I've had Leo for about .. he was born in June 2010 so that makes him just over 6 years old now? There are a number of random quirks I've never understood. Curious if anyone else has experienced anything like this or found ways to resolve it.

1 - Even if I put fresh food in his bowl it doesn't stop him from trying to eat up random bits of debris on the ground most likely brought in by shoes or clothes.at some point. I'm certain that stuff can't be delicious but he goes trying to pick it up I'll pick him up and put him right next to his foodbowl and he's goes right back to said random debris on the ground. What gives?

1b - He goes crazy rolling belly up, rubbing his face on the curry leaves that get left on the ground sometimes when I'm cooking. Are these safe for bengal cats?

2 - He doesn't care for my mother who is the person who spends the second most amount of time with him and dotes on him more than anyone else as she comes by often - but he absolutely loves my brother who comes by once week, running up to greet him. How exactly does bengal cat affection work?

3 - He doesn't like it when people are talking to me and voices his disapproval via a unique set of meows reserved for voicing disapproval of that particular situation. Don't really have a solution for this but I've come to accept it and someone has to be petting him constantly during the course of the conversation I'm having to keep it to a minimum. Anyone else experiencing this?

4 - Rarely every now and then he goes into a crazy mode while I'm playing with him and he'll lunge at my arm biting hard. Other times the crazy mode just results in darting fast throughout parts of the house with a puffed up tail and I have no idea what caused it but just know it's not a good time to put my hands near him. I've been informed this is play aggression - is this a life long trait?

5 - There's no kind of pain so long as I cut beyond the quick right? why does he cry and squirm like it's the end of the world when I'm cutting his nails? Is there some kind of emotional trauma in having his nails cut?

Here is the cat in question sleeping on what once was my pillow before he claimed it for himself

Not sure re the curry leaves but Oscar is obsessed with my mint tea bags and will roll in the sink after I have poured the tea away. I guess there are some foods they love the smell of.

Play aggression is still something Oscar still does aged 8, so I just make sure I have a kong kikaroo to give him if he gets like that.

The meowing when you are having a conversation is just pure attention seeking! Just like my kids would do when I was having a conversation with anyone when they were small. Leo wants the attention on him and not your friends!!!

I never cut Oscar's nails, he just uses his many scratch posts which do the trick perfectly.

When I give Oscar his food in a wide, flat bowl, he just picks it up and drops it on the floor and then eats it. Maybe they would just prefer to eat off the floor?

The quirks of bengals seem to be pretty wide ranging! Leo looks very comfy on HIS pillow

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Melissa

UK
Oscar - Rescue (Rascal!!!) Bengal

I can relate to most all of those! Sounds like Leo is a typical bengal with normal quirks you cannot resolve!

Heh, after 6 years, most quirks are learned responses that you have "accidentally" taught him.

1. A vaccum works
1b. I think that should be safe, but if you are worried about it, look it up here:
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-po ... xic-plants
2. Hmm, now that's kind of interesting. I would say that although your mother is doting on him, he isn't digging what she is doing necessarily. Tell her to bring some treats that he likes particularly well when she comes, that will help grease the wheels a lot!
3. Learned behavior, and a funny one
4. You can only hope it's lifelong, as that would be a sign of good health and happiness
5. It doesn't hurt if you do it right, but it's not a pleasant experience either. He's just letting you know in case you didn't remember that from the last lesson. Also, you really have to ask yourself whether what you are doing is worth the stress and unhappiness it is causing him.

Sounds like a really nice kitty that is well integrated into the fabric of your home and daily life. Awesomeness!

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The little monsters 3

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~ Kyenta

I got a TNR buddy kickaroo from Jackson Galaxy several years ago. Raiden loves to play with it. The edges are frayed, but it's still in good shape, considering. He has others, but he doesn't use them.

Grace ripped the end off their kickaroos in a week and ate the stuffing out of it. No more kickroos for her.

Aww, poor Grace - she probably *really* enjoyed disembowelling the kicker.

All cats end up with weird quirks, but putting almost anything in their mouths, with the exception of the nice, tasty, expensive cat food you've bought them chimes with me at the moment.

Jasmine, a previous cat of ours, would always sit on a newspaper ( remember them ? ) if there was one available, even if you were reading it.

Babbage runs whenever the door bell rings or someone opens the door, except for my brother whom he's seen a handfull of times a year ( we live in different countries ).

No. 4 - that needs to be unlearned - he needs to know that he can't bite you and you need to learn to recognise the behaviours that signal an attack on you and divert his attention or if you can't do that, hiss at him. If you do hiss, immediately go and seek him out and reassure him/stroke/praise him.

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The little monsters 3

Tell your mother to ignore the cat and see how that goes. It can work, they get curious as to why they're not having attention directed at them.
I'd say she's doing something the cat isn't fond of. Who knows what, cats are a**holes