I became the proud owner of 2 sister Bengals (14wks & neutered, named Phoebe - Greek Goddess of the moon, she's a snow spotted & Tyche - Greek goddess of fortune, who's dark brown spotted ) and finally brought them home just this Saturday gone (12 Sep). I had chosen them about mid August and had visited them several times during this period whereby I also saw their sister who had also been reserved whereby the proposed owner had named her Bella (golden brown spotted). After a rather loud journey in the car, I released my 2 girls into my kitchen/dinner which houses their loo, water fountain, upto ceiling activity centre and various toys as well as their food bowls as I thought it best to let them settle in for a week or so in one room until I start introducing them to the other rooms in the house. Phoebe settled in straight away, playing with the water, her toys and eating well, Tyche on the other hand was a bit more reserved but eventually joined Phoebe in the fun. When I went to collect my girls, Bella was there after having been sent back from her owner for not getting on with the other 1 yr old Bengal (from same breeder)after a period of 12 hours! The breeder said he had arranged to take Bella back to her new home the next day for another try and would let me know how she got on. I received a call from the breeder on the following Sunday morning, advising Bella was to be put back up for sale as owner did not want to give her another try & me being soft decided to purchase Bella so at least she'd be happily back with her sisters. Well I got it totally wrong, breeder dropped Bella around midday and she is currently set to be renamed Eris- Greek goddess of strife as she is hissing & growling at her sisters as well as me when we go near her and has been physically aggressive with her siblings albeit not at full pelt, lots of swiping as they go near, she is also maintaining a distance and whereas as the others are washing and playing with each other, when they go towards Bella/Eris she is not at all receptive! Sorry for my long post, I'm new to this forum and this is my first post. Would appreciate if anyone could advise if they have experienced this scenario or know someone who did and advise if I've made a mistake as Eris will never get back on with her sisters or that she will come round in time. Am also interested as to why Eris is behaving like this.

If you think about what Bella has been through in the last week I am not surprised she is reacting with stress. I would imagine stress is the more normal reaction when a kitten goes to a new home. You first took two kittens who were littermates at one time so it is not surprising they are more chilled as they have each other. I would be more interested in how Bella was with her littermates when they were at the breeder before rehoming to discover her natural nature. She could just be reacting with stress/fear and therefore aggression because of all she has been through. I think this problem is one for Brian and Sherry and the more experienced members to help you with suggestions going forward. I would not make any quick decisions and give it time for Bella to come round.

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Melissa

UK
Oscar - Rescue (Rascal!!!) Bengal

The fact that Bella/Eris had been separated from her sisters and been to another home means that she is no longer recognised as their sister unfortunately. The two who had been with you a couple of days will also have a different scent to Bella now as they have been in your home - basically they are not recognising each other as part of the same social group. Go back to the beginning and separate Bella and do a slow introduction as if they weren't sisters. Scent swapping etc, there is loads of info on here about introducing kittens/cats.

You will get this if one goes to the vet as when they come home they stink of the vets. I get it with Jagger and Hendrix if one has been to the vet for some reason or other, they come home, thrilled to be back and get swiped and hissed at by the other.

Definitely don't send her back as if you invest the time in letting them get reacquainted slowly, it will be fine.

Keep us informed and good luck!

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Clare
Hendrix and Jagger, Brown Marble Boys (born 18 August 2013)
Hampshire, UK

Look, it sounds like Bella needs a patient owner that will at least give her a chance to acclimate to a new home by doing a by-the-book saferoom and introduction protocol. Which means just not throwing her into a ring with the resident cats and hitting the ring bell, holding up a round card, and watching them fight.

If you are not such an owner, and unwilling to do that, then take her back to the breeder now. It either needs to be a 100% committment, or taking her back now, imo. She doesn't need a temporary "trial" home, another bad experience, and another rehoming. I will say though that you already have a multi-cat household, and even with your two cats that are getting along marvelously, you are very likely to go through this, or worse, with the two of them eventually. So you are going to have to learn to deal with it better than you are now.

Will she "come around"? A lot of that depends on you. The more times they fight, the more times they hiss and growl at one another, or swipe at one another and such, the more they are re-inforcing their unhappiness with each other, and the harder it is going to be. There are techniques for introducing cats and helping them get along. I think 90%+ of the time, with enough patience and commitment, you can help them to at least co-exist peacefully, with perhaps a much better outcome then that. But giving your new cat a sarcastic, unflattering name is a really bad start imo. I see that as really telling in terms of your commitment or lack thereof.

Why is she behaving like she is? Because she probably had a really bad experience with the previous idiot who took her in, and now she is scared, and stressed out. Cats like to own things. They like to own warm, soft spots to sleep, litterboxes and food and water dishes, high perches, and humans who treat them well, give them comfort and food, treats, and play. And they love routine. Waking up at the same time in the same place, eating the same food, seeing the same people etc. And they don't like other cats to "share" in what is theirs. Cats rely very heavily on scent, so ownership and scent go hand-in-hand. If a cat goes into a new home with none of their own scent anywhere, and other cats scent everywhere, that can be a very stressful situation, especially when the other cats and their scent is "in their face" the whole time. That is why when introducing a new cat you need to give the new cats her own room, let her "own it", let her get her scent on everything without other cats intruding, and then when she's become comfortable, plan some careful introductions.

Sorry if I sound harsh. I just hate hearing about cats that are "jerked around" the way she has been. She needs a stable situation, with a devoted owner.

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The little monsters 3

Just to add to my previous post: I'm a bit shocked to be honest, that the breeder didn't advise you on the fact they would now need to be introduced as if they'd never met. Also, the previous 'owner' (who gave up after 12 hours) obviously just threw her in with the existing 1 year old Bengal without letting her find her feet in her new home first and then introduce gradually when she's had time to settle in a bit. She must have been terrified, and by the sounds of things, still is.

She's been through so much, I really hope you have the patience to offer her a secure home. Separate her into her own room, let her de-stress from all the upheaval she's had and then do a slow re-introduction to her sisters once her scent has adjusted to your home. Read up on it and see if you think you can invest the time and patience that will be required. I really hope you can. None of this is her fault, after all.

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Clare
Hendrix and Jagger, Brown Marble Boys (born 18 August 2013)
Hampshire, UK

Absolutely spot-on advice given here! Bella's life has been turned upside down and I'm sure she's extremely stressed out over it all. The smells of her siblings are now long gone and they are "strangers" to her. You are going to have to invest a lot of time and patience to make this work out. I'm guessing at this stage of the game, the breeder was hoping the litter would be gone and in new, happy homes. Even though breeders have to contend with the prospect that a kitten will be returned, this is not what they hoped for and they do not like having to deal with this. You can be the success story for Bella. There are countless homes with three bengals who are happy together. Know you have your work cut out for you. You'll have to separate Bella for the time being and swap the scents from the other cats. She needs to get used to her new environment. If you can provide Bella with a happy, stable home, she will accept that gladly and join in with her sisters and be content. But she cannot do this on her own. You're going to have to work with her on it. I, too, feel badly for kittens who are returned time after time and have no stability or routine in their lives. Be determined to make this work and put the time in and it will work! It's not going to happen overnight. We've helped countless owners who have just about pulled their hair out over two kittens who did not get along -- but with support from the members here, and the owner working with the kittens, we have success stories and yours can be one as well. We're here with you -- every step of the way. Good luck.

Just an update to advise that I've got over my mini panic and self doubts as to whether I'd done the right thing because I'm just a natural worrier and deep down I probably knew she was stressed but I posted on here because I just needed some reassurance. I was also keen to understand why Bella was behaving the way she did, the scent explanation makes total sense. I only had the kitchen/dinner set up with all the equipment and I naively thought that having seen all 3 Sisters playing well together at the breeders home that they would just pick up where they left off!

I mainly work from home and so today I set up my office in the kitchen and will keep doing this until such time is right that I can leave the kitchen door and my study door open so they are free to seek my company and TLC. I then plan to start leaving the other room doors open one by one over a period of time and will then rehome the various play equipment so not everything is in the kitchen.

Anyhow, am pleased to say that Bella now to be renamed as Eos - Beautiful goddess of the dawn, has grown leaps and bounds in confidence. After a good nights sleep she awoke in good spirits and was happy to eat from her bowl alongside her sisters and ate well. They all then drank and splashed around with their water fountain after which there was a bit of overly rough fighting on Eos' s part which although distracted me from my work, I didn't think was serious enough to warrant my intervention. Eventually a tired Phoebe lay down to sleep with Eos then choosing to sit fairly close and within 10 minutes Eos cuddled on top of Phoebe - melted my heart. Ever since, all 3 have played really well together and I've observed that having 3 cubs means if 1 needs a rest they can just sit out whilst the other2 carrying on. Eos appears to have lots more energy than Phoebe and Tyche! My only issue with having 3 cubs when I'm the only in the house is having enough hands to stroke them with and I'm conscious I need to give equal attention to avoid any jealousy! As I write this they have all crammed themselves into one of the small hidey holes and are asleep, body positions look uncomfy to me as they're overlapping each other but their faces appear content.

I'm now selfishly awaiting them to voluntarily come to seek me out for a cuddle as opposed to me having to make all the moves!

Anyhow, thanks once again for the support.

Things can change in a heartbeat! I think it may have helped that you stopped worrying so much about things. Sounds like Eos has come out of her shell and is enjoying time with her siblings. There was no way they were going to pick up where they left off at the breeders-- too much time had elapsed. All Eos needed was a safe place and time to get used to her new home and siblings again. Things will only get better from here.

Yay! So happy to hear this has all ended well
Now all we require is some pics of the happy trio!

Excellent news, kittens are more adaptable than grown up cats. So pleased she will be staying with you and her sisters!

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Clare
Hendrix and Jagger, Brown Marble Boys (born 18 August 2013)
Hampshire, UK

Good for you! Enjoy your three babies! Keep posting.........pictures please!

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Melissa

UK
Oscar - Rescue (Rascal!!!) Bengal