I have two Bengels, one will be two years old in December, the other will be two in February. We brought the younger one home and had a normal integration. It took a few days to get them to get along, but they eventually became best Friends and never looked back. Until now. 4 days ago, my oldest Bengal was accidentally locked in a room under our basement steps overnight. In the morning the came out with some dry wall dust on him. We wiped him off and went about our day. The evening, the younger Bengal became hissing anytime the older one went near him. He also didn't eat that evening. We called the vet the next morning and took him in for a check and overnight monitoring. Vet gave him a clean bill of health and thought issues were behavioral.brought him home,he ate and drank. Older one then started to be the hisser and would hiss anytime the younger got near. They spent several hours in same room as each other but hissing if either got close. Slept separately that night and in morning ate food side by side without any hiss. Then when food done, hissing resumed. This went on for another day, just kind of stalking and hissing but nothing aggressive. Then, this morning, the younger one would not let the older out of his sight kept chasing him anytime he tried to leave. Older one continued to hiss and growl. Then younger attacked aggressively twice. We now have them seperated for the day so they don't hurt each other.

Anyone experience this? How do I get my best buddies back? I'm so worried about them!

There are quite a few members on here who have two or three bengals. They have troubles when cats are separated for a while with vets visits etc as the cats smell different. I think it can take time to get them settled again. Don't worry, I'm sure it will settle down soon.

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Melissa

UK
Oscar - Rescue (Rascal!!!) Bengal

Thanks Melissa. You are encouraging. Any insight as to keeping them seperated in the meantime? I'm afraid they will hurt each other and the older one is so anxious and scared when they are together. But maybe the added separation is making them worse?

I'm taking a guess here, but I think your bengal locked in the basement came back with all new smells, especially with the drywall dust! Cat's sense of smell is 14 times stronger than ours. And perhaps your cat looked different with the dust as well. Cats also can sense another cat's demeanor, and it's possible the cat locked out was a little stressed out. Hissing is not bad, but aggression between the cats is. It may take some time for them to co-exist once more. It's like starting all over again integrating them. You should feed them near each other. Play with each of them together in the same room. If you feel any aggression may occur overnight, separate the cats. Jackson Galaxy sells Spirit Essences. I've never tried them but many cat owners swear by them. He has holistic remedies for almost any behavior issue. http://www.spiritessences.com. Good luck and keep us informed.

Thank you sherry! Yes, I think the basement factor was important that's why I included it. I did notice the younger go smell him and scurry away twice. Will be ordering that product ASAP. Thank you.

Jackson has a lot of different remedies to get the one that best applies in your situation. It's very common when one cat returns from a visit to the vet, any other cats in the household will react differently -- due to the different smells around the returning cat. You can't smell anything different, but your kitties can.

Sherry- looking at the different oils- wow! A lot. Thinking either bully remedy? For the younger who is acting as the main aggressor. Or peacemaker remedy? Both both. Suggestions?

I just bought the peacemaker trio! Hope it helps! Also bought feilaway plug ins and sentry collars recommended by my bet. Please let me babies come back!

Peacemaker would be the one I would go with.

I would also do some scent swapping. Wipe each one down with a hand towel or small blanket and then put that item near where the other cat is spending their time.

Bengals seem far more sensitive to the smell difference than moggies. When Diesel came back from his surgery the others didn't really care that he smelled like the vet but when his best friend (our orange moggie) came back from a teeth cleaning Diesel took 4 or 5 days to accept him back. There was a lot of hissing and some mild aggression. Our poor moggie was heartbroken that his best friend was being so mean.

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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

Yes I've had this issue when Hendrix was at the vet for a day, and Jagger wouldn't accept him back for about a week! But they will get over it, and your best buddies will be back. I spent a whole afternoon fussing one and then the other, transferring their scent to each other, and rubbing them over with each other's scent. Someone else on here suggested rubbing both of them with a chamois leather, could be worth a try.

Their sense of smell is very acute, jagger even hissed at the cat carrier every time he went in the spare room.

Scent is so important to cats, so with one shut in the basement and then the other at the vet, you have two cats not able to recognise each other. It will pass, but could take a few days.

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

It could be scent, first from the basement and second from the vet. I think the best thing is to keep them separated for awhile, let them "cool off", then let them back together, but always separate them at the first sign of "trouble" and long before it comes to blows.

Here's how I think about these kinds of things: there is some number that represents their relationship and current attitude towards one another. When the number gets high enough, they get friendly, when it gets low enough, they are hostile, and all other states in between. Everytime there is a positive interaction, like them eating food that they like together, or treats together, or they sleep next to each other, or they play together, or groom each other, or enjoy the warm sun on a window sill close to one another: the number goes up. Everytime something bad happens: they hiss to scare each other, they growl, or box each other on the nose, or stalk each other, or worse, the number goes down. And the amount it goes up or down depends on how good or bad the episode was. So the goal is to "tweak things" so that you build up a ton of positive capital and avoid negatives as much as possible. To me that's sort of the guiding principal of having cats get along. So if they are in a state where everytime they are together, the only thing that is going to happen is negative things... you don't want them to be together. Keep them apart! Then start slow. A delicious dinner with them only seeing each other from across the room. A small positive rather than a negative. Good! Smelling each other from between a closed door while being stoked on the head by their owner and no hissing or growling. Another small positive. Etc. Eventually it adds up, and they are ok together again. The opposite of course is also true. If they just keep having negative interaction after negative interaction, pretty soon they are going to loath one another, then you've got a really big problem on your hands.

Anyway, maybe I'm mental, but that's how I think about it, and have had luck with it.

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The little monsters 3

Thank you everyone for being so helpful.itruly appreciate it! I ordered the peacemaker trio oil as well as some feilaway plug ins and feilaway collars as recommended by my vet. Anyone know if I can and/or should mix the collars with the oil? Or just stick to one product at first?

I used the oils and the plug in together and it was fine. The collars should be ok.

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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

WOW, lots of great advice here. Since I've never used any of Jackson's products, I wouldn't really know which one to choose, but sounds like you've got a few to choose from. Feliway is a great product and can be used anywhere in the home. I have the diffusers AND the spray, but no longer need to use them as the neighbor moved away with his problem kitty.

I would start with the oils and the Feliway and leave the collars until you see if this works. I know it's frustrating, but even the best of feline friends will have incidents of aggression at times. I know you want this stopped ASAP and I'm sure it will once everyone gets their territory and scent situations solved. Keep us informed on his this works out.