Hi everyone

I have joined this forum to try to rehome my lovely Bengal cat Mali (she has papers and is tagged - from Applegarth Bengals). We moved to Australia 2 1/2years ago and left our 2 Bengal cats (sisters) with my Aunt in Surrey. Mali currently lives with her sister and 2 other cats. Mali is a very sociable cat and a typical bengal - loves water, playing with hairbands and tinfoil. She is fantastic with children and seeks them out to play with. She has a lovely personality but has had quite a few episodes of cystitis which the Vet believes may be stress related (from the other cats she lives with although she never seems bothered by them) so maybe a household on her own would suit her. She has had cystitis and associated periods of wetting over the last 2 years although there are no other obvious signs of stress. Mali currently lives with her sister and 2 other cats in Surrey, where she enjoys playing outside with my aunts grandsons. The Vet saw her on Friday and treated the lastest episode of cystitis but believes she would be better alone.

My Aunt's husband now has cancer and he has just had 2 massive operations to take lumps out of his lungs and she is also looking after her two very elderly and demanding parents. She can no longer cope with a cat that needs some extra TLC. She has rehomed many animals herself and needs to be sure that Mali will go to someone who has the time and patience that a Bengal requires.

I would appreciate any advice on whether we should try to rehome Mali with her sister or seperately (it seems a bit unfair to move Rafi if she is happy) and obviously I would love to hear from anyone interested in having Mali or both Mali and her sister Rafi.

Many thanks
Sarah

The photos are all a couple of years old.

Are Mali & Rafi a strongly bonded pair? Do they sleep together, play, etc? If so, I definitely would try and home them together. If stress is the cause of the cystitis I would think homing her away from her bonded sister would NOT be beneficial for her. Bengals tend to do better in pairs, so I would be careful in deciding if they should be separated.

In regards to the cystitis, diet change might be in order. I don't know what your aunt has tried but something with more moisture in it might be advised. A canned or raw diet sort of deal. But it sounds like that might be a good angle for a new owner to work on when trying to deal with her issues.