Hey. As I've moved (slowly) through this, latest reintroduction I've seen incredible improvement in the way my two bengals interact with each other. They have gotten to a point where, when I play with Journey (the "resident" cat and also, generally, the troublemaker) Belle actually joins in (in her low key, low energy kind of way). If I play with Da'bird and run Journey from one side of the house to the other, inevitably, Belle follows us around and occasionally zooms too. I got them a "Cat's Meow" and they were actually BOTH playing with it at the same time at one point the other day.
A couple days ago, I opened my front door when I got home from work and said hello to the cat, as I always do ... when suddenly, the other cat appeared! I have been keeping them separate using a screen that's propped up in the doorway with some heavy items. I thought it was pretty secure ... but I guess not. So, who knows how long they were out together while I was away at work! I thoroughly searched the house and there was no sign of fighting ... no tufts of fur or anything ... and both cats seemed happy to greet me at the door and acted normal. Belle wasn't scared or avoiding Journey.
Things still aren't perfect 100% of the time when I'm around and Journey still has a habit of wanting to crowd Belle if I'm not around to tell her to back off, but I have noticed that Belle has gotten better at standing up for herself and Journey has gotten better at respecting Belle's boundaries. I know that there is going to be a certain amount of stuff that they will have to sort out between themselves, but how do I know if they're ready for me to start leaving them out together when I'm not home?
The other day, I left them both out while I was home and, when I went to check on them the first time, they were just both peacefully laying on their own cat trees looking out the window. About an hour later, I heard Belle hiss and when I went to check things out, Journey had jumped onto Belle's cat tree and was just sitting there ... I don't think any "attack" was intended but Belle doesn't appreciate Journey being on "her" tree. And Journey still occasionally thinks "chase and pounce" is a fun game to play with Belle. Belle still disagrees.
I know I've been heavily micro-managing their interactions in an effort to keep things positive and, at some point, I'll need to back off to see if this co-existence can become balanced and peaceful, even if it's not always "perfect" but how can I keep things from going sideways if I'm not home? I am so concerned that we are going to end up back at square one where Belle is terrified just to exist and Journey is an insufferable bully. I don't want to go back to Belle feeling like she has no space to live. What do you think? Is it time to start leaving them out together? Maybe not all day while I'm at work, but for a few hours if I'm just running errands in the evening or something? ... Is there more work for me to do?
A couple days ago, I opened my front door when I got home from work and said hello to the cat, as I always do ... when suddenly, the other cat appeared! I have been keeping them separate using a screen that's propped up in the doorway with some heavy items. I thought it was pretty secure ... but I guess not. So, who knows how long they were out together while I was away at work! I thoroughly searched the house and there was no sign of fighting ... no tufts of fur or anything ... and both cats seemed happy to greet me at the door and acted normal. Belle wasn't scared or avoiding Journey.
Things still aren't perfect 100% of the time when I'm around and Journey still has a habit of wanting to crowd Belle if I'm not around to tell her to back off, but I have noticed that Belle has gotten better at standing up for herself and Journey has gotten better at respecting Belle's boundaries. I know that there is going to be a certain amount of stuff that they will have to sort out between themselves, but how do I know if they're ready for me to start leaving them out together when I'm not home?
The other day, I left them both out while I was home and, when I went to check on them the first time, they were just both peacefully laying on their own cat trees looking out the window. About an hour later, I heard Belle hiss and when I went to check things out, Journey had jumped onto Belle's cat tree and was just sitting there ... I don't think any "attack" was intended but Belle doesn't appreciate Journey being on "her" tree. And Journey still occasionally thinks "chase and pounce" is a fun game to play with Belle. Belle still disagrees.
I know I've been heavily micro-managing their interactions in an effort to keep things positive and, at some point, I'll need to back off to see if this co-existence can become balanced and peaceful, even if it's not always "perfect" but how can I keep things from going sideways if I'm not home? I am so concerned that we are going to end up back at square one where Belle is terrified just to exist and Journey is an insufferable bully. I don't want to go back to Belle feeling like she has no space to live. What do you think? Is it time to start leaving them out together? Maybe not all day while I'm at work, but for a few hours if I'm just running errands in the evening or something? ... Is there more work for me to do?