I just brought home a 3 year old female bengal cat today. When I went to meet her and bring her home she was very sweet, happy and loving. Now I know when you bring them home that can change but it is almost as if she has done a 180. I currently have her in a room by herself with her food, water, litter box and bed. She does a lot of growling when you are in the room with her and than she will hiss if you get too close. She hides in a corner and will not come out. Is this behavior normal, especially the growling? I mean she is a totally different cat than the one I saw this morning. Will she eventually go back to her old self and not do all that hissing and growling?

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Peace

Yeah - she's just freaking out a bit about all the changes. Once she realises that it's not all bad she should start to come around.

Linden gets like that sometimes (like at the vet!), and when she's like that I'm the only one who can get near her. We'd never have been able to show her - hates being away from home!

Do you have anything in her room from her old life? Something that she knows and trusts to bring her some comfort?

Thank you guys for the advice. Another question, right now she is locked in the bathroom but the problem is she hisses and such when anyone even goes in there and we need to use it. Is it better to just let her roam the whole house? I do not have another room really to put her in unless I put her in my room or something like that.

If she is still scared, I would advise against letting her roam the house yet. She will just find the best place to hide and it will take her even longer to come around and be friendly with you. Also, if she is really scared and picks a hiding place far away from her litter box, it could lead to accidents.

You could try a couple of things: Spend some time with her in the bathroom. If she hisses, don't get too close or corner her, just be there for a while so she learns your presence is not a threat. Maybe read a book or something. She will eventually get used to your presence and stop hissing if you just sit there and ignore her.

Also, you could leave a piece of clothing with her that you have worn so she gets used to your scent even when you're not personally in the bathroom with her. Maybe place her food bowl on top of a T-shirt or towel you have used so she learns to associate your smell with something good.

I found the best way to bond with a shy cat is interactive playtime. Get one of those toys that have a wand with a string and some toy attached that you can use for "cat fishing" - this puts some distance between your hand and the cat so they feel much safer when interacting with you that way because they can play with you without getting too close to your hands. She might even forget you're there if you distract her with a toy.

I also found that cats like to be brushed and it is much safer to try to touch them with a brush first (once they seem calm enough that you could try petting them) and see how they react to that before risking your fingers. We had an adopted stray when I grew up who would viciously attack a petting hand, but he just loved to be brushed. I can only assume that he was abused in his youth and therefore defending himself against any humans trying to touch him, but being touched with an object like a brush seemed ok to him. (He was a nutcase of a cat and the reason we had to carry our dog through the yard because she would not dare to walk through it with the cat lurking somewhere and ready to attack. I would assume your cat is probably a lot less neurotic.)

Hi,

Sorry to hear that your new addition is not settleing in, just a thought but if she is in the bathroom, and different people come and go (as you would!) and then shut her in when they leave- that might be attributing to her nerves. She might have had a bad bathroom experience in her past as well. My parents rehomed a German Shepherd who used to go nuts if he was locked in a room when they went out (he was beaten, starved and locked up before he was rescued) I am not saying that is the issue but it is something to think about. I would move her to a quieter more personal spot than a busy bathroom, and maybe its the fact she is left alone that is the problem, maybe give her the choice to roam, if she goes into hiding she will venture out when she gets too hungry.
Hope she settles in soon

Chrissy

I'd tend to agree... The small room doesn't seem to be working - maybe she's the kind of cat who'd prefer larger spaces. If she does go into hiding somewhere you could always put a litter tray closer to her until such a time as she's a bit less nervy and happier to walk around.

All of our cats have had free run over the house from the time they came home. I know this doesn't work for everyone or all cats, but with ours it always was fine. Our Australian Mist was nervous for the first day or so and hid under the bed (he was afraid of the ceiling, and would freak out anytime he came out from the bed and saw it!). But we'd go in there and talk to him and sooner or later he decided he would prefer to be with us and take his chances with that big, bad ceiling.

Our bengal wasn't a problem. She took over the house (and our two older male cats) from the moment she emerged from her cat cage after the trip home from the breeders. Walked around a bit, hissed or growled at the other two cats, went up to one of their food bowls and started eating the raw steak in there. Had one of our big boys with his nose touching the back of her head growling at her to leave his food alone, and she just completely ignored him and kept eating. Once she'd finished with that, she didn't growl at them again - think she'd established that they wouldn't attack her even when stealing their food!! So she just took to attacking them instead (and it's still happening!! Over a year later and she never leaves them alone - but they all love it now =))

Sorry for the long post - just sharing my experiences of letting ours have space. I think I'd probably be pretty angry at being dragged away from everything I know and trust and being dumped into a small, cold room where people come and go as they please. Maybe she wants reassurance of company in the room with her but without being in her face - even if she hides she'll still know you're around and get used to the sounds and smells of you and your family.

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- Kelly
owned by Fiorella-Bella the "tiny flower".