Desperate for help. We are willing to try anything & everything to get our two cats to co-habitate.
We have a two year old female house cat (Brair) we adopted as a kitten. This past January we adopted a 2 yr old female Bengal (Kit Kat) who was surrendered to the shelter with approx 8 other Bengals. All of them had come from a breeder situation that got out of hand. It didn't take long to discover that our Kit Kat was probably caged most, if not all of the time in her two years. She didn't know how to jump up on a bed or go up and down the stairs (watching her learning process for living in a home has been interesting). She has had at least one litter of kittens that we know of. We have had experience in both the right and wrong way to introduce cats so we were determined to get this one right!
To keep this short, the two cats do not get along at all. Brair runs, and of course Kit Kat chases (she is a predator!). We have had to keep the cats completely separated since January, splitting their time with full run of the house. We have tried everything from Feliway plug ins, feeding on opposite sides of the doors, playing under the doorways, medicating Kit Kat, an animal psychic, etc, etc. The times they have had together always result in Kit Kat puffing up, making these strange animalistic sounds, then an immediate chase, a fight (surprisingly not bloody though!), and one of the cats (I'm assuming Brair) is so scared that she pees and poops during these altercations.
Kit Kat is also marking in the house. At first we thought it was because of possible outdoor cats, but have narrowed down that its because there is another cat in the house.
I'm assuming Kit Kat's reaction to another cat is because of her time at the breeder in a cage (I can't imagine putting her with another cat to breed was a peaceful event, poor thing).
We are at our wits end. We do not want to re-home Kit Kat...she is part of our family and we are in love with her (as is our dog Lady). As all of you Bengal owners know, there is nothing like the personality & companionship of a Bengal...we've owned one in the past and still miss her everyday.
Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you!

Beautiful pictures. I hate to tell you, but retired queens need to be an only cat in the house. They are not used to be social. They are used to breeding and taking care of babies. There is always an alpha cat in a multi-cat household. It is not fair for your Brair to be bullied and harassed like this. And this is not the fault of the bengal. Brair is completely stressed out. Nine to 10 months is plenty of time to introduce two cats and have them co-exist. It appears to not be working out. Personally in this situation, I would re-home the bengal to owners who do not have any other pets. A retired queen takes patience and a lot of time and effort. They have not lived the normal life of a cat, especially if they were kept in a cage. And you can't expect her to live a normal life now without spending a lot of time working one on one with her.

Note, that if you have not catified your home -- tall cat trees, climbing shelves, lots of hideaway places, cat toys and cat beds, then you should do that. Brair needs her own space and the bengal needs hers.

It appears you have tried everything, but have not yet hit on the one thing that would work. You will either have to take the time to create the perfect environment for these two kitties to get along (I don't even know where to begin with a dog in the picture), then you have no other option but finding another home for the Kit Kat for the sake of Brair.

This sounds a little like the situation I had, when I introduced Masai to my resident cats Pelle, Gina and Rico. Especially Gina chased Masai whenever she saw him and he was not happy at all. The animal psychic we consulted could not see any agressivity in her doing and said, Gina would use Masai as a chacing toy, like a rabbit.

It took us about 2 years and now Masai loves Gina while Gina tolerates him. She even licks his head once in a while.

The difference to your case is, that Gina is no breeding queen and is well socialized with cats and humans. I think, the lack of socialization is the biggest problem you have with Kit Kat.

I keept Masai seperate from the others for a long time. I had one door replaced with a frame and a grid, so they could see and smell each other but Gina could not chace Masai. In such situations one should avoid all negative actions between the cats. Each negaive event makes it more difficult to reach succes.

There were mainly two things that helped in my situation. I did clicker training with Masai. This makes him more confident and he would not run away anymore but stand up against Gina. Then she did loose the interest to chase him. And i fount out, that out in the garden it was easyer to let the 2 cats met, maybe because Gina did not see the garden so much as her teritorry. Eache day after work I took Masai on a leache and went outside so he could meet the other cats.

The problem of the cats marking in the house I have as well. And it got worse with the cats growing really adult (for bengals 2 to 4 years of age). And bengals do mark more than other breeds. My solution is, to ban them from the livingroom, kitchen and sleepingroom when we are out of the house and at night. They may though come into the sleepingroom at night. And the rest of the house has to be in a way, that is is easy to clean.

So you have to decide, whether you want to try further to make the cats living together (or more side by side, because they will not become friends) and accept the marking or you find a good new home for Kit Kat.

Edid: I forgot to say... In Europe I have heard of cat hostels, that introduce cat to each otherr for their owners on neutral territory. But that does not seem the problem in your case because Kit Kat is the new cat.

I'm sorry the original poster has not come back to comment. Many breeders do socialize their queens and they have maybe one to two litters a year. Those queens kept in cages and bred over and over again are not socialized and do not know how to play, jump, etc. This is something the new owner has to work on with the cat and it can take a long while. Patience is always the key!

Thanks everyone for your comments. The Bengal is well socialized and very comfortable in our house with humans and dogs (she adapted quickly!), with one exception being the other cat. Our Bengal becomes extremely aggressive if our other cat is on the other side of the door, even if they can't see each other. She puffs up, paces quickly back and forth and then makes this grunting/snorting noise that I've never heard a cat make in my long life with cats. She tries to attack through a closed door.
We are in love with her and are very torn between keeping this separation going (possibly for their lives?) and falling more in love with her, or stopping it now and finding a home where she will have have the run of the house 100% of the time instead of 6 hours at a time. We are trying everything we can before we make the final decision and thought a forum full of Bengal experts would be perfect!
We had not tried clicker training with our cats. We've been researching and that is definitely worth trying.
Our house is almost fully catified. We're working on climbing shelves now. We have lots of towers and window cat perches, but none of it has helped.
I was hoping I would get a few more responses before I made any replies, but I thank everyone for your time. I'm hoping every day that I will get a new response with my "miracle cure". I'm forever hopeful!

I wish others would chime in as well. Have you kept them separate this entire time? Have they never been put together? I'm trying to put myself in this situation and what would I do? If you have never put them together, then I think this is the time. You will need multiple people (at least two) in the same room. Can you hold the cats? I would not have them on the floor together, but I think they need to have closer contact. Note, I am not a cat behaviorist and this may not be the way to go, but if you want the cats to be together, then they need to be together. I think Kit Kat needs to realize your other kitty is not a threat.

If nothing else, check the show My Cat From Hell on Animal Planet. You can view episodes online and Jackson may have the solution for you. These two kitties have been in the same house for a very long time and they should be used to each other and able to co-exist. The other thing would be whether there is a medical issue going on here with Kit Kat.

Thanks Sherry. Brair (other housecat) is a very quiet, gentle girl. She has never shown any animosity towards Kit Kat. We have had them in the same room quite a bit. First we tried the Kit Kat in a dog crate (which she was very comfortable in). She tried to attack Brair through the metal. We did this for months. We also tried Brair in the cage, with a blanket covering most sides so she could have protection, but this was too terrifying for her so we stopped.
We have also tried (4 times?) feeding them both on opposite sides of a large room while they were on harnesses and leashes so we could prevent an attack. This also did not work.
Just a few weeks ago decided to just open all the doors and see what happens. Each time we left them for about 2 hours, each time Kit Kat chased and attacked Brair and then once Brair couldn't run any further, they just stared at each other. If it stayed at that, we would have been fine, but Kit Kat would leave and then go back for more chasing and fighting. Brair would pee and sometimes poop during these altercations. This is when I said "stop"...if she's that scared we need to stop.

I don't know if you want to try a cat behaviorist ($$) and see what they recommend. This situation simply cannot continue. Kit Kat needs to be an ONLY cat. She obviously looks at Brair as an enemy. If you are not prepared to keep them eat, sleep and live on opposite ends of the house, I truly believe Kit Kat would be better off with a home being an only kitty, period. I know you've been patient -- but what else can you do? Try some medicines? See if any of Jackson Galaxy's holistic remedies might help calm Kit Kat down? She is the cat she is. I just don't think she is going to ever stop hassling Brair and it is is so unfair to Brair. If you are in the States and My Cat From Hell is looking for people to be on the show, you definitely qualify.

..Strange animalistic noises. I know the sounds you mean. Low evil growls that belong on the sound track of a horror movie like THE EXORCIST.

I was getting those noises too after introducing LUNA (laid back mixed breed) and OBERON (Bengal who got moved around alot May-Sep last year). They seemed to be become friends after collaborating together to open the door to the balcony. They seem delighted to have conspired against the human.

But there was also one very significant thing I had figured out. . He has a high metabolism and eats like a horse. He now eats two 6 oz cans of wet food plus 1 or 2 healthy portions of raw meat (beef heart or kidney).

He was quiet at 3 am! He was less upset at Luna's presence. I concluded that he had been getting enough to survive before, but was always a bit hungry and as a result, a bit grouchy.

I would recommend spoiling your Bengal with food. Feed her some food separately. Then after she has eaten, feed both cats on the two sides of the door. Reassure her that there is an abundance of food, and the cat on the other side is not competing for her food.

I will also note that at the same time I was feeding Oberon more, I had added diffusers to the household and a pheromone infused calming collar. It is strangely quiet around here now, except when he is waiting for me to finish chopping beef heart for him.

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Feeding suggestions on cat food is only a recommendation. All cats have their own food requirements. My bengal has to eat every couple of hours -- just a half a small can at a time. My moggie eats 4 meals a day and that's it. I feed as much as the kitties want to eat. They pretty much know when to stop.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and suggestions. It is now a year and we are still determined to make this work. We have found a way to block off the cat door that goes to the basement. The cats have been play(?) fighting under the door. Some hissing, but no growling and very little "poofy" tail. We think very soon we can remove the cardboard blocking the cat door and put in a very tough screen so they will be able to see each other while they play footsie under the door. It is very positive that our Brair (who was getting picked on and bullied) is coming to the top of the basement stairs and standing her ground. Baby steps!
Yes, regarding the food, our bengal definitely eats more than our tabby. She is always hungry, so we let her eat what she wants. I don't think she is "hangry", but your food posts reminded me that we stopped feeding her irresistible food on her side of the door to make it a positive experience (our Tabby hates people food, won't touch fish, most cat treats, etc... she's a picky one & food is not a motivator for her!).

When we decided to let an outdoor cat inside our home (we could hear coyotes howling in the woods behind our house), our bengal was ready to kill the other cat. We monitored the situation and made sure they could not actually get to each other. Months later, they play and chase each other throughout the house. They can pass each other without any aggression. The moggie is larger than our bengal and he likes to hop on top of Raiden and Raiden, being the baby he is, lets out a yowl but is not hurt. It just takes time. Here is a picture taken from our surveillance camera of the cat enclosure showing Raiden and Long Legs together on the heated bed.

Hi, slowly introduce them to each other in a room that has no territory established by either cat yet. This process should take up to a week or two. The introductions should be in 5-10min. intervals throughout the day. My breeder said it can cause permanent issues between them if not introduced properly. Also, bring new toys in room..and use plenty of treats. Buy a laser pointer. Get the kitty’s attention away from each other. They may not be able to help themselves and may start chasing it together. (Be careful with laser pointer of course.. never point near eyes)
—->>Cat nip may help as well. That may be enough to distract them as it makes them very playful.
In addition, do not let the cats get into physical altercation... and when you see their eyes lock and ears back time to remove from room and try again later. Do not force contact between the two. Playing is the best way possible to get them used to each other. If all fails... try feeding in same non territorial room on seperate sides of the room. Little by litttle you may see improvement. I’m not a pro at this. I only own 2 bengals whom are both one year old..only about a month apart. But both came home at separate times. My girl savannah was a tough one with the new baby simba when I brought him home. But everything I’m suggesting are things my breeder instructed me to do. Eventually what I did worked, but it did take longer than a week for mine. More like a full 2-3weeks for savannah to fully accept simba.. earning I did not have to worry about them fighting at all while not watching.

The playing footsie under the door is a very good sign, but definitely no contact until all hissing stops. Hissing is the red flag in any situation. If they start to yowl or cry at each other in a way that begins to drive you nuts, that is also a good sign.