So, yesterday i adopted a 4 month old female bengal. we already have a 4 month old tabby male and while theres been lots of hissing, they are seeming to start to get along. I am needing advice because she went potty in the litter box (we have one right now) when we first brought her home, and i am not sure if she has used it since. i have though found cat pee on my daughters chair, and feces in my sons room and im not sure if its because the litter box has his sent, or if its because she isnt used to our house and were transitioning, or if she needs something i dont know about lol. I know they are very picky cats on what they want, so i guess i just need advice on how to get her using the litter box again?

How many litter boxes do you have?

The usual advice is one per cat plus one extra, so in your case that would mean three.


Heather

It is essential not to integrate the kitten with you existing cat straight away for a number of reasons. Firstly to prevent the spread of infections, illnesses and parasites. This can be two way. Your new kitten could be carrying for many different things to pass on to your existing cat, but the other could lose be true. It is also a very stressful time for both kitties. This will be made worse by the immediate introductions. Far better and nicer to allow them to slowly get used to new smells, sounds etc....

The new kittie should have at least 2 new trays to use. I would make sure you confine your new girl to a room with her food, water and a litter tray. Start again and wait till you know she is using the tray and there are no health concerns before allowing her into the rest of the house.

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Lollo

You got her yesterday?
and already found her poop'n'peep around the place?
this tells me you havent researched and prepared for a proper new cat introduction
...cant just chuck two stranger cats together
Both of your cats are now stressed and unhappy and you need to fix this situation immediately.

Please use the forum search option to find ''Introduction'' and research about how they should be done.
For now get new kitty separated NOW into a nice calm safe room (behind a door your resident cat cant open) with food/water a tray, bed, few toys a scratcher and just leave her alone for a while... visiting her later with food and when the house is calm/quiet (read a book to her and dont approach her, she will come to you when shes ready)
Im sure things will work out ok if you learn how to do this properly and allow some extra time now for the stress (to both cats) created by her experience so far to reduce.

After you have read about correct introduction process for a new cat in the home come back here with any specific questions. You will get help and advice.

(excuse my slightly harsh tone with you newmama2nala but you should have researched this before your new girl arrived to be honest... I do wish you well with this and want you to get the help you need)

ok so after I barked about searching I checked and to fair the good topics with introduction advice dont leap off the screen at me.
Can any forum regular link here to a good introduction thread?

So I figure I owe you a description. And others im sure will come in with more info in the next few hours.
If your reading this get (Nala is it?) into a safe room now... then come back to reply and read some more ;)

I would say the average introduction time peeps suggest for best results is a week... but really it needs as long as it needs.
Once in a safe room Nala will slowly begin to relax and she will listen to everything, all the noises of your house and the voices of your family and of course your resident cat.
She will also be smelling your house your family and your resident cat especially... you need some time to pass with her being exposed to these new sounds and smells without them triggering fear or stress in her... you want the opposite in fact.
So take a sweater/jumper (worn) and place it in her bed or under her bed so she can smell you while she is relaxing and calm.... when you visit her in her saferoom im sure you instinctively know how to act calmly and sweetly to her, so do that but also, dont try to pet her and hold her ect... just be with her... reading aloud gets her used to your voice faster, and you can start to win her over with some treats (if she is food motivated) and a little game of rolling a ball around (if shes play motivated). Win her over and teach her you are her new mommy and that she is safe with you.

After a few days (depending on her) it will be time to start introducing your family to her .. dont all pile in, do it one or two at a time and take your time to do it right.
At about this stage take that sweater (any worn clothing is ok - for scent) she has been sleeping on and put it in your resident cats bed. He/she will learn that scent while in a calm relaxed state and this will increase the chance of him/her reacting calmly when he/she smell your new girl in the flesh.
I suggest you take a blanket or bed pillow that your resident cat has already slept on and put that in nalas room so she can do the same.

when nala knows all her new humans it can be time for her to meet the other cat shes been smelling and hearing while shes been in her room. thats a few days away from now... so Id rather wait to hear more input from you and for other forum users with experience to read and add help here regarding first introductions for two cats.
But the basic advice is feed them either side of the door at first so they are close to each other while eating ... then feed them at far ends of the saferoom and adjoining room with the door open (stay Between them to close it calmly if they get upset) and repeat shared meal times untill they seem relaxed to share that time.

Depending on the cats you should be able to tell when they are no longer fearful or angry about being together and you can start to let them interact in the same room... with toys and maybe some treats ... try to keep all of their interactions short and positive and be ready to end the session calmly and quickly (no drama) when/if they show signs of being unhappy or stressed/angry with each other.
Introductions done gradually and properly can make two kittys great pals for life ... done wrong or rushed (or not done at all) can set two cats to merely tolerate each other at best and hate each other at worst.

- she must have her own tray obviously for you to put it in her saferoom with her - but also because she cant use a stranger cats tray ...

/separate issue of that peep/poop in the house.
This will be freaking your resident cat out .... you need to clean all the places she went with enzyme cleaner (peeps here can suggest good ones in US and EUR) to be sure all traces of scent are destroyed.

Come back and tell us how things are going and ask any question that pops up in your head, anything.
People will be happy to help because they care about cats and want your two to be happy and healthy.

I also agree that the new kitten should be moved into a kitten room rather than being introduced to your other cat and given the whole house straight away.

I would also really encourage getting at least two more litter trays. With my bengal he is obsessive about doing number ones in one tray and number twos in the second tray and flat out refuses to use the same tray for both. This is quite common for bengals so providing her with that option could really help. Plus the fact that she most definitely wouldn't want to use the same tray as your boy when she has only just arrived.

Once you have chosen a room which will be the kitten room while she is settling in, make sure you remove any soft furnishings such as cushions / towels etc which could result in accidents.

Also ensure you are using the same style of litter tray and litter type as the breeder as that will help her recognise the appropriate area to go to the toilet.

I hope this helps, this forum is a really useful information source for introducing a new kitten so i'm sure it will help you solve the problem :)

thank you for all your advice! It happened so fast as i didnt prepare for her or get her from a breeder (my neighbor got her from a breeder for his wife.. and after a few months she i guess decided she didnt want her (they didnt understand bengals temperament, and her personality isnt what they expected i guess.) .. they were going to just take her to a shelter when i decided to adopt her. i have taken your advice and put her in a safe room, and she now, has her own two litter boxes. she is calming down quite a bit i think. i also took her to the vet today and realized that she is in heat..wich explains a lot as well, so were definitely keeping her and my other cat separated. i most definitely want to do this right and for her to have a happy home, and ive been researching everything i can all night and today. i really appreciate the help! is there anything else i should know to make this successful?

Glad to hear she is settling down a bit.

It must be very scary for Nala to go to one home from the breeder and then to be rehomed so soon again. It may take her a little while but I am sure you will get there.Bengals are no more picky than others can be so just treat her the same as your boy. What is his name, please?

Did the vet say how soon can you get her spayed? (and your boy needs to be done too)

Oh, and we need piccies too....


Heather

i am very happy that shes happier now. my boy cat is named simba and he seems to be just as happy and playful as always! he is only 3 months (almost 4) so hes still a very playful little guy! he very much wants to be near her and its driving him crazy that he cant! lol! but i dont think he is too stressed at all. Nala is going to be spayed next week, and hopefully will be able to settle in soon. i was so sad when they were going to just "Get rid of" such a beautiful and sweet cat, i couldnt help it and just had to bring her home! i dont regret it, but i wish i had thought about how to introduce them better. hopefully it can still be fixed and she and simba can both be happy! I have attached pics of both, nala is on the left and simba, my orange tabby on the right! :)

Congratulations on your new addition to your family. Sounds like she was sprung on you quite quickly, but you're learning fast and hopefully Nala is using her litterbox now. Getting your kitties fixed will help them as well.

Hi newmama2nala,
I have some more homework for you to do... lol, kidding ;)
But seriously I did want to reply again here to talk to you about the breeder that the husband went to.
I think you should get that breeders details from the neighbours, do it carefully and politely ect (im sure you can be clever with them) but GET THOSE DETAILS.

Then contact the breeder direct and ask to go and see him/her yourself.
Dont take Nala, but do take lots of piccies of her sleeping and being relaxed and happy in her saferoom.
Take whatever info the vet has given you.

Introduce yourself when you visit the breeder and explain what has happened and be sure to tell her that YOU want to sign an ownership contract with the breeder for Nala, to make her legally yours and connect you with her breeder with the standard contract they use.
If Nala is her finally decided name, ask the breeder to register (with TICA/GCCF) Nala with the rest of her litter mates if they havent already done so.
The breeder will be very happy to know you have discovered Nala's heat and taken responsibility to arrange her Spay, and soon too. Oh, and when Nala is in for her spay ask the vet to microchip her at the same time (should cost less) with YOUR details.

This bit of effort and time is worth it IMO to make sure that Nala is legally yours and eligible for her pedigree papers.

If that woman neighbour darkens your door to express a change of heart explain in your own polite way that, actually Nala is legally your girl now and she will be staying with her new owners.
.

Tell us, how she has been so far during your little mommy visits to her saferoom?
(Boiled chicken -warm- is best treat for her at this age)
Has she used her tray/s yet? ... if she does in front of you, talk sweetly to her and praise her, make her feel jolly proud and pleased with herself for using her tray.
-hopefully her poo'n'pee mistakes will be forgotten fast not to be repeated-

Bengaldaddy, that is a GREAT idea!! i will do that for sure!! i really hadn't thought of contacting the breeder, but that is definitely a fantastic idea to ensure shes mine and have her papers! i do plan on having her microchipped when she is spayed, i hope to never lose her, but if she escapes me i do want her to find her way home! She is actually doing great! she has used one of her boxes.. she hasn't touched the other one, but i'm sure she will. shes been playful, i've seen her go NUTS on her scratching post and feather toy!! She is also VERY affectionate to me!! my son who is 4 went in there earlier when i wasn't looking and when i went in to get him out she was sleeping on his lap!!! so she likes us a lot i think! she really is a VERY sweet girl, i'm not sure what my neighbor didn't like about her! even with all this added stress, shes been so sweet and loving. i'm just glad she made her way to our home! we've had no accidents today in her room, so i think you all were right and it was stress related. I put a shirt in her bed of ours and she keeps rubbing up on it, and purring! i'm confident that she will fit right in perfectly!

Im so pleased that its going well for you =)
If the neighbours are difficult about giving you the breeders information
then perhaps tell them that the VET has asked you to contact the breeder to obtain her medical history...
the new vet wants, the old vets contact info from you,
so you just need to call the breeder to ask what vets the cat is moving from for the vet records.

Id be interested to hear how you get on with that and of course how Nala is doing so keep us all updated and .............. piccies PLZ

i will be sure to let you all know how it goes! im going to ask tomorrow morning :) i did post piccies above. can you see them?