My 8 year old rescue bengal is amazing and we are crazy about him.

However, if we come home later than usual, we find him screaming at the front door. He is so loud we can hear him as soon as we exit the elevator, which is quite far from our entrance. The whole hallway can hear him, it is really quite bad. I never thought a cat could be so loud.

He has plenty of food, so hunger is not the problem. When we get in, the meowing continues for a while, with angry looks, followed by some crazy running around. He eventually settles down.

I am concerned about the screaming at the door and neighbours complaining or calling animal protection services.
any thoughts?

Welcome to our forum. It sounds to me as if your bengal is really bored! Bengals do not do well being alone for many hours. And I know the yowl all too well. Bengals are very loud!!! He is obviously more than ready for you to walk through the front door. You might want to invest in a cat wheel or interactive toys that can keep him occupied. I don't recommend a second cat as that can be more trouble than it's worth. You might want to try and leave a radio on -- talk radio station might work better than music -- so he is hearing other voices.

Outside of that, there isn't much you can do. You can't get a bengal to stop yowling. Mine does it. And I know the neighbors can hear him when we have our windows open. And we live in a single-family home. You have a bengal, plain and simple, and he is acting like a bengal. They are highly intelligent, and highly social cats. They want to have humans around them at all times.

Outside of hiring a pet sitter to be with him all day, changing your work hours so someone is home with him at all times, you're going to have to live with this. He's obviously giving you ample time to get home -- just don't be late!! LOL This is the equivalent of having a dog greeting you at the door, wagging its tail. Except, you have a bengal.

I think they also make sprays you can use for a calming effect around the house. I have never used them but maybe worth a shot.

Hi! I had a Bengal mix that used to yowl so loudly at the door of my apartment it worried me as well.

I had a talk with the apartment manager about it (who knows a lot about cats) and he said that he thought it only happened when I got off the elevator and walked to the door. There were never complaints from the neighbors about a massive cat yowling at the door all day.

So it may be his version of a welcome song :)

Our do the same. They sing the song of their people to all of the neighbors, the neighbors' dogs, the building staff, and all other manner of passersby. Max has separation anxiety, and will do this whether we are home or not. When we are home, I do use the water bottle to keep him away from the front door and lots of positive attention and reinforcement when he is quiet in the evenings. There isn't much we can do about it... Doesn't matter how many toys, how much there is to do, etc.. He is a social butterfly and is so miserable when we are not home. Faust looks at him. Like he's crazy, but also engages in calling at night when we have to kick them our of the bedroom.

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I always cringe when the water bottle is mentioned. It is not a good reinforcement for cats and if you have to continue using it, it is not working, so please stop! I learned my lesson when a cat attacked me after I sprayed him with water. I still have a hole in my leg to remind me and this happened 30 years ago. Never again will I spray water on a cat.

It is the only thing that disrupts the behavior, we don't overuse it, and I'm careful to stay away from ears and face. Literally nothing else affects this cat. He just dries himself off and goes about his day, but the behavior decreases. He's stubborn.

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Bengals are stubborn, period. Every walk, Raiden attempts to go up to his previous owner's house. This just started a couple of weeks ago. There is something by the deck that has Raiden fascinated. Note, I've had Raiden for 4-1/2 years and he always just walked by the house. You would think after a couple of weeks of "NO" and blocking his path to get up there, he would learn, but he hasn't! Not that his previous owner would mind ... he loves Raiden and always comes over to see him if he is outside while we are walking. It's just that Raiden knows the word "NO" as he always scolds me when I use it, but it makes no difference. Spraying him with water wouldn't help since he loves walking in the rain. Ugh! Bengals!!!

I have a 2 year old Mink called Spider who starts howling the second he hears me wake up. I have split my apartment these days so that they only have access to half of it, and I can retreat for a good nights sleep (cat free!) at the end of the day, which works great, but the second I open my eyes he is howling for me to go to him. I have no idea how he knows! There are times when I will literally lay there like a statue to try and postpone it, but it always happens, every day. It used to make me anxious, but now I have just accepted he has superior hearing and some kind of sixth sense and I just have to get up and go and fuss him!

Hello kitty lovers
my Sky will also meow loud, sometimes it seems like he's talking to spirits or something,, but many times, i find if i meow back the same way, he comes running and just wants a really good pet and cuddle. i notice these cats do get bored and want to play a lot... if i take them out for walks and on my bike and on adventures, the meowing and complaining stops,.. if you can imagine being them, i find that really helps. look at life from their perspective,, what is life like ? is there a cat world or are you stuck in a humans world frustrated about what to do? are there lots of toys (mine love to play fetch with small pinecones) places to scratch (i have about 8-10, roped tied posts, cardboard mesh things on the walls and floor, sticks, wood,,, lots of places to climb and sleep... they have a lot of energy at times they don't know what to do with if trapped in a home... so i found Sky loves to chew up boxes so i get boxes without print or chemicals and he'll spend hours chewing threw it and attacking it.. try more things to engage him and well, i believe cats should always be in twos at least... my 2 bengals play for hours every day, clean each other for hours, sleep together sometimes, etc.... things i can't do and offer a cat as a human.. i can't imagine how bored a cat would be by itself...i think i would be meowing at the door too... i believe getting a second one would be the answer - good luck... MeeOOOwwW

Raiden is one bored cat when he is awake. He has a cat wheel and I will play with him. He has a huge enclosure on our deck that he can enjoy watching the birds. But, he will just pace around the house. He does get two walks a day and will take a nap after coming back inside. But .... he is like no other cat I've ever had in my entire life. He is so rambunctious at times. My husband calls him a "pistol."

I agree with Sherry on the water bottle it is not a good thing to use as it can enforce more anger or make the cat scared of you.

I think either more interactive toys or maybe even a friend for him,I got my boy Magic a little girl friend when he was 4 as he used to get bored and disruptive no matter how much I played with him, since getting Pearl who is now 2 he never gets bored because she constantly chases him around the house.

I do know this terrible yowling my boy does it for no apparent reason he will just stand there and scream at the top of his voice and wow is it loud.

Have you maybe got a friend or family member that could come round half way through the day and give him a bit of company.

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Clare
Magic (brown spotted boy born 31 March 2012)
Pearl (seal Lynx Point girl born 1 October 2015)
Bristol, UK

BTW, Bengals apparently will teach this yowl to domestic cats. My little caliby is usually very quiet, but when she wants attention, she will let loose this horrible screeching howl now. Just like her big brother!