Welcome Bentley

At the end of June, I got a call from our old backdoor neighbors (who sold & moved in mid-June). They had moved into a small townhouse and were having trouble with their cat, Bentley. In our neighborhood, Bentley was an indoor-outdoor cat, but they had been keeping him indoors because of the proximity of a busy street. Bentley was not adjusting well to the change and reacting badly. They asked if we would be willing to take him in and save him from being dropped at the humane society. Of course, we could not allow that to happen, so we agreed to take him.

The boys sizing each other up!

Bentley had a rough couple of days to start. He got out unnoticed on the first day and went straight to his old home. Luckily, the new neighbors spotted him and we were able to get him back to our house. He was not happy at all and threw himself at the carrier door on the walk across the yards and in the house. Using our old baby gate system and a piece of plywood, I built him a kennel and put him in the utility room. We knew that he was confused and angry, and we did all we could to make him feel comfortable & safe. Throughout the next week, we would go down to talk to & pet Bentley. These sessions often ended with him hissing angrily at us. Then, he stopped hissing and started to accept our affection more & more. We had never had a cat who wasn't eager to be in a home, so dealing with a hostile cat was a very different experience for us. By the middle of the week, we were bringing him up to our room and closing the door for some extra attention. He immediately relaxed in our room and played or slept on/under our bed. By the start of the next week, we let him out of his kennel to roam the house. We plan to let him back outside when he's been here for about a month, and we have (hopefully) firmly established that this is his new home.

That's not Bentley! I am including this pic of Brutus because they look so much alike (except for their size).

Bentley is a sweet boy! He is much bigger than the other cats and still has his front claws (so far, we haven't noticed any scratching issues). He remains a bit shy, or perhaps he is still not used to our very affectionate ways. You can usually get in a few good pets and then he is ready to wander off or start to play. The other cats have mostly accepted Bentley in that there isn't any real fighting, but there is still some hissing and hostile positioning. He likes to play with ribbons/string, but not so much other kinds of toys. He hid a lot in the beginning, but now I will find him sprawled out on the floor or on Kyrie's bed. I hope that he will continue to settle in and get used to our family so that we can get in some more cuddles.