What is his problem?..

[polarfox]

I have a lovely male cat , 11 years old, with a lovely cool attittude, nothing phases him, a real pleasure to have around..
I also ended up with a friends cat (1 year old bengal male) and he moved in about 6 months ago. He is lovely (but only to me, not affectionate to the kids ot DH- aloof with them, and tolerant of the dogs), settled well and quite boisterous but that's age appropriate..He loves snuggling to me- and he's a bit peculiar then as he loves to "slurp" (thats the most apt word-sorry) my neck.

The problem is the young one has a thing about the older cat, and I have given time for it to settle but not got any better,may be actually getting worse.. Young one comes in, starts searching (actively searching..) for older one who is quietly sleeping, and then pounces on him and starts punching..the older one moves away and the young one wont let it rest!!!Will follow him around being a nasty bully, jumping on him/punching etc.

They are both spayed, and the old one was so accommodating and friendly to him when he moved in that it breaks my heart to see whats going on now..

Is it a hierachy thing? A game? And more importantly how do I deal with it? (If I step in they both scapper off, but I dont want the older one to think I am upset with him??..)

[polarfox]

No ideas?? No words of wisdom??dont want to relocate him but am bit concerned now

[Fluffycloudland77]

I have a Bengal neutered male. He did this to next doors cat, he would go in through next doors cat flap to beat her up. One day she snapped and dh had to seperate them on the drive. She was winning.

Keep the older male safe and wait for the Bengal to grow up, ours is starting to calm down at 2 1/2.

I hiss at ours loudly to stop him doing things i don't like.

I really think seperation is the key, bengals don't give up easily.

[polarfox]

fluffy they dont give up do they?..

Thanks for the advice..I will try the hissing, so far I have been putting him outside everytime he does it, but I may be antagonising him more!!

Dogs are easier...........

[Selks]

Your poor older cat

I think separation as much as is practical needs to be done, if only so that the older one can get some peace sometimes, otherwise he may become very stressed and unhappy.

[peggotty]

I would prioritise your older cat tbh. Some cats are just better on their own, sounds like the Bengal may be better suited to be an only cat? I know you want to give it a go with keeping the Bengal but you should consider that this behaviour may not improve and your older cat may end up sidelined and miserable. It might be worth trying the Feliway diffuser as a way of calming both cats?

[polarfox]

selks and peggotty thanks; I am lavishing attention on the older one now, worried as he doesnt go out as much as he used to; wonder if he feels safer at home with me, as I have witnessed him being chased by the Bengal outside and I coulnt physically help him there..
How long is it reasonable to wait to see an improvement?
I shall check the Feliway..

[peggotty]

If there's no improvement after another couple of months or so, you should maybe consider other options then. Sorry, it's awful when things like this happen. Fwiw, I had a cat (one of 3) who used to bully my only female cat. He was also spraying in the house and was pretty insecure in general. With hindsight I can see he really needed to be an only cat, and he was a real character, lovely with people. Unfortunately he disappeared 2 years ago . But the cat he was bullying has really come out of her shell and I feel bad that she was so victimised for so long.

[polarfox]

Thanks peggoty; I shall give it a bit more time, and if there's no improvement I may have to search for another family for him.. it's terribly sad, but maybe he does need to be the only cat, and in that case I am not meeting anybody's needs: the eldest's ot the Bengal's.
Horrible mess!
Thanks again...