I cannot tell if my cat Liara is really upset to be separated from us, or just bored or talkative!

First off, I had looked into getting a Bengal kitten for a while, but they were too expensive for our budget right now. My fiance and I saw a cat on CL that was listed for adoption that had markings like a Bengal cat. She had been living outside with a feral cat population, and someone caught her to get her fixed after she got pregnant. They found she was pretty people-friendly, and listed her for adoption. We decided to go ahead and take her about 2 weeks ago. Well since then, we have discovered she is definitely full-bred or close to it! Getting her from the streets though, we do not have a breeder to talk with about her behavior, and we don't know too much about her personality before. She is just over a year old, according to the vet.

She got settled in quickly (it took 30 minutes after we brought her home for her to be running all over the place and jumping up on the couch to be next to us), but now she is completely comfortable and believes herself to be in charge of the place, lol. Since she feels more at home now, she has become more vocal and friendly to us than before; she lets me pick her up without complaining, though she doesn't like to be held long, and she follows us around everywhere. Normally she is alone from 10-5 during the business week. We have toys for her and lots of windows with big ledges which she sits in to watch the people and traffic on the street. She is always at the door when we get home to say hi.

This weekend though she seemed really upset when my fiance left for work. She started crying extremely loudly when he walked out. I thought maybe he forgot to feed her, so I called to check. Nope, he fed her! I checked her water bowl and litterbox but those were fine too. She stayed next to the door and continued being very loud for about 3 hours. I was able to get her to stop a few times to play, but she quickly went back to the door to cry after a few minutes. Eventually she went and took a nap and was fine the rest of the afternoon til he got back. We were home on Sunday and she was fine, but this morning when I left for work, my fiance told me she was sitting by the door yelling because I was gone!

She also started to get upset this weekend about being shut out of our bedroom at night. All of her toys and bed and food and water dish and her litter box are out in the living room/kitchen area. We usually put her out around midnight so we can go to bed, and I get up at 7 and feed her and play with her a bit each morning. However, now she gets very upset to be outside, and sits by the door calling to us and scratching all night! Literally she will leave for about 30 minutes and then come back and start again. After a Friday night with very little sleep, I let her in, but then she jumps on the bed and wants to play. If you pet her she will start playing fighting with you, and then get offended and start yelling if you stop. She will fall asleep for a little bit, but if you move she gets offended that you disturbed her and starts being loud again. This has just started-- before she was fine.

I am not sure if she is upset when she is not near us because it makes her anxious, or if she just wants a playmate. I am looking into toys that can keep her busy, like puzzle toys, and am going to start taking her for walks as soon as I can get her harness trained. I am also not familiar enough with all the Bengal noises, so I don't know if she is just talking or is really upset. When my fiance left for work she was yelling like someone kicked her! What can I do to keep her happy?

Hi LiarasMom

I'm just guessing, but I imagine she is crying to go out as she used to live outside. She sees someone leaving the house and probably wants to go out as well. This might all improve when you've harness trained her and are taking her out for walks.

With the night-time issue, are you able to close her in to the living room/kitchen area so she can't get outside your bedroom door? I close our two in the kitchen/conservatory area at night which is where they have always been, there is a cat flap to the conservatory for their litter trays and I put their beds in the kitchen at bed time. They are used to it now as its routine, although now and again they will cry as they still want to play. Have a good play with her before bed and try to wear her out. I always try to make sure my two have a good run around before bed to ensure they settle.

Its only two weeks so I imagine your girl is still getting used to the rules of the house and your routines, and as soon as she understands these and what she will and won't get away with, I'm sure everything will be fine.

Good luck!

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

I think it's probably a combination of not wanting to be separated from her family and wanting to go outside. The fact that she does the same thing when you lock her out of the bedroom tells you that it's not simply wanting to go outside, but probably that is a factor too.

My Gaga does the same thing when I leave for work. She races to the door, pushes herself up against it as if to blockade it, and meows loudly at me. She does this despite having two other cats (including her sister Serafina) to play with, but I do think it would be much tougher on your cat being the only cat.

_________________
The little monsters 3

Well, last night we did some work with associating treats with the clicker, and she was not at all bothered by me putting a harness on her because she was pretty well distracted. She seemed confused by the leash when I attached it, but I opened our apartment door and just let her wander around on the stairs (we live in a townhouse in the second floor apartment). I did open the outside door after she explored some, but she was really upset and nervous after a person walked by, so I shut it again and just let her wander around. I think this is probably just because it is all new and once she is used to putting on the harness and leash and going out of the apartment she will start wanting to explore a lot!

Unfortunately our apartment has an open living space and there is no way to separate her off from the bedroom door. I turned on a noise making machine so her cries wouldn't wake us up, and I am hoping that after she realizes she cannot get us to come out and play by yelling that she will give up on this approach. We did play with her a lot last night so maybe this helps. Either way I will be sure to be playing with her and taking her out for exploration so she doesn't get bored.

This morning she started making a fuss when I left for work though she got 45 minutes of love and play after I got up, lol. My fiance ignored her and said she stopped and came over to him after a little while, and then he fed her some treats and did the clicker again. She is so curious and smart, so we are realizing we need to train her so we can keep her out of trouble better (but bless her heart she will probably get into lots of things anyway).

I have only ever had dogs before so I am still learning what is a cat thing, or what is a Bengal thing, or what is a Liara thing, haha! I honestly thought she was just a pretty cat with maybe some Bengal in her (because who would abandon a beautiful and expensive kitten outdoors for over a year?), and expected her to lie around sleeping all day and do her own thing. Reading these forums is teaching me a lot. If anyone has any other sorts of resources about Bengals I could read up on, I would appreciate it.

Hey there, My Bengal did this as well. on week nights she is put into her cat room with the door closed. from about 10.30pm till 5.50am (which is when she wakes up) at the start she would cry and meow but now she knows that means bed time. Also i did find that my cat would want to go outside ALOT! so i let her out supervised as we live in a rental house in Australia, so there is a big enough yard for her to explore.

Keep at it, an if you decide to let her sleep in your room every now and then, i might do more dmg then good. Just keep at it.

And yes Bengals are very loud, 24/7 lol

Congratulations on your kitty! Bengals are extremely vocal. When they want something, they want something NOW! Mine is howling to go outside and he knows he is not allowed outside by himself. We already had a nice long walk this afternoon. I'm happy to hear you are going to train your baby to walk on a leash! Once a cat has been outside on its own, it's so difficult to re-train them. Raiden was allowed to roam free for six years with his previous owner. I won't let him do that -- for his own safety. He loves to instigate fights with the other males in the neighborhood.

As for the separation anxiety, cats can bond easily. I know Raiden loves to be where we are at all times. My husband and I both work full time, so Raiden is alone during the day. He manages just fine. If he cries, there is no one here to hear him. Most of the time, he takes a nap but will access his outdoor enclosure (where we have a video camera so I can see him out there). When I get home from work, I put his harness on him and we go out walking for at least an hour.

Feral cats run in colonies and I'm sure your baby was used to other cats being around. Many bengal owners have two of them -- or at least two cats. Bengals are active and have a ton of energy and they want to play all the time. Another cat that's about the same size and age can help with that as they will rough and tumble--as long as they get along with each other.

You sound like a new mother and you're really probably worrying about nothing! It's only been a couple of weeks. Your kitty will get used to your schedule eventually.

I have never kept a cat away from the bedroom. Growing up, the cats used to sleep with me and not my sisters. It continues to this day as Raiden is welcome to sleep next to me if he chooses. Sometimes he prefers his heated bed or he'll sleep on a blanket on a chair. I spoil my kitty. Raiden has the run of the house, except for the bathrooms when we are gone as he loves to get into the wastepaper baskets. He doesn't seem to bother then any other time.

As long as you give your kitty a ton of love and attention when you're home, I think she will be fine.