. It would be worth the vet checking for UTI or diabetes, both increase urine. The harness is a good idea that you could walk around with her.

@IHateCoronavirus

Ours is the sweetest girl, so affectionate on her terms to people she knows but I have to warn visiting friends, trades folk etc. that she isn’t as friendly as she seems, she’d go for them. As tame as she appears she is definitely on the wilder side of pet cats.

@IHateCoronavirus Aww mine was almost the opposite. If workmen came to the house she'd be sniffing around their tools and sit watching them work waiting for them to talk to her and pay her some attention. Or sometimes she'd just sit watching visitors talk then claim them.

She’s tremendously bored and frustrated. There’s nothing wrong with rehoming if she can go somewhere with free access to the outside.

I'm so torn now between letting her out, free to roam, or not. I will be getting her spayed and can afford that. It has been a tough six months financially and I do not currently have the funds for a catio.

I have seen people allowing their cats in their gardens attached to a harness and lead?

If you can still smell pee, so can she and likely will keep peeing there. You have to eliminate all odour, try other products if the one you use isn't working. Don't replace the curtains or sofa, instead put good quality scratch posts there.
One of our most popular cat proofing methods is to put a thick wire fence topper on your normal wooden fences in almost a curved C shape so they can't climb over the top. Make sure the wire is strong, sturdy and not sharp at all.

yes look into neutering. its about 40.00 i think. my cat has a harness and an extending lead that i clip to the washing line and i sit in the garden to see he is ok. He learnt quite fast how far he can go so it suits him. It keeps him calm and he lets me know when he wants to go out by looking out of the glass door. sometimes its literally 5 minutes and he comes back in happier.