Hi all, wondering if anyone has had a similar experience -

My Bengal, Elsa, is 9 months old. I got her spayed just under 2 months ago. The operation went smoothly and the wound has healed really nicely. She didn't seem too bothered by the surgery and was her happy lively self as soon as she got home from the vets.

Initially she seemed quite chilled out and more cuddly than ever. However, in the last 3-4 weeks she has become really hyper and much more vocal than before. She always 'chatted' a bit, as most Bengals do, but it tended to be only if I was with her/ she was about to be fed/ she saw a bird out of the window etc. Recently she has developed a whole new range of sounds and seems to be talking all the time. Initially I was a bit concerned that she may be in pain as some of the noises sounded quite unhappy, but she seems fine physically. I bought a pet camera and have been keeping an eye on her whenever I am not at home and she seems fine, playing and sleeping as usual. Occasionally, when I have been in another room and I hear her make a particularly woeful sound I have rushed to check on her and she has been happily playing with a toy and is oblivious to me.
There have been a few times when I've left her for a moment to go in to the kitchen (where she is not allowed to go) and she has started meowing and scratching at the door, which she never used to do.
In general thought, it seem that whether I am with her or not she seems to be making all sorts of noises most of the time.

Her energy levels have also gone through the roof. She has always been active, as I expected, but she used to alternate between her mad half hours having some play time to also wanting some cuddle time. In the last few weeks she has hardly come to sleep on my lap at all which she would normally do in the afternoons/ evenings. If we are sat watching tv in the evening she can't seem to settle and seems more interested in generally being mischievous - climbing in to tight spots, knocking things over and attempting to destroy plants. She also seems to have phases where she just runs around like a mad thing for no reason, and has even run in to various pieces of furniture and on one occasion managed to graze her leg.

She never seems bothered by any other cats that she may see out of the window, and nothing has changed inside the house. So I'm struggling to understand this complete change in behavior - the only thing I can put it down to is the operation. Has anyone had any similar experiences after getting a cat spayed?

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@elsa_bengal Instagram

Bengals are VERY vocal, so it could just be that she was super quiet in her younger days. I don't believe the spay would have anything to do with her change in behavior unless she is having complications of some sort. Bengals also have so much energy! Raiden is 9 years old and he wears me out when we wants to play. And when he's awake, he is running from one end of the house to the other! Sounds like yours has just become a normal bengal at this point. If you have any doubts at all, you can always take her to the vet for a checkup and they can make sure everything is okay with her, but she sounds fine to me.

Mine are 6 months old and were very quiet until recently. Literally you couldn't get a sound out of them, not counting when they would hit things running around the house. They've become more vocal recently. I guess they just feel freer to speak their mind as they grow up. Or more socially conscious

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Thomas

Lily & Noha - Oct 7th 2015

I'm thinking her changes are not due to the spay two months ago. Kittens are constantly changing. My two were silent as kittens and now make sounds all the time. I think it's like a baby learning to communicate. My girls use different sounds to mean different things – pet me, play with me, feed me, let us out, look what I caught...I pretty much know what they want now by the type of sound they make. If they have everything they want, they don't make sounds.

It's always concerning when you see changes in your cat's behavior, and you are often times right to be concerned. That's usually a good time to consult your vet and possibly get a checkup. That said, what you are describing doesn't sound like the usual pain response. Usually when they are in great pain, you see the opposite, they get reclusive and slow down. On the other hand, what you are describing now sounds like pretty much normal for most bengals. My bengals were definitely somewhat cuddlier when they were real young, then got less so probably about the same age your cat is, and then more so again years later. So I dunno, it's never a bad idea to call up your vet and ask for some advice, or take her in to get a checkup if for no other reason to get some peace of mind. But a vocal, very active, non-cuddly bengal of that age is often par for the course, and from what you are describing she actually sounds pretty happy.

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The little monsters 3

My youngest Pearl is nearly 7 months now, her energy has gone through the roof at the moment, she runs round so fast she skims the walls.

She jumped up at a picture on the wall on Saturday night and ripped the whole thing out including the picture hook.

She is leaping up at the windows and hanging off the handle.

Chasing my other bengal Magic (4) all over the place.

She never stops chatting, it's to me or if I'm not in the room she chats to Magic or it seems to herself.

I have never known a cat with so much energy, more than any other bengal I've had.

But all this is only just scraping the surface.

But she is gorgeous and I love her to bits.

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

I honestly think that one, they change massively in their first few months. Jagger used to make my ears bleed. Now Hendrix never shuts up and Jagger isn't very vocal at all. And two, when they first arrive with you they are in a period of rapid growth and I swear that influences how much they sleep. When mine reached about 9 months they weren't growing so quickly, it felt like all of a sudden they seemed to be awake more and causing more mischief than ever. Around that time Hendrix was always looking to steal my glasses off my face or pull clips out of my hair, every night like clock work at about 9pm. He was such a pest!

That may be the stage you've reached - and maybe her personality is developing more now she's fully settled and had her hormones dealt with. It is amazing how much they change and blossom as they grow and become fully comfortable with you (and how far they can push you!). Their vocal range develops too - Hendrix didn't make half the warbling and trilling noises Jagger used to make - but now he does them too, and he has a very woeful sound he makes too - usually he is just looking for attention though! He knows that noise makes me rush over to see if he is okay She may just be practising her vocal range!!!

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