Hi All,

I have two 12 month old Bengal cats who are sisters. They both became pregnant and we decided to neuter one of them and let the other have kittens.

They have always been very close and affectionate sisters but since the pregnancy and the birth of the kittens (six of them) the neutered cat has avoided her sister and the kittens and even hissed at them.

The kittens are now 7 weeks old and running around the house, the neutered cat has been missing for four days which I think is due to her hating the kittens being in the house. Neighbours have spotted her recently in their gardens and even seen her playing with her sister however she still has not returned home.

If we do manage to find her and bring her home I'm not sure how to make it a happy home so she will want to stay? Any ideas or suggestions will be very much appreciated!

Must be a huge worry, her not coming back to the house and the dangers of the road, etc, etc, particularly at night.

If she were mine, I'd go find her or ask one of the (hopefully) helpful neighbours to help out when they see her and keep her shut in the house away from the kittens. She might object strongly to not being allowed out but that's preferable to her straying, no? If neighbours have spotted her recently in what are obviously very nearby gardens I'm not quite sure why she hasn't been easy for you to retrieve?

The kittens should be ready to leave you by 10 weeks (unless you're completing a full course of vaccinations) so assuming you have homes lined up for them it would only be for a few weeks.

Your cat will feel threatened by the change in circumstances, cats are extremely sensitive to changes within their immediate circumstances.

I breed Bengals, Siamese and Serengeti and out of the three Bengals seem to be the most sensitive to changes, especially when it comes to another queens kittens around the house.

You can use feliway plug in which is a pheremone difuser.
it will help calm her nerves.

Also it is advisable to keep introduction with the kittens short, let her gain her confidence that they are not a threat, and once she has had a little time where the kittens are, then give her a little me time, so she will be reassured that she has not been pushed out.

Also I also find that the introductions go alot smoother, if the problem queen has a higher vantage point that the kittens cant get to i.e a high scratch post or kitchen worktop, it allows the queen to sit and observe without feeling threatened, you must however not leave them un-attended but instead stay with the queen and stroke her and reassure her.

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http://www.funkyfurballs.co.uk

Every morning rattle cat food box (dry) and dont worry my cat went for a week and shes neutered she was out for a week and came back! Also we opened the window when we were in!They mostly come back at night....if ur brave open 1 downstairs window and use a baby monitor downstairs and 1 upstairs just in case u get burgled...also make shure as soon as u get ur cat back CLOSE THE WINDOW!!!!!!!!!!

Also to make it calmer give her catnip everytime she DOESNT growl or anything else to kittens then she will be more calmer to kittens,also get one of those plug in things to make it calmer aswell:P.You could try put them in seperate rooms but u wont beable bond with them...

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Cats are always hungry....go figure

Thank you guys sooo much for all your helpful advice. Luckily my boyfriend saw Benga (the missing cat) in a street near the house and he called her over and managed to catch her. She is now soundly asleep (after eating a lot of missed meals!) on the bed in a room away from the kittens. She still hisses at the kittens and I think I'll take the advice of slowly introducing her to them and reward her when she doesnt hiss! I'll also try the calming remedies - I heard Bach's rescue remedy can be used on cats by messaging it just behind their ears. I also love the idea of making a mini throne for her to perch on high up away from the kittens.

Pleased you got her back Goodluck hope all goes well

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http://www.funkyfurballs.co.uk