Kamikaze (as we have named him, due to his insane energy and running into/over/under things) has been sort of a problem child since we got him 18 months ago. We bought him from an independent non-professional breeder but he isn't officially licensed. We got him at age 1 month. I'm guessing he didn't have proper training/handling/socializing during that first month.
When we first got him, we could barely see him. He would hide in the deepest crevice under the darkest piece of furniture in our spare room. It took 3 days for him to even sniff our hand and then would run back under the couch. He meowed constantly. CONSTANTLY. He eventually warmed up to where we could finger-pet him, and we tried to pick his little body up with no luck. He scratched both my wife and I very deep and basically scrambled out like his life depended on it. He didn't come out again for another 2 days.
Fast forward to modern day. High energy, high socializing with other cats, but he still runs whenever a human approaches. If you catch him during a nap, you can pet him and he'll start purring very loudly but as soon as he realizes what's going on (being violated by a hoooman), he darts straight up from dead sleep and high-tails it to a safe distance.
His bubble is roughly six feet from a standing human before he decides to run. For a sitting human he approaches cautiously in a wide-angle fashion (left to right, looking for the safest way to approach and the clearest way out), until the sitting human makes a noise and he darts, then returns.
He went through a period where he pissed on everything he could find. I wanted to kill him. We got him neutered and the pissing went away eventually but we have found territory marks (maybe 2 in the last 6 months). He has no conception of other cats' personal spaces and will bounce like a pinball from one cat to another (we have 4 total). We adopted another cat specifically so he had a play partner and she is the same age and has a high energy level too (DLH) but gets tired of his antics and starts screaming/gurgling when he pins her down. It's literally the worst sound in the world. So he goes to another cat, hiss, growl, run, repeat. Then when he's exhausted all the other cats or we start yelling for him to stop, he starts howling or crying like a baby very loudly for up to 5 minutes.
The affection he does show is VERY particular :
I read stories about Bengals being affectionate cats but I don't see it. He's my least favorite cat but by far the prettiest. He is literally the most frightened cat I've ever seen in my life. He sees his shadow on the wall and jumps. Any creak in the bed, normal house sounds, a door opening, a tap on the countertop, he will stop, slink, and look with eyes wide open before running from the sound.
His obsession with feet is disturbing, and his fear of hands or movement or sound is frustrating. I'm not really sure what to do. We play with him constantly, but when play time is over, he's crying again.
Ugh.
When we first got him, we could barely see him. He would hide in the deepest crevice under the darkest piece of furniture in our spare room. It took 3 days for him to even sniff our hand and then would run back under the couch. He meowed constantly. CONSTANTLY. He eventually warmed up to where we could finger-pet him, and we tried to pick his little body up with no luck. He scratched both my wife and I very deep and basically scrambled out like his life depended on it. He didn't come out again for another 2 days.
Fast forward to modern day. High energy, high socializing with other cats, but he still runs whenever a human approaches. If you catch him during a nap, you can pet him and he'll start purring very loudly but as soon as he realizes what's going on (being violated by a hoooman), he darts straight up from dead sleep and high-tails it to a safe distance.
His bubble is roughly six feet from a standing human before he decides to run. For a sitting human he approaches cautiously in a wide-angle fashion (left to right, looking for the safest way to approach and the clearest way out), until the sitting human makes a noise and he darts, then returns.
He went through a period where he pissed on everything he could find. I wanted to kill him. We got him neutered and the pissing went away eventually but we have found territory marks (maybe 2 in the last 6 months). He has no conception of other cats' personal spaces and will bounce like a pinball from one cat to another (we have 4 total). We adopted another cat specifically so he had a play partner and she is the same age and has a high energy level too (DLH) but gets tired of his antics and starts screaming/gurgling when he pins her down. It's literally the worst sound in the world. So he goes to another cat, hiss, growl, run, repeat. Then when he's exhausted all the other cats or we start yelling for him to stop, he starts howling or crying like a baby very loudly for up to 5 minutes.
The affection he does show is VERY particular :
- I have to be reclining on one section of the sectional, which he then joins my "feet" and begins snuggling and purring intensely, sometimes laying down on my ankles (although if I move or make a sound he darts off instantly);
- I have to be in the basement sitting in the black office chair to which he then snuggles with my ankles and purrs loudly but if I get up or reach my hand down, he's up the stairs and gone. Also it's funny because he will run up, then run halfway down to check if it's ok, repeat;
- I have to be laying in the bed on my back and he rubs his chin on my tippy toes;
- He runs on his wheel (which he beckons us to watch him and tell him we are proud of him...) and after he's exhausted he falls over sideways and meows at me to pet him with my hand which is the ONLY time this happens. The petting session lasts between 10 seconds and one whole minute.
I read stories about Bengals being affectionate cats but I don't see it. He's my least favorite cat but by far the prettiest. He is literally the most frightened cat I've ever seen in my life. He sees his shadow on the wall and jumps. Any creak in the bed, normal house sounds, a door opening, a tap on the countertop, he will stop, slink, and look with eyes wide open before running from the sound.
His obsession with feet is disturbing, and his fear of hands or movement or sound is frustrating. I'm not really sure what to do. We play with him constantly, but when play time is over, he's crying again.
Ugh.
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