I am a lifelong cat lover and owner and have enjoyed all kinds of cats over my 60+ years, most recently a snow marble Bengal that we had to euthanize at the age of 16 due to complete kidney failure. We made the decision to get another and selected a male kitten from a reputable breeder. He is now 8 months old and was neutered shortly before he was 6 months. I am hoping he will live as long as most of my other cats (15-20 years) as I do not expect to have any other animals for the remainder of my life. My husband and I are both home most of the time so he has lots of human attention and companionship.
This beautiful little creature has been the most challenging cat I have ever had. He is all the things you read about Bengals - curious, very active and intelligent, loves to be up high. He follows me around and cries by the door whenever I leave. He sleeps on our bed and is not nocturnal, thank goodness. He is not much of a cuddler, at least not yet, but seems to be getting more interested in human pets and cuddles as he is maturing and growing out of what my husband calls 'kitten brain'.
For the last two months, he has been attacking me - jumping on my legs, scratching and biting, drawing blood and not in a playful way. When I reach down to pick him up to try and settle him down, he will attack my arms the same way. Initially, this behaviour occurred in specific locations - first, our stairwell, next my home office, then our master bathroom. I thought I had gotten him over it by flapping a plastic shopping bag at him, which makes a lot of noise, and saying no loudly. I would then pick him up quickly, hold him closely, speak to him softly and pet him.
But after a relatively quiet week, he is doing it again but in unpredictable locations.
If I am looking at him when he goes into this predatory mode, I can see it in his face and body language - eyes dilate, extremely focused, and body tensed to jump. I have been trying to pick him up and immobilize him, holding him close and speaking to him softly. If I can't do that, I will say no loudly and flap the plastic bag (I know keep one in every room) which is so distracting to him that he loses focus so I can pick him up.
He does not do this to anyone else, only me, even though my husband is around almost all the time and our 2 1/2 old granddaughter visits often.
I know some of you on this forum are not in favor of water spray training for Bengals but it has worked quite well on this boy so he no longer gets on counters he's not allowed, does not scratch upholstery or play with draperies and drapery and electrical cords (at least when we are home!). But I quickly realized it only escalated this behaviour so no longer try it. I also have Feliway that I have not yet tried since the plastic bag seemed to work. Now that the attacks occur in unpredictable locations, I'm not sure diffusers would work.
I love this handsome boy so am interested in any ideas from this group.
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