[Kamic]

I have a bengal cat, he is about 20 weeks old now and i plan on getting him nuedered soon.

He is breaking everything in my apartment!!!!

problems:

1. Any closed door he hates, he'll rip up the carpet under any closed door. Its gonna cost me big $$$ ugh.

2. He climbs the screen doors, screen windows.

3. he pushes all his toys under the oven.

4. he bites and scratches my toes when sleeping. and if i kick him out of the room he does #1

5. Everytime he sees a person outside he runs to the door and howls. (not a huge problem)



Any suggestions for fixes? I dont wanna get him de-clawed

 

[Rayona]

He sounds pretty bored. Would you consider getting another kitten as a playmate? Neutering should help. If another cat is not an option, you should definitely try some play therapy: http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=012 In fact, you should probably do it anyway. Keeping his claws clipped should also help a bit with the climbing and scratching. Make sure you have a scratching post, and maybe even a cat tree if he is really active. My cats like to stick their toys under things to play with too, so I bought them a curved scratcher that they can stick their paws under. They also get one plastic bag at a time to play with and hide things under.

 

[Kamic]

hey, thanks for your help Rayona. I'm still in college so another kitten wouldn’t work. He hates other cats tho, I brought him to my parents, and they have two old cats and all he wanted to do was attack them. I trim his claws like every 3rd day and he uses his scratching post constantly! He plays fetch with his toys and i play with him a least 2 hours a day (unemployed at the moment)

 

[Kittys Mom]

Sounds pretty normal...at least compared to Thomas. Here are some suggestions:


1. Ripping up carpet: Besides trimming nails, you could also try soft paws.

2. Climbs window screens: Soft paws would help here too...also, I always sprayed Thomas with water or yelled when he did this. He's stopped now (He's a year old), but not before he ruined EVERY screen in the house. I never got the soft paws.

3. Pushing toys under oven: It's fun! All Thomas' mice are usually found under the oven or the refridge. I keep the handle to my broom next to the fridge and swipe them out every once and a while. He has about 100 mice though, so I don't have to do it too often.

4. Bites and scratches toes: Have you tried yelling "OW" when he does it? You could try a spray bottle although it might not work. There's always more covers over your feet as an option!

5. Everytime he sees a person outside he runs to the door and howls. (not a huge problem): No suggestion here...


As for play which should help wear him out and distract him, you might want to get a toy like Da Bird. Thomas and I would play all the time. Fetch with the mice and other games with my regular wand toys. But it wasn't until I got Da Bird that Thomas really got excersize. After 15 minutes with Da Bird, Thomas is panting and lays down for a long while...it really excersizes him. I've never had sucess like that with any other toys.

 

[Superkitties]

I agree, you have one very bored kitty. Welcome to the world of cat parenting. In your case, things are even tougher since bengals are VERY active kitties, and will stay that way thru adulthood. They need a lot of attention and amusement. Did you google a description of the bengals to get an idea of what they're like? You may also find suggestions.

1. Ripping up carpet behind closed doors. This is very common, my cats also do this. I don't care, so it's not an issue for me, but someone else suggested placing a mat centered on the door so that he can scratch that instead. Also, do you have scratching posts/pads?

2. Climbing screen etc. Do you have some tall cat trees for him to climb instead? Put them near the windows so he can still look out from them. They have to be in desirable locations or he's not gonna care.

3. Toys all under oven. Yup. Same here. And under the sofas, and the bed, behind dressers. Just periodically sweep said areas. I'm more happy that my cats are playing, with the added bonus of rediscovering lost toys.

4. Biting. If you do a search on this forum, you'll find many helpful threads.

5. Glad you're not too bothered by the howling, what a dog-like behavior. My Ginza will growl whenever anyone comes to the door, and calms down when I say "It's ok, visitor". Maybe you can find a key word too that will clue him in to stop howling.

We also have some bengal parents on the board, I'm sure they'll have better hints for you.