I have a 14 week old Bengal kitten and to put it bluntly I don't think I have time for him and it breaks my heart to say it.

To give some more information I firstly had to lock him out of my room because he wouldn't let me sleep attacking the duvet as I slept (or at least tried to). Then the latest thing is I come home from work and he pounces and attacks me (playing) for at least 3 hours. I try to distract him with a fishing rod toy but this only works slightly. The only piece and quiet I can get is to lock myself in my room from him (which breaks my heart to think I need space from him).

I would hate to give him up but I am scared I don't have enough time for him or even worse starting to resent him which is the last thing I want.

I know a lot of this is normal kitten behaviour but I feel he is worse than most I read about and I don't know what to do as I am so burnt out.

Sorry to hear you feel like that, Your poor little kitten probably spends his day asleep and when you come home he's all excited and full of energy, and pleased to see you. Maybe the nicest thing to do say to you is - please put your kitten up for adoption or offer him back to the breeder. At 14 weeks it will be easier for him to adjust than it will be when he's older and hopefully he will find someone who has got time for him.

He needs to be played with and be your centre of attention now and forever and its important for his development and character building to have this interaction. Kittens learn their natural hunting instincts, jumping and movement through playing and you - as his new friend and care giver, have to replace his mum and siblings and do everything that they would do with him. Cats respond well to routine too, so although many of us do have issues with them waking us up at night you have to understand that when its dusk thats when a cat is naturally at its most active.

Agreed, sounds like you are ready to rehome your kitten, which is something you should probably do then. If you think you are the wrong person to be his guardian, then you definitely are.

_________________
The little monsters 3

First I just wanted to say I know it's probably difficult to be in your position. Second is that you are probably right if you feel that way. Kittens will be kittens and there is nothing you can do about it. Either your the type of person that enjoys this type of crazy behavior or your the type that gets annoyed with it. My personal experience is that it will change but not drastically for at least a year or two. My two are now two and three and they still wake me at night, not every night but a few times a week. They still break things and still get wired up and run like lunatics. It's part of having a Bengal! If you can't deal with him now and teach him not to attack you it's only going to get worse when he is a full grown cat and still has the mind of a kitten. Just yesterday BB "attacked" me and she is two! She didn't bite or use her claws but that's because she was taught at an early age not to do so. Plus it was my fault I messed with her when she was in the middle of stalking and killing my new curtains in my bedroom

_________________

I don't think you should feel bad if you have a 'bedroom' for your kitten. My two (now 11 months old) are closed into the kitchen/conservatory at night, they have everything they need there, beds, water, dry food and litter trays. It is their routine at bed time and they are fine with it and I get my sleep. We had the problem you are having when I foolishly felt sorry for them when we had a massive thunderstorm last week and let them out in case they were scared and wanted to be with us. They didn't seem bothered by the storm at all, and then had a great time dive bombing the duvet or attacking our legs just as we'd be dropping back to sleep. Their timing was perfect every single time. We were shattered after one night of that so if you are getting that every night, you will be feeling a bit frayed to say the least!

It's a difficult one for you. If you are adamant you don't have the time and/or patience to invest in your little one, you need to rehome him asap but would you feel differently if you weren't tired and getting a proper nights sleep?

PS I have heard Bengals described as "hyperactive toddlers with ADHD and have eaten all the blue smarties", so I'm sure your boy is no worse than any other kitten/Bengal! Mine certainly live up to the description lol

I hope you make the right decision for both of you. Good luck.

Thank you for replying you pretty much said what I was thinking. I do love him so much but I need to think of what's best for him. I am going to give it a little longer but I feel it may be best to find him a new owner with more fine for him

What might help you is REALLY active games.

Believe me, if you play with your kitten very actively for 15 minutes, next couple hours (even more) he will be pretty quiet. Motivate him to jump high, run actively around, climb his cat tree (I hope you have one) up and down, etc. I have this routine with two my cats since day one: early morning we play before I go to work, then we play when I am back from work and we play before bed time. I have to use my imagination and creativity a lot as kittens get tired from same toys. So you need to switch toys, switch games, throw treats for him, bring some boxes home. And it will keep him busy and satisfied.

My kittens sleep with me and they wake me up at night once in a blue moon. Normally from 10 pm till 6 in the morning they are absolutely quiet and don't even move around. The magic formula is "get them tired". And it does not take a lot of time (15-20 mins for session)

As an example of active games (video is not mine) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiswAJmg3rY

_________________
Proud servant of Ramses and Djoser

Trust me I have more toys for him than the average pet shop. I have been playing with him every day for hours non stop with no sign he is getting tired it's like he is on speed or something

Get a second kitten (doesn't have to be a bengal) - then they will entertain each other all day. We got our first bengal kitten and when she was 8 months old, we added a second. Pre-second kitten, I played for hours with Duma (I enjoyed it, though) - post-second kitten, Duma and Margay now wear eachother out and are happy to go to sleep at my bedtime.

_________________
The little monsters 3

Thank you all for all your advice. I have a lot to think about now.

I agree with Brian. Do not get a second kitten. I just don't think you realized what you were in for when adopting a bengal. They are not your ordinary cat. They are very hyperactive and they want to be with people. Yours is also just a little kitten -- barely weaned from his mother. Kittens require a lot of time and effort as now you are the parent and you need to mold this little cat and get him used to your schedule! It appears you don't have enough time to play with him the way he needs to. Kittens are natural attackers. Their prey instincts take over. If you truly do not want to put in the time and effort to bond with this boy, then he probably needs to go back to the breeder and find another home. You may do better with an older domestic cat if you want another cat.

It's great of you to actually own up to the lack of time for him ... and it's not you're fault that you have other commitments that take up more of your time. It's just not a good mix with a kitten of any breed! It doesn't sound as if you've had him for very long ..... but while you're at work, he's probably sleeping and bored to death! You come home, he's thrilled to see you and wants some interaction.

You do what is best for your situation. And don't feel bad -- sometimes things are just the way they are. Good luck!

I think that new kitten or new puppy "depression" is quite common. There is so much excitement generated from wanting and choosing and expecting the little newcomer that when they arrive and have unexpected issues, then it can all look very bleak.

Kitten and puppies are babies, they have needs and often their needs are pretty basic.
They do not know how to "behave", and that can be a source of trouble. They have no boundaries and like children, if you want a cat to fit in with ordinary home life then you need to teach him the right way of doing things, otherwise you end up with a delinquent, who has no sense of right or wrong.

Stop playing with him every instant, he doesn't need it and will only make him an adrenaline junkie who only sees you as someone to play with, which seems to be becoming the case.
The more you try to tire him out with chasing games, the fitter he becomes and whilst a little kitten pouncing on you may not be much trouble, try a full grown Bengal. Not fun.

The Bengal is a cat with a lot of energy yes, but many make a rod for their own back by stirring them up all the time, with endless chasing games that have no purpose, but end up being very addictive for the poor cat.
Bengals can be obsessive about stuff, they tend not to want to back down and can easily become very demanding, especially if constant play is winding them up.

You need to calm him down, not stir him up with more play, a cat in the wild doesn't need endless play. It goes out, sits by a hole and waits for prey, it catches the prey, plays with it for less than 5 minutes, eats the prey and sleeps for hours.
3 hours of play is ridiculous, less than 10 minutes is adequate at a time.
He needs to learn, you are not there merely to play with him. Ignore him, make no big deal of going away or of getting home, get into a routine of play, food, rest etc. so he learns when it is playtime and when it isn't.
Hide toys like small balls and fluffy things that he can find and play with by himself, hide bits of dry food around the place, so that he has something to occupy his mind, as opposed to just the instinctive chasing of a moving object.
I am afraid the chasing the feet thing is par for the course and some grow out of it and some will always do it.
The best course of action is to start as you mean to go on, so if putting him out of your bedroom is the answer, then you will not be alone.
Many do not sleep with their cats, as disturbed sleep does not make for a great relationship and he will soon get into the routine of sleeping in his own bed.

Elaine has offered up some quality advice here I think. I hope you come to a solution. xx

totally agree with Elaine.
3 hours is mental, no wonder you have no time!!
Your kitten must associate you with play and nothing else, you are it's playground.

Before I even read through the other comments I was going to say don't give up.
The crazy-ness and extreme energy will reduce with age. At 6 months when they get 'done' it reduces slightly and then slightly more after a year and then normal (for a bengal ) at 2 years.
As others have said, short hi-energy play sessions is the key. Try da-bird if you haven't before that will tire any cat out in 5 or 10 minutes with all the chasing, pouncing and acrobatics (be careful not to over fatigue - look out for panting).
Get a sturdy walking jacket (best ones are at happy house cats - not flimsy types in petshops) and take him for walks.

A second kitten may not be out of the question, as it looks like your lack of time is because of the lengthy play sessions? If that is the case and you have plenty time for looking after both cats (including short play times) then I would do it, providing you also have the space in the house to suit 2 cats (ie 3 x space for one cat). It will be really good while you are away at work, but could turn very nasty and lead to absolute chaos if it doesn't work out or you don't have sufficient time/space.

I didn't do it because of space. But part of me wishes I had, too late now it is Benji's house and no way will she share it.
It took her about two years to accept my curent gf in the house, that is the sort of attitude that cat has!