Hi everyone!

This is my first post, thank you for having me here :)
I really am desperate for some advise...

Bilbo (1.5yr old male bengal) has welcomed a new brother into the home, Gandalf (11wk old male). We did a gradual introduction that went well we believe and they do like each other... I think. Bilbs is very interested in Gandi; grooming him, playing (gently), staying aware of where he is and running if he meows. Though Bilbo has a problem as well... and not just with Gandi.
Bilbo plays way to rough (even with me - he has an 'I get the last word' attitude) and really likes to show his strength. He pounces at me and my face/neck sometimes too. Now we have Gandi and he gets riled up sometimes, wanting to play rough with Gandi. He will hold onto Gandi with his front paws, kick hard with his back legs and bite his scruff or neck/stomach and clamp down - especially if i try separate them... Gandi will yowl loudly and sound like he's being hurt and/or chocked/squashed.

I'm worried about Gandi and that one day he will be severely hurt - because Bilbs hurts me sometimes. Though I know he loves me - ut he just gets too /riled up' sometimes.

So what are you doing to help Bilbo drain off all that young Bengal energy?

I’d look at it this way... Bilbo has a great need to run and jump and pounce, and hunt. Him walking up and pouncing on you, and hurting you and getting you upset at him, isn’t much of a game for him. That’s a really low value activity for him, but the fact that he’s choosing to do that tells me that he thinks that might be the best thing he’s got going on to try to meet those needs of his. If you don’t want him to do that, you just have to give him a better alternative. The good news is that it ought to be really easy to top that! Dabird type toys are really good, as are things like catnip/valerian kicker toys. But you have to really get him going, running, sprinting, flying through the air etc., to expend that energy. You haven’t given us much detail about his routine to go on, but I think, as a general statement, it sounds like he hasn’t learned the difference between “good play” and “not so good play” yet, which is on you.

Next time he does that, think “crud, my bad, I haven’t been playing with you enough”. Then re-double your resolve to do better in the coming days and weeks. By the way, getting a kitten for him will probably help, but it sounds like it’s too early for them to really play right now. 11 weeks is on the young side for rehoming, and he’s not really ready to be turned loose to play with an exuberant adult Bengal yet. Any play right now should probably be pretty short and heavily supervised, and make sure it is a positive experience for the kitten.

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The little monsters 3

Brian, great advise as always. Bengals are high energy and they have to wear that energy off. Engaging them both in play should help a lot. Wear them out. Gandalf will grow these next months and maybe once he reaches the same size, things will normalize. It doesn't sound as if the behavior is aggressive enough to "want to kill the other cat." My two (and only one is a bengal) do rough and tumble at times. My bengal has a tendency to want to attack the DSH when he is sleeping and the solution is the DSH goes outside (where he lived before I took him in). You need to probably separate them when you are gone, just to make sure nothing happens in your absence. Things will get better with time. Have lots of toys, especially kicker toys and make sure the cats use them to get out their aggression on the toy and not each other. Also have at least one tall cat tree.

Welcome to our forum. We are happy to help you out.

Im sure its a dominance thing. Now when the intros are done with, and she is accepted by him as family member, he must show who is the master cat here, and who is not.

He is doing it a little more roughly than some others, but the process as such is entirely normal.

Keep an eye on them, and if he overdoes, separate them gently. Dont do big fuss, have perhaps a hand between them and shove him gently aside with the hand if he overdoes.

Its OK! They are learning from each other!

Good luck!