This morning I was sat on my couch watching TV, while eating my breakfast and my cat comes and sits next to my feet. His eyes are fully dilated, and he is staring at me. I ignore him, next minute he lunges at me and claws my right hand pretty badly, drawing blood, then he runs away. I get up to grab him and he runs and tries to hide. So I am thinking, does he know what he has done is wrong? Managed to catch him and shut him away in the bathroom for the past hour as punishment. He has attacked me i n the past, but not this badly for a long time. Seriously thinking of getting rid of him, as I am sick of it, any idea's?

I had exactly the same thing. I would most like think this is play aggression. My rescue bengal used to do the same but he would get higher than me, then eyeball me, pupils would dilate and game on. I consulted a cat behaviourist who did not mince her words to me.......I was not meeting Oscar's very particular bengal needs. The simple fact is you have a bengal with a high play requirement and very high prey drive. Oscar can still get like this sometimes but I just redirect as soon as it starts to happen. When your cat starts on this, you get up, say a firm and loud NO and walk away and totally ignore. Do not punish your cat, he is only doing what comes naturally to him......hunting. The only trouble is that bengals are much stronger and full on than most cats so when he catches his prey (your feet etc), it flipping hurts and you can bleed. Real aggression is very different and trust me, you would know it. I knew with Oscar that if he got like this then he needed to hunt something so after about half an hour of him being ignored, I would get the toys out and exhaust him with play. Don't whatever you do play with him immediately after him going for you as he might think " great!, if I attack him then he plays with me!" Please don't think badly of your cat as he is just behaving naturally. Bengals are not docile little lap cats and need different things. Please give him a chance. I know it's frustrating but he is a bengal!!! Also make sure he has lots of different toys, scratch pads, cat trees etc. I also had a trick of having a big stuffed toy sitting next to me all the time and let Oscar attack that rather than my arm. Kong kikaroos are great as they can wrestle them and use their back feet to shred their prey as they would in the wild. Good luck and try to think differently about his behaviour.

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Melissa

UK
Oscar - Rescue (Rascal!!!) Bengal

How old is your bengal? How much time during the day do you spend engaging your bengal in play? Bengals are not your ordinary cat. They don't sleep 20 hours a day. They require stimulation and interaction with humans. If you are ignoring the cat, then no wonder. Bengals are the challenging breed and they require time out of your day. I equate them more to being a toddler -- and you can't ignore a 2 year old child.

Throwing him into the bathroom isn't going to help because cats do not understand punishment. If you aren't willing to spend hours with him a day. A bengal has a very sweet disposition. You do find more wild instincts with earlier generation bengals (F1 to F3).

Bengals bond closely with their owners. They are very social creatures and want to be around you. They love playing to get out their energy. If you don't have the time to spend with this baby, then it may be best to seek a new home for him. A bengal is a huge commitment and some owners just aren't prepared for what this unique breed brings to the table. I'm sorry you are feeling this way, but it sounds like your baby just wants some love and attention.

get a laser pointer, tire him out

Sorry for the late reply, he is almost 3 years old and I play with him between 1 and 2 hours a day. He will randomly jump at my face as if he is attacking me. The troubling part is that it's COMPLETELY unprovoked. I will literally just be sitting on my sofa or on the bed minding my own business (not even making eye contact with him), and he will suddenly pounce at my face with his front paws. It has even happened a couple times while I was sleeping. Are you sure its not a dominance issue?

At times, cats can play the dominant card. For some kitties, one to two hours of day of play is not enough. They need several play sessions. I don't know if you are up for another kitty, but getting him a buddy might just help, although introducing two cats can be an issue unless done properly. You really do need to have some toys next to you so that when he comes around to you, you can distract him with the toys. It may help save your skin. You may also want to invest in some toys that require batteries that will interest your kitty so he will play more on his own. A 3-year old bengal should not be attacking its owner. Something is triggering this --scent, movement, territory. I don't know.

Here is a clip of what I have to put up with nearly everyday, he will be fine one minute, then just flip out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f53Lm1Cdtgg

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The little monsters 3

Hmm I wonder what's going on inside that little head of his

Hope you can find out what's going on!

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Matt

Eyes fully dilated, tail flipping and a warning meow. To me he looks agitated, nervous (licking lips) but he is not actively aggressive. To me he is warning you away. He is very unhappy about something and he is turning his head away to try to avoid but warning at the same time. Is it just the camera in his face? In this video all I see is a very nervous cat who is warning you away. Everything in his body language says 'leave me alone'. Does the aggression show itself when the cat has had enough of whatever is making him nervous? With my cat, it was totally different. He would actively engage, eyeballing me and not back down. He would be coming towards me and not stop. The behaviourist showed me how to be dominant but in a gentle way and the aggression soon stopped. All I get now is play aggression. More videos would be helpful of any other type of situations.

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Melissa

UK
Oscar - Rescue (Rascal!!!) Bengal

I learned about aggressive play behaviour when I visited this forum when I first got my rescue Bengal, and that was very helpful. Now fast forward 2 years and I occasionally get the bite & scratch behaviour for no reason. What alerts me is that little "queep" meow sound and it happens after I have been petting him...quietly on the couch and he is overly affectionate back at me. After he does the bite & scratch he cowers as though I am going to hit him.... which I have never done. Of course this could be a carry over from his previous owner......

This bite behaviour happened once or twice and I didn't think anything of it.... but it is getting more frequent....... and I have the scars on my hands to show! I will take the advice I found here and I will have the dog toy ready to distract him when he gets into that heavy affectionate mood accompanied by the little "queep" ....

Our lives got so busy and I can see we have not been playing with him enough, especially for the past few months. In addition the old Burmese Braun no longer runs with him and sadly is on his last legs. And there is no action on the outside.....it's been a long winter.

I can't thank the supportive people here enough, who gave me help and encouragement when I first got my Bengal, Tai Chi and I encourage everyone to learn from the savvy Bengal owners here. Cheers to all.

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New to Bengal with Tai Chi
Burmese cats for 25 years
West Coast USA

Always happy to see members return. I'm sorry to hear about your Burmese! I hope you'll keep returning and keep us posted.

These comments are really helpful. I have just adopted a three year old rescue Bengal cat. She's settling well, has a lovely nature and likes to play but she's testing me with play biting and scratching. We're getting there and it was a relief to see that others go through the same thing. There have obviously been issues with previous owners who might have hit her. The video clip was a revelation on several levels. when the yowling started my cat appeared and at first I thought she was going to attack me. Then I realised she was defending me against the animal on the screen. Thanks to those who have shared experiences.