I am asking for some advice, out of sheer desperation, with regards to the two Bengal cats that have been imposed upon my otherwise tranquil existence by my wife.

Everything I read about the Bengal breed seems to indicate that they love heights and climbing; make sure you have "cat trees" and other such novelties with which they can amuse themselves I am told.

Except, except.......all our Bengal cats seem to do is fall off of these structures.

We have a "cat tree" in our kitchen, a good seven feet tall, which has a sheer drop onto a wooden table and/or a metal radiator. That's caused me no end of heart palpitations when one of them decides to sow of their belly whilst stretching and almost comes a cropper.

Only tonight, our girl cat fell a good six feet from somewhere she was sleeping.

It's only a matter of time before one of them falls, hits their neck on something metal like a radiator, and is stone dead....or requires an urgent trip to the vet (guess who will be woken up and expected to drive?)....or something similar.

Have I just had the misfortune to inherit two incredibly clumsy cats or are Bengals always falling off of things?

The last thing I want is one of them to have a very nasty ending and I'm left with the guilt of knowing I could have prevented it.

Thank you for reading and any responses are gratefully received.

How old are your charges?

When we got Quasar, he was the most klutzy kitten I've ever seen.
He would try to do things and fail. What amazed me was that he would not try the same stunt for several days then would do the same feat successfully. I don't know that he is the smartest creature, but he does seem to go away, think about the problem, then come back with a new approach.

I'm not sure when the transition occurred, exactly, but now he is able to use his judgment to navigate himself safely almost everywhere. If he doesn't feel safe jumping up onto a ledge (which is rare), he will refrain. Sometimes he has to study something for a while prior to attempting the climb or jump.

You may have had these cats "imposed upon [your] otherwise tranquil existence", but it seems that you have genuine concern for their safety.

Good luck with them as they learn how to operate within their newfound environment, and abilities.

Cheers!

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~ Kyenta

Welcome to our forum. Yes, you didn't say how old your bengals are. Kittens may be more prone to falling than adult cats. And most cat trees provide platforms to allow to cat to climb up and down. If yours did not come with these, then you bought the wrong cat tree or if the platforms are too small, they may tumble off. My 15 pound DSH has fallen twice off the top sleeper. My 11-year old bengal can't walk across the back of our couch which is 5" wide without nearly falling off. So, clumsy they can be.

Usually cat trees are places where the cat rests or sleeps. If yours have too much energy, which bengals have, then you nee to engage them in play time. Do not rely on the cats to amuse themselves. Bengals get bored really easily. And they are very social cats. The want to be and interact with their humans.

It sounds as if you are not a "cat" person. Bengals can be challenging as they are nothing like your regular domestic cat. There is a lot of GREAT information on this forum and out on the web for you to read. And know above everything else -- your kitties are behaving normally because they are bengals. I have to tell myself that every single day with mine.

First, how old are your bengals?

I'm a Star Trek fan, and I recall film where Data is talking to a child, and asking the child "how do you function? I rely on knowing precisely how long my arms and legs are, but yours are growing so rapidly? How do you calibrate for that? The kid shrugs and replies that yea, sometimes I just fall on my behind... so yea, kittens especially can be clumsy. They are getting used to their bodies, and they haven't gotten them calibrated yet.

I'd love to see a picture of this "cat tree" that you talk about (wonders why you put that in quotes too...). Tall cat trees are great, but some are incredibly poorly designed. Many cat trees don't offer a reasonable way down from them, requiring some sort of inevitable "crash landing" by the cat. In those cases, to safely use the tree, you'll need to install shelving, or some other method, for the cat to get down safely.

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The little monsters 3

Your cats obviously love the cat tree. You would need to replace it if you dismantle this one. A fun project for you would be to make your very own and make sure it's built so that your babies don't fall off of it. I know the lips on the platforms are not very high. My DSH has fallen twice but I have one of his beds at the bottom and he can have a softer landing. A good sturdy cat tree will last years and years. You might want to look at some photos of some and see where your cat tree has gone wrong. Or ... maybe it is JUST your cats. LOL

Haven't been on for a while and reading this post I just realised it's my Pearl and Magic, she has only fallen off a few times, My boy is actually 6 and my girl 2.

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Clare
Magic (brown spotted boy born 31 March 2012)
Pearl (seal Lynx Point girl born 1 October 2015)
Bristol, UK

My cat trees have platforms that are a minimum of 15"x15" and my bengal hangs off. Your platforms are way too small for anything but tiny kittens. You would probably fall off a crib mattress. You certainly do not want our babies to get hurt. it's not true that cats always land on their feet.

Sherry, Magic has been sleeping on it since the day we had him and he still sleeps on it and has never fallen off, he is 17lb and has no problem, Pearl is only 8lb and the size of a kitten, the only reason she has fallen off a few times is because she gets excited when we talk to her and she rolls and occasionally has fallen off, the other place my panicky husband (chuckles 1066) is on about is our glass display unit which is in the living room and only around 5 ft tall, there is a blanket on the top of it and each of them have slipped off a few times but the floor is carpeted so they have never hurt themselves.
It is all a fuss over nothing, I have measured the top platforms that they sleep on they are 14 inches by 12 inches and as I said Magic easily fits on it.
This tree is made by Armarkat and if you look them up you will see what excellent cat trees they are.

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Clare
Magic (brown spotted boy born 31 March 2012)
Pearl (seal Lynx Point girl born 1 October 2015)
Bristol, UK

I have an Armakat tree and it is the best of the three that I have -- well the Molly & Friends is a much shorter tree with just a hammock and 16" round sleeper. 10"x10" platform is really small. The other thing is how high the sides are to keep the cat inside. Your Pearl fell off the stair railing, didn't she? These bengals just love to be high up and challenge everything. Some cats are clumsy, no doubt. I am a clumsy human being myself. LOL

My Bengal mix never tried to climb up on cat trees due to feeling unstable on them due to his sheer size (25 pounds). I thought he was pretty darned self aware for that, because most cats will push the limits until they indeed do fall. So I agree to reassess the cat tree situation.

My husband is just a born worrier, the slightest thing and goes into a flap, Pearl did fall of the bannisters once but since wrapping round sisal rope they have something to grip onto when they jump up there, I try telling him that cats very rarely hurt themselves if they fall.

Considering Magic is the bigger cat he has no problem sleeping on the cat tree and has never fallen off, I tried uploaded some picture but it doesn't seem to want to let me do it anymore.

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Clare
Magic (brown spotted boy born 31 March 2012)
Pearl (seal Lynx Point girl born 1 October 2015)
Bristol, UK