Hello all. I am new to this forum and circumstances has forced me to this website to plead to anyone who can help us with our problem with our bengal.
We have had Beau our bengal cat since she was a kitten and she is about 4 years old now. Luckily for her, she is the only household pet with the exception of four chickens and a duck whom all live at the top of the garden.
For the last 2-3 years we have had to throw out countless duvets as she has taken to urinating on all the households beds (mine and our two childrens in their bedrooms)
When it first started we tried in vain to discuss the problem with the breeder who by all accounts is a reputable breeder but alas, we received not even a single reply. They were however quick enough to rip £450 from our hand though but rthats another story!

I think we can rule out stress as we believe her behaviour is generally normal and sound. She is a much loved family pet and has us in laughs with her antics almost daily.
We have ruled out any urinary infection as there are no other symtoms.
We can rule out litter tray issues as we are meticulous when it comes to ensuring its cleanliness (without using chemicals/bleach). That said, she rarely uses it if at all in the drier/summer months, It seems she would rather use our garden instead. I do feel the problem is litter-tray related but i have exhausted all arguments like type of litter, Cleanliness of the tray, location of the tray etc etc.
We were recommended by Pets at Home a spray to use on our bedding which is supposed to 'calm' them. Last night she wet on our bed and her litter tray was situated within 2 feet away from her and completely unused!

We feel under siege now as we have already just replaced our old £3,000 leather suite due to her urinating on it!
We decided last night that if we dont find any remedy we wiill be forced to re-home her and this option we dont take very lightly as our children were in tears on hearing it but we have no more solutions to this problem. Is this a characteristic peculiar to Bengal Cats?

Can anyone help?

Hi, didnt want to read and run, havent had any experience of this, no doubt someone will be along soon who may be able to help

Welcome to pf x

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One day i'll learn where the spellcheck is on my phone, so sorry for any mistakes

Hi I was wondering could you start her toilet training from scratch again only letting her in rooms that if she had an accident it would not matter e.g the kitchen and the hall. 2 of. My cats will not use a tray unless absolutely necessary they have their own place in the garden. My Tiga woke me at 5 35 this morning as he wanted to go out but if I force him to stay in an use the tray he gets an upset tummy through the stress of me keeping him in. I would definatly shut her out of the bedrooms and front room unless she is supervised a little harsh maybe but it is also short term, there is also a cat litter I think it is made by catsan that encourages the cat to use the tray Buffie knows the name of it I am not very good at remembering names perhaps you could message her and ask her.
I hope this helps

Viv xx

This really unfortunate, I'm amazed that you have put up with it for 2 or 3 years!

My first thought is that this behaviour might have become embedded after such a long time, and is going to be really hard to break - in your place, I think my first port of call would be an animal behaviourist. Can't recommend anyone I'm afraid, but I'm sure Google will help you out; and I would definitely try to zone in on one that specialises in cats.

When you say you have ruled out a UTI as there are no other symptoms has this been confirmed by a vet?

I agree with this - unless a vet has ruled this out then don't dismiss this as a possibility as an underlying reason for her inappropriate toileting. Also just because she does not appear to be stressed - doesn't mean she isn't!

I take it she has been spayed?

Firstly take her to the vets and definitely rule out the possibility of an underlying infection. (Worth noting that recurring or ideopathic cystitis can be brought on by stress).

I would provide two litter trays - one covered and one uncovered - with two different types of litter - see if you can work out her preference. I wonder if she has had a fright whilst using the litter tray in the past and now associates it with an unpleasant experience?

Invest in a couple of Feliway plug in diffusers - perhaps one upstairs and one downstairs.

You could ask your vet for a recommendation, as already suggested, for an animal behaviourist. If your cat is insured you possibly may be able to claim for this.

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Kaz

For kittens, joy is for the asking and smiles are for the giving

Got to repeat the others - has she been checked by a vet...it doesnt even have to be a UTI, it could be any other pain that she related to going to the toilet.

So, first step, check by a vet.

Does she use the tray to poo? Does she use the tray at all to wee?

How many trays do you have?

Cats can and do show stress in very different ways so I wouldn't rule out stress as a factor in this, I would take her to the vet to rule out a UTI and then into seeking advice from a behaviourist.