We just adopted her, she's a 7 month old F3 and haven't gotten her completely comfortable with her new home but she's warming up quickly. For about the first 24 hours she moved from one hiding spot to the other and was very cautious to even let us pet her. We were worried that she might not make a very good pet due to her age and her only ever knowing her breeder until we adopted her. However she seems to be coming around and she is becoming a little spoiled, she likes foot massages and neck rubs. Whenever we pet her she constantly kneads. Is this shy yet affectionate behavior typical of bengals with her age, foundation and background? As you can see she is absolutely beautiful and we have fallen in love!!! The next task once she is fully comfortable with us will be to introduce her to our 2 year old daughter and our 4 year old cat (not sure of breed) does anyone have any suggestions for handling this task?

welcome here & congratulations, she's lovely

with your daughter just make sure she's gentle & doesn't try to grab the kitty or make fast movements that may scare her. get her to play with wand toys & offer treats & i'm sure their bond will develop quickly.

with your older cat take your time & go by your judgement of both cats' personalities. the most important thing is not to force them or rush things. let them explore & investigate each other in their own time.

i hope it all goes smoothly for you, best of luck

Hi and welcome to the forum, congratulations on your new Bengal. As Ren has said, patience is the key to introducing her to the rest of your family. It sounds as if you're making good progress already but it may take a little while for her to fully settle if she's a little nervous so take it a step at a time and let her dictate how quickly you go for the full introductions. I'm sure it won't be long before your daughter and your other cat get to enjoy their new playmate

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hello and welcome she is beautiful

Last night we thought we had made good progress, she was lying in her bed completely sparwled out, kneading and purring but today she has gone right back to the scared little kitten who runs and hides any chance she gets. Also we don't believe she has ate or drank anything. We have only had her for about 48 hours and do understand that patience is a must but we are afraid that this adoption is going to be a heartbreak for us as well as her. How long would you give it until you can make a decision on whether or not she will become comfortable? Is it posible that because of her age and how long she has been secluded from any other humans except her breeder that she may never stop hiding from us? Beyond her connecting with us the biggest issue is her not eating. She has a food bowl in the room with her and she hasn't touch it. We also tried moist cat food and deli meat, but nothing. She smells it and turns away. How long can she go without eating before it becomes a nutrition problem? Is there a particular type of cat food we should try? Any advice would help at this point, please reply.

Are you feeding her what the breeder fed her? I wouldn't be surprised if she is used to raw food. But I also think it is very common for them not to eat for maybe a day or so. But then I don't have nearly the experience most of the other owners have had on here.

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Anne

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I hope you guys don't look down on us, but we called the breeder yesterday afternoon to find out what kind of food Naula had been fed. She still was not eating at all and was not coming out either. When we got a hold of the breeder, he said he had someone that was looking for a female her age and that he had a 10 week old Bengal kitten for sale. He offered us the option to bring her back and take the kitten. We contemplated and both felt very guilty but in the end, I ended up taking Naula to him to adopt to another home and getting the 10 week old. Naula was definitely not happy here so that is the only thing that makes us feel a little bit better. The new kitten (which we have not named yet) is sooooo much more playful and fitting for our family with our 2 year old daughter. She slept with us in the bed on her first night and she eats very well. She also loves playing. We were playing with her with a wand and she got so dizzy chasing it in circles that she can not walk straight! We are truly blessed to have her and feel that Naula will fit someone else's home better then she did ours. We have included pics of the new kitten. Let us know what you think.

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Steph

aka The NO! ->

So glad that your having so much fun with your new kitten. You hit the nail on the head when you explained the new kitty was more "fitting for your family" this is so important espeacialy when you have young children to look after as well.
Good luck to Naula ( it must have been such a hard desicion for you) & good luck with your new Kitty.
EDITED to add.....it must also have been very difficult for you the post this on here not knowing how people would react. I admire you for that.

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