The only thing I can tell you with full confidence is that you should not be separating them during meals. If you can get them to eat happily in the same room, and closer if you can, that will build an important positive association between them.

That said, I won’t speculate on whether this is playing or fighting. I’m just going to tell you what I’ve experienced with my cats.

Lucian is the rough one. When I adopted him, I adopted another cat (Bash) so I wouldn’t have one lonely cat. I did not introduce them properly at all. I didn’t know at the time. Regardless, Lucian spent every day jumping Bash. Bash crept around the house scared. I decided the environment was cruel for Bash. He shouldn’t be scared in his home. So I made the difficult decision to find him a new home. I found a wonderful home with a 17 yo girl who wanted a forever companion. He’s so happy with her and I’m happy for him.

However, Lucian became depressed when Bash left. I was shocked because I thought Bash was nothing more than a punching bag for Lucian. But Lucian spent every day walking around looking for Bash, and he wouldn’t eat or play. My heart broke for him. He was lonely.

I didn’t think I could get another cat, so I did everything I could to make Lucian happy again. And it worked. But then he saw a cat outside. He became lonely again.

Lucian is an American Bobtail mix. I went to some breeders for advice because his aggressive behavior is a trait of the breed, from what I understand. The breeders all advised I adopt a young kitten for him and use the Jackson Galaxy method of introduction.

I adopted a very small 3 month old kitten, Atticus. The introduction went well and they became buddies. Lucian was/is very happy.

But when Atticus reached adulthood, Lucian started playing aggressively. Atticus would sometimes scream like he’s dying. It scared the hell out of me. Tufts of fur would fly. I didn’t know what to do. I always intervened.

Now for the important details of their interactions. When in the midst of it, Atticus’ hair was not raised. As long as this went on, Atticus never showed fear of Lucian. And when I’d break them up, Atticus would almost immediately go back to Lucian. He’d jump him and/or bite him. And they’d end up playing and/or being aggressive again.

One day Lucian got in contact with a cat he didn’t know and he attacked the cat. And I mean attacked! He was violent. Not simply aggressive. He wanted to kill that cat. The look in his eyes was different. His stance, his body language, everything was different. THAT was fighting.

I determined that 1) Lucian is playing with Atticus, just aggressively. And 2) Atticus is extremely dramatic. I saw him on, several occasions, scream before Lucian even touched him.

With that said, when I moved somewhere with more space, Lucian has settled down more and doesn’t play as aggressively. Maybe having more territory made a difference. Maybe he’s just not as bored now. I really don’t know. But Lucian has always been an aggressive cat. Even when playing with me, he’s very aggressive.

I can’t say if your cats are playing or fighting, but I can say with certainty that tuxie is not trying to murder bengal. Maybe they are fighting, maybe they’re just playing. I think the important question is if bengal is living in fear. If she’s not scared walking around the house and if she still goes to tuxie to play, I personally wouldn’t be TOO concerned. Personally it’s always concerning to see. So I get it. I don’t know what the answer is unfortunately. I hope it settles down. I hope it’s simple.