Hello... I am new to these forums as I have just adopted a four-year old female Bengal. Prior to coming here a day and a half ago, she was living in a cattery where she was a breeding queen. (She's been spayed now.) She lived in a cattery style, outdoor home with her own run and bed area, but she shared the "shed" with a number of other females. Since I have brought her home she has not eaten and I am starting to get worried.

She's in a small, quiet room with a litter tray, toys and food/water. I am putting down the food she had at the cattery. I appreciate that being in such new surroundings (she's never been in a house before) will be a shock but I am just worried her health will suffer if she doesn't eat. She is under the bed most of the time, in a submissive position and makes no noise at all. She does let me stroke her a little but slowly slinks away from me. I'm blinking at her and lying on the floor. Is there anything I can do to tempt her to eat and feel less intimated/scared? This morning I plugged in a Feliway infuser.

Thank you, Sara

It is not uncommon for a cat in a new environment to not eat immediately. There are a few things here -- she's an adult cat. She probably spent all her adult years in the cattery. A home is a huge change for her. Her life has been turned upside down! It appears she was not very well socialized by the breeder either. It's much easier to socialize a kitten than an adult cat. As for eating -- if you are feeding her the same type of food the breeder fed her, she will eat when she finally gets hungry enough to eat. I can only imagine her stomach is in knots over this change. She has no understanding of what just happened. You, on the other hand, will give her stability over time. All I can say is to be patient with her. She's scared. No, I think she's terrified! Speak softly to her. Slowly approach her. Slow blinks are good!

I know you are anxious for her to become an interacting member of your family, but remember where she's coming from. She should gain confidence over time and come out of her shell, but it may not be as quickly as you would like. Continue to pet her and talk softly to her. Just the fact that you can stroke her is good news. Give her space and don't rush things. Thank you for taking this kitty into your home. I am sure with time and lots of love, she will come around, but it will take longer than a kitten. Please have the patience for this as you will be rewarded in time with her love.

Is she drinking water and using a litter box? The water is the most important thing. If she still hasn't consumed any food in 72 hours, I'd really be concerned. By that time, she should be famished! You can always try some other type of cooked food from your kitchen and see if she would go for that. Or even treats -- anything to see if she will eat something. Success will be any morsel of food that she swallows for you--wet or dry.

Hang in there. This will just take some time. Please continue to keep us posted.

similar story of my 3.5 years old queen.... just ignore her.....
At the cattery mine used to eat orijen, so I bought orijen dry food.
At the beginning for a little she was staying only in my bedroom, then i opened her other rooms one by one.....she moved to the hall (hiding under a furniture) then the lounge room (hiding behind the sofa), then my parents' bedroom (hiding under the bed).

Good luck with her.....I hope she's drinking, using the litter box and soon she'll start to eat too...

Please keep us update!

One thing not clear from your post - have you kept her in a single room ?

If not, that might help her settle.

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The little monsters 3

Thank you so much for your advice. Sybil is in a small bedroom and I was feeding her the same food as the cattery. Thankfully, she has now eaten some tuna - which she has never eaten before. She is also using the litter tray. She seems to eat and use the tray one we have all gone to bed and the house is totally quiet.

She won't come out from under the bed while I'm there and any toys I've tried to tempt her with seem to scare her, so I've stopped that. She's been under the bed for five days. I can see her and lie down to slow blink. Sometimes she blinks back and other times, she slinks away very slowly. She has no interest in any cat treats I've offered/put down.

I'm thinking, like Leopard Cat said, she has not been socialised. I can understand her whole world has changed. So I need to be very patient. I work from home, and am thinking of starting to work in the room she is in. Do you think this would help her get used to me? I think her contact with humans may have just been limited to people putting feed down/cleaning the pen.

Thank you again for all your support.

Just another update... she has eaten some more tuna which I placed at the side of the bed, to tempt her out. She will only eat when I leave the room and appears still frightened. If I make a gesture towards her, she backs slowly away, in a manner that appears submissive. I am thinking she only let me stoke her previously because she was paralysed with fear.

Hi Sara

I too rehomed a pair of ex breeding Bengals (male/ female) about 18 months ago. They were only 2yrs/18 months at that point. They were incredibly agitated, anxious and rarely stayed still when they first arrived (except when they were hiding behind the computer!) There was a moment when we though "what have we taken on!" We were experienced cat owners but had never experienced such (apparently) traumatised cats before

18 months on , they are now so chilled that they will lie in the middle of the living room whilst my grandchildren play around them!

What we did was take lots of time and took things at their pace. We talked to them and did often work in their "safe room" when we we were able to work at home. When they let us touch them we were quick to do so as you can imagine but also were mindful to watch them to read their body language to know when to stop!

The best advice I can give is patience, gentleness and get to know your kitty so that you can learn what she likes and doesn't like. Malcolm we have discovered LOVES to play and so we do, daily! Dany is less interested (we thought) but a month ago, after watching Malc play for over a year suddenly joined in which was the most wonderful thing to see.

I have never regretted offering them a home.. it has cost us money as we ended up building them an enclosure so that they can go outside and the tops of our lovely wooden doors now have marks where they love to jump up and balance/walk along them, but they are such wonderful cats to share a home with and to see the positive change in them has been been a lovely experience. I've never had cats like them before and am totally besotted

Hope all goes well with your kitty

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The little monsters 3

Thank you for sharing your story Tanny - it's reassuring to hear. I'm going to start working in her safe room tomorrow and hope that that will help Sybil get used to me, and feel less threatened by my presence. I'll not approach her anymore and wait for her to come to me. She might appreciate not being peered at in the darkness under the bed. Thank you for your insights. Sara.

Hi Brian. I'm going to do as you suggest with the food, just before we all go to bed. I'll also get her some tuna cat food as opposed to just the tuna we eat. I have put out chicken, but that's been ignored.

There's evidence in the room that she's moving around exploring when we are not there, so she is exploring a bit, which must be a good sign. I think she is fearful of humans because of limited interactions. And, may not have had any toys.

When I think back, she had to be 'captured' at the cattery so I could bring her home. Thank you for all your advice. It's been really helpful and I appreciate it - Sara.

Working in her room may well be a good idea, but not sure if going in there for a number of hours would be the best way to start.

Perhaps pop in there for an hour with your laptop/whatever, totally ignore her and talk. It doesn't matter what you talk about - read out bits of work email or the weather forecast, but talk to yourself to get her used to hearing your nice, calm voice.

Good luck and remember that there is a really beautiful cat sat behind that wall of fear. You'll take that wall down eventually.

Hi Cranberry.... thank you for your advice. I am doing that now - 'ignoring' her and reading out work emails (poor thing having to listen them!). Last night Sybil ate a bit more than she has before, so that's good. She's still ensconced under the bed, but I am resisting peering under it. Thank you for your help, Sara

Sara, you are doing ALL the right things here. As I said previously, when your kitty is hungry, she will eat! She's found safety under the bed. This is good for now. Working in the room with her sounds like a wonderful idea and reading emails out loud so she hears your voice and isn't threatened. You've mentioned "we" so there must be other members in your household. It sounds like this kitty had very little human interaction. Such a shame! Bad breeder!!! At least your baby is eating. And she appears to be coming out to explore the safe room on her own when you're not around. That's tremendous!!!!! You'll be taking baby steps with this one -- but every day should show some improvement. Happy to hear she's using the litter box okay! I love reading your updates and the progress you're making with her. She's had a lot thrown at her at once and it takes time for the trauma to wear off. I do suggest that you try to approach her every day. If Sybil is under the bed, get down there and look at her so she seeds you and continue the slow blinks. Completely ignoring her is not going to help. The socialization has to start with you. Hang in there .....