Helping cat get over anxiety

Does your apartment allow you to have two cats? I would maybe think about getting him a friend...

For now though, I can't help too much...maybe try leaving lots of treats hidden around when you go. Have you tried leaving the TV or radio on? This stuff mostly works for dogs..but may work for a cat too.

And give him lots of love when you are home! Good luck

Some cats are more needy than others for sure. I don't think that will ever change. You sound like you have your hands full also. If you can't devote time every day to play at least two hours (no, I am not kidding) to play with this cat I unfortunately don't think it is going to work.

There are lots of Bengal owners here and I think they will agree they are high energy intelligent cats that need alot of time and attention from their owners.

They have these wheels (like hamster wheels but bigger) where the bengals can burn off some of that energy. If you really want to work with this cats special needs you may want to look into one.

Hopefully some Bengal owners will come on over and see your post and may have some advice for you.

The best advice I can give you is to call Marilyn Krieger, she is a cat behaviorist and she specializes in Bengals.

http://thecatcoach.com/

Contact her, she'll help you.

Do you play music for him while you're gone or leave the TV on for him? You might also try leaving a old shirt with your scent on it (unwashed) for him where he normally sleeps. Does he have a window perch where he can lay and watch the world go by?

I have a female Bengal that demands my attention all the time. She has brothers and sisters to play with while were at work. None of my cats have the high energy that she has. She terrorizes Dion my male aby cat. She stalks him like she is a leopard on a hunt for a gazelle, she actually swipes his back legs to take him down like the big cats do to their prey in the wild. If I'm not paying attention to her, like right now, she screams at me and jumps on and off my headboard, and she can really belt out some wild tones. She demands any attention whether it's good or bad. Unfortunately, I have reinforced her bad behavior by giving her attention while she is seeking bad attention, thats probably because I haven't made enough positive play time for her(Thats easier said than done when you have a demanding cat). The peacock feathers that my neighbor gave her aren't enough nor is the vase full of pheasant feathers. Da-bird gets destroyed right away and the little plastic red tube that the feathers were stuffed in is all that remains. She doesn't act up and do her crazy antics when my husband is home alone. She follows him around and mooches treats. When I get home, it's on!! She really enjoys her playtime and that requires me to sit down and play with her.

She is very loyal and has a dynamite personality in her own right. She sleeps with me every night and gives me big headbutts to let me know she loves me. She has worked her way into a very special part of my heart and she knows it. She is a very demanding cat and requires more attention than my other cats.

It may be that the best thing you can do for this cat is find him a home where he can get the attention he needs. I'm no Bengal expert, but a year ago, I adopted a domestic short hair who is very much like your cat.

I'm retired, so I'm home most of the time. However, I swim a couple of mornings a week, and he gets upset every time I leave. By now, it should be routine for him, but he carries on when I leave and when I return. My only consolation is that once my niece was visiting, and she told me that he only makes a fuss until the car drives away; then he goes off to sleep. He doesn't do any damage while I'm gone as your cat does.

If I go out to run errands, etc., he complains similarly. He usually follows me around the house (right now, he's sleeping on the desk next to this computer, one of his favorite places), and we have at least one (sometimes 2) "loving" sessions a day in which he cuddles in my arms while I tell him how wonderful he is and stroke him.

I don't know his past at all, and I've always wondered whether he was abandoned and thus his anxiety when I leave. Otherwise, he's an incredibly "laid back" cat.

Because of his need for human contact, when I travel, I have a sitter who actually lives in the house so that he will not be alone at night. She works, so I also have a neighborhood teen who visits and plays with him during the day.

I suspect that your cat needs a situation similar to mine--someone who can be home all day (usually) and give him the attention he needs. My former cat, who was also a stray, was aloof and independent and never wanted much attention at all. But I think that to be fair to the animal, we need to provide for their needs--not just physical but emotional as well. My vet told me once that psychological stress is as damaging to a cat as physical stress.