Let me start by saying, I used to use this forum a lot when I first got my beautiful bengals but haven't been on for a while. I am feeling very worried about one of my boys, Storm. He is about 7 years old now and he is super social, very needy and affectionate and not really scared of anything. It has been about 8 days since I noticed a change in his behaviour. All of a sudden he is very nervous, and gets scared and startled easily. He is specifically scared and runs away from my husband who usually has a very special bond with him. But, I can see in his eyes, he is scared... And will walk backwards and shy away, and jump at sudden movements like my husband coughing for example or a tissue. This is obviously making me very nervous something is wrong.

Now there are two factors I would like to add. He is still being sweet and will let me touch, pet, pat and is not sensitive to touch which makes me think he is not sick or in any pain. He is being better with me than my husband, which is not normal. He is still eating and drinking and will want attention -when he is in the mood, and will still play a bit. He is also still playing with his brother (who is usually the scaredy cat). There had been no change in Indy's mood.

The two things I can think of that changed.
-We changed his dry food about 5-6 weeks ago. The brand he has been on since small, from the breeder and is now discontinued (Hollistic Select).

-We noticed Storm acting different the day after Halloween, In which my husband painting his face all green (like a ninja turtle) and I think it freaked Storm out. I am serious, nothing ever bothers this cat. And he is so frightened now. Does anyone know what this can be? Did my husbands green face freak him out?

I am trying to be extra sweet and gentle with him right now. I still wake up with him sleeping beside my head in the morning. So not everything has changed.

Need advice. I have never seen him like this. Thank you so much!!

The weirdest things can freak a cat out. I would say your husband changing appearance could very definitely have spooked him. Has he been frightened by fireworks too? Association with scary things could be affecting him. For example our old cat Harry loved cheese and used to get a tiny bit when I did packed lunches every morning (naughty I know). One morning we had a carpenter in the house. When Harry went to eat his morsel of cheese, the carpenter used the drill! Harry never went near a piece of cheese again as he thought this dreadful noise would start if he did. He associated cheese with awful noise from then on It may be that your boy was totally freaked out with your husbands green face! Kind of 'it's my dad but it's not my dad and I don't understand what has happened! I'm sure it will settle down and get better with time! Lots of love, patience and no more green faces!

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Melissa

UK
Oscar - Rescue (Rascal!!!) Bengal

Thank you Melissa. That does make me feel better. The idea that something could be wrong with him totally freaks me! I think I will just try to win his trust back the next few days. I wish it was cheese he was afraid of and not my husband and me :(

Its just crazy to think that a 7 year old can have a sudden change in behaviour. Plus- he is meowing a lot at night and driving us crazy, but I cant tell if that's just because of the time change from last week. He thinks we are late to feed him breakfast....

-Shannon

Well he sounds fine in himself, stroking him all over and him not being in pain, eating, drinking etc. He is fine with you but not your husband. If he was ill he would most likely be off with you both. The food change would most likely have been soon after and it was 5 or 6 weeks ago so it's unlikely. These kitties worry us so much! I would just let him come back to your husband in his own time, which will be hard for your husband as he most likely wants to cuddle him Did anything else happen with your husband? did he step on his tail accidentally or something and hurt him? Could be the smallest thing! Hope he comes round to being affectionate again with your husband very soon!

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Melissa

UK
Oscar - Rescue (Rascal!!!) Bengal

I would think he was probably very confused by the face makeup. The "thing" smelled like daddy but didn't look like daddy so it probably freaked him out.

I would have your husband try and entice him with toys and treats and try to rebuild that bond.

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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

Something has happened to cause this. I'm going to say it was the face paint your husband used. A cat's sense of smell is 14 times stronger than humans -- this means he could not only SEE the paint, but smell it as well. Did your husband do anything to the kitty while wearing the paint? Pet him, pick him up, talk to him in a scary voice? Understand that even small children get terrified at Halloween by something scary! Cats can react the same way. Maybe lesson learned here. No more face paint. You don't want to terrify your baby! Next Halloween, hubby will have to just be himself. LOL. Seriously, you're just going to have to allow time for things to get back to normal. I highly doubt changing cat food caused this different reaction. Your husband is going to have to work harder to regain his trust. It can take some time. Hang in there.

I guess I am convinced that it was the face paint. I cant remember if my husband did anything while dressed up but I wouldn't be surprised. They usually play rough and like to play tag and chase each other around the house. Storm usually loves it! If he chased him, with the face paint on, that might have been traumatic. I feel so bad. -But I am not going to lie. I feel somewhat relieved because I don't think there are any health issues, which I was concerned there might be.

Storm is a little nervous; jumpy around me too. But at least he will come to me. This is hard for me to digest. I didn't paint my face :(

Who would have thought?! My poor baby. I appreciate the responses.

-Shannon

Just hang in there. It may have been a traumatic moment -- and sometimes it can take weeks for a cat to get over it. Patience is the key -- and making sure that your husband is involved in playing with him -- just even a few minutes. Sounds like Storm has lost his confidence and has to regain it. Just don't force the issue with Storm. Sounds like it will take baby steps to get back to where you were. Keep us posted and hopefully, within a couple of weeks, he'll be back to his normal self.

Several years ago, I put leopard print Mickey Mouse ears on and my cat Madelyn freaked out. Her tail puffed up and she crouched low to the floor and let out a moaning cry that I had never heard before. Then a few years later I received a knit hat that has little cat ears on the top. I put it on and showed Madelyn wondering what her reaction would be. She did the same thing puffy tail and all. I think cats don't like the unexpected when it comes to their trusted owners.

I guess we really need to be careful around our kitties. I know that Raiden looks at me funny when I wear a hooded jacket out on our walks in the winter time. But, he's never freaked out over it.

I am happy to give an update. Storm was almost back to normal yesterday and he appreciated all the extra play time! The elastic game (his fav), box game and of course, da bird. He was cuddly with me yesterday, and I was sitting beside the hubby so it was def progress. No scary look in his eyes.


Boy, was I freaked out.

Ps- I asked my husband if he did anything while dressed up, and he told me that he had those fork like knife things (dressed like a ninja turtle) and swinging those around. So I am sure that didn't help, along with the green face.

-Shannon

Shannon, happy to hear all has settled down! Thankfully, Halloween comes but once a year! Possibly what may have freaked your poor kitty was the fact that your husband's voice came out of that ugly creature and he was quite confused! A confused kitty is never a good thing.