ok i know what i signed up for when purchasing a bengal and understanding their unusual behavior. we have had gizmo for since march 15th (11 weeks) in which case he has been neutered in that time and calmed down a bit since that. i have read here that it takes about 2 weeks for a new addition to get used to our routine, but he still is causing mischief at night when it is supposed to be bedtime.

Is there anyway to train him to sleep when we sleep? it seems to work when we've got him panting and breathing hard after a Da Bird session but not every night is feasible for that and I don't want him getting sick of it if I do play with Da Bird every night.

The thought of locking him in a bathroom with a litter box has crossed my mind but my bf says thats mean, but only getting 4 hours sleep instead of 8 is mean also!

we live in a 1 bedroom condo so the only doors that close off to a room are the 2 bathrooms, the bedroom and part of the kitchen. So the only room big enuf to put a litter box in with him would be the kitchen but we'd have to buy one of those accordion folding door thingies... ideas anyone?

on a side note, ever since we brought him home he has always used the litter, and then he started spraying and we decided to get him neutered. well this morning my bf woke up to put on his work clothes and looks like Gizmo decided to pee on it since he is the only one who goes behind the tv where my bf puts his clothes... any suggestions?

p.s. he sure runs away fast when we squirt him

well for the days that have past without a single reply, the da bird has worked the past couple nights, so guess we'll see...

has anyone ever tried or has video catnip?

don't take the lack of reply personally... People get busy and life gets in the way.

I've had a few messages not responded to either. It doesn't mean people don't like you or don't want to respond. It might just mean that nobody with a helpful suggestion to your question has been around to read it.

ie, my only suggestion for wearing him out when you're too busy to is another cat. That may or may not work. Our cats all wear each other out before they come to bed, then they sleep through the night with us. This, however, means wrestlemania on the bed (with us in it) for at least half an hour after we go to bed. We're happy with this and adjust our sleeping schedule to allow for our nightly cat entertainment. Probably won't get bored of another cat as fast as he'd get bored of a Da Bird.

Than again, I probably didn't need to suggest another cat. Seems to be a typical suggestion throughout the threads to many behavioural issues.

As for peeing on your BFs clothes - perhaps put the clothes somewhere else? Like in a drawer or on a coat hook? I'm not sure how many clothes you're speaking of, but behind the tv seems to be asking to be used for a sleeping (or other cat usage) spot.

I think we all need to do some things at some stage to kitty proof our homes - much like kiddie proofing. If you don't want it messed with, don't leave it around. We can't leave glasses or cups with liquids around, our bengal always gets at them and we're always cleaning up the mess. ANY liquid is asking for a head and a paw to be stuffed into the container with it. How do we fix it? We just don't tempt her with it.

hope that helps

I still think given a little more time, he will adjust to your pattern - at night time, when you go to sleep, is the place dark? I expect it's harder even for a cat to run around in the dark, compared to in the light..

Do you ignore him when he does mischeif at night? it could be attention seeking, and by doing anything, you're rewarding him for that behaviour?

Alternatively, if it's noise you may well get used to it yourself. Apparently according to my GF, Freya yowls in the night sometimes, but I don't wake up, so maybe you can train your brain to not be affected by the noise and wake you up?

I'm really sorry it's making life a little awkward, but don't forget about his good points too!

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i realize ppl are busy but with over 50 views and no reply is a bit strange, to me anyway. but thank you to everyone that replied any suggestion is helpful.

we do have another cat but he is too fat to wear out gizmo lol even when forest picks fights with gizmo he whines when he is getting beat lol

and the reason i can hear him making mischief at night is because we bought him a lead and i put it on him so he could get used to it, but i've just left it on him and it has a bell so whenever i heard the bell at night i knew he wasn't sleeping and more than likely on the wood table and pushing the papers off on to the floor. and coming out and squirting him to stop seems like a weird way to get attention since he hates the water and runs away in any direction.

as for darkness the living room is pretty dark but prolly not as dark as our bedroom, since finding shades for the bedroom was easier than the living room, where they sleep. the living room as a black sheet covering most of the bay window. and then there are the city lights that prolly don't help the darkness...so he must have some super night vision to still walk around and "play".

moving is not possible as we have a lease for a year and we've only been there since february.

and the peeing on clothes i knew was going to happen sooner or later, and i have left a couple piles but they havent been touched by the trouble maker so maybe he just doesnt like my bf? lol oh well.

Cats are naturally active during the night - it's the best time for them to hunt and their night vision is superb so I think you'll find it difficult to train him to sleep to a human pattern. It's more a question of managing his night time antics rather so that they don't disturb you too much. Mine are active throughout the early part of the night but I just let them get on with it and they then settle down in the early hours of the morning. Sometimes I come down to find they've knocked things over or scattered papers, even broken things but it's not something that bothers me because they're just being cats!

What is it he's actually doing that is disturbing you so much - you just said "mischief" in your post? Is it possible to remove whatever it is he's playing with?

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the mischief he creates is jumping on the dining room table (which he knows very well that he is not supposed to do) and pushes all our bills and notes on the floor so he can attack them.

It probably is a way to get my attention b/c most times when he does jump up there we are watching tv and i guess not paying him attention. I wouldn't mind about the papers being pushed around so much, but the jumping on the table and pub-height chairs is what concerns me most. I still even have the plastic on the chairs from when they were delivered!

He does have soft paws on the fronts but its his hind paws is what i'm worried about when he jumps off, in case he scratches it. I wanted to put a table cloth on it but my bf didn't want to hide the nice table, so i bought a cat tree that was about the height of my table hoping it would solve that problem, it worked for a lil while.

so i think it will be a da bird session after his dinner so he gets tuckered out, as it is the only thing that has worked all week so far...

I think he's just using up the energy that his instincts tell him he should be using at that time of night but I sympathise about the table. I don't have any decent furniture so I (probably foolishly) let my pair do what they like Mine do love playing with papers on my desk - they get their head underneath them and shovel them off the table and then look at me for approval

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maybe you need a higher cat tree...

Or possibly making a big deal of him being on the table is only encouraging it. The more we tell Linden no about the table and bench tops, then more she does it. We had our other two cats trained not to be no them, and she's retrained them to wait until our backs are turned. We can now walk into the dining room and find three cats lined up quietly on the kitchen table looking out the windows - where they ALL know they're not allowed to be. Unfortunately (as you well know) when you sign up for a bengal, you sign up for all of these joys.

Perhaps (depending on the material the table is made of), you can rub it down with some type of citrus oil? The smell *might* deter the cat - but you would need to find one that is safe for the furniture you have.

You're probably much better off finding a new, secure home for your papers. And if the bell then keeps you awake at night, take it off... It's fine to leave the harness on them to get them accustomed to it, but generally I think an hour or so at a time is enough (not permanent). If you want a collar with a bell as a permanent option, make sure you get one with the safety release. There's too many things they can get caught on, and one of the people on this forum has already lost a cat through getting choked with a non-safety collar. If your cat doesn't go outside, I'd say there's really no reason for a collar at all.

With a bengal it is easier to change your behaviour to fit in with the cat, not expect the cat to change to fit in with you. A good start would be move the clothes, move the papers, secure the things you don't want him getting into, and remove the bell if it keeps you awake at night. They're like a perpetual two year old and WILL push you to figure out the limits. With a small child you remove the breakables and dangers from their reach. With a bengal, their reach is further and the breakables might be a different set of objects, but the solution is the same.

heh - I'm sitting here right now watching my husband have a conversation with our girl consisting of "Should you be on there? Is that a valid cat seating location?" as she sits happily on the dining table watching him prepare his breakfast in the kitchen. He then walked around the bench towards her and she jumped off. We were VERY anti cats on tables and benches. She has us all trained now. We can move her while we're there, but we know to expect it again and there's absolutely no point getting stressed about it. It will only result in you resenting your cat for no reason other than him being what he is.

i forgot to add...

Linden is naughty. But I have to say, she is THE MOST rewarding cat I have EVER had in my life, and I wouldn't change her for the world.

hiya, sorry your little man is being a naughty boy.

have you tried maybe confining him at night to a small area? a bathroom or the like, & playing with him to wear him out as much as possible beforehand.

he obviously has a lot of energy he needs to burn off.