I didn’t start The Bengal Guide because I knew what I was doing.
I started it because I felt lost.
When Cora came into my life, everything felt bigger than I expected. Her energy. Her intelligence. Her curiosity. She climbed everywhere, knocked things over, pulled at decorations, destroyed my plants, and constantly harassed my older cat. Every corner of the house became a puzzle for her to solve and most days, I felt like I was failing at keeping up.
I gave her enrichment. I tried to tire her out. I told myself I just needed to do more. But no matter how much I offered, it never seemed enough.
What I didn’t understand then was that I was looking at her behaviour instead of listening to what it was trying to tell me.
So I slowed down. I started noticing patterns instead of reacting. I stopped asking, How do I stop this? and began asking, What does she need right now?
Nothing changed overnight. There were still hard days. Still mistakes. Still moments of doubt. But over time, something shifted.
Cora wasn’t calmer because she was controlled — she was calmer because she was understood.
If you look at her now, people often tell me I’m lucky. They say she’s the most well-behaved cat they’ve ever met. I smile when they say that, because what they don’t see is the journey that came before it.
That journey, the confusion, the trial and error, the learning — is why The Bengal Guide exists.
This space is for anyone who’s in that in-between place. The place where you care deeply, feel overwhelmed, and just want to understand your cat a little better.
If that’s you, you’re not alone.
It’s exactly where I started.