Stress can be difficult to control unless you know the cause of the stress. Since you plan to take the baby to the sitter's house, see if that helps the situation. I know my Raiden isn't great around strangers. I think the key would have been to have the sitter come by prior to your leaving the sitter alone with the baby and your kitty. That way, she could have spent time solely with the cat and possibly things would be okay. Know that a crying baby can also stress out a kitty! Things definitely change when a new infant arrives. It's an adjustment period for everyone -- and your kitty just doesn't know what is going on. Hopefully, things will improve. Keep us informed.

Sherry- the sitters are my mother and mother in law who they cats are very used to. They've even cat-sat anytime we've been away!

Some things the vet suggested to reduced stress are : calming collars (various brands, we got Feliway), any type of calming oil/ pill to put in their food (we got rescue remedy oil and zykene pills that were recommended in this post), Jackson spirt oils that we put on his fur, increasing vertical space in our home (we have a ton but did add more), adding a litter box and scrubbing them all weekly, I have learned that they are much better when I limit their freedom (keep them locked in our master suite for periods during the day, they seem to be pretty calm in here and relaxed), website published by the Ohio state university about the "indoor cat initiative", of course playing with them, blocking vision to Windows to outside as a wild animal might be causing stress, they make calming treats (my boys refused to eat them). That's all I can remember.

I will say while on the pain med, behavior was excellent - no peeing no constant meowing. Today is day 3 since no pain med and the meowing has returned the day we were done w the meds. And today urinates in bathtub, which he's never done before and which a clean litter box was literally writhing 5 inches from this. Thinking about waiting another day and maybe going back in. Hate to ignore the meows if he is trying to tell me he's in pain from something!

Possibly he has a bit of an infection - was he given anything for the inflammation other than pain meds? Poor guy, definitely sounds like he still has some pain if he was fine while on the pain meds.

From what you say, most of the advice you were given is roughly also what I was told by the behaviourist. How many of the zylkene capsules are you giving them each day? With the 75mg ones for cats and small dogs, if your boys are over 5kg, you need to give them 2 each per day. I initially started giving just one per day but it didn't really do much - and then read the instructions properly (doh)!! They do take a few days to kick in but hopefully they will reduce the stress for your boy to help get rid of that inflammation in his bladder.

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

Poor kitty. It sounds like you are trying very hard to remedy this, but I cringe at the notion of a drugged up kitty, imprisoned in a small space, with no access to windows. It doesn't sound like a very pleasant existance

And I'm not sure how to interpret the "constant meowing". I wouldn't necessarily associate that with pain. I think normally a cat will go curl up someplace and hide when confronted with illness or pain. So what you may be seeing is actually the opposite, that he is now feeling better but is unhappy. Or perhaps unhappy is the wrong word, perhaps feeling better and now vocal and demanding (as bengals tend to be). It may very well be simply that when he is drugged up to his eyeballs he is simply placid, but when he isn't he feels better but is frustrated because he isn't able to really "be a bengal" in his current situation. I think you need to really carefully observe things and look for clues about what is going on.

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The little monsters 3

Oh I don't think he's 'drugged up to his eyeballs'! When Hendrix needed pain meds for his knees or fractured paw, it meant he was charging around like a lunatic (or typical Bengal!) instead of hobbling as he couldn't feel the pain.

The zylkene is simply a milk protein which just calms them and reduces their stress levels. It's also supposed to be useful with inappropriate peeing. I certainly wouldn't give it to my two if they were stumbling around in a drug induced stupor. To be honest, I see no difference in energy levels or their Bengal mischief-making personalities.... But they aren't trying to kill each other and the atmosphere is more harmonious. It's not permanent, it's just a way of retraining them to get along together again. Two dominant males can be difficult to handle!

I know mackattack is doing everything she possibly can to resolve the situation, and I'm sure she is looking at every possibility - if only theses bengals could tell us the problem! I'm convinced I'm ageing prematurely due to my guys

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

It is almost impossible to determine from a cat's cry exactly what is wrong and going on with them. We all hope for the cat who behaves, eats and drinks properly, uses the litter box, enjoys playing and petting and affection. But so many end up with something that's just not right in the behavior and one cannot figure out what is wrong. There is something going on -- cats really do prefer litter boxes as they have their natural instinct to dig and cover. Just like some people can't handle huge spaces -- I guess it can be the same for cats. They tend to want to feel snuggled into something. You are doing everything you know to do and are asking questions that many of us cannot answer. And maybe your vet can't answer either. I'm so sorry you're going through this with your kitty.