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Junior Member
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Last Login: 7/14/2008 10:35:06 AM
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We have recently adopted a female Bengal cat. She is gorgeous to look at, but I'm sad to say (being the cat lover that I have been all my life) is NOT an enjoyable cat to have. We already had another female cat when we brought her into our home and other than a bit of hissing and showing each other "who's who" in the very beginning, they get along very well. I can't believe that I am saying that I am about ready to put her up for adoption, but it's gotten that bad (and I am not a quitter when it comes to cats).
First problem: she cries most of the time. If you look at her she cries, talk to her she cries, pet her she cries (although when you pet her, she cries and purrs simultaneously), if she's sleeping on her favorite chair in the kitchen and you walk into the room, she immediately starts to cry. It's almost like the cry a Siamese has, but it goes right through me and my husband. Once she starts, she won't stop, well at least for about 10 minutes or more. My husband has about had it with her and wants her gone. I keep telling him I'll break her of that habit, but as of now, I've only been able to curtail it a bit. I have used my trusty water spray bottle and it has helped, but not enough.
Second problem: Now I am finding every morning, that she has been urinating on my stove!!. I have NEVER come across this in my life. (if my husband knew, she'd be out the door in a heartbeat). We have two littler boxes and I've seen her use both; the one she came with and the one I had for my other cat. The boxes are cleaned daily. Her urine is ruining the finish on my stainless steel stove. I've bought the "NO" spray and have sprayed my dining room chairs to keep her from clawing them and that worked, so I even spray the top of the stove before going to bed.......it doesn't stop her!! I have to get up every morning before my husband and scrub and disinfect the stove.
I'm now starting to realize why the woman I adopted her from had no problems dropping her off at my home, not a tear shed (no emotions at all and left rather quickly), mentioned that perhaps she may urinate where she shouldn't being she is in new surroundings, etc. and that she cried alot, but insisted it was because of too much commotion in her home and being that it was just my husband and me, she was sure that would stop. I explained that I have raised cats all of my adult life and know most of the feline idiosyncrasies, and not to worry, we would handle it. WELL, I am NOT handling any of this well at all and I am now about to give her up myself. She had just been brought to the vet prior to our adoption and had a clean bill of health.
PLEASE...does anyone have any advise? What am I doing wrong? I'm very frustrated and a loss as to what to do. I hate to give up on her, but I'm afraid that is just around the corner.
Thanks!!!
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Supreme Being
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| Now you know why the previous owner got rid of her. It is very hard to make a naturally vocal cat be quiet. You didn't say how old she is -- is she spayed? Bengals are considered an exotic breed -- I would go online in a search engine such as yahoo or google and do a search on Bengals. You are sure to find sites explaining the breed and even bengal club sites, etc. Maybe contacting a Bengal breeder could answer your questions. Unless the cat is crying in pain -- she is probably a "talker" and to train a talker into being quiet is next to impossible. It is their nature, it's what they do. Spraying kitty when she cries won't do a thing if she is a natural talker. It sounds to me like this cat is not a good match for your household. I would start trying to "rehome" her ASAP. Look up Bengal Rescue on the internet and maybe you could find a rescue home for her. A no-kill shelter is another possiblity. Exotic breeds are taken very quickly as they are so expensive to buy. You could put an ad in the paper -- but you would want to explain the situation to any potential owner. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you". I think someone familiar with the breed might be very willing to take her off of your hands. It's so important to research exotic breeds (all breeds for that matter) before you adopt one for reasons such as this. I have great sympathy for your situation as a very close friend of mine went through it with pet she adopted. It is not easy and she went a year before she finally realized she wasn't doing herself, her family or the pet any favors by keeping it. The longer you keep it, the harder to find another home. Best of luck to you. 
SuperCat
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Supreme Being
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| Bengals are much closer to their wild roots than most cats, and they certainly aren't the right pets for everyone. Contact a Bengal rescue---they deal with this kind of thing every day. I would not take her to a regular shelter, even a no-kill shelter, because most people don't know what they're getting into when they see a Bengal at a regular shelter. The Bengal rescue is used to this and they screen prospective adopters much more carefully. If she's not yet spayed, have it done ASAP; too many prospective adopters will want to breed her, because it's "cool" to breed exotic cats, and she needs to be protected from people like that. I'm sure you can find the right home for her, one that appreciates a talkative cat and can care for her more exotic needs.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------Educate, don't amputate! Don't de-claw your cat! http://www.declawing.com/ http://www.pawsneedclaws.com/
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Junior Member
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Last Login: 7/14/2008 10:35:06 AM
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Thank you for your response. In answer to your questions: She is about 5 years old (same as our other cat) and yes, she has been spayed.
I am basically at the point where I am in agreement with you; that she is not a good fit for our house. I had done some research prior to adopting her, but never found any attributes, such as the continual crying, as that surely would have been a "red flag" for me.
Anyway, I will do more research and may have to follow your advise about finding her a new home.
Thanks for all the good ideas (i.e. contacting a Bengal breeder and such). I surely do hope that we can find a loving home for her.
If anyone else has some suggestions while I ponder my options, I'm all ears!!
THANKS!!
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Junior Member
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Last Login: 7/14/2008 10:35:06 AM
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Willow & SuperCat.....
Thanks again for your input. I do have one problem, however, I do not have papers for her. The person I adopted her from said that the papers were lost when they moved here from CA. Do you think that his will pose a real problem with a breeder or rescue service? I have never had to deal with such things before, as all my cats have been "run of the mill" domestic breeds with nary an exotic "quirk" among them. 
I did check and found there are 3 breeder in my state, and one only about 20 miles from me. Do I tell them up front that there are no papers??
THANKS!!
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Senior Member
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Before you decide to find her a new home I have a few suggestions for you. When you have a natural talker the best way to manage it is to talk back! I have had cats that love to meow a lot and I learned that if I meowed back and did that a couple times it would stop. Your cat may just want you to talk back.
What are you cleaning your stove with when your cat urinates on it? The best thing to do is to clean it with someone that will remove the smell completely. In my experience using some vinegar to scrub it then sprinkling some baking soda on it and leaving it for a while gets rid of the smell. Do not clean it with anything containing ammonia because there is ammonia in cat urine and if the cat still smells anything like that it will continue to mark there. Once you have cleaned it and gotten rid of the smell try making that spot undesirable for her. Put something there or booby trap it with cardboard that hangs off the edge of the surface and is weighed down with a can of pennies. When the cat jumps up it will knock the can over making a very loud sound.
One more suggestion I have for you is to get another litter box. If you have two cats and two litter boxes she may just be really picky about what she uses. If both litter boxes have something in them she may decide to go some place else. If she's just doing it at night then maybe you can put that litter box down right before you go to bed so that you know that it's clean. That is a good way to find out if the litter boxes are the problem. I really hope you consider these things before you give up.
If those things don't work then I completely agree that you should try to find an exotic cat rescue or a Bengal rescue to take her in and find another home for her. Please let us know what happens.
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Supreme Being
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| Good suggestions from everyone - I just want to add that if you do decide that this cat is not a good match for you, please do not feel guilty about rehoming her. You tried. You did your research first. And you didn't just immediately say that you and this cat aren't working out. And you do care about what happens to her. As for her papers - a breed rescue group works with many paperless purebreds. They're still the same cats, and someone who knows and loves this breed will love her for the cat she is even without her papers. Unless someone is interested in showing or breeding her, that won't even matter. Best of luck to you and your kitties, whatever your decision turns out to be.
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