Dear everyone,

I've been posting in the health forum about my cat, Cayce (we nickname him "Em," long story, but that's what I'll call him here) who is inexplicably ill. I'm posting here because I wondered if this had to do with the one-year-old cat we brought home a while back, and I had some questions about older Bengal responses to young kitties, and where I should go from here.

Back story needed...sorry for the long essay. We adopted Em almost a year ago from a family who couldn't keep him because he was fighting with a new puppy. He is now probably nearing age 9. He seemed pretty happy here, except he got lonely and bored during the day when we were at work. We got him a cat tree and toys but he really preferred interaction, as it seems like all Bengals do.

We live in an enclosed hallway space in a big condo building, and we sometimes let him out to roam around (he used to be an indoor/outdoor cat). He always seemed to enjoy interacting with our neighbors' cats, and we did some research, asked our vet, and decided that adopting a little, one-year-old rescue sister for him would be a good option.

We kept them separated for about a week, gradually allowing them to be in the same room. They appeared to tolerate each other. The small cat is pretty much fearless, but laid back and wasn't approaching Em or harassing him. Em swatted her a couple times, but she just kind of took it.

Since things appeared to be going ok, we let them spend more time in the same room. About a week in, Em basically spiraled. Stopped eating, vomited a lot, became dehydrated. The health story, which is still happening, is in another thread - short story is we had to take him in 4 times for fluids, his tests were all pretty normal, and the vet has no idea what's wrong.

To see if the small cat (Berry) was the cause of the stress, we are having her stay at a friend's currently. We wanted to see if that would help Em get better. Honestly...it hasn't much, and it's now been a week and a half. We are still unsure whether his condition was triggered, caused, or unrelated to the stress of Berry being in the apartment.

My boyfriend wants to return Berry to the shelter at this point. He thinks Em is too delicate to withstand the stress of trying again, even if we keep them separated, with Berry in the bathroom and Em getting the run of the apartment. My heart is breaking - I really want to keep Berry, but if he is right, I also don't want to risk my Bengal's life.

I have no idea what to do. It seems like my bf has made his decision, and I'm unsure whether to go along with it or press the issue. What would you do?

I think its unlikely caused by depression. Sounds too serious .
Depression would cause him to change his behaviour first like starting to hide, avoid interaction, over grooming etc then health issues potentially but I wold not expect so severe health issues.
What about trying food for sensitive for now, maybe it will reduce vomitting until you figure the real cause ?

There are probably too many variables here to even make a semi-intelligent guess what could have gone wrong. I also don't buy the "depression" thing though. But he could have gotten sick from any number of things, especially being an indoor/outdoor cat.

What would I do? I'd definitely keep the new cat. There's no reason to get rid of him, and even if there was it's not a time to be making hasty decisions in the middle of an emotional situation. Why punish that cat? He certainly didn't do anything wrong and it sounds like you like him. To me having your boyfriend dump all that guilt and so forth on you and pressure you to get rid of the cat is pretty crappy imo.

But you might consider getting the new cat checked out by the vet if you haven't already. That's what I'd do. I hope everything works out for Em.

_________________
The little monsters 3

The original poster's other post in the Health Care forum went through the entire ordeal including all the trips to the vet to treat Em and they can't find anything physically wrong with him, which is why she's thinking it might be mental or emotional. My Raiden is 7 years old and if I were to introduce another cat to the household, I'd chose an older female cat. I was wondering if the new kitty might have had some type of bug that was passed on to Em as well, but if the vet has run all kinds of tests and Em has spent days in the hospital there with the vet trying to figure this out, they've ruled out a lot of types of illness. I'm thinking they have overlooked something.

I know how concerned you have been over Em. I just don't think cats get depressed over getting another cat. They may just ignore the new arrival. I think about you and Em every single day and pray that you find out exactly what is going on. Most of all, please do not blame yourself for any of this.

I know it does sound strange but I had a similar thing happen when I tried to take in a 2 year old, male bengal. A friend said she couldn't handle him anymore and asked if I would take him. She was pregnant and already had another bengal and a dog in a small area. I took him in and had him staying in the basement away from everyone to settle in. The first night he was fine and eating ok, acting normally scared as can be expected though. He didn't seem scared after a couple days but would not eat. I tried everything to tempt him. I figured he must have been eating something at night to keep him alive at least. I brought him to the vet and the vet couldn't find anything wrong with him. We worked with him for about 6 weeks and he ate enough to keep him alive but was very skinny (like a skeleton with fur) and just didn't act happy at all. Just hid in the same spot in the basement. He did try to wander a couple times but got scared by any movement and would run back down and hide. I do have 2 other cats and my dogs. He wasn't neutered so I had that done hoping that would help. It didn't. I asked the original owner to take him back because I felt so bad that he wasn't adjusting and just kept acting more and more secluded. The previous owner said he was always fearless and outgoing, but wouldn't take him back. I finally found a home with a friend with no other pets and a less active home. The first night he was rolling around the middle of her floor and playing like he lived there forever! He gained weight quickly and she takes him EVERYWHERE with her. For walks, for car rides, to pet stores, to the park, etc. Acts like a totally different cat. I know that everyone is saying that it has to be an illness and not depression but I don't agree. I have never had an animal act like that but he did. I didn't want to give up and rehome him but it obviously was best for him and he has the best home now. Good luck! I hope he gets better.

Thank you for all of your replies and thoughts. I'm truly torn about what to do at this point. I posted my health update about Em in the other thread - which is basically that we still don't know what's wrong.

I'm going to try to give a detailed cycle of events in the hope that this will be even a little illuminating. Forgive my estimates with times:

1. 3-4 weeks ago: brought home Berry (1 year old female).
2. Cats tolerate each other - Em not super happy but was eating for that first week. He gave Berry a couple of swats but there was nothing extreme going on.
3. 2-ish weeks ago - Em vomits A LOT. We thought it was in response to Berry, who had escaped from safe room and was sitting in one of Em's places in the apartment. He basically looked at her and threw up, but then wouldn't stop throwing up until it had gone from food to clear bile.
4. This happens again the next morning. Berry is not visible.
5. Em and Berry were together, not separated, for a while for the first time within a day or two of this.
5. Em begins to spiral - we begin to notice the lack of eating and lethargy. We separate the cats again completely.
6. Cats are kept separated. Berry does not leave her safe room (the bathroom). Em goes to ER.
7. Goes home, no improvement. A friend suggests removing Berry from the equation to see if it helps. We do. She is at a friend's.
8. Berry has now been out of our apartment for almost 2 weeks. In the course of this, he has still been back to the vet several times. We purchased Feliway and plugged it into the bathroom to see if that would help.
9. This week Em got a new nausea med. He seems perkier and less depressed/lethargic, but is still barely eating. He has, at this point, lost over a pound (gone from 13-11.75).

Also, some history about Em before we took him:
He was living with another family as an indoor/outdoor cat. They adopted a dog and apparently they were fighting so much that one of the animals had to go, so we took him in. He's been the only cat in our place for almost a year, but he frequently seeks out the "hallway cats" for play and interaction. In fact - he sought them out last night!!! So.....meh?

At this point I am just confused. I have to decide what happens with Berry by Wednesday, because my friends can't keep her indefinitely. I would like to bring her back to try again, but I also don't want to put Em at risk. I'm so angry that this situation has even happened.

Also I should clarify - my bf isn't guilting me about the cat - I sort of feel guilty on my own (and also Em's foster person, who has been following this story, seems to think it is my fault as well). He and Em have an extremely strong bond, and I can tell he is really scared about Em, which is why he is so adamant about not trying again with Berry. Part of me feels he is right, but the other part, who wants to keep Berry and is unsure she is the cause of this, doesn't.

Sorry for my long essays. This is such a crazy situation and it's really hard to differentiate Em's health issues from his potential issues with another cat in our apartment.

That said, thank you all so much for your advice and support. <3

I think Em has something going on that has nothing to do with the other cat. You haven't done anything wrong and have done a lot of things very right - keeping them separated and going through so many trips to the vet with Em searching for an answer in particular.

I don't think you want to put the two together though until you have either a diagnosis for Em or he is better, just in case Em is contagious. I hope you have an answer soon regarding Em so you can decide what to do with Berry.

I would keep them separated if I were you. It isn't the way you envisioned it, but plans are really just lists of things that go wrong.

Hi again,

Berry's foster parents (my friends) can no longer foster her as of today, because their parents are coming over with a large dog. So, today I have to either bring her back here or straight back to the shelter.

Em is doing a bit better, but he is still in a fragile state. I updated his thread in the health forum, but briefly: he's in higher spirits and eating more regularly - but still can't meow, and it seems to hurt him to to digest the food. He is going in for an x-ray tomorrow.

Our place is a one bedroom apartment with a small bathroom. It is essentially 2 big rectangular rooms next to each other - an open layout with kitchen/living room, and a big bedroom with a bathroom in the bedroom. I am trying to figure out the least stressful thing for Em, and I think that's keeping Berry in the bathroom. However, there's a pretty big gap under the door. I was thinking that to put more separation between them at least for now, I'll put some milk crates in front of the bathroom door, low enough for me to step over but big enough so there are several feet between the cats.

I already have one Feliway diffuser but will by two more, one for the bathroom and one for the bedroom.

Do you think this is a good way to do things temporarily?

Oh, here is a picture of Em, and of the little shelter kitty Berry. Em is starting to play with me again, so I'll also include a picture of him inside one of his favorite toys, a Whole Foods shopping bag. :)


and Berry:

They're both beautiful. I really hope you can get things worked out. I've been following all of this and thinking about you guys daily.

_________________
Dallas, TX USA
Diesel - snow Bengal born 09/01/2013 adopted Feb 2014
Tuck, Chloe, Buddy, Lewis & Tia - rescue kitties
Clyde, Bleu & Coal - Great Danes

Xray is a good idea.
I assume all blood and other tests have been done already?
I am thinking could he picked up something from Berry maybe?
Could you get a second opinion on Em?
So sorry to hear about Em, I can only imagine what you are going through.. Hope it will all get better very soon.

I'm sure you've thought of this but could testing Berry come up with something. Even just a general blood test to see if there is something out of whack. At least that could help eliminate Berry as a source of the problem infection wise.

Whilst I agree that that the depression angle seems seems just too much, I have noticed that our girl gets quite distressed when we have visited other cats without her and come back smelling foreign; she can be visibly upset and annoyed for a good 24 hours. The more intelligent these cats are (and they start off very, very smart) the more their emotions seem to come into play. So given the displacement in his background (i.e. new puppy arrives but it's the cat that has to go and now a new kitten arrives ......?) I do not think it unthinkable that it plays a part.

Good luck. They are both lovely.

Any update on Em?

Hi everyone,

Em update!

The short news about his health is that no one knows what's wrong after 5 vet visits. I'll post a fuller update on the health forum.

The good news is Em appears to be feeling much better! He is eating regularly and meowing a ton (very hoarse still, but it's back in full force), and it looks like he is gaining weight!!! He has also started playing again.

The small cat Berry is also back in the apartment. We have kept them TOTALLY separate. I bought 3 feliway plug-ins AND the spray (ouch, expensive). Every day we put one cat plus litter box, food, and toys in the main room and one in the bedroom. At night we switch them (we keep Em with us at night).

It has been almost a week, I think...I'm losing track of time. Em actually appears pretty unfazed - weirdly, I'm not sure he knows she's even here, though her scent must be everywhere by now. He hasn't made any moves at the door to try to get at her.

From your previous advice, even if it's going ok so far, I'm guessing we should keep them apart for much longer, especially with how delicate Em is? Part of me is tempted to make them more aware of each other, but I don't want to be impatient and send Em backsliding.

Thanks again for your help and thoughts.