# Bengal cat attacks my two cats



## Messaline (Feb 2, 2016)

Any advice please??? I am pretty desperate. I have two cats who are attacked, in fact my whole family are terrorised by a Bengal who lives at the bottom of my garden. The Bengal has completely taken over my garden and tries to break into my house at any opportunity since he matured in Autumn 2014 (Been living this nightmare since then). Examples of attacks: Bengal has got into the house when I left a door open briefly (was bringing in sheets to make a bed) and attacked my sleeping cats on my bed making my two year old toddler hysterical with fear. It is so upsetting. The Bengal owners just think their cat is wonderful and despite all the attacks, patient emails I have sent at their request to keep them abreast of the dire situation ( and yes contact for Debbie Conolly given to them but they haven't phoned her since last August) they just don't seem to be interested to actually do anything. I have asked them numerous times to contain their cat, but they actually ignore me and write something totally irrelevant back. They even tried accusing my cats of attacking their Bengal (well my neutered male) ha! Bloomin' ha! to that.
When my husband wrote politely asking them what they were going to do ( after waiting for a year, stupidly trusting they were doing something) they said that his tone was aggressive. This was ridiculous and in my view a bullying tactic to delay action and deny responsibility of their Bengal. Sure enough a week later my husband was suddenly asked out to a pub to discuss the problem and it was suggested we fence off our garden!! Initially we were asked to keep them informed about attacks with email as I did on a monthly basis saying attacks are continuous and bad, that although I work a lot, when I am at home Bengal cat is there not just every day but many times a day. I have to live in constant lock down which is horrible in summer etc etc - they still did not do anything. I realised that I was getting nowhere and stopped last November. This cat will come to my house and try to smash in cat door. I have litter trays everywhere now as my two are too scared to go to the loo outside. My female got attacked by Bengal in midst of a poo she was doing in my garden before I could rescue her early last spring and is just too scared of his attacks to go outside without me. Dealing with all cat trays is quite some undertaking too... I am experienced with animals and rescued cats for many years. My cats are nine year olds (brother and sister) no history of fighting, lived in three different neighbourhoods and avoid confrontation ( even with ferrals that they have found themselves amongst when we lived near some stables). I do have many witnesses that have are shocked at the horrendous attacks from this Bengal menace. My cats were outdoor cats but are now frightened and overweight - the female is turning on the neutered male, her brother, out of stress and frustration - it is awful.
The Bengal will attack in my garden even when I am there; as I put out Christmas lights he actually cornered my female at the bottom of our gate halfway up garden and tried to scratch out her eyes - As soon as I was alerted by his blood curdling howls I was there but devastated to see my little cat pressed up against the corner, crouched against the floor, closing her eyes tight shut, ears flattened and slashes across her face. I just feel so helpless. My male suffered some serious attacks on him around the time the Bengal matured, he stays mostly inside. I hate it. Why are these damn Bengals allowed to run riot like this. Bengals have different temperaments and are simply not regular moggies but muscle bound super cats. I used to love my peaceful house but am so upset that I am considering moving, even my daughter is scared to go into the garden, I have to escort my cats outside and in the house they miaow forlornly wistfully looking out ( but if Bengal sees them he throws himself at the window).... Oh yes, and the Bengal sprays everywhere in garden and in house if he breaks in, he did a wee on a mattress when I separated him from my cats in a room. He chased my female in from outside cat flap and then tried to fight through the cat flap (yes I saved up and bought a microchip one hoping this would protect them a bit) but the Bengal would hit the flap up and my poor male rushed to try and defend his sister and I found him trying to close flap down on Bengals to keep the monster out. I could write pages. No suggestions of water or scaring him - it does not work. Believe me he IS scared of me - just not of my cats or my daughter. Is there anyone who can advise me please?


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## moggie14 (Sep 11, 2013)

Gosh what a terrible situation to be in! 
Firstly, is the Bengal neutered?
If the owners are not cooperating then you may have no choice but to cat proof your garden so he can't get in and your cats can go out in safety. There is a sticky at the top of the page.
What water tactics have you used? I'd recommend a good powerful hose that you can spray him with from a distance - it won't hurt him but should deter him if you are getting him every time.
Sorry not much help, I'm sure others with have more suggestions, good luck x


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## Jesthar (May 16, 2011)

Wow, what a horrible situation to be in. Personally I'd be sending them bills for vet fees and property cleaning/replacement at this point. And considering CCTV to catch the behaviour on film so there can be no argument.


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## Charity (Apr 17, 2013)

This sounds an absolute nightmare. If this were a dog there would be laws to help you. My first thought was is the Bengal neutered as although they are mini tigers, they don't all behave like this. I think you are going to have to accept after this length of time that the owners aren't going to do anything to help. You can't go on like this living in fear of the animal so you have to take matters into your own hands. Does anyone else in the neighbourhood have problems with him? If you are considering such drastic action as moving house, would it not be a lot easier and certainly cheaper to catproof your garden as suggested. I know you don't see why you should when the problem lies with the owners but that's the first thing I would have considered when I knew the owners weren't going to help. My own garden is catproofed and it can be done relatively cheaply. What I would suggest also is that you seek legal advise from Citizens Advice or a solicitor to see where you stand with regard to civil action against the owners as this may be the last resort if all else fails as it is not just about the intrusion of this cat on your property and family but possible vets bills if your cats get injured seriously, the cat damaging or spoiling things in the house etc. Please don't put up with this any longer.


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## NWForest (Nov 26, 2013)

when you say "No suggestions of water - it does not work" can I ask what have you tried ? I have some suggestions but need to know what sort of things you feel you have tried and have not worked.


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## pollypage (Jul 7, 2013)

What an awful situation to be in, your poor little kitties must be terrified.
I'm really sorry I don't have any new suggestions other than to echo the others suggestions.
I know what I'd like to do with the irresponsible owners but that's unprintable


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Hello @Messaline and welcome 

Goodness me, what a ghastly situation for you ! The Bengal cat must not be allowed to continue his thuggish behaviour, terrorising your two cats. The poor things must be feeling so stressed and frightened by the whole thing, as well as suffering the pain of physical injuries.

The Bengal cat's owners do not sound as though they are behaving in a neighbourly fashion towards you, or acting responsibly to contain their cat. Most people would be mortified to be told their cat was causing such misery to a neighbour and would take remedial action immediately. You could go on ad infinitum complaining to the Bengal's owners without any effect, so maybe the time has come to accept you are not dealing with reasonable people, and are probably banging your head against the wall. :Banghead

A cat's "right to roam" comes from the fact that cats were not included in the definition of livestock under the Animals Act 1971. But there is a misconception that because of their cats' right to roam, owners are not to be held responsible for any damage their cats cause. The fact is that under Common Law cat owners have a duty of care to take steps to ensure their cat does not damage someone's property or injure anyone.

Actual court cases in the UK involving cats causing damage to property are rare (e.g using a neighbour's garden as a toilet and destroying vegetables or flowers), probably because usually the threat of legal action is sufficient in itself for the complainant to be adequately recompensed for the damage by the cat's owner.

In law cats are regarded as being the "property" of the owner. If your 'property' is subject to persistent damage from a neighbour's cat and speaking to the cat's owner is not proving effective then you should seek legal advice, e.g from the Citizens Advice Bureau. They will help your draft a letter to your neighbours regarding recompense for your vet bills. If the letter brings no result, the next step would be suing them in the Small Claims Court.

I advise you to make enquiries among your neighbours to see if the Bengal cat has been terrorising other cats. There was a case in the UK of a cat being a menace to other cats and the victims' owners complained en masse to their local council. As a result the cat was given an animal ASBO - meaning the owners are obliged to keep the cat on their property. However this would be a longer term solution for you and only likely to happen if you are not a lone complainant.

http://www.itv.com/news/update/2014-07-25/rocky-the-cat-gets-asbo-for-causing-havoc-on-his-street/

If your neighbours were co-operative types you could work out a time-share arrangement with them, so your cats were assured of some safe time in their garden when the Bengal cat was kept indoors. This can work out well, a neighbour and I operated such a scheme for a year when two of our cats were fighting. But of course the scheme will only work if both sides are committed to making it work.

So if the cat's owners are not going to co-operate with you to contain their cat, I feel you need to bite the bullet and put up cat proof fencing around your own garden, so your poor cats have somewhere to go outside safely, and you can stop feeling anxious the Bengal will get into your house..

I appreciate you may feel it is very unfair you should have to take such a step at your own expense but the fact is you are dealing with unreasonable people who are evidently impervious to the suffering of you and your cats. To wait in the vain hope that your neighbour may change their mind and do something to ease the situation is just prolonging your agony and not achieving anything. Sorry 

Yes, you could try using a water hose to deter the Bengal, or you could fit a sensor operated water spray, but with such a determined cat as him I doubt it would be a complete deterrent. The Bengal would still sneak into your garden when you were not patrolling and your own cats would see him from the window and be frightened. You would therefore need to supervise their garden time every time, for their safety. Assuming they would ever feel safe to set foot beyond the back door.

It is only when your cats learn to trust their garden is safe again that they will feel OK to go out. In these extreme circumstances it can only be achieved by cat proof fencing. It will certainly be cheaper than moving house!

Good luck!


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## NWForest (Nov 26, 2013)

Even before you consider cat proofing you need to reclaim your garden from this cat now. It needs to understand that its not worth it going in to your garden for the hassle it will get. Everyone in the house needs to be in on this , not just you. I would immediately suggest both a super drencher water gun AND a NERF foam dart kids gun with specifically the darts that whistle. The NERF gun is not going to hurt the cat as the darts are made of foam but it's the whistling sound that the cats hate and once my two understood this they would run for cover even before any firing. (I was using it in the garden on anaopther project ) Also the water gun can be used if the cat is closer than about 30ft and it dispenses a good soaking up to about 20ft. you can forget about garden sprays or hoses as they take time to set up and use, you just need to pick it up at teh back door and go. I would also consider a sonic repeller half way up the garden pointing at where this cat comes from. All of this is cheap and on amazon


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## Messaline (Feb 2, 2016)

NWForest said:


> when you say "No suggestions of water - it does not work" can I ask what have you tried ? I have some suggestions but need to know what sort of things you feel you have tried and have not worked.


Hose pipe in garden twice (now he runs off before I can get near him). In my house he was in the bathroom where I chucked him in bath, screamed at him and but a bowl of water over him. He avoids me now but unless I post myself on sentry duty 24/7, it has absolutely no impact on his visits.


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## Messaline (Feb 2, 2016)

Jesthar said:


> Wow, what a horrible situation to be in. Personally I'd be sending them bills for vet fees and property cleaning/replacement at this point. And considering CCTV to catch the behaviour on film so there can be no argument.


CCTV is an excellent idea! I shall get an action motivated wildlife camera. This will be good if we go to court.


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## Messaline (Feb 2, 2016)

NWForest said:


> Even before you consider cat proofing you need to reclaim your garden from this cat now. It needs to understand that its not worth it going in to your garden for the hassle it will get. Everyone in the house needs to be in on this , not just you. I would immediately suggest both a super drencher water gun AND a NERF foam dart kids gun with specifically the darts that whistle. The NERF gun is not going to hurt the cat as the darts are made of foam but it's the whistling sound that the cats hate and once my two understood this they would run for cover even before any firing. (I was using it in the garden on anaopther project ) Also the water gun can be used if the cat is closer than about 30ft and it dispenses a good soaking up to about 20ft. you can forget about garden sprays or hoses as they take time to set up and use, you just need to pick it up at teh back door and go. I would also consider a sonic repeller half way up the garden pointing at where this cat comes from. All of this is cheap and on amazon


I bought four sonic cat repellents, they don't upset him at all. The cat makes off as soon as he hears us, the handle of door turning, he knows all the sounds of our house and us approaching etc I'd have to lie in camouflage marine-style and even then, I have saturated him previously but it only serves to put him off me and not our house!


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## Messaline (Feb 2, 2016)

NWForest said:


> Even before you consider cat proofing you need to reclaim your garden from this cat now. It needs to understand that its not worth it going in to your garden for the hassle it will get. Everyone in the house needs to be in on this , not just you. I would immediately suggest both a super drencher water gun AND a NERF foam dart kids gun with specifically the darts that whistle. The NERF gun is not going to hurt the cat as the darts are made of foam but it's the whistling sound that the cats hate and once my two understood this they would run for cover even before any firing. (I was using it in the garden on anaopther project ) Also the water gun can be used if the cat is closer than about 30ft and it dispenses a good soaking up to about 20ft. you can forget about garden sprays or hoses as they take time to set up and use, you just need to pick it up at teh back door and go. I would also consider a sonic repeller half way up the garden pointing at where this cat comes from. All of this is cheap and on amazon


I cannot get near the cat now - he recognises all our house sounds and is highly intelligent. When I am on sentry duty (and he knows I am there) he can be kept at bay, but as soon as my back is turned....


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

Sadly I think the only way to keep your own cats safe is to make sure he can't get into your garden, and they can't get out. Lots of ideas in the sticky:

http://www.petforums.co.uk/threads/cat-runs-cat-proofed-gardens.211361/


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## Messaline (Feb 2, 2016)

It seems too cruel to my nine year olds to shut them in a run and makes me so angry that they live peacefully with other cats. I have come to the conclusion that I will fight this in court. There is new legislation about rampant cats. I already have a lot of evidence of his harassment and will get more. I will endeavour to join with some other stricken feline owners because at the end of the day if a Bengal cannot be trusted to behave in a sociable way it should be contained NOT the victims. I wonder how it would go down if I suggested all aggressive dogs (who may be lovely to their owners) should be allowed to run free and all their victims kept on a leash!!!!
I think not. Legislation should also be brought in concerning hybrid cats. It is unfortunate that many owners are ignorant about the characters and amount of maintenance and care a Bengal requires. Since this post I have found a number of other people who have exactly the same problem with free roaming Bengals. Some of them have taken drastic actions. In fact I am trying to find a free roaming Bengal that HAS successfully integrated into a neighbourhood. These hybrid cats are already banned in some states of the USA. A shame because if owners were more responsible such drastic action would not be required.


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## Satori (Apr 7, 2013)

^ There was a free roaming Bengal boy who roamed the street in lived in until recently. A huge boy he was, gorgeous silky muscly creature with really wild markings. He would flip onto his back in front of anyone who gave him a second glance and beg for belly rubs. You could be there for half-an-hour fussing this boy before he moved on. A great favourite with the local kids he was.


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

What new legislation?


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

Ps although the title of the thread includes cat run, some of us have a cat garden, just limited to our own cats.


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## Gallifreyangirl (Feb 11, 2015)

Didn't know there was new cat legislation on them going out.


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## Messaline (Feb 2, 2016)

Satori said:


> ^ There was a free roaming Bengal boy who roamed the street in lived in until recently. A huge boy he was, gorgeous silky muscly creature with really wild markings. He would flip onto his back in front of anyone who gave him a second glance and beg for belly rubs. You could be there for half-an-hour fussing this boy before he moved on. A great favourite with the local kids he was.


I don't understand the relevance? The friendliness of an animal towards humans is not an indication of friendliness towards other animals. Neither has it to do with the extreme aggression and sustained attacks we are suffering from the Bengal.


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## Jesthar (May 16, 2011)

Messaline said:


> I don't understand the relevance? The friendliness of an animal towards humans is not an indication of friendliness towards other animals. Neither has it to do with the extreme aggression and sustained attacks we are suffering from the Bengal.


Perhaps, but whilst Bengals are a high energy breed and may not always integrate _well_ with other cats, that doesn't mean all of them terrorise their neighbourhood in the manner that this one is doing. Satori didn't mention how the Bengal in that neighbourhood got on with cats, but from the sound of it if he was that popular he certainly wasn't breaking into houses and wrecking them like the one next door to you is.

I guess what I'm saying is it's very easy to blame the breed as a whole for the problems caused by a few. I was at a cat show this weekend, and there were a lot of Bengals out being shown, being carried around too and from rings, meeting members of the public - all with no trouble at all. Some are a bit mouthy, but they are naturally a very vocal breed.

Then again, those show cats have knowledgeable and dedicated owners. You'll probably find that your neighbours bought the cat because they liked the look of Bengals without bothering to research what is involved with keeping such a demanding breed, failed to socialise it or teach it good behaviours (they are highly intelligent and easily bored), and when it got old enough that it's wild behaviour in the house due to being bored started to cause actual damage as opposed to being 'cute' they thought letting it out was the easiest option (rather than providing the large amount of attention and indoor environment enrichment Bengals need) to stop the damage in their own home. Probably didn't bother to neuter him, either, and being entire will dramatically escalate territorial behaviour.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that it's right that this cat should be allowed out to terrorise you and your family in your own home, as that is most definitely not right at all. However, I am saying that the cat is just doing what comes naturally to him, and that the end result of that is so awful is wholly due to the irresponsible nature of his owners in failing to provide correctly for both his needs and the needs of the local community.


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## Paddypaws (May 4, 2010)

What an awful situation to be in.
@Messaline have you managed to rally any more neighbours who may be experiencing the same issue? 
I think you somehow need to force the Bengal owners into mediated negotiations with the aim of getting THEM to cat proof their garden and keep the cat in question contained.
Things I would do....
1. Go round neighbours and try and find other people experiencing the same problem and persuade them to join forces with you
2. Contact your local councillor and ask for advice
3. get your vet to write a report on the injuries sustained so far and also their opinion on the safe keeping of a territorial Bengal
4. Visit Bengal cat owners forums and maybe see if there is similar information you can print off ie to build a case
5. Look into small claims court as a means of reclaiming vet fees
6. Speak to local solicitor with aim to draft letter to neighbours
7. Contact RSPCA and ask for advice and even see if you have a valid complaint in their eyes against the other owners.


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## Jiskefet (May 15, 2011)

There is one really, REALLY nasty trick I would not normally advise, as it greatly upsets the cat it happens to, but it is a natural way of discouraging a strange cat from invading your territory. Fill a super soaker high power water gun with very diluted ammonia. a few ml per litre of water is enough to make the water smell like cat wee. It is a very humiliating experience for a cat to be covered in the wee of another cat.

We once had a very dominant entire tom in the area who chased all our cats out of their own gardens, and he used to spray against our cat flap so all our cats would come in reeking like he peed on them. They were ever so upset by this. Once a number of neighbours whose gardens and cats he terrorized diligently hunted him with water guns with a few drops of ammonia added to the water for a week or so, he got the message and stayed out of our gardens ever since.

So whenever the Bengal is sighted, hit him with the ammonia water, preferably from some angle he does not expect. Try to lie in wait for him from behind the garden wall, from upstairs windows, wherever, and it would be best if he doesn't see who did this to him. You may have to get family members he is not scared of to do this, place tripwires attached to buckets that will overturn on him etc., as long as he will get soaked and stinking of cat wee whenever he dares venture into your garden. Of course, you will have to keep your own cats indoors to avoid them from getting 'sprayed on', too.

The bengal will experience being soaked in ammonia water as being peed - or rather - sprayed on by a more dominant entire male defending his territory, and it will put him off entering the territory of that dominant cat again. It will show him who is boss in your garden.

It is a rather desperate way of teaching him to get lost, but he doesn't seem to be impressed by anything less.


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## Allule (Jul 4, 2017)

Hi, 
Just found this thread, and the story is so familiar. We have the same problem with a Bengal determined to attack our cats. He goes round our house inspecting all the doors and windows to try to get in.
The only agreement we have managed with his owners is that they keep him in at night, so we let ours out for an hour or so at 10 pm, but they are still very nervous.
There are too many ways into our garden to keep him out, but I have found some ways to keep him out of the house...at considerable expense!

Our bedroom windows are fitted with catproof netting from flatcats. It's designed to keep cats in, but they say it should also keep them out, and it has so far.
Our patio doors are fitted with screen doors, so we can get some air.
Our cats like to sit in our front window, and he used to get on the window sill and menace them. Spikes stuck on with double sided tape keep him from landing on the sill, though he still jumps up at the window.
Finally we had a catrun made, with a tunnel to a catflap. He still menaces them from outside this, but at least we know he can't get at them.

I was thinking today what a joy it would be to be able to have the door open and go freely in and out of the garden...something we took for granted before this beast was around! Now I feel more like a jailer, constantly checking all doors are closed behind me.


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