Hi all,

We got our two Bengal kitties this weekend, a boy and a girl from a lovely family. They have been socialised very well, happy with dogs, kids, friends, loud bangs etc. We are absolutely loving our new additions!

I was hoping for some advice from people who have bengals with a particularly stubborn streak. Our boy, Sid, is quite timid. He is very chilled out with us, if he jumps on a table and is put on the floor again then he will stay there and he seems to accept our instruction. Our little lady however, Nancy, seems to be almost "challenging" us, for example: the first meal we had after we got them, Sid sat on the mat playing with his toy, whereas nancy instantly was climbing all over us and trying to eat our food. We said no, and put her down and she just immediately did it again. We repeated this several times before shutting her out of the dining room, 5mins later we let her back in and she immediately did it again. This happens every meal time. Similarly, she will bite our fingers playfully, but I don't want her to associate fingers with games so everytime she does it, I tell her no and put her down or give her a toy, but she will keep coming for our hands or faces. We don't want to encourage them to climb up people, but she will continuously do it no matter how many times I put her back down and it's the same story with the kitchen table. It's not like she's treating it as a game either, it definitely feels more like a power thing. we don't engage with her when she's behaving like this, and instead try to start a game with her or distract her with something else yet she will continue to do the thing she was doing.

I know that bengals like to do the opposite of what their owners tell them but I'd really like to regain the authoritive role as I can see that she has potential to be a bit of a madam. I've had a cat in the past who hadn't been bought up properly and he was a complete nightmare, jumping on tables, eating food, attacking people etc...I am worried that Nancy could have a similar streak in her.

I have done my Bengal research so I know that some cats are just like this but has anyone found a way to train more stubborn cats into behaving, I can already see that she would rebel against a telling off!!

Thank you for any advice!

Your post made me laugh several times. I have two females who acted very much like your little girl when they were young. I tried feeding them right before I had my dinner. They would inhale ther food and race over to try and eat mine. It was rediculous. I would wind up holding my plate over my head as they climbed my arms frantically trying to knock the plate out of my hand. That behavior lasted for months. Walking on the counter and tables was very difficult to stop. They would leap into the refrigerator every time I opened it up. In the end I just ignored their bad behavior and very slowly it subsided. Now at a year and a half, they never bother me while eating, but I also do not give them any table scraps. They no longer climb up my body (they are too big) and I rarely ever get scratched now. I have the vet trim their nails once a month and they have lots of cat towers and shelves to play and scratch on. Raising a kitten is hard work. Raising two is twice as hard, but so worth it in the end. My two are so happy and well behaved now. You will need a lot of patience over the next 6 months. Avoid using spray bottles or other techniques that only teach your cat to fear you. Give them a lot of love and as they mature, they will want to please you.

My $0.02 is that if it's important to have a submissive, "well behaving" cat, then a bengal is a poor choice. Yes, every cat is different, but bengals tend to be very strong-willed, stubborn, active, and curious. Like Jill said though, mine have gotten "better" over the years, but I tend to not get real upset about that stuff. They are family, so when I'm cooking some nice meat (like tonight where I'll be BBQ'ing some chicken) that they would enjoy, they know that they are entitled to "their cut", and tell me so enthusiastically.

This stuff might seem really important right now, but there are bigger fish to fry, believe me.

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The little monsters 3

I agree with all the above and also had a little chuckle!

My mum used to train securicor/police dogs and all our pets, even she gave up! Mind you when Hendrix used to try to steal my glasses off my face, she used her dog training voice and frightened both of us lol she still laughs about it now as we both stopped and stared at her! Didn't make any difference though, he knew it was naughty but would check where she was before attempting what was apparently the best game in the world!

They are incredibly stubborn, and in their kitten period it is seriously hard work. I always shut them out of the kitchen when cooking, and would run into the dining room with my dinner and shut them out.

Now, I don't have to do any of that as they are less interested and more interested in whatever other mischief they are getting up to.

Mine also used to use me as a climbing frame, but eventually they stop as they are too big and I am also pretty much scratch free now.

Enjoy the kitten period, it's fun really - honest lol

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

Made me chuckle too as I remember how stubborn Dexter was.

He completely ignored my indignations of clambering all over the dining room table and sitting in my cabinet with all my posh china lol. The more I tried to stop him the better the 'game' was.

I was convinced I could stop him as I'd had many kittens before but he would not stop not matter what I did so I ignored it and he stopped. Maybe I was encouraging it more because he was getting a reaction from me.

I think certain things like jumping up on the counter are going to be very difficult to stop and maybe it's easier just to accept it. Dexter used to make me laugh as he would sit on the counter, I'd put his dinner on the floor and he would always wait for me to lift him down to it.

He never did that at other times and would just jump up and down all the time. I often wonder what was going through his head that made him do that. They are funny.

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Oscar and Jasper (or one ear and two ears as dh calls them) black rescue mogges

RIP my sweet baby Dexter, Snow Bengal 19/5/14 to 5/3/15 and my lovely dear old friend Muskey, Brown Burmese put to rest aged 15 on 14/11/15.

Debbie

The stubbornness of a bengal, it really is rather endearing once you get past how infuriating at can be

Alex will jump up on the bed over and over and over and over if he wants me up and I don't want to get up. He will sit by my head and yawn in my face over and over, because he has worked out that gets a reaction. If I manage to ignore that he will then go to my phone charger and eat it, because he KNOWS that will get a reaction very quickly. If I shoo him away, he will wait a bit, then creep back and do it all over again. We can repeat this cycle indefinitely, he never tires of it.

I know you would like to see your Nancy be just like your Sid, but all cats are different. Even though they are siblings, their personalities will be quite different. I think most of us have had cats more like Nancy. Cats are stubborn and they want to go where they want to go and sleep where they want to sleep and owners can't do much about it. I'd put both Sid and Nancy into another room with their toys while I ate -- that's if it really bothered me. Raiden will sometimes get on the dining room table but has no desire in our food. You are doing the right thing with removing Nancy. She will eventually understand the word "no." I'm happy the two kitties are settling in so well so quickly. Nancy is going to be a character, that's for sure, and you'll just have to accept her quirks because it sounds like she will have many. Imagine if Sid were like Nancy and you had two of them going like that. This is just the beginning of your bengal adventures ..... so sit back and enjoy them or you will stress yourself to death!

I try to be Raiden's best friend, but he doesn't want to be mine! He's quite independent! Only comes to me for treats, to fill his empty food bowl, take him out for a walk, or to play with him. Never to just give me some love and affection! But then, he was owned by a guy who wasn't really into cats and I think there was no affection between the two of them for the first six years of Raiden's life. Too late to try and change him now.