My brother needs serious help with his new cat.

bpenniman

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Jun 12, 2018
Messages
185
Purraise
280
Location
Wisconsin
My brother adopted a bengal 9 month old cat from a shelter and loves the cat. However, it's been a week and the cat hides in a bedroom closet and also hides behind the stove. Will not come near my brother. He has a 3 month old kitten that the bengal loves and will let the kitten come near him, but super afraid of my brother. My brother tried moving the cat into a bedroom because he needed to vacuum and didn't want to scare the bengal because it's already skittish. As he picked up the cat, it bit him 4 times, hard, in rapid succession, on the arm and hand. He has deep wounds and needed to go to the hospital. He wants to keep the cat and wants to work with it but thinks he may have been a stray. The funny thing is, when he picked him out at the shelter, the cat was warm and friendly, purred and liked being pet. The new cat loves his kitten but is afraid of my brother. My brother put a dirty sock behind the stove and in the bedroom closet to get the cat used to his scent but he's hoping the cat will warm up to him in the next wk as he will be gone in Florida for a week March 1st and has someone caretaking for the cats. He wanted me to post this thread asking for advice. Any thoughts?
 

FeebysOwner

TCS Member
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Jun 13, 2018
Messages
22,441
Purraise
33,206
Location
Central FL (Born in OH)
Hi. Did your brother start out by confining the new cat to a single room? This is usually done just to help a new cat become familiar with a small area first before expanding their territory to additional rooms. If he didn't do this, he should back up the process and place this cat in a bedroom or small restricted area first, with hiding places available. He can always place the kitten in with him since he likes the kitten.
How To Help A New Cat Adjust To Your Home – Cat Articles
How To Get A Cat To Come Out Of Hiding? – Cat Articles
14 Cat Experts Reveal: How To Get A Cat To Like Me – Cat Articles

It is going to be difficult with your brother going away so soon after adopting this cat, especially now that he recognizes this guy is going to take a while to acclimate. It would be my suggestion that who ever is going to cat sit start coming over now and spending time with your brother and going through the acclimation process with him and the cat.
 

susanm9006

Willow
Top Cat
Joined
Feb 20, 2011
Messages
13,152
Purraise
30,220
Location
Minnesota
Please let him know that if cat was friendly at the shelter it will be eventually with him. But right now the cat is terrified to be in a new place and bit because it was so scared. If the cat is coming out to eat and to use the litterbox I would tell him just to let the cat be and ignore him until the cat comes up to him. I would tell his vacation caretaker the same thing. Pay no attention to the cat unless the cat asks for attention.

If the cat isn’t eating or using the litterbox then there isn’t much choice except to catch him and put him in an enclosed room

This is a young cat and with another kitten around, the kitten is going to do the most to acclimate the older cat. I would not separate them unless you have to because they will soon has so much fun playing the cat will forget to be afraid.
 

RangersMom

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
May 10, 2019
Messages
153
Purraise
172
I agree with other posters, that it will help if this cat can have his own room (temporarily). He will eventually want to venture out. The house hes in probably seems very big and strange and intimidating. Let him have a room where he can be by himself and not worry as much. Also if your bro has glasses or sunglasses tell him to let the cat smell the stems of his glasses. This gives the cat a better scent of the human. And dont try to pet or touch him for a few days. Your brother can spend with him in that room, but dont try to engage, jus let the cat get used to his presence.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #5

bpenniman

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Jun 12, 2018
Messages
185
Purraise
280
Location
Wisconsin
I guess things are going better. My brother shut the door the the spare bedroom after the cat went in and he lets his 3 month old kitten in when the kitten wants to come in and they lay together. The new cat is doing better but is still afraid of my brother. My brother thinks it happened when he was watching a sports game and shouting the 2nd day the cat was there.
 

ArtNJ

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jun 1, 2017
Messages
5,485
Purraise
6,957
Yeah, everyone above is correct. None of this is unusual in anyway. One of the main benefits of starting a new cat in a bedroom for a safe room is that they will hide somewhere acceptable, like under the bed, as opposed to somewhere potentially dangerous like behind an appliance. People that skip this step sometimes have serious problems -- we had a recent poster where the cat crawled into a hole in the wall, and would not leave the walls. Anyway, your brother dodged that bullet and the cat is now in an appropriate safe room.

Your brother shouting at the sports game surely didn't help, nor did forcibly relocating the cat, but being afraid at first is the default condition. If your brother hangs out in the room where the cat now is while being quiet, the cat will adjust in time. Even better if he hangs out on the floor where the cat can see him. He can toss treats in there too, eventually getting them closer to him. Can often use a toy to lure out to play as well. Patience is the key. No grabbing the cat, let the cat set the pace.
 

ArtNJ

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jun 1, 2017
Messages
5,485
Purraise
6,957
Hey all, with this Bengal being a stray and biting hard enough to require a hospital trip, do we need to worry it might be an early generation Bengal? Would any early generation Bengals be floating around Wisconsin? Probably not, right? And its not like a freaked out cat getting picked up by a new owner biting is unexpected.

Anyway, I'm not too knowledgeable on the Bengal issue but just thought it should be raised since this is a stray Bengal that bit hard enough to require hospitalization.
 

jefferd18

Ms. Jeff's Legacy
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 2, 2019
Messages
2,269
Purraise
2,067
Right now your brother's cat is close to becoming a cat's cat. He needs to separate the two by putting the Bengal in a room all to itself. Then he needs to work on reintroducing himself. I would start by bringing in food and water every day, at the same time, and then turning around to leave. This shows the cat that he can count on your brother for nourishment and that he won't be grabbed, chased, or harassed in any way. This slowly builds up trust. Keep eye contact and words at a minimal in the beginning.
 

duncanmac

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Feb 22, 2017
Messages
559
Purraise
953
I'm going to give a little contrarian advice: Don't ignore the new bengal. Your brother talk to it constantly whenever he is in the room (or about to go into the room) He should sit on the floor and just talk - not necessarily making eye contact, but just be there and be non-threatening. Also, cats learn best from other cats, so he should play with the kitten in the bengal's room so he can see your brother ain't so bad.

Also, IMHO, don't tip-toe around the cat. Just act normal so he gets used to his new normal. Cheer at the game, walk loud, whatever - he'll figure it out.
 

jefferd18

Ms. Jeff's Legacy
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 2, 2019
Messages
2,269
Purraise
2,067
I'm going to give a little contrarian advice: Don't ignore the new bengal. Your brother talk to it constantly whenever he is in the room (or about to go into the room) He should sit on the floor and just talk - not necessarily making eye contact, but just be there and be non-threatening. Also, cats learn best from other cats, so he should play with the kitten in the bengal's room so he can see your brother ain't so bad.

Also, IMHO, don't tip-toe around the cat. Just act normal so he gets used to his new normal. Cheer at the game, walk loud, whatever - he'll figure it out.




"Cheer at the game, walk loud" Yep, that ought to do it. Because if there is anything that cats love the most- its noise.
 

Saturnine2587

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Oct 6, 2017
Messages
74
Purraise
58
Kitty needs some space and a whole lot of patience. Eventually she felt comfortable at the shelter and therefore was more receptive at that time. She will come around but with a calm, cool environment and familiarity. If your brother leaves a lot she will take two steps back probs! She needs to begin to trust him and it’s hard to do that when he leaves. Also, keep in mind you may not be aware of her life before the shelter and what she may have dealt with.
This is a gross and horrific story but I’ll give an example...
We had a beauty named Venus and she HATED MEN like you wouldn’t believe she was so scared and nervous and we ended up taking her to the vet a month after bringing her in, turns out she was sexually abused by a human as she had substantial vaginal tearing and everything became clear. Eventually she started to like my dad but she never lost her nervousness when men were around.
 
Top