Hey guys, my baby Bengal boy Nevada will be arriving on the 13th of August.
In relation to that I'd to hear any tips and tricks you might for those first few months with a 16 week old Bengal.
And especially how I should Bengal proof my home - I would like to avoid any accidents or him getting stuck somewhere. Any tips or tricks to do this would be greatly appreciated :)
I live in the 3rd floor in a two room apartment.

One of my big concerns when I got my bengal kittens was them biting wires. And sure enough, this turned out to be a problem. So what ended up working as a deterrent, was a combination of wire covers and bitter yuck (spray).

Another problem was that once they got acclimated and had the run of the house, it was real difficult to keep track of them! Some people will disagree, but I found a breakaway collar (very important for it to be the breakaway kind) with a bell on it was a godsend.

I kind of went overboard, putting child-proof locks on the cabinets where there was stuff that was either potentially dangerous (household cleaners etc) or stuff I just didn't want them to get into (food, baking supplies etc). Turns out neither of them had any interest in cupboard, and still don't!

Then just other common sense stuff, like keeping toilet lids closed, windows closed, doing a "cat check" before leaving the apt or immediately after entering the apt.

Also anytime you are doing a load of clothing or running the dishwasher, or using the stove, those are other times where you need to do a "cat check".

Plants are another thing you have to worry about. Indoor plants can be great for cats, provided you get the right ones. There's a good list here of the do's and don'ts of getting plants:

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-po ... xic-plants

Although this might be overly North American specific. Maybe there is a similar list for the flora around where you live.

Also, you have to kind of enter a room, and look *up*. Those are the places the cats are going to attempt to get to, lol. Bookshelves, counter tops, tall pieces of furniture etc. So you need to make sure anything left on those surfaces is either clamped down or is something you don't really care if a cat attempts to bat off and onto the floor.

One other gotcha are things like televisions and computer monitors. Yep, cats like to jump up on top of those too (with potentially disasterous results). So make sure they are placed in such a way that they either can't be jumped up on, or are fastened down such that if they do, it won't come crashing down.

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The little monsters 3

The only other thing I would add to Brian's excellent and comprehensive advice is to lay flat on you stomach so your eyes are at kitten level. We found that in the kitchen especially, where we have integrated units, when you open, say the dishwasher, a gap will appear at the bottom which is 'kitten size' and jagger especially would try to get in there. I shut them out as a result when loading the dishwasher. It was very hard to get to the gap as a human as the door would have to lift up for us to get under to try and retrieve him, making the gap smaller. So open things and then lay down and see what opportunities arise for a little kitten to wriggle into.

So check each room like that. We also blocked the space under the wardrobe by placing boxes in front until they were definitely too big to get under, Hendrix used to get stuck otherwise!

I also got child locks for cupboards with cleaning fluids etc, but fortunately the only cupboard either of them are interested in opening, is the treat cupboard. The round handles seem to stop them being able to actually manage that though.

Good luck!

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

One thing that really freaked me out recently, was that I put this big suitcase of mine on top of this really high (like 8' high) bookcase, just to get it out of the way and off the floor.

Serafina took one look at that, and took one leap to the top of a desk, and another leap directly onto the side of the suitcase (like she was climbing a tree). I saw her do that, and FREAKED because I saw what was going to happen... the suitcase was on the very edge of the bookcase, and it wasn't going to support her weight and would tip over and she'd fall and smack her head somewhere, not to mention the suitcase probably falling on top of her. So I *rushed* over there and quickly pried Serafina off. She complained bitterly. She's like "what? why did you do that? I was having fun!". I took the suitcase down and put it in the closet. Whew, feel like I dodged a bullet. That's a bengal for you!

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The little monsters 3

I think Brian and Clare covered just about everything. After reading Brian's post, the only thing I could add was to get down to the kitty's level and crawl around on the floor and look from their perspective and see if you spot anything. Clare covered that. Know that bengals can open cabinets, doors (once they get bigger and stronger). Definitely keep the toilets closed. Mine has just started jumping up on the rim and putting his paw into the water. Make sure the toilet paper isn't hanging down from the holder or you may come home and find it rolled completely out on the floor. I know in the beginning, you will be following him around constantly and watching him. As long as you have a nice cat tree, toys, a nice comfy bed, you will be fine. Playtime really helps, too.

Thanks guys! We got safety locks for the windows and the trash can - looking into getting a new toilet lid since it's quite loose and one of the bad types that get dirt stuck. We put up the two cat trees I bought and they're looking good! I think we will look into securing behind the oven and in the bathroom. The apartment is actually pretty well made, so there's nothing that really screams "Danger!"

I have 2 bengals one 4 years and the other 9 months, I thought I had covered all eventualities where bengal proofing was concerned as I had another before these 2.

It wasn't until my latest Pearl came along I've found she gets into and onto anything and everything which I've never had before, some of the things are ones I wouldn't have even thought of, I have a glass display cabinet which is fixed to the wall in a corner, the gap between this and the wall is only around 3 inches but Pearl stands on the top and tries to squeeze down the side, which if she did she would be stuck head first down the gap, so I have put a rolled up towel down the gap.

She climbs up my net curtains right to the top.

You name it she's into it.

I'm not sure if it's a female thing or not as I've only had males before and they haven't been this naughty.

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

Grannicks bitter apple spray is a life-saver for bengal kittens.

Check everything on your shelves - if you are happy for it to bounce on the floor from that height - then keep the item there.

Hide cables / spray them with Grannicks - they will try and eat power cables.

Give them plenty of good places to be up high and survey their territory.

Ensure that driers and washing machines are kept closed, all chemicals cleaners are stored so they can't be brushed against, knocked over or spilled.

Replace lever style door handles with round ones.

Good luck. Remember that Bengal-proofing your home is not a task, it is a journey of at least 18 months because the little swines are smart, curious and inventive.

Over two years on, and it's still a work in progress at my place! I've just been out to buy 'attractive' storage baskets for the chest of drawers in my bedroom. I'm tired of Jagger's game of sweeping everything off the top when he thinks its time for me to get up! All perfume, aftershave, jewellery boxes etc will now be tidied nicely away in a basket which will be discretely taped to the chest of drawers.

I look forward to him trying to sweep that on to the floor - ha!

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

I've always been lucky none of mine have ever chewed cables, steal things YES that's a different matter, Pearl steals everything from spoons to chargers and mp3 players.

I keep all my toiletries such as perfume etc in a basket with a lid on the dressing table, they can lift the lid but cannot take anything out.

All ornaments are in a glass cabinet.

Most things are put away, I do have an artificial flower display in my kitchen window but I made sure it wasn't in anything breakable as Pearl knocks it out several times a day.

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

Your apartment looks great! Thankfully, it is small so you can keep an eye on Nevada most of the time. Mine has never gotten into cables or hid things. He doesn't ever carry anything in his mouth -- not even his toys. He will hop up on my makeup table and start tossing the make up off onto the floor! He knows that will get me up. Took me a while to find my mascara one day that he had pushed it off the back of the table. They certainly know how to get our attention when we try to ignore them. Raiden will even try to climb up the CD tower because he know I will scream and go running in the hope he doesn't tip it over and have it fall on top of him. He ONLY does this when we are trying to watch TV and he wants to be the center of attention.

Babbage does a similar thing in the office threatening to knock stuff off a shelft to get attention and Ada attacks my leather footstool each night when I am having my dinner in order to get shouted at and chased. She launches at a corner, bear-hugs it and makes a racket, looking over to me in the hope that I'll get up and chase her.

We had cardboard boxes to go on the stairs (Which I'm guessing you don't have any since you're on the 3rd floor) and around any sharp areas.
We also had cushions below areas that he could climb to. For example- the toilet he could jump up onto, so we had blankets at the base incase he fell off.
Under the dishwasher and fridge, we rolled up old towels and placed them at the base.

We did the safe room for 10 days, then let him out. Which I would also suggest doing to allow you personal time to bond!

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Archer- Born March 8, 2016 gold with amazing ink jet rosettes
DiVinci- Born July 31, 2016 charcoal seal lynx point