I just posted an introduction of my baby girl and her brother boo a few days ago. Like I had posted we took them both camping for a week displaying how well behaved they both are, especially Boo. So I write this in a very confused state of mind. We were getting ready to leave and had just put out food for them and I was goofing around and I made a noise that got boos attention. We frequently goof around with them like this playing tag and such and I've never thought it was in bad taste and we've never had an issue before. This time he growled at me and got suuuuper puffy (not unusual) and fled to the bedroom under the bed. At first we though bit was humorous but we quickly realized he was very frightened. We sat at the end of the hallway and beckoned him but he didn't come so I started to talk to the room. He ran back under the bed and so I payed on my stomach but he wouldn't come to me. I walked halfway down the hall and he came out but anytime I even made a move to approach he went under the bed. At this point Im concerned but not too much because this behaviour still isn't that unheard of from him. We spent about 15 more minutes trying to get him out to no avail. Brought out the treats and nothing(he looooves his duck heart treats). Eventually my boyfriend grabbed him from under the bed gently and I grabbed him and held him when he went berserk. And I mean really flipped and now I have some vicious scratches on every single body part. Even when Sean handed him to me he was still calm-ish but just suddenly really lost it. Sean grabbed him and put him in the kitchen with his sister and we left. we're running errands now and I feel terrible for freaking him out and am worried that grabbing him was a bad choice. I may be overreacting but I was hoping for some feedback on the situation and how best to handle something like that in the future and whatn to do when we get home. I think he was just very scared and his wild side came out and we couldn't snap him out of it. I assume he will be back to normal when we get home but any advice? Is this normal with bengals?
Thanks
Kat And Sean

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The little monsters 3

Lol. I never said 'wrenched' I have more common sense than that and I love him too much to be that foolish. We used toys and treats to entice him out on his own accord and when he was out Sean grabbed him and passed him to me. The reason I wrote this post was because I understand that even though we tried to be gentle it was probably still the wrong approach and I am looking for friendly advice for next time

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The little monsters 3

You goofed around, he took it seriously, he got scared and then you started chasing him, cornered him and forced him out, at that point it all became too much for him and he freaked.
Classic fear aggression.

The cat took himself away from the nasty situation, but you and your partner could not leave him to sort out his own mind, you pushed and pushed.
It is a similar situation to a scared dog (even a dog who has not a bad bone in its body). If a dog gets scared and its emotions are all over the place, pushed into a corner it will be forced to bite, as it cannot see any other way out.
Boo already told you by fleeing the scene he wasn't happy, he growled, he went to where he thought he was safe, but when that also was breached, he thought his only option was to fight his way out. Attempting to restrain him, just made him even more scared.

Too often IMO we put out own spin on situations with animals.
WE see nothing to be scared of, so we laugh at them, we act in weird ways, we chase them, we grab them, we force them to do things they don't want to do and that can often make a terrifying situation even worse.
Some animals in some "scary" situations can cope, they learn there is actually nothing to be frightened about, but others just either panic like Boo, or internalise and get very stressed and that can affect them in other ways.

A kitten is often all innocent, it wants to please, it doesn't really see threat in the same way an adult does.
Boo is now an adult, he doesn't want to just put up with things like a kitten might, his own personality is coming out here, you have to learn to respect him and his boundaries and try and instil confidence in him.

Hopefully he is forgetting this little upset by now - and if not repeated it should be behind him.

Personally I recommend not playing tag games (chasing is one thing - the touch from tagging steps it up a bit more) as boo may get rougher over time and hurt you/people - causing him to get told off when he's actually reciprocating YOU'RE game in his eyes.
Cats have tougher skin than us .. they have to learn that human skin is a bit crap (for playing rough) and cuts/rips when claws are applied.

If Boo is still showing signs of fear aggression you should back waay off and only interact with him when he comes to you .. even if days are required. You dont want this to affect your bond of trust with him.

It is very hard to see the difference between high energy excitement and fear (or stress).. I have this with my girl... I have to always think in high energy situations ... is she excited (happy) or stressed (scared).. there is little difference in appearance to our eyes.
sometimes a very quick glance at exits/escape routes is only signal that kitty is thinking they have had enough of a game while instinct keeps them locked onto the action and resisting urge to run away (assuming they will be chased and attacked for showing fear/weakness)

Over-stimulation is something to avoid .. TOO much fun makes it harder for us humans to know when enough is enough in kittys brain

Boo seems to see (trust maybe) you and you're BoyF differently - freaking more at the point he was handed to you - I suggest you apply a human brain to this and push away any feeling of hurt or rejection that may come up.
It can be something you cant see like body language or tension/anxiety and is of course nothing personal.

Love on him only for a while and give treats and fuss (no hand play) when he gets close to you.
Toys should be enough to keep him playing and draining energy at least till he has gained some understanding about the limits of play with humans.

Update us? Are things looking better now or not yet?

When we first brought Diesel home it took us a while to learn to identify when he was getting too wound up. His growl would change and the puff in his fur would be even more pronounced. There were a couple of times he went after us because he got carried away while playing. If he ran off in these situations we never pushed it. We would check on him but not try to get him to come out, and he always came around within an hour or so.

I've got an older moggie who is a really big cat (22 lbs) and he has attacked each of us at least once while scared. It was purely instinct though, you could see it in his eyes. One time it was because the dog stepped on his foot and startled him, he attacked the person closest to him (husband) - and the other time two of the other cats were having a row and they came at him, he just lashed out at them and me because I was trying to break it up.

Give Boo some time and space, let him come back to you. It may take a few days for him to really feel comfortable again but he will. Just be patient with him.

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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

Update!

I strongly believe that when dealing with animals of any kind they reapond more to your energy then your actions. Although I felt bad and hurt from what happened when I got home I tried very hard to stay calm and act as if nothing happened. He didn't come to me initially but seemed very normal so I relaxed. Eventually when I was walking by him I casually pet him and he enjoyed it but i only pet him 3 or so times before moving along as to not bring my need for his love above his needs. I read in bed and he came up to me like normal and from there on he is the same and seemingly Uneffected.
But...I can tell that he is still spooked. Yesterday was the first time I had seen him flee to under the bed in months. He normally never has a need for a 'safe place'. He has his high spots that are his but there wide open. Since the incident I have seen him timidly shrink under the best maybe 4 times. I just ignore it and when he does come to us I give him pets and he's been purring and everything's normal. So it will probably still take a few days for him to recover fully but I'm pretending it didn't happen and keeping my energy level calm

Ontop of this he hasn't been very playful which also has me concerned that there's something amiss with him but I don't want to push him to find out and I'm just trying to bank information to figure his puzzle out. I appreciate all the help and welcome as much advice as your willing to give me. Although I am a little hurt at some of the negative replies Ive received. I'm trying very hard to do what is best for him and I am not proud of how I chose to handle the situation initially but I don't need to be belittled for it. I just want helpful friendly advice and insight to the mind of a bengal. A lot of what you have said has been very helpful so far :).
Ps. I'm sorry I was unclear and vague in my first post towards the end. It ended up being longer than I anticipated and ran out if time/lost focus and rushed the second part of the story :p lol

Thanks everyone!

Edit: I also meant to mention that we never play with our hands with our cats. We always have a toy when we play and when we play tag it's more hide and seek when I chase him (hands off) till he's in the bedroom then I run off and hide and he chases me down and finds me. And when he can't find me he meows very loud till I pop out :p but I learnt early on that too keep him gentle we never play with our hands. Love only (and nail clipping, doctoring, couriering ect)

Anything could have spooked your kitty -- do you have other neighborhood cats that come around your home that this kitty can see? Usually cats respond to their owners -- and if something happens with them, they usually forget it and get back to normal fairly quickly. I once was following my cat down the stairs and I slipped and fell all the way down. I was screaming and he freaked out. It was terrified and hid behind the bed. It took him about 24 hours before he finally came out and acted normal again. Hopefully, with time, all will be well. You got some great advice from everyone here. Hang in there. He'll come back around.

Just reiterating what others are saying - be assured, he will come around. He got scared and confused and he will take a bit of time to trust the world again. I think they can go through more sensitive periods too. Our boy, when he was about 7-8 months old, just seemed less sure of himself and the world about him. He was much more easily spooked - especially by unusual noises. And he came to us less for a stroke. We just kept on the same routines and talking to him quietly if anything spooked him, not trying to touch him. He has become brave and assured again, over time. Whatever it was, it past and I'm sure this will happen for you too. All the best

Just an update! As all of you knew would happen, he came around :p he's normal and happy now. An interesting note though... I had one of those felway defusers plugged in from when we got his baby sister and I noticed he started warming up to her almost instantly. I didn't know if it was because of the diffuser or a coincidence. Then he went through a period of being cold and skidding as well as a bit lazy and not very playful. He ignored all his toys and just wanted to be a big lazy lap cat :p I unplugged it a few weeks ago and that day he started to be a lot more playful and energetic. The difference was so sudden and noticeable it was crazy. That was when everything went back to normal and he's a mischevious bengal again :p not saying they are bad, just that they work really well :p