Hi there
we have rescued a 1 year old full bengal tom on saturday, he had been living in a garage with other cats and is absolutely terrified, he has large clumps of fur missing, and appears to have been sucking the end of his tail, weve called him Bennie

We have a neutered ginger tom sparky, we have put Bennie in his own room with food water and catlit, he is weeing in the catlit but pooing around the room, we go in and see him every hour for at least 10 minutes, just sitting by him if he is under the bed or lying on the floor talking softly to him if he is under the dressing table, he doesnt smell good and if you try to touch him he drools, we have got some feliway spray and do intend getting him nuetered in the future.

I know we are in for the long haul with Bennie, Ive had cats around me all my adult life all rescued, and Ive never seen a cat so depressed, is there anything else we can do for him at this point to make him any happier?

By the way, we rescued him from a so called breeder of persian cats and chuahuaha dogs!

Thanks for any suggestions.

Omg, you rescued him from a breeder! I can't believe that.

The poor little guy, he sounds like he's in a terrible state. I have no experience but it sounds like you are doing things right. I guess it will just take patience and time. He'll soon begin to trust you I hope.

So glad you have got him out of there. You said he was in a garage with other cats? Where they in the same state? Have you reported the breeder?

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sounds awful, I wouldnt introduce them until he is neutered and leave it about 6weeks for his hormones to calm down, poor boy

Hi and welcome,

Thank goodness Bennie has found a new home with you. What a miserable time the poor little guy must have had.

It may take a lot of time for Bennie to settle with you and gain your trust. Firstly, have you taken him to your vet to be checked over? It does sound like Bennie is very understandably stressed right now so he needs lots of TLC and patience.

You are doing the right thing so far. Sit on the floor with him and talk gently when you can. Given time he will want to 'sniff you out' and when he does, don't make any movement, just let him get used to your scent. When he feels confident enough you can arrange some catnip toys around you on the floor, and let him sniff those until he's fine with you coaxing him to play. Take a couple of the catnip toys away when you leave the room and bring them back when you sit with Bennie. This way he knows that you both 'share' the same things and he'll associate the smells with you.

Always keep your movements gentle and your voice low until Bennie trusts you, and keep to his eye-level too so that Bennie doesn't feel threatened. When you feel Bennie might be comfortable with you petting him, never go to stroke the top of his head, tickle his chin or ears to start with. A huge hand coming down on top of a cats head is the worst thing that you can do to a nervous cat.

As for the pooping issues - Try another litterbox in the room with perhaps a different litter. He may feel more comfortable with two trays; one each for peeing and pooping.
Make sure his feeding/bedding area are kept well away from his litter box too.

Bennie will come around eventually, but it will take time. I've been there myself, and you just have to be patient. If you can, play some gentle music in the room too, classical music has been proven to relax nervous cats. You can buy soft toys with a 'heartbeat', these are excellent for timid cats and makes them feel safe and secure. Also, try some feliway in the room, it might help even a little to comfort Bennie.

Huge good luck. Give Bennie big snuggles from me, I do hope he settles in very soon.

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Best Wishes,
Maddy

Gosh, the poor little boy. So glad he's found somewhere where he will be loved.
I don't really have much advice to be honest, I just wanted to commend you for taking him on.

I think all you can do is have lots of time and patience for him, which you're already doing. I'd personally get him used to the new surroundings and his new humans first before attempting any other introductions.
I hope he improves! Keep, us updated.

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Katrina

Owned by:

Hi
Thanks for all your kind words and advice.

No I havnt reported her, although i Know i should, I had to really coax bennie away from her, she has at least 6 dogs in the house and god knows how many cats in the garage I was really distressed myself, never mind poor Bennie. I think her intention was to get a female bengal and start a breeding programme.

hes made his first showing tonight, we were so excited he came out from under the dressing table and has been on the bed! when I cleaned his mess up, I sprayed the area with feliway, do you think this has helped? we are going to take him to the vet this week to make sure he is fit and well in himself, and book him in for neutering.

I will get him another lit tray, of course, it will be like scat in wild cats wont it? he will like to wee in one place and poo in another. Ive had a bengalx in the past and he was absolutely mad, I adored him, bennie is a long way from that I'm afraid.

Hes feeding well, but as skinny as a rake, i'll keep you posted on his progress.

I would definitely do the vet visit soon, there could be a ringworm issue with the hairloss, maybe parasites (so you will struggle getting weight on him), etc. As much as I hate stressing out a stressed cat with a vet visit, he definitely needs to be checked out sooner rather then later.

Like others have said, the added litter box might help.

For meds, you might look into rescue remedy to add to his water along with the feliway you are already doing.

If you have a laptop or extra TV, the more time you can spend relaxing in the room the better. Just relax and watch some videos so he gets used to you, your smells, without you even focusing on him. If he really likes cooked chicken bits, you could use them as rewards to promote interaction with you.

All the same, I think the first focus should be getting his physical health up to speed, those deficits can make his mental health a battle as well.

By the way, good job on rescuing the boy. I can only imagine the situation he was in prior, thank you.

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How's Bennie doing today?

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today Bennie has had a little play with the toys we have left with him! he wont play with us yet, but he is tolerating us quite well, he is using his lit to wee, but still pooing pretty much anywere he likes, im cleaning it and spraying the area with a pet deodoriser, hes eating well and anything we put in front of him, again not when we are about, he even tolerated my bloke touching him,but i dont think he was over pleased with the experience just yet. he is going to the vet friday, so i'll keep you informed of his progress.

thanks for asking!

hi - just came across your post there, how is bennie doing now??

Thanks for asking Phoebe

At the minute he's playing lap slug snuggled up next to me as I type

I was too hasty to get him into the harness and I need to get him to trust me a bit more before I do any more training

He's my cat and I love it, runs to meet me when I come home
Attacks me if he's not fed on time
Comes to heel when I call him and follows me all over the house

He's come a long way from that poor fella we rescued, I'm looking forward to getting to know him better and building a bond with him

I just started reading this thread and I am litterally in tears! I am so glad to hear that he has made such an amazing recovery! You are an amazing person to take the time and dedication it takes to turn a cat under his circumstances around! Great job! I am so happy to have read this I am kinds going through somthing with a breeder that is treating her cats poorly and I needed a story like this to give me hope that there are still people out there that give it there all to turn the life of a well deserving cat around! You just made my day! Thanks

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Thanks

He's truly the most amazing cat we've ever had, he's assumed the position now tucked in between my bum and the arm of the sofa watching me type

I know it sounds daft but he's more like a child than a pet, loves routine, feeding time, play time and cuddle time

When we first got him the state he was in made me

He was so distressed, his first feed here his teeth were scraping the bottom of the food dish he was that hungry

And he'd given up washing himself

It wasn't easy but I think he's just going to get bigger, more confident and beautiful as the yeras pass