Hi all,

I have an F5 female bengal that was spayed as a kitten and has lived indoors her whole life.

I know bengals aren't afraid to tell you when they want something. She will tell me when the food is gone, or when she wants canned food. She usually does this in the kitchen by meowing/yowling and generally causing a ruckus. She is training me well!

She will also tell me when the litter boxes need to be cleaned. She will meow/yowl and walk by the litter boxes, and that's when I know that there's some waste from my second cat that she's being finicky about, and I need to clean it.

But sometimes, like this evening, she will be restless like she is trying to tell me something/wants something. All the litter boxes are clean, they have had their canned food this evening, the water fountains are full, the food dishes are full. I can't figure out what else she could want. She is yowling, trying to get into my kitchen cabinets, knocking things around, etc. I tried to see if she wanted to play but she's not interested. She also has a cat wheel, wasn't interested in that either. Gave her some affection and brushed her, she loves that, but afterwards she went back to yowling in the kitchen.

Any idea what else she could want? She is still fairly new to my household, I believe this is her 8th or 9th week with me. What do your bengal kitties "want" when they display this behavior?

Attention! When Quasar meows without apparent reason, it means he wants some sort of attention. Sometimes he will stop if I talk back, take him for a walk, or use an interactive toy with him, like Da-bird. Other times it doesn't seem to matter what I do. Also, if I can't pay attention to him, eventually, he will stop.

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~ Kyenta

Yes, attention! Oscar bites feet or goes to the kitchen and pulls the kick boards off under the units. He knows this behaviour will get me up off the sofa!!!

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Melissa

UK
Oscar - Rescue (Rascal!!!) Bengal

Welcome to the world of Bengals!!! Bengals can get restless! Mine is that way as well. That's just the breed. They only settle down to sleep. The rest of the time, they are on the move. And, yes, they love to get into everything. They love challenges. Try and find some cat puzzles that may interest him (treat puzzles can be fun). Also know that there can be a long adjustment period. You have an F5, which is just barely in the domestic cat category. Bengals are high energy anyway. And they LOVE attention and they know how to get it. You need to be able to engage her in play and she can get used to the cat wheel -- it took a little while for mine, but now he gets on it regularly (and in fact, sprayed on the inside track today - UGH).

Have a lot of patience and you'll start to understand exactly what she is telling you. If you think she needs more stimulation, you might consider training her to walk on a harness and leash and take outside walks. But, once they start, you'll be doing them every single day, sometimes twice a day (like my bengal gets).

Thank you for the responses! Haha, they are very needy and loving! She is just in such high contrast to my big lazy boy who the shelter thought is British Shorthair. He has the look of it and the temperament so I don't doubt it. He is eeeeasy to keep entertained.

I honestly love the challenge so far. Hemlock (my bengal) is so smart and always wants to know what I'm doing. I have numerous puzzle toys for her, she always beats them in a matter of minutes! We also like Catit toys, her favorite so far is the digging puzzle toy. Her previous owner is actually the one who said that she loves the wheel, and she definitely does love it. It's just sometimes she doesn't feel like using it, or maybe like in this case, just wanted my attention. She has the biggest heart.

As for the walking, I'm definitely planning on harness training her. I bought a harness and leash but have been waiting for her to adjust to my home a little more before beginning harness training.

She loves to get into plastic grocery bags if I leave them on the floor, but I don't like that (of course that's on me for leaving them in her reach!) as it's not very safe. I think she likes the sound they make when she paws at them and dives into them. Any good cat toys for that?

I definitely still have a lot to learn about her and I know I'll be able to decode her language over time.

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The little monsters 3

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The little monsters 3

Oh, she is 7 years old and plays with her "brother" who is 4 years old. The shelter I got him from thinks he's a british shorthair. I have a 2 cat household. They do play with each other quite a bit. I have a little cat tunnel that they like to play chase through. It's also the reason why I say my cat tree is sad and needs an upgrade. It was okay when I just had one cat, but now that she's here they like to play on it and tend to knock it over.

Hemlock definitely isn't a kitten and she's actually fairly mellow for a bengal, from what I've heard. She enjoys cuddle times and loves sleeping on my lap. She's a big softie and looooves to headbutt. If I use smaller toys to try and interact with her, she usually gets distracted and just wants to purr and interact with me instead. Same with her cat wheel, she has to go on it without my interaction. If she goes on it with me present and coaxing her, she'll run for just a little bit before promptly flopping over and purring, asking for a belly rub.

I like the wands that you showed, hopefully that'll get her attention on the toy and not me! She is a fan of feathers.

Oh the plastic bag dilemma. Raiden loves them. I have them in my closet in the bathroom to use in the wastepaper baskets and he just loves to lick them -- doesn't eat them, just licks them. He has come out with them around his neck, but we are always watching him and make sure the two doors are closed whenever we leave the house. When we come in from grocery shopping and all the bags are on the kitchen counter or floor, he has a field day! But, all are put away or recycled.

But, back to the original poster -- you must have a very smart kitty. Do you have an iPad where you can download the free games for cats? Some cats will play with the fish and bugs forever! Mine ignores them! Unfortunately, bengals are extremely needy and demanding. When you have a completely opposite cat, you wonder why your bengal can't be more like that kitty? Our outdoor cat is super laid back and sweet, but Raiden torments him to death. He stalks him, has to paw at him while Legs is trying to sleep. Hubby and I are run ragged trying to make sure Raiden leaves him alone.

Glad you are thinking about leash training her. You might want to put the harness on her now and let her adjust to it while walking around the house. That way, when you're ready to attach the leash, she is ready to go out. You never take a cat outside until they are comfortable wearing the harness. Make sure it's on securely or the cat might escape. Take a large towel with you to sit on in case she just wants to rest in the grass. In the beginning, the walks won't go far, but as she gains confidence, she will want to explore more. As I said, just know that one walk will result in two, three and hundreds. Raiden is on thousands at this point.

Ah, the kitchen! It's possible you have rodents underneath the floor or behind the walls and she is sensing them. Not sure why the yowling tho, that's counter productive to hunting!

If she is in the kitchen howling, maybe she wants food, or different food? Grace will randomly howl from time to time. I call her name and try to find out what she wants. Then I start talking kitty non-sense and they both gather round to hear the stories about when they were babies...I think they just like the interaction.