Hi,

We've recently brought two Bengal kittens home, and I'm looking for some advice from this community. Both are female and from the same litter. One (Cora) has settled in fine - she likes to be approached, stroked etc etc. The second (Ava), not so much. If you approach her, she runs as if terrified, even is beforehand she's been sitting not far away. The exception is just after she wakes up or when she's settled (e.g. on a chair), in which case she's happy to be approached, stroked etc. The other issue is that she's pooing outside of the lit (several times in the last week, we've had them for about 10 days). It's been runny sometimes, other times solid - her diet is the same as it was at the breeders. She know where the lit is, and her sister uses it fine (the accidents are definitely not Cora, we've been watching for that).

We have two kids (3.5 and 1.5), who are quite noisy. This may obviously be the issue, although Ava will choose to enter a room with them and play, and avoids them if they come too close (yes, we do watch the interactions to be sure). Every cat is different obviously, but Cora has settled fine and treats them with feline disdain!

I'm planning on getting another lit box for the lounge (where the accidents have happened) to make sure it's not a kitten-caught-short issue. I'm also going to get some Feliway to see if that makes a difference - not had to use it before so unsure, but I figure it's worth a shot.

We have owned Bengals before and know the breed fairly well, so know what to expect from them. Cora displays typical Bengal behaviour and interest, but sadly Ava isn't. We're going to get in touch with the breeder too to see if this is a marked change in behaviour. Any advice from this forum would be very helpful. Sadly, if Ava doesn't settle, we will probably have to return her to the breeder - it's not fair on her for a start, and I'm not keen on having poo issues either!

Many thanks in advance.

Welcome to the forum! It appears Cora is settling in just fine. Ava is having issues! Being separated from mom and siblings can be extremely traumatic and stressful to a kitten. They are taken from the smells they know by people they don't know and taken to a whole new environment with new smells and children! All cats have different personalities -- even siblings. Stress from the change can also cause diarrhea and litter box accidents. You have to be prepared for this. You need three litter boxes total for two cats! Some cats simply do not want to be around a noisy household (I have one of those). Children are active and can be loud. This could be a problem for Ava if she doesn't get used to it. She may be fearful of children as children can be a little heavy handed when it comes to petting and handling a cat!

My advice is to not approach Ava if she isn't interested. Doing so will just scare her. She needs to be confident and comfortable in her surroundings before she will come out of her shell. Make sure you have a tall cat tree as bengals love to climb and be up high and that gets them away from the kids. Allow her to find her own space where it's quiet. It can take a new kitten weeks or months to adjust! You have to be patient.

Cora and Ava should be playing together. You can also engage the kitties in play with wand toys. It is important for human interaction as well but some cats are more timid than others. There is so much helpful information on this forum and on the internet in general. You are not the first person to have siblings who are totally different. Hang in there and be patient.

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The little monsters 3

I do hope you will return and update this topic regularly so we can see the progress Ava is making.