Am new to the forum but have owned my Bengal now for nearly 4 years. We are his second (and forever home) as he lived in a village centre and was terrorising the neighbours cats. We live in a relatively rural area with fields as far as eye can see but 2 houses (no cast yet) next door and some housing a couple of fields away (easy walking distance distance for a Bengal I guess). He’s an absolute sweetheart with us and everyone who meets him think he’s wonderful. He has got into scrapes with our nearest neighbours cat who can easily hold his own, but they seem to have reached ‘an understanding’ and he regularly goes into their house for cuddles. Our other neighbours used to welcome him in too but the subsequent people got a half-bengal girl who he used to scare into submission. Again, they seemed to find their own ground as she matured and as they were renting, they moved out soon after. I am completely realistic about how he acts with other cats but they are territorial and there is absolutely no prospect of keeping him inside. On the occasions he has been in, he has literally been crawling the walls and am sure he would dive out of our windows at the first opportunity.

Anyway, the reason for all this background (sorry!) is I was accosted today in my garden by some neighbours who live on the main road. They are not immediate neighbours and are a good 10 minutes away by human standards but I guess our cat’s territory is quite big. They moved in within the last 18 months and came with one mature male cat. They have subsequently bought another female cat who is 3 months old. Our cat has apparently been going into their house and terrorising their cats, who now mess the house as they are so anxious, although the husband said the boy was anxious in his old house and they moved to give him a calmer life! They didn’t say they had been injured yet but do fear for their cats life and said Bengals were a menace. After some discussion, it became clear our cat only goes there once every 2-3 months but in doing so creates havoc. I do have genuine sympathy for them although I have no idea what I can do. They suggested several times that we get rid of him which absolutely devastates me. He only acting on instinct and was here first after all - he probably used to go into their house like he does others when the previous owner had it. I have been reading lots of forums tonight to see what I can do but most of them are coming from the victim’s perspective and brand owners like me as ‘irresponsible’. Bengals seem to come in for some real flack but at home, ours is quite literally a pussy cat - he puts up with all sorts of poking and prodding by our toddler and everyone he meets loves him. I really want to do the best by both cats, but am aware that they are animals with instincts and much of what he does off our patch is out of our control. He has been castrated and I have offered to pay for a microchip catflap at their house as a starting point. He is ‘free to roam’ as he often goes out for a day or two at a time. He often isn’t in when we go to bed so it would be hit and miss keeping him in at night and I suspect it would send him nuts, especially as he really doesn t like a litter tray. I am slightly inclined to think their kitten might be more trainable in this regard but understandably, they think their cat should also be free to go out without fear.

Has anyone experienced this and solved/improved it? I have read about Zyklene to calm aggressive cats down but not sure if it would help in this situation? Has anyone also tried any other techniques such as water spray (he hates water unusually for a Bengal!), or predatory urine spray/scents? Having met the couple, I am really concerned they might hurt him if he persists and really want to ensure both cats are safe.

Thanks in advance!

Asking a cat not be aggressive around other cats (no matter how docile or passive the cat) is like asking a baby not to cry. You can certainly try to do it; but to the effect similar to spitting in the rain.

Okay, enough analogies: Bengals as a breed are not more aggressive than other cats. They are certainly more hyper / active / playful and certainly have lots of different traits; but generally aggressive behaviour is not one of them (I'm ignoring early generation Bengals). Bengals tend to be bigger and stronger than most other breeds of cats and thus tend to be more inclined to win fights and be an alpha cat. If the other cat won he would be "more aggressive".

Cats that go outside will meet other cats; they will fight other cats (and other animals). It doesn't matter if it's a Bengal or not. It sounds like your cat is a typical alpha outdoor cat. Yes, he's going to scare indoor only cats who never go outside - so would a racoon, dog, skunk, whatever. It's a strange animal giving off alpha vibes in their territory.

Don't give up your Bengal. The best suggestion I can give you it build an enclosure for him outdoors - a Catio. He'll have his fun outdoors in a large space but can't get to the other cat.

By the way, negative behaviour reinforcement rarely works well, especially on Bengals. Mostly they learn not to do it when you are around.

The easiest thing to do is to keep your cat on your property or walk him with a harness and leash! A cat is going to be a cat -- and you cannot prevent that. Obviously, your bengal is a pain in the rear to your neighbors and it's up to you to keep him away (or they may get rid of him for you). Build a large cat enclosure on your property that allows him to roam the outdoors a little bit. Or fence in your yard with a cat-proof fence. You seem to think this is your neighbor's fault -- but it's YOUR fault for allowing your cat to roam. Male bengals are highly territorial, period! And it is just too common for male cats to tangle and tussle a little bit. And you are risking injury to your cat. You need to be a responsible cat owner and see to it that your cat sticks to your property. This may not be what you want to hear .... but it's for the good of all the cats involved.

As Ontario said, Bengals are no more aggressive than other cats, they are territorial animals and acting from instinct. In fact, my two are the terrorised one's in my road! In relation to the Zylkene I would say the other owner should be looking at this to help his cats calm down. I use it for one of mine as he gets stressed by the local foxes and starts to pee inappropriately indoors but this sorts him out (I do keep my two in at night).

So this couple know they have an anxious cat but don't keep their house 'cat proof' from other cats/animals with a microchip cat flap?! Moving house to give their cat a more laid back life is no answer... they will always have the issue of other cats. If it isn't yours, it will be another!

I have been in their position but I knew even if I approached the owner of the other cat (if I'd ever found out who they were) they wouldn't be able to do anything really so when my two were kittens and being bullied by another cat, I bought a water pistol and now if that cat sees me, he's off and doesn't come around so often anymore. We've had another cat turn up and try to take territory (our garden) away from my two but like you, there were a couple of fights, I wouldn't say mine won (despite being Bengals) but an understanding has been reached between them.
I also made sure I had a microchip cat flap as soon as they were allowed out unsupervised and thank goodness as we even have foxes trying to get in ours!

Asking you to get rid of your cat isn't helpful when you are being more than understanding if you are offering to get them a microchip cat flap, which should have been the first thing for them to do as a matter of course with an anxious cat to offer him some security. Seems ridiculous that they expect their cats to have more rights than yours as to going outside without fear etc. If you allow your cats outside then you have to expect some of this - and secure your home accordingly!!!

Its a really tough position for you to be in as I can appreciate you are worried about the safety of your Bengal as well as their cats. Have you thought about getting a GPS tracker so you can see where your cat goes and how often he goes in that direction? From what you said, its not that often he's there so I can't see he is totally responsible for the issues they have. However, you could possibly go and get him if he goes off in their direction?? I know where my two go as I have Pod Trackers on their collars and know roughly where they like to hang out.

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

I totally agree with sherry, bengals can be territorial and often etends their territories past their owners property. The best possible way to handle your current situation is to ensure that your property is fenced properly or simply built a cat pen at your backyard to prevent your cat from crossing over to your neighbors. You would be equally pissed when someone's cat comes over to your property to cause havoc.

I can't imagine a neighbor's cat coming into my house and upsetting my cats! I would call Critter Control and have it removed if I was unable to force it out with a broom. You are really lucky your cat is still around. You have some extremely tolerant neighbors. My advise would be to build an outdoor enclosure for your cat. I'm sure you don't want him to be harmed in any way.

You could also consider chatting to the neighbours about installing a micro-chip controlled cat flap, to stop your cat gaining access to their house. If you offered to go halves, that would probably be a winner...
I don't know where you are, but my Bengal will defend his turf from other cats coming onto it, and only if they continue to do so will he go and hunt them down at their home... Twice in 9 years that I know of!
He puts up with a lot from the neighbours pigeons, and dogs, so it does go both ways. Now he is 17 though, I tend to keep him in more often than not, much to his frequent disgust!