I have a wonderful (In my opinion, at least!) 6 yr old Bengal girl, Lily, who is for the most part, pleasant to be around. She is affectionate on her own terms, doesn't mind being picked up/handled, and she loves to be near me, or on my lap if the option is available.
What's the problem then? Sounds like a wonderful cat as far as bengals go, right?

The thing is, Lily is also known for unprovoked turns of personality where she will become hostile - not overly aggressive, but she will bite if she gets the opportunity. It won't be vicious, but she will bite, and its not usually gentle, either. If on foot, she may pursue while agitated.
Lately I've noticed she'll back down if I give her a way out of my personal space and she'll leave to sit a few feet away. So, it seems to me like this behavior is decreasing, maybe because she sees me as being the dominant one in the 'argument'. I don't really know.
I'm wondering if this comes about because she's reading something in my body language? I can't find anything else that may be triggering this behavior.

Secondly, Despite being desexed as a kitten etc. she sprays. Mostly outside, and I understand this is territorial in nature. However, she will sometimes spray inside the house - mostly cardboard.
Today, she sprayed inside my father's car, and naturally he was not the least bit impressed.
She has once sprayed a friend of my sister's who had come over to visit - said friend hadn't even made it off the driveway (In that instance, we put it down to her having the scent of other cats on her - and indeed, Lily snubs me if she can smell I've been in contact with other cats, but she doesn't react in any other way when that happens.)
As she has spent most of her time as a kitten with me in my old room during the night, she always used to spray there, and I could never figure out why. Recently, we completely renovated every room in the house, and she has gone back there to spray once.
Both Lily and I live with my parents ( I am in my early twenties and have yet to fine my own home, haha), and my parents have had enough of the cat spraying inside, even if its infrequently (infrequently being maybe once every couple of weeks or so.)


Basically, I am looking for advice on what to do in either of these situations. The 'rents are talking of rehoming (difficult for a Bengal, I would imagine), and in extreme, putting her down; a distasteful outcome for everyone involved, and rather unlikely. I personally feel (maybe in bias) that these 'solutions' are quite unfair, and don't really 'solve' anything. I am here looking for another way around these two behavioral issues.

Also, on a side note, as we are on a fairly large section in a quite suburb, she is free to roam outside as she pleases.
There is a small sapling in our garden that if you stand nearby while she is there, she will attack you. Not sure why, but she really doesn't like others being near it. It is possibly a type of fig tree, according to my mother.

I don't understand why you would think that a bengal would be difficult to re-home, or why putting the cat down would be an option. I'm sure that if such a bengal were available at the humane society around here he would probably be adopted the first day, and there are shelters around that specialize in rehoming bengals.

I think that both problems are definitely solvable, but probably won't go away on their own. You haven't really described the aggression problem well enough for someone to give you specific answers. It could be a lot of things. I think by keeping your cat outside that makes the peeing problem more difficult. He may just be confused and not really litterbox trained or it could be that he is marking because of specific threats that he perceives from the outside, or both. I think seeking out a cat behaviorist would probably be the wisest thing.

_________________
The little monsters 3

I know the great people here will try to help you solve your problems. And just note, these are our own opinions. Only you know your situation the best.

Why your cat might be aggressive! You've stated she's allowed to go outside as she pleases. You may need to try her on a harness and leash and let her lead you as to where she normally would roam? There are a lot of other animals (cats, dogs, etc) that are also out there that could be frightening her or she feels she needs to be aggressive to stand her ground. Depending on the severity of the aggression, there is a known name for a cat who can be sweet one moment and extremely aggressive the next: Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome. Now, I'm not saying your kitty has this. Many cats turn people into prey, however, some cats may have a neurological problem that could cause seizure type attacks on people. I'm only mentioning this because of Lux the cat who tried to attack his owners and was featured on an episode of My Cat From Hell recently. You can train your cat to understand the word "NO!." Your girl is 6 years old and probably should not have this type of behavior. You might want to have her checked by a vet just to make sure she's okay medically and there are no neurological problems.

As for the spraying! Yes, females will spray after being spayed. Males will spray after being neutered! Again, she is allowed outside and gets to smell many scents. Raiden sprays when he's out on walks because there are neighborhood cats who can roam free, so he will mark on top of their marks. A few months ago, Raiden started spraying on our headboard. He'd had NEVER sprayed in the house. It happened twice! I immediately cleaned the area, blocked it to where the pillow shams are up against the headboard and purchased a Feliway diffuser for the bedroom, plus the spray so I could continue to spray the area. He's been fine since!

I'm curious as to why your kitty was in your dad's car? Raiden only is in a car (when in a carrier) to go to the vet. How many litterboxes do you have for her? One may not be enough! Jackson Galaxy had a family place five litterboxes in one location to solve a marking problem. That's a little extreme, but there needs to be a litterbox in your room where she generally marks and in other areas that she frequently marks -- I'm guesting she does also use her litter box. Also the areas where she has sprayed need to be cleaned completely so there is no smell to entice her to return to mark.

I can understand how your parents are frustrated and want to get rid of the cat. Do any of you yell at the cat? Try to punish the cat? That can stress out a cat even more. What you need to do is look at the solutions that might help and be willing to try anything to change the behavior. There are also a lot of resources on the web that you can search. Not everything gets posted here.

A lot of pet owners give up on their pets. I hope you don't do that with your little girl. She's obviously bonded with you. Sometimes the owners had to adjust to make things better for the kitty. If you're committed to make that difference for her -- then you all could live happily ever after. Good luck!