Hi everyone,
I recently rescued a five year old bengal female from a breeder, he no longer wanted her as her kittens kept being born stillborn. I had her done end of November, the problem is she is petrified of my other two house cats. They ignore her but every time I try & introduce them she charges at them & attacks then hides under my bed. I am keeping them separate for now & have the feliway diffusers, she's taking zylkene & rescue remedy in her water. One of my other cats is 17 & I can't risk her attacking her again. Does anyone know if this could be hormonal as its now been six weeks & no improvement! I know when I first got her she was petrified of everything even string but now she's okay...just so scared of my cats that she attacks them help

We need a little more info here.
How are you conducting your introductions?
Is she currently in her own room?
Was she around other cats when she was a breeding cat?

Often rehoming older ex breeding adults can be a little more difficult and the cat/s can take a lot longer to settle.

She lived with twenty other cats apparently in a home & was not caged. She has her own room at the moment, I am letting her out of her current room, not forcing her but leaving the door open. She is familiar with the other rooms as I let her out most days when the other two are out. I have been swapping blankets to get them used to smells....I leave her to go to them, she just charges and attacks then hides. I keep them apart, my bedroom door has a two inch gap at the bottom so all the staring & swearing finished a couple of weeks ago. Someone suggested taking her through in a carrier but she just goes crazy to get out. For the first two weeks she hid from me under my bed...I don't know if keeping them apart is doing more harm & after a few fights they'll settle but I can't risk my old one being hurt......thanks.

I've gone through this with honey and tbh, you can only make things easier on her. She won't change her stance towards the other cats, in time, she may start to tolerate them but she will always be on guard. All you can do is give her her own safe room and let her be. If she is attacking the other cats, even after 2-3 months with being with you and on the pet remedy etc, I'd hate to say it but she is set in her ways and you may have to face the fact that this is her.

Thanks guys. She is great with me now. Sleeps beside me at night, I can cuddle her on my lap, she follows me around & everything. I can't stand up holding her yet but she loves me now. Think you are right because if I sit with my other cats she won't attack them its as if she knows I am guarding them against hurting her even though they wouldn't. I am letting her out for a while each day to get used to my whole place to acclimatise.

Forgot to mention, she is fit & well. The vets checked her, however when she was done late November they'd found green stuff in her womb probably why alot of her kittens were stillborn, pyometra I believe. It has been treated. She is now fit & well.

Thanks for advice...

Honey is exactly like this, an angel with me.

She's had poison in her body for a while, so she is dealing with recovering, ontop of a new environment. Just keep at her and make a fuss, i say lol

I am starting to feel that this is never going to work. Today I had a friend over to help me who Kizzy knows well...she tried to attack my younger cat twice and I was even more shocked when she turned on my old one again. She hasn't done this in a while. This is breaking my heart because I absolutely adore her. She has had such a terrible life and I was so looking forward to offering her a forever home with me

I am taking her to the vet again this week, they have a behaviour specialist at Celia Hammonds clinic who might be of some help but the way this is going I can see I am going to have to rehome her. I am absolutely gutted because we have bonded but its not fair on my other bubbeys...bengals aren't my specialty and i did not realise they are just so different to ordinary moggies like I am used to.

Sorry to hear this.

They really aren't that different from ordinary cats. She's had a rough start and she's not adjusting well, that could happen to any cat, bengal or not. Some cats are highly territorial, maybe she is one of them.

You first posted on Jan 13 and it's only 9 days later, i still think it may be too early for her to be mixing with your resident cats. But see what the behaviourist says and do let us know how you get on.

Good luck.

thanks,

i have actually had her for 6 weeks now.

i am a little confused as she lived indoors with 13 other bengals & 4 other ordinary cats

she is quite attached to me aswell

i am taking her back to celia hammond on thursday as i am noticing blood in her stools and am worried that she is still hormonal or something more serious might be going on

It can take a fair few months for her to adjust. Honey is fine with her daughter and my moggie kitten, as long as they don't rough house with her and give her space.

It is extremely upsetting for me but I have no choice but to rehome Kizzy. On Friday night after two months of trying she attacked my 17year old cat badly & was completely unprovoked. I have been letting her into the sitting room every evening but have been guarding Juliet on the sofa, I turned my back for a split second & Kizzy attacked...I can't risk her having an injury or worse. I have no choice now but to rehome Kizzy. Such a shame as she is such a character & beautiful too...