Hello all! Just after some advice if possible.

I am looking after my friends bengal cat for a few days (his mother was a bengal, and his father is a bengal mix therefor probably a higher generation cat), he's one year old and is a soft, lovely little guy. I have known him ever since he was a kitten. The problem is he seems absolutely terrified in my house, and won't even let me pet him for the most part (hissed at me earlier). This is understandable due to the new environment, however do you guys have any suggestions on how to calm the poor guy down?

I'm not letting him wander the house as I don't want him to escape out any of the doors, however the room he has is large and has his usual toys, litter and food in there.

Many thanks!

Your friend's cat is stressed, as you say, so you need to just try and let him know that just because *everything* has changed and his human is nowhere in sight, that there is no threat to him.

Hopefully you have a basket from his home ? If not, try to get one - it'll smell of him and give him comfort.

Get some Feliway diffuser/spray. It'll calm him down a bit.

Spend time in his room ignoring him and not making eye contact. Get a cushion and a book, go and sit on the floor in the room facing away from him and just read/don't make eye contact. Perhaps even read to him quietly - it doesn't matter what, but a calm and gentle voice will help him feel like there is nothing to back up the fear that he is feeling.

When he starts to trust you a bit, get out a wand toy/da bird and try and get him playing - a one year old will *need* to play and doing so will both relax him and develop a bond with you.

Good luck.

He has the safety of the room you put him in, has all that he needs in there, as far as I'm concerned you've done really good by your friend right there. He's only staying a few days, so don't try to do too much. I wouldn't try to risk stressing him out further by introducing him to other parts of the house or people etc. If you want to, try playing with him with a wand toy if you have one. If you don't have one, any pet store that caters to cats at all will have them.

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The little monsters 3

The cat is definitely reacting to a new environment, even though you are not "new" to him. It can take some time for a kitty to become comfortable. First of all, his owner his nowhere in sight and he may feel slightly abandoned. Separation anxiety is real in pets. It may take several "stays" at your house for him to feel confident enough. But .... don't push him. He's terrified right now.

All cats rely heavily on scent markers, which they create gradually in their environments over time. These scent markers represent safety and security to the cats. When you move a cat to a completely new environment, these scent markers are not there, and they can get highly anxious.

Luckily, there is a product that will help, it's called Feliway. (Doesn't work on every cat but works on most). You can purchase it at most pet stores in spray form or in a diffuser. Feliway recreates the scent markers for the cat.

Having said all this, it would have been better if you could have pet-sat the cat in its own home, but this is the situation at present.