Related Cats In Neighbourhood

Question
Hi There

Firstly I must apologise in advance for this long question, but we are having a number of small problems with our cats, and I would very ,uch appreciate some help.

I have a number of questions to ask if that is ok, I will give you some background information first, as its quite a complicated one.
Firstly myself and my Partner have 4 cats, Snowflake & Cholcolate who are brother and sister (pedigree bengal 3.5 years old), and a brother and sister who are offspring from Snowflake, Cookie & Millie (2 years old), now the other 2 kittens from the litter (Monkey & Sooty) were given to Julies (My Fiance's) mum, who we have just moved next door to in the past 6 weeks.

Firstly our 4 have been allowed out of the house for 3 weeks now and we have had no problem up until 3 days ago when Snowflake had a small fight with Monkey, since then every day Monkey has shown up at our doorstep at the same time trying to get in our catflap (which is programmed only to accept only our cats microchips). Today he was sat on our windowsill outside, Snowflake was inside and started hissing and growling at him, wheras Monkey only just meowed forlornly at Snowflake, but I know they would fight if they were outside together.

Is it possible that he recognises his mum?? And if so, how do i stop him from coming round or helping them get on because it stressing Snowflake out a lot. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Secondly Sooty went missing from Julies mums when they went on holiday, he was missing for about 5 weeks, and when he returned, he refused to stay in the house, or go near Julies parents, whereas previously he had been a very loving cat, the first time i saw him since his return was last night when he attcked Mille (his sister), the ferocity of the attack, whilst leaving Millie with no injuries, made her urinate and excrete on herself. This was not like sooty at all, and he looked like a completely feral cat, is it possible that in this short time away he could have turned feral?? And what can we do about it??

Thirdly (sorry about this), Chocolate is a very very large muscular Bengal, he keeps bringing home Chickens from a nearby farm, I am worried that the farmer is going to realise, and either take matters into his own hands, or request that he be put down, is there anything I can do to stop him doing this.

Lastly Millie has always been a very very timid cat (to the point of being afraid of us) she has never had any bad treatment from us and the other 3 cats are completely different, always demading our attention .Last nights attack has made her worse, are there any techniqes we can use to help her trust us, and bring her out of herself a bit.  

Answer
Craig,

Monkey probably did not know you moved next door and now that he does he wants to go inside. Cats do not reasoning ability and he does not realize that that is not the house you used to live in.

Monkey recognizes Snowflake from smell not as his mother. After a certain age, cats do not recognize 'relatives' as such, just by smell. Monkey may have remembered that he nursed from Snowflake and tried to get close to do it again and she fought him.  It sounds like Snowflake either forgot Monkey and to her it is just another cat that is invading her territory, or she remembers he tried to get close to her in the yard and doesn't like him.

Is your fiance's mum's cats fixed? If not, that could be the problem.

You can't stop him from coming around. He will finally learn that he can't get in the cat flap and stop trying. If Snowflake is territorial, let her chase Monkey back home. She probably is being stressed because she sees him in her territory and can't get to him. Eventually, if no blood is shed, no ears are pinned back, and serious fur is flying, then they will work it out. The growing, hissing, and slaps are 'kitty communication'.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

It sounds like Sooty has some bad experiences when he was missing and is very traumatized and nervous.  I would keep him in a room by himself for awhile until he settles down and realizes that he is home and nothing is going to happen to him. Give him LOTS of attention, love and kitty treats.
It also sounds like he was in some cat fights and when he saw Millie he thought it was another cat he had to fight.  Maybe put him a cat carrier and set it in the middle of the most used room of the house and let him watch and remember, and see Millie safely. The vet can also prescribe 'kitty Prozac' or similar medication temporarily to relax him.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

About Chocolate: I don't think you can do anything about something that is normal instinct, which is hunting. When the cat does bring home a chicken, immediately take it away and serious scold and yell at him for it, making sure NO! is in there alot. If the cat keeps losing his chickens that he brings home and sees that you are not 'proud' of him, he may stop doing it. I would put a breakaway collar with your address and phone number on it so if the farmer sees him he will know he is not a wild cat + putting a bell on it may warn the prey he is trying to attack.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Millie: cats are like people. Some are very outgoing and people-persons, and others are shy and quiet. You say the other cats are demanding of your attention. Millie probably get shoved to the back of the attention pecking order and has accepted that.
Get her away from the other cats often and play with just her. Give her special attention, play interactive games with her (pulling a shoe string for her to chase, a dangle-toy she can try to catch, etc.). It will help build up her confidence. And give her some kitty treats that are just for her.
Then play interactive games with her with another cat to build up her confidence also with other cats.

_____________________________________________

I am going to give you a link to a Bengal website that that is excellent. It has a lot of good information on Bengals. It may help you also because some of the behavior of your cats may be specific to Bengals:

http://www.hdw-inc.com/frameset.htm

Hope this helped.

Tabbi