I have two Bengals. One is perfect, well behaved, and not too crazy. The other one was once perfect, but now is absolutely horrible. About a month ago she snuck out of the house, she was outside for a couple hours before we noticed she was missing. Now she will not stop meowing, screaming, yowling. She wants to go outside constantly (they are not allowed outside). It needs to stop, any suggestions? We play with her, she always has toys, food, fresh water, clean litter box. Any advice would be great!!!! Thank you!

Welcome to our forum! As you have discovered, once the kitty discovers the outside, there is no stopping it. There is a great big world out there with millions of smells. Lots to investigate! You are not going to change your baby's behavior. I'd suggest getting a walking jacket or harness and a leash and take her out for supervised walks. Or ... build an outdoor cat enclosure. There are thousands of images online of small ones, large ones. They even make portable ones that you put in the yard and put your kitty in. I know, more outside means more outside. But ... my bengal was free roaming for the first 6 years of his life until I took him. There was no way he was going to stay inside. So, we take two walks a day and we built him a large enclosure on our deck. He's not happy 100% of the time, but it has helped tremendously.

We used to go outside on the porch for a couple of months until Lily got big enough to jump the wall and escape (Noha is bigger but couldn't care less about what's on the other side on the wall). It's been just over 2 months since we've stopped. Lily wasn't happy and has become a lot more more vocal but eventually got used to the fact that she isn't going to go outside.

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Thomas

Lily & Noha - Oct 7th 2015

Is your kitty neutered? How old is she? If she is not neutered, she will come in heat and drive you crazy trying to get outside.

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~ Kyenta

Thank you for all your suggestions and feedback!! I just might have to build her an enclosure. She does not do well on a leash, we've tried that. She is spayed and she's 6.

Bengals are easily trained to walk on a harness and leash, however, you must get the kitty used to the harness only before you ever take the kitty outside. Many kitties will initially resist the harness by laying down and not moving as if they are paralyzed. Or they will fight the harness. Simply try to distract them with treats or toys. Once a kitty realizes it can actually walk while wearing the harness, they are usually okay. But it can take some time, so you're putting the harness on over and over again until the kitty gets used to it. Requires patience and time. There are some kitties who NEVER take to the harness. I put the harness on mine and he didn't even care he was wearing one. Two minutes later, attached the leash and out the door we went and he was happy! Today it is much cooler out and he absolutely loved it. He hates coming back home, but I don't have all day to spend out there with him. An hour in the morning (today it was longer) and an hour in the afternoon is what he gets. f you refuse to take her outside, it will take weeks and weeks for her to stop crying -- but I highly doubt it will ever stop immediately. Cats love the outdoors and fresh air.

Enclosures can be simple or very elaborate! It really depends on your space and budget. People here have posted amazing pictures of their enclosures, too. We certainly enjoyed creating ours in a 12'x12' space on our deck. Took a couple of weeks of working after work and weekends, but Raiden loves being out there.

Bengals love the outdoor and my boy Deeks will readily confirm this without hesitation. I trained him with the harness at a very young age and got into the habit of taking him out for walks 3 times a day. Yes, that is correct, 3x per day. This year I was fortunate enough to cut it back to once a day, usually around 6 p.m. and believe me, Deeks knows how to tell the time because at around 5:30 p.m., he starts up with his constant meowing and it doesn't stop. There are times when he'll crouch down beside my chair and begin to moan and moan and moan. As soon as I say the words "outside" or "walk", you would think he just won the lottery as his eyes perk up and his eyes look like two saucers. He gets so excited. In my opinion the only way to limit your Bengal's meowing is to take him out for a walk, even if it's for ten minutes and I would think he/she would be satisfied with that and be content to settle down upon returning indoors. Bol!

Oaky, it is incredible how the cats know. Raiden will start his crying around 1 p.m., although I don't take him out until at least 2. I tell him "No, it's not time yet." He settles back down and just watches and waits for me because he knows I'll let him know it's time. All I have to say is, "It's time. Are you ready to go outside?" He flies to the door and is waiting for his harness. He would love to go out three times a day but I just don't have the hours to spend with him. If he just wants to lay and watch the birds, he can do it from his enclosure.