Suspected bengal cross kitten causing a riot, advice needed!!

[CC & The Pussycat Guys & Dolls]

Can I ask what did your friend think this cat was going to do/ act like? Thats how cats are Im afraid  

[miafey]

She looks like a Bengal crossed with another pedigree (abysinian maybe) but as said she will be classed as a moggy but sounds like her bengal charachter is right out there. She also looks adorable but is going to be a real handful as she gets older too.

She has definately left her mother too young and do not know what to recommend.

If she is just under treatment for the eye infection, That will not stop her being insured and wouldnt even mention it.

You can get cable covers to protect the electric cables but sounds like she is trying to bite ands suckle like she would with her mother, maybe she gets frustrated cos there is no milk coming out.

I have  great big boy , now 8years and he is suckling his blanket as I type, which is cute but this kitten has big problems I think.....what is her name??

I think that a da bird toy will actually do the opposite of what you fear and it will help her to do things that come naturally to a cat and also tire her out. It must only be used with supewrvision cos it mneeds a human on one end anyway 

I think maybe you should write to Vicky Halls website and tell the story including that she left her mother at 5 months, the environment she lives in and what is happening. Say you think she maybe a bengal cross . Asak if another cat or kitten may help her and waht age and sex would she recommend................she can only say that you would have to formally referred to her but you may get some tips.

Insure her now, immediately before she hurts herself and then if you need behavioral guidance the insarance will pay out about £250 for this, no idea how much it costs but has to be done through the vet and you dont want to approach the vet until she has been insured for 14 days.

I am sure she is a darling and to get some attention from our bengal owners on here I would change the tiltle to something like........Suspected bengal cross kitten causing a riot, advice needed. To do this go to your first post and modify the title and then do a new post and that will make it show up.

Her name is Cookie

Thanks so much for your advice. I've changed the title
I've got a da bird. I think i'll just let my friend borrow it for some days to see how Cookies goes on with it. Surely it'll be after she's insured for 14 days as we don't want any accident....
My friend saw her Mum when got her and she was just a ordinary domestic long hair. All her brothers and sisters are long hair just like her mum and she's the only one with that color and pattern.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

She looks like a Bengal crossed with another pedigree (abysinian maybe) but as said she will be classed as a moggy but sounds like her bengal charachter is right out there. She also looks adorable but is going to be a real handful as she gets older too.

She has definately left her mother too young and do not know what to recommend.

If she is just under treatment for the eye infection, That will not stop her being insured and wouldnt even mention it.

You can get cable covers to protect the electric cables but sounds like she is trying to bite ands suckle like she would with her mother, maybe she gets frustrated cos there is no milk coming out.

I have  great big boy , now 8years and he is suckling his blanket as I type, which is cute but this kitten has big problems I think.....what is her name??

I think that a da bird toy will actually do the opposite of what you fear and it will help her to do things that come naturally to a cat and also tire her out. It must only be used with supewrvision cos it mneeds a human on one end anyway 

I think maybe you should write to Vicky Halls website and tell the story including that she left her mother at 5 months, the environment she lives in and what is happening. Say you think she maybe a bengal cross . Asak if another cat or kitten may help her and waht age and sex would she recommend................she can only say that you would have to formally referred to her but you may get some tips.

Insure her now, immediately before she hurts herself and then if you need behavioral guidance the insarance will pay out about £250 for this, no idea how much it costs but has to be done through the vet and you dont want to approach the vet until she has been insured for 14 days.

I am sure she is a darling and to get some attention from our bengal owners on here I would change the tiltle to something like........Suspected bengal cross kitten causing a riot, advice needed. To do this go to your first post and modify the title and then do a new post and that will make it show up.

[Pinkbear (Julie)]

I would try to get another kitten around the similar age. (I'd concider maybe up to a year old age range.) Male or female makes no difference at that age. Boys are usually more laid back. Some would say lazy even. 

A word with the local rescue should help find a suitable candidate. Don't be tempted to get another Bengal!  Bog standard moggy is what you need. 

By the way, looking at the cat tree in the photo... Bengals like to climb MUCH higher than that given the chance. I've often seen pictures of them balancing on top of opened doors or wardrobes. They are much closer genetically to jungle cats and would naturally lay in wait up a tree for hours looking for prey.  Why not try googling the breed characteristics? Even though she's a cross she will have inherited a lot of the tendancies. 

[miafey]

The colour of the bottom of the paws are usually black in Bengals. She does look like a cross to me. She'd be classed as a domestic though.

I've seen a lot of this behaviour is cases like you've described. Being parted from mum and sibblings too early has meant she hasn't had another cat to reinforce her boundaries. Sibblings rough and tumble all the time and teach each other limits. If it all gets out of hand mum will belt them her paw.  Couple that with a Bengals energy and demands.... well, I couldn't cope with that in a 1 bed flat. No way! At one time I had 2 domestic kittens in a 2 bed flat and they drove me up the wall - circuit racing across the bed at 2am!

She needs another cat or kitten to teach her proper limits. And she really needs more room to be honest. 

Yes the bottom of her paw is black indeed!!
Will other cat apart from her mum still be able to educate her? So she'll need another female cat?

[Pinkbear (Julie)]

The colour of the bottom of the paws are usually black in Bengals. She does look like a cross to me. She'd be classed as a domestic though.

I've seen a lot of this behaviour is cases like you've described. Being parted from mum and sibblings too early has meant she hasn't had another cat to reinforce her boundaries. Sibblings rough and tumble all the time and teach each other limits. If it all gets out of hand mum will belt them her paw.  Couple that with a Bengals energy and demands.... well, I couldn't cope with that in a 1 bed flat. No way! At one time I had 2 domestic kittens in a 2 bed flat and they drove me up the wall - circuit racing across the bed at 2am!

She needs another cat or kitten to teach her proper limits. And she really needs more room to be honest. 

[miafey]

i dont like what you said about her having her toy and a cat tree, has she just got one toy? she need lots of stimulation and to be played with by her humans and being so young she needs lots of puuuuuuursonal attention,

if she is being left alone for long periods and locked in a cage this is going to make matters worse and think the owner needs some professional advise about care for this cat.

another thing is this kitten sounds very bengal and wonder if it has bengal in it?

think the owner needs to start with the vet and then get referred onto a behaviorist, i do hope there is insurance  cos it sounds like the kitten is going to hurt itself.

She has more than one toy 

Well it's a long story. Cookie came to my friend's when she was only about 5 weeks old - very young, had flea and cat flu, with infection in her eyes. Over a long time she was on eye drops and other medications. Now she's vaccinated.

She's a indoor cat. We don't know her breed but indeed someone saw her pic mentioned she looks quite bengal. I'm not an expert in that but i've attached a pic here. I think she has rather long ears and her body is longer than kitten at her age. Yet on her vet reg form she was classified as domestic long hair....somehow

She eats a lot, and has a very sensitive tummy, any slight change in her diet will make some instant effect.

She has got toy mice, scratch post, scratch balls, a very big cat tree, a sunflower bed. She is loved. But her behavior is rather a headache to the owners.

She started biting soon after she arrived and my friend has got her legs and hands full of scars....then runs all day long around the flat. My friend only works part time so has plenty of time at home playing with her. But she's far too energetic and the moment you got your eyes off her she starts doing something..... Once she almost set fire to the by chewing the electrical cables.....She kicks her water bowl all the time, and rolls in her litter tray. So my friend bought an hooded litter tray for her, and still she plays in it.... She always get litter in her mouth and dirty stuff on her paws. And because of that her eye infection came back again and again. The only peace they could get is when she sleeps, really like an angel

The trouble is she's too daring. There is nothing at all she's afraid of. So it's difficult to educate her. You take her out from the TV cabinet or the litter tray, she'll go back to it faster then you could possibly say "Indiana Jones". She has destroyed several pieces of the floors in the household and some furnatures. They live in a one bed flat. Living room and bedroom have got too many things which can be dangerous for her when she's on her own. Door hall, she chews shoelaces. I'm not sure what she'll do if she's kept in the bathroom. Locking her in the cage is the last thing they want to do. But what can they do

Sometimes when she's quiet she's a really loving cat. But there aren't many moments like that...

She's not insured at the moment. I think they were about to do that but cookie kept sending herself to the vet......Can a cat under treatment get insurance? I'm not too sure about that.

I know Da Bird is good. It's not that they don't want to get one for her. It's that they dare not to get her a toy which encourages her hunting and biting. And also they were worrying about the feather and litther parts on it. I can quite understand as basicly she's got something to tell me everyday which makes me really think cookie is perhaps not a cat at all.....

So maybe the only way is to go to a behaviorist for help

[Pinkbear (Julie)]

Well I think the others touched on everything I was going to say. The evidence points to Bengal/Bengal cross - highly vocal, highly active, LOTS of stimulation needed! Sadly a lot of Bengals end up in rescue as inexperineced people buy them and are just not expecting such high demands from a cat. 

I'd tell your friend to invest in a lot more toys and activities. Bengals love to climb so some more cat trees will help. And/or consider getting her a friend to help her work off that energy. 

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Just to add to ccs post about da bird...........it must be locked away out of sight  while there is no human around.

And added to my post about insurance, it needs to be taken out immediately if none is is in place cos there is a 14 day period at the begiining when you cant claim. Rate AXA usewd by many on Purrs, me inlcuded.

[CC & The Pussycat Guys & Dolls]

Cats are like babies, you can't leave anything around that might be dangerous to them- although a cat may try to hunt it out 

I would suggest while she's in this stage for your friend to leave nothing out that could be of harm to her, which means hide everything, put trousers away etc.  Your friend could end up with a very large vet bill, for example string if eaten can get caught up in the intestines and cause them to tie up- it happened to a member here and her cat had to have an emergency op which came to a cost of nearly £600 I thnk?

I think this cat needs more stimulation, perhaps suggest the Da bird toy (which can be bought here for little cost) they are quite fun for both cat and owner 

[Desley (booktigger)]

Think your last post has a couple of answers into it - how old was she when they adopted her? Cats that leave their mum too young can have problems as they dont get taught what they should.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

i dont like what you said about her having her toy and a cat tree, has she just got one toy? she need lots of stimulation and to be played with by her humans and being so young she needs lots of puuuuuuursonal attention,

if she is being left alone for long periods and locked in a cage this is going to make matters worse and think the owner needs some professional advise about care for this cat.

another thing is this kitten sounds very bengal and wonder if it has bengal in it?

think the owner needs to start with the vet and then get referred onto a behaviorist, i do hope there is insurance  cos it sounds like the kitten is going to hurt itself.

[miafey]

That's a very unusual one. Girls are often more of a handful than boys though. I'd say it's more to do with boredom than hunger. What kind of toys does she have? Does she have any other animals for company?

Have to say we at Canterbury Cats Protection do always try to rehome kittens in pairs if it's possible. One kitten on it's own can often get into trouble. They need to work off that energy somehow and kittens' judgement isn't developed yet. 

She's definately a very special one!! If you see her, she's more like a little leopard then a cat....you'll notice her existance every single second as she's never stopped making noise and running around.....
She's the only cat in the house unfortunately but she's got her toy and a big cat tree to play with. There used to be a guest male cat around 6 months old stayed with them for about a week and cookie, the little girl was only 6 weeks at that time. Guess what....she chased the big brother around the house all day........She's definately very energetic.....

[Pinkbear (Julie)]

That's a very unusual one. Girls are often more of a handful than boys though. I'd say it's more to do with boredom than hunger. What kind of toys does she have? Does she have any other animals for company?

Have to say we at Canterbury Cats Protection do always try to rehome kittens in pairs if it's possible. One kitten on it's own can often get into trouble. They need to work off that energy somehow and kittens' judgement isn't developed yet. 

[miafey]

It's my friend's cat - little girl, just over 3 months old, being very daring and naughty. She basicly bites everything and then swallow them if she can. Cables, strings, cat litter......whatever you can think of, she'll give it a try. My friend has to lock her in the cage when no one is home otherwise she may come back home find her dead body, giving the fact that she loves electrical cables.....And even when someone is home, she/he needs to keep fighting with the little cat to get something out of her mouth - need to act very quickly!

The day before yesterday the cat had running tommy. My friend searched the whole flat and found a piece of fabric on her husbands trousers gone missing. This morning the half digested piece was find out in the cat cage in her vomit. Just after several hours peace she discovered that the cat swallowed the tail of her toy mice.......

My friend is now getting mad about it Why the cat keeps chewing and swallow things? They're definately not tasty.....She's not starving - my friend feeds her a lot. Anyone can give her some advice on how to stop that before the cat eats the whole house?  Does the cat needs something to help developing her teeth at this age so she needs something to chew?