Hi all,

We picked up our first Bengal today. He is a brown spotted and nearly 2, sadly his owned moved home to a flat which wasn't proving the best place for him... so we have taken him on. Luckily we knew a reasonable amount about Bengals as a friend of my other half used to breed them... and I did lots of reading before picking him up today.

We have one dog, who is a cross and a rescue dog (Sheba). They haven't officially met yet so fingers crossed they become friends! So far Dexter is in the spare room, just getting used to his new home gradually. He's been better than expected and is letting is stroke him and fuss him. We love him already!

Any general advice or tips greatly appreciated, especially regards introducing Dexter to Sheba!

Here he is!

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Miki & My Beloved Bengals http://mybelovedbengals.blogspot.com/

Shiloh, Darcy, Rudy The Roodster & Ozzy...

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Selina, Simba, Jinx and Rufus

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Hi, and Welcome to both you and Dexter!

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Best Wishes,
Karen <UK>
http://www.suntouchedbengals.com
http://www.bengalbreedersunited.co.uk

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Tasha, Tito and me (Laura)
See Tasha's videos at:
http://www.youtube.com/user/luvbengalz#p/u

Thank you for the welcomes and advice!

Last night Dexter was up and being very vocal from about 1am to 4.30am so that was a very long night. His previous owner says this is quite normal for him I'm hoping though that as he is gradually introduced to the rest of the house he'll get better during the night or it'll be a real struggle for a light sleeper like me!!

Today whilst Sheba was out for her walk I brought Dexter downstairs to the kitchen and let him have a wander around there... in fact he's still in there. There's a covered cat litter box in the adjoining hall and he's gone in there and doesn't really want to come out at the moment! Not the best sleeping spot!!!

So, no introductions to Sheba yet although they did meet yesterday through the cat box! At least he should be getting used to Sheba's smell and transferring some of his own! Not sure if they will get an official introduction tonight, just playing it by ear at the moment.

Phew! This is a little bit stressful, just want Dexter to be happy and feel at home... patience is the key I'm sure!

Couple more pics...

He looks beautiful - I love the one of him peeking round the corner.

Patience is definitely the key. I'm introducing a new kitten and one month on, two of my other cats have only just accepted being in the same room as him.

It's common for Bengals (and other cats) to be active at dawn - that's their natural hunting time. It's important not to respond when he cries at that time as it will just encourage him to keep doing it. Eventually he'll learn to adapt to your routine rather than his instinct.

Good luck with the dog introductions. Make sure Dexter is settled before you push it though.

Oh, and sleeping in litter is more common than you'd think - I don't know whether it's the smells, warmth or what but I've had a couple of cats who've done it.

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Hugo, Rufus, Inca and Marley