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PostPosted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 2:22 am 
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Bengal Kitten

Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2017 2:11 am
Posts: 1
I just got an 8 month old bengal through a friend of a friend and I am nervous he isnt adjusting well. I have only had Matumbo for a week. He is beautiful! I also have a 20lb dog in the home who really doez like cats but she tends to chase them when meeting. Matumbo was initially hiding under furniture that was gated off from the dog when i brought him home howevr he has moved to the basement. He is laying on the storage totes and the water pipes. I go down and visit him a few times a day...bring a couple treats. The others in the house also go to visit. He was friendlier when he first arrived compared to now. I am not sure if i should take him out of basement.....he does come upstaira when we are sleeping or we are away. Can someone give some advice how to help him adjust....this is y forst bengal and i adore him....thanks


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PostPosted: Thu Feb 09, 2017 6:08 pm 
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Asian Leopard Cat

Joined: Thu May 23, 2013 2:21 pm
Posts: 9217
Welcome to our forum and congratulations on your bengal. Please take a deep breath and calm down.

How did the bengal behave with its previous owner? Was he social? Happy? Did they also have a 20-pound dog who does not like cats?

Know that it is stressful to the cat when it has been re-homed. It's going to a completely new environment with new smells, new people, and a dog. You are not going to be able to leave your bengal in the basement. Bengals are highly social cats and want and need to be with their owners. And you are going to have to get the dog to like to cat. You separated them initially, which is good. Is your dog trained to obey commands like "no" or "stop"? You are going to have to spend time working with both the dog and Matumbo, both individually and together. And you are going to have to have patience.

First you need to bring Matumbo out of the basement and allow him to have a "safe" room where he can go and hide and be away from the dog. Second of all, you need to have a tall cat tree in your living area where Matumbo can go to get away from the dog and hang out with humans.

You also need to be engaging Matumbo in play at least twice a day. If the dog is there, fine, as long as the dog isn't interfering with the playing of the cat. I would not advising doing things like crating the dog -- the dog was in your home first and it's his home, too.

This is a slow process. You are not going to see great improvements daily, but over time, things should get better. You need to have two happy pets in order for you to be happy being around them.

I hope others come on and give you some suggestions and please keep us updated on how things are going.


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