Morning

Many of you offered helpful advice on how to reintroduce my Bengals to their outdoor enclosure after what appeared to have been a scare from another animal during the night which lead to Malcolm showing very high anxiety and redirected aggression to his "wife" Dany. I won't put all history in this thread as those interested can find it further down this topic :-)

Update:
We had to not only lock off the cat flap but put a physical barrier (via large cardboard sheets and two dinning room chairs!) across the lower half of the french doors for the first couple of weeks as even the sight of outdoors raised Malc's anxiety levels. No incidents at all between them since we closed off access

Our vet suggested we try the Royal Canin "Calm" diet as we really wanted to avoid medication if at all possible and so we transitioned across to that diet over a couple of weeks. I'm not sure if it is making a difference but I have to say they do love it as evidenced by the licked clean bowls!

Over 3/4 weeks we gradually removed the barriers and now we are back to the uncovered patio doors looking out to the enclosure, (cat flap still locked) with no anxiety from Malcolm when looking out.

So.... today we decided the time was right to start to recreate a positive association for Malcolm with the enclosure. I put Dany in the kitchen as I did not want to create additional stress for Malcolm and just let him out in there with me for 1/2 mins talking to him all the time (neighbours must think I am mad...) He was curious but clearly anxious and I just let him wander around until he wanted to come back in.

I then reintroduced Dany to him ... this was always going to be the crunch point .. but no aggression :-) :-) Some clear anxiety extra sniffing to reassure himself it was her but no hissing or growling. We did some play therapy and then treats and now they are curled up on the bed together as usual at this time of the morning

This is clearly going to be a long process but I am not going to rush it. Our plan is to gradually extend the periods of time Malcolm spends there until he is not anxious/ has a positive association and then allow Dany to go with him at the same time. That will be another crunch point but we will manage it carefully. We have put a covering across the bottom of the side of the enclosure that backs onto the garden to make it feel more contained (and therefore safe) and we have put pots on other side to stop any further marking against the enclosure frame

Anyway -thought some of you would enjoy an update!

Thank you so much for the update. You've been doing ALL the right things. I think it's important for you to go out in the enclosure with Malcolm for the first several times. You give him confidence. However, unless you've actually stopped the other "thing" from coming around, you may end up with the same situation all over again. At least there's no aggression toward Dani, which is important. You've done this slowly, which is the perfect way to do this. Can't wait to hear that Malcolm is back in the enclosure by himself and all is going well with him.

Glad to hear you do not want to medicate him. Some cats suffer from anxiety, but Malcolm's was triggered by something from outside. Hopefully whatever it was is gone and Malcolm can have peace and enjoy the enclosure.

Thanks Sherry - slow and steady are the watch words. Hopefully the blocking off we have done will prevent a recurrence !

Thank you again for your support :-)

Delighted to say that we have success!!

Malcolm was coping very well with being back out there for the short sessions and even seeing Dany through the kitchen window didn't upset him so we felt the time was right to try them both together.

We had one half hearted hiss from him when she first came out but he was easily reassured and they were fine together. We kept it very short so as to build on positive associations.

Since then it has gone from strength to strength. I now let them out together for 1.5 hrs first thing ( I'm an early riser) and then around 2 hrs in the evening when I'm back from work. During the day and overnight they currently have no access although we are working towards day time open access. I am around discreetly supervising when they are out there but we have had no further issues I'm pleased to say.

It's so lovely to see them back out there climbing and jumping and Dany is thrilled to have soil toilet back !(she prefers soil to litter it seems). I will try to post a picture in the next couple of days

Thank you all again for the advice and encouragement..it's been a long 8 weeks but patience was needed :-)

Thank you for the continuing updates! We love to hear success stories on here and that some of the advice we give is helpful! Looks like it won't be long before they can be together 24/7. Everything you did was the right thing to do. I know it's been a rough several weeks, but baby steps and patience are what was needed! Keep us posted.