brianj12 wrote:
lalune93 wrote:
Furthermore, I am not dwelling on his shortcomings. Every day I am hoping to make progress, but have not seen any.

I rest my case.
No seriously, if you think that with all that pent up disappointment and frustration and anger and resentment that you express here, that NONE of that gets fed back to your cat... no way. You don't know cats then. They are emotional sponges.
Here's what I think is important for you to realize:
1. You could have picked any cat, from any breeder, and you chose him. The fact that he is like he is, is nobody's fault, but the fact that he isn't what you wanted is only one person's fault... YOURS.
2. Many bengal owners have the same experience as you have, mine was pretty similar to that as well (fast forward four years and this morning I woke up to Serafina greeting me back to conciousness, and rubbing up against me and jabbering and purring, letting me know that it would be acceptable to be lavished with petting this morning). The big difference is how they deal with it. Read through the forum and you'll see what I mean. Most people would be dwelling on how they can improve things, looking at all the positive things (your cat is healthy and gets along with other animals, that is also a form of socialization and is huge!) and at the same time bristling at any suggestions that their new baby is anything but perfect. Very very few people come to a cat forum to diss their own cat (unless he is pooing on their bed

)
3. If you are determined to, you can blame your breeder for how your kitten is right now, but ten years from now, the way your cat is will be almost entirely determined by how you treat him and raise him. So it's time to start focusing on that.
Okay, I will admit that I overreacted in my previous post in response to you.
I realise now that I was just upset and frustrated because I had certain hopes and expectations for Zuki. I realise I must have displayed at least some form of negative emotion towards him which he must have sensed.
I know this is wrong and I should just take things slowly and appreciate the little progress I make with him.
I took a deep breath and told myself not to expect anything, just to be positive, happy, kind and patient towards him.
Last night I hand-fed him his dinner, which was fine and he had no hesitations eating from my hand. He also sat near me and begged for food while I cooked dinner, so I gave him some little pieces of raw steak. He also sat near me while I was eating dinner, sniffing at my plate, so I gave him another couple of little treats (bad, I know).
I played with him all night and he napped near my legs inbetween running around.
This morning I also gave him some treats and hand fed him his food and he climbed on top of me to inspect my breakfast. I have been giving him little, short pats and have no tried to pick him up. If he gets scared and runs away from me, I don’t follow him, instead I leave him alone and walk away until he comes to me again.
I have also taught him how to sit on command!
Having said this, I spoke with a reputable breeder in my country for some advice. She said Zuki has signs of not being well socialized. She asked me the name of the Zuki’s breeder and I told her. Her response was “This confirms my suspicions.”
I have also been sitting in our bedroom alone with him. First few minutes he meows to get out, but then he settles and falls asleep. I lay next to him, cuddling and petting him, which he was fine with.
I think all I had to do was change my outlook.