Just took Echo to the vet to check a dodgy looking broken nail and when we both came back home Ishka went on full rejection and attack mode :_(
Bloody forgot to take them both together so that this wouldn't happen so there you go, I shall pay for my sins - she's also hissing at me (she is confused too... Wants to be with me but as soon as she smells me hisses and jumps back, and then she checks me again and miaows as if asking "what the hell did you do to smell like the vet?").
So, what's your rookie mistake?

Happened to my guys when Lily escaped once. We used to go outside to the porch for a couple of months, the walls are pretty high and the cats didnt seem interested in them anyway. Lily loved the banana tree but didn't really care about the walls. Until one day she jumped onto one section of the wall that's slightly lower and went off wandering for about two hours. She came back very happy, however Noha was not so thrilled. He spent a good part of that night hissing at her and keeping me alert. She actually didn't see anything wrong in it so she just wanted to play as they always do but he wouldnt have any of it. Cost me one sleepless night and going back home from work twice the following day just to make sure everything was ok. Nothing more happened and they went back to loving each other in no time but still...

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Thomas

Lily & Noha - Oct 7th 2015

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The little monsters 3

My biggest mistake was thinking the small rip at the bottom of a patio screen was too small for my cats to fit through or that they would even notice or try to get out. I procrastinated calling the screen repair guy and sure enough, big ol Grace squeezed herself out and then got in a panic because she could not get back in. It was stressful for all three of us as her sister came running in to tell me what happened. Lesson learned: if the yard guy rips the screen, keep the cats inside until it can be replaced.

The reason the cats don't get along after a visit to the vet or an adventure out in the big outdoors is due to the fact the cat smells "different." The vet and techs have handled the cat and put their smells on there. Outside smells have their own smells and a cat's sense of smell is 14 times stronger than a humans, so what you can't smell, they can.

I've had cats since I was 10 years old -- my only mistake in taking Raiden from his previous owner was the fact that I thought "highly vocal" meant they just carry on conversations with you. Not that they howl and yowl at the top of their lungs to get what they want!

My main one will always be expecting a Bengal to be like a normal cat. When I got Mina back when I was 18 I didn't realise quite how different she was to a normal cat, I actually got her around a time when I was still at university so she ended up pulling her fur out and I didn't know why, I ended up finding out eventually it was stress because I had as having to leave her so often and I didn't really have enough time for her. I thought playful and interactive meant that not I was adopting a toddler that never grew up.

Also probably the biggest rookie mistake I made with Mina was feeding her whiskas and Iams foods when she was growing up or should I say more allowing her to stay on them, at the time I really didn't know any better and it probably stunted her growth and I doubt it helped her kidneys. The first 5 years that I had Mina where a huge learning experience when it came to having Bengals at times I'm shocked she made it to 16 probably with all of the silly mistakes I made with her because i didn't know any better.

My biggest mistake with my current two was the getting a male kitten and not making sure I had a cat urine enzyme cleaner in just incase he decided to start marking early, it would have saved me a lot of washing, cleaning and having to rebuy bed linen that he ruined. Also I don't know if this is a mistake or not but trusting my vet when they wanted to put my kitten on antibiotics for 3 weeks without questioning it and then having to deal with all the stomach and behaviour issues after. Then working out it was actually due to an allergy that he was getting his eye infections and I wish I had checked changing his food instead first.

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- Sarah
Arya 24/04/16 - Seal Lynx Point Rosetted Bengal
Griffith 16/04/16 - Silver Seal Lynx Point Rosetted Bengal
Mina (in my avatar)- 1999-2016 - Seal Mink Spotted Bengal (Snow) - run free at rainbow bridge

A biggie, but thankfully without any harm done.


I live on the 12th floor. I was used to having the windows wide open all the time. I agonised about which window catches to buy when my cats were due, bought and tested some, rejected them and then settled on some that I thought cat-proof. I estimated how small a gap a kitten could get through, and got it wrong.

One evening I couldn't find Ada anywhere, getting concerned I went into the kitchen to use the ice dispenser -that always got her running - nothing.

Then I saw her on a ledge outside the window, jumping up to the window to get my attention. 12 floors up. Thankfully as soon as I went out of my apartment and opened a door onto the ledge she came back in - giving me a right talking to.

It still gives me a chill thinking how close she came to falling to the ground.

omg that's a biggie, so glad to hear nothing happened!

Hi, my name is Rich, and I am a Bengal rookie. My kitten, Lucy, is about 13 weeks old. I thought I was just filling her need to play by using my hands. Now my legs (wear shorts), hands, and arms look much worse then they hurt. Most marks are from scratching but there are also some bite marks. I thought it was cute the way she hugged my arm tightly while lightly biting. She then carried this behavior on to my wife, who doesn't think it is "cute" at all. I have gone cold turkey with using my hands rather than "Da Bird" or her other favorite wand toy. I gently tell her no while gingerly removing my hand from her clutches. She gives me that stare thing and immediately romps off to terrorize something more appropriate. I am hoping she eventually grows out from my mistake of promoting this behavior before she gets big enough to shred skin from bone.

Rich

Ouch Rich, you guys are getting the 'hug of death'! When we got our kitties Echo would just get my leg on a daily basis... Only a Kickaroo saved me from her unwanted attention! Best purchase ever!

None so far - only had Symba about a week, Bengal/Siamese mix? Not much history as he was a stray and given to me by the people that found him, they already have 2 cats. So I put him in my bedroom with a litter box, water, milk and dry cat food. As soon as they gave him to me, he buried his head under my arm and purred. Stayed on my lap for quite sometime as I did some computer work. Then he jumped down and ate all the dry food and most of the milk and then leaped into the litter box and then out and went to sleep on the floor beside my feet. I would say my rookie mistake is not realizing just how high these cats can jump even as a kitten and he went on top of my tower of old computer boxes and parts and it all come down, he thought that was fun and as soon as I piled it back up again, away he went to the top, this time I stopped him and said "No., not for Symba". He responds very well to images and messages sent brain to brain. This technique works very well and I learned it when I was doing dolphin research years ago. Now if I could only train him to realize that 6 AM is for sleeping, not "get up I am hungry and want to play".

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In Ancient Egypt, cats were considered Gods... Cats have not forgotten this.