Hi,
Just after some advice on leaving my 10 weeks bengal kitten. We have got a room where she sleeps, litter tray, toys etc which she seems completely fine with. She's eating really well, playing and using her litter tray. We let her have a free run of the house (try to keep her downstairs- although the stairs are fun!) When we are in (which is nearly all day every day- except for short periods of time), but when we come to leave her we make sure she's been fed, played with etc and put back into her room. She cries and meows at the door for up to 15 minutes (and sometimes scratches tne carpet) should we just ignore it? She does go to sleep eventually.... but it's hard to just ignore her! Not sure what to do for the best?

I tend to give my cats the run of the house all the time, unless there is a particular situation going on (house is being cleaned, a sick cat, something in a room short term that I don't want them getting into etc). But I did wait until maybe 14 or 15 weeks until they had the run of the house, just because they weren't quite ready for it.

My guess is that over time, the "being locked in the room thing when you go out" is going to cause your cat some anxiety. She'll be constantly looking for signs that you might be getting ready to leave (even when you are not), and she'll hide or otherwise evade you. She may even become quite difficult to catch! A cat that is stressed out can also develop problems like peeing or pooing outside the box.

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The little monsters 3

Thanks for the reply. We are only hoping to lock her in a room whilst she's so tiny- as we start trusting her more with using the litter tray we will leave her loose in the house. At night time she sleeps in her bed but it takes 10 minutes to get her to settle. She does sleep all night till about half 7 which we can't complain about! But throughout the day it's proving to be hard work!

I agree with Brian, my cats have always had free run of the house also.

The only time they get shut in the front room is when I'm going out the back door which is in the kitchen, even then I had an incident where I was only outside for 10 minutes to hang out the washing, when I came back in Pearl had ripped up the carpet, I had to go and buy an extra wide carpet joiner to cover the hole she made.

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Clare
Magic (brown spotted boy born 31 March 2012)
Pearl (seal Lynx Point girl born 1 October 2015)
Bristol, UK

Thanks,
What do you suggest for night times? We don't really want to get into the habit of letting her sleep in the bed and at the moment she is sleeping all night in her room without a problem. We do have to settle her for like 10 mins before she climbs into her own bed.

Don't really know what to suggest as mine have always slept where they want.

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Clare
Magic (brown spotted boy born 31 March 2012)
Pearl (seal Lynx Point girl born 1 October 2015)
Bristol, UK

Hi,

When our two came to us at 14 weeks old, they slept in the kitchen in the baskets under the counter. It was sort of their decision as it was where they both jumped into when they arrived. So I took out everything that was in there and put bedding in for them. They slept happily in there for a good year and had access to the litter trays in the conservatory and their food and water. It was fine and they were quite happy as it was routine that we'd take them in there at bed time, give them a couple of treats and leave them to settle.

I didn't give my two the run of the whole house when they were little and I was out at work or whatever. They had the kitchen, conservatory, hall and our bedroom. All other doors were shut and gradually they were given access as they got older and had stopped pulling leads out of TVs, scratching furniture and such like.

Your little one is still tiny so introduce routines etc now and gradually open up the house to her as you see fit and are comfortable with. At that age, my two were horrors if allowed in our bedroom at night as it was way too exciting for them but now they are older they sleep where they want, and at least one is usually on the bed with us at night, and they have full access to the entire house when I'm out.

If you are limiting to one room when you go out because you are worried about her trying to escape when you leave or enter, I always had a toy with me or laser pointer to keep them away from the door I was trying to get out of. It helped as well that I had the patio doors to sneak out of through the living room that they weren't allowed in at that stage!

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Clare
Hendrix and Jagger, Brown Marble Boys (born 18 August 2013)
Hampshire, UK

Know that bengals are highly social and LOVE being with their owners. If you're having to leave for work, that's one thing. Limiting the amount of area the kitty has to roam and find trouble is a good thing, especially for one so young. It is heart-wrenching to hear a kitty cry, so if you are home, please do not separate her from you. That's not what she wants. She was taken away from her mom and siblings a couple of weeks early and she is missing the companionship and safety that she felt with them. I'm guessing you don't have children because they do the exact same thing ... will cry and cry and then eventually fall asleep. However, in your kitty's case, the kitty just does not want to be alone and isolated. Think of how frightening it is to be taken away from mom and siblings and placed in a home with new people and smells. Yours seems to be settling in just fine except for the fact that it wants to really be a part of your life and not in a separate room.