We urgently need to find a home for our beautiful 2 year old silver marble Bengal girl. Please note that she does not get on well with other cats and prefers to be the sole queen of the house. She is very friendly and loves human company and will come and curl up on your lap, but will hiss at any other cat.

The story about why we need to re-home her is sad and very frustrating. She disappeared at the beginning of April and we spent a month searching the local area high and low for her, leafleting, postering, calling local vets, responding to possible sightings etc. There were many very frosty nights and we feared that she was trapped, starving, freezing and worse... you can imagine.... Almost a month to the day she disappeared, we got a call from a neighbour to say that they were sure they could see her in an elderly neighbour's house. Sure enough there she was and she'd been kept there the whole time, lured by the never-ending plates of copious dog food the woman puts out for seagulls (there's one seagull who comes in through her cat flap to eat in her kitchen). The woman knew we had been looking for her (we'd put a leaflet though her door at the outset) but she had decided to keep her. She told us 'cats always come to me' as if she has some kind of catnip magic (food!!)... she thinks she's a cat expert (e.g. 'cats don't drink water').

By this stage, Calypso was quite fat. She didn't want to come home to us as she'd decided that that was her home, so we kept her in for a month to re-imprint that this was her real home, but we didn't want to make her a prisoner for the rest of her life and decided to see what would happen if we let her out again as there was nothing to lose. It was fine for a couple of days, but on day three, she failed to return again and had gone straight back to this woman's house.

Why don't we just accept we need to keep her in? She is one of three Bengals, previously living together harmoniously. Now, she is very angry with the other two, won't tolerate them and stresses them by hissing and swiping them with her paw, so we have to keep her separately. We've tried gentle re-introuction, but she's not having it. The other two go out and return without a problem - the old woman knows these two cats as well as she described them to us and said for some reason they won't go into her house!

This is no life for Calypso and it breaks our hearts to see her living a half life. Please can someone in the Sussex area (or near) give her a home? She has been spayed and microchipped and has a full pedigree - we aren't looking for any money, just a loving home.

Sorry if I have missed something but it seems she has a lovely home that she has chosen to be a part of - and no doubt has enhanced the life of the elderly woman too. Maybe it would be a nice gesture to offer her to the lady that is so fond of her and the she is obviously so fond of. Again, sorry if I have misread something - it just seems the answer is only a few doors down.

Hi. I would tend to agree with Hubblebub.
Perhaps a chat and some education on how to feed correctly and care for a Bengal with the old lady is the solution!
It would seem a shame that you and your gorgeous girl are separated forever over something that has obviously brought
companionship to both her and a probably confused but well-meaning oldie - Perhaps the ideal all round.

You never know - Calypso may even come round to thinking home is better after all....... and will re-bond with the others, over time!

Does sound like she has pcked her own home! When we moved to our new house 2 years ago our cats ran away the first night they were here. we searched for them everywhere and couldnt find them! Our neighbors take in an abundance of cats so we asked them, they had seen them but they were not there! Last halloween we had our children out trick or treating, we live in a large subdivison so all the kids know each other and we all go door to door trick or treating and sure enough a lady about 8 houses down opened her door and there was Bandit a cat that my husband had for 8 years and Skitter a cat that was given to us by our previous neighbors where we lived before! They were at the door and of course my 7 year old started screaming for Bandit that was her cat that she was basically raised with. The women told us that they came up to her house about a year prior and she had been taking care of them since! Long story short we brought them back home as the lady told us to and within 48 hours they were back with her! That is their home now and that is where they want to be! They come visit us now and then and still breaks my daughters heart but that is where they chose to be! So now we have a Bengal and my daughter is now at the age where she understands what happened and she is happy they are happy now !

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Thanks for your replies guys. We thought about just leaving her there, but here's the thing - the lady is quite elderly and infirm (she's 85) and she spends 3-4 nights a week at her son's house elsewhere, leaving her house empty. She told us she has blackouts and a dodgy heart. As she says herself, she just can't have a young cat. Calypso was peeing on her sofa and bed, which she was struggling to clean up. Calypso also had a large sore on her leg, which the old lady couldn't see. If she needed to see a vet, this lady couldn't take her, physically or financially. On top of this all, being a neutered cat, she has to have her food intake regulated, which wasn't happening, and that's why in a month she'd put on half a kilo and wasn't as agile as before. If only it was that simple.

Oh,Sorry to hear that! I agree that probably wouldnt be the best for her! I wish I could help but there is not much I can do other than wish you and your cat good luck and I hope you find her a good home!

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Hi im looking to find a new member for my family i have a new baby and would love a great pet to grow up with my baby plz let me know if you might interested