Hello everyone!!

Since I received such great advice last time I visited the forums I figured I'd come here and hopefully get some good insight.

Over a year and a half ago (almost now) we purchased our first bengal (we being me and my husband. About a month shortly after we had contacted the breeder about seeking to get another kitten as an outlet for her (because MAN she was a player). The breeder ended up still having her other sister from the same litter! Now that these two are almost 1.5 years old they've definitely slowed down significantly compared to their kitten years. A little side tracked but...

My husband and I have always talked about maybe someday having a third cat (a brown as our first two girls are silvers). Growing up I've always had 3 cats but they were moggies. The two bengal girls however are my husbands first cats in his life and he is -obsessed-. Something he's really wanted was a bengal boy. We've talked about it and after guiding some other people to breeders for the hell of it I ended up looking (for myself) for someday.
We went and met the breeder thinking that later in life she'd be a good person for us to contact when we were ready (she's not the same breeder as my original girls cause she lives SIGNIFICANTLY closer to us location wise).

Now she had 3 boys left from a previous litter. 2 from the same mother and one not. The one boy was just SO loving, came right up to us. Brushed up against our legs the whole time we were there. Bumping his head. Now he was the higher in her price range. We went home and couldn't get him out of our head. We wern't necessarily ready but we've heard that if you want a third it's better to do it sooner than later.

My problem is the breeder had said she REALLY liked us.. and since we had 2 bengals before she was also confident we would know how to handle them. Now comes to the issue. We had been kinda hum and ha about it and told her 2 of the reasons we were struggling in interest was price (we originally went to see the 1800 dollar kitten but he had sold so the last 3 were priced at 2200) and the worry that our current girls might have issue. Now she ended up pricing the kitten we LOVED at the 1800 price but we're still worried that adding another cat might ruin the good thing we have going.

Should we just drop the deal and be happy with what we have? Should we take the risk? If we do will the girls ever be the same again? I definitely wouldn't want to rehome him. Is 3 cats too much? Is 3 BENGALS too much? I've heard it's easier to introduce the opposite sex to previous cats and I heard it's easier to introduce kittens. I've just read a lot of topics that 2/3 year old bengals that were littermates have started having problems and it just worries me that adding a third would cause a problem but I just liked him so much it's hard to just let it go.

Most of our family advice has been "three cats is a lot" and "they might not get along".

I need some advice! Cat owner advice! Sorry it's so long and the thoughts are a bit scattered!

edit: I should add that we really just want what's best for the girls, above our wants

another edit sorry: We had been letting it up to fate cause she had a few other showings. 2 showings later he's still there... okay so we tested it again and said he was higher than what we were expecting.. and she lowered the price. We wanted to leave it to fate but we also want to leave it to being a responsible owner, lol.

It is always difficult to assess a situation from this forum! There are members here with three cats, but I don't think anyone has three bengals. The issue with adding a third bengal is "odd man out." The two girls get along just fine. Putting a new male into the mix, he could be accepted by one girl and not the other. As a male, he would grow larger and may become more alpha. You just NEVER know.

The price of the male is high unless it's from one of the premiere breeders. But, there are other things to consider:

Do you have a large enough home with areas for each cats. Would you be willing to do an outdoor cat enclosure to give the cats more space? Can you cat-ify the inside of your home if it isn't already? And do you have the time and patience to integrate a new kitten into the fold.

The decision is yours. This is not something I would do myself, but I can barely handle my 10-year old male bengal, much less any other bengals. Plus, I'm too old and my patience runs thin these days. If you and your husband are young and energetic -- and you both will be involved in making sure this works out, then it may be a great thing. You are considering your little gals in this decision and I'm not really sure they are on board. There is the saying, "Two's company; three's a crowd." Your gals are no longer kittens and have settled into a schedule and routine. However, go with your gut and heart and do what YOU think is best for everyone in your family.

We have four, and we're pretty sure that if they weren't all brothers, the house would be hell and we wouldn't have four for long. As they are all brothers, and have literally spent every day of their 3+ years together, the bond they share is most likely something quite rare and even more special.

I would expect three unrelated Bengals in the same household to be very territorial, and rarely share the same room at the same time. I would imagine a level of tolerance, but I would wonder just how happy each would really be.

I applaud your good intentions, but my own opinion is that maybe you could achieve more through helping others understand, or educating others, on what a great breed the Bengal is, than trying to care for too many at once within your own household. If you, your family, and cats are happy and content, put your enthusiasm to use in other ways.

Which ever way you decide, good luck and all the best.

This is just as bad as trying to decide to have another baby! It's a major decision that affects you for many, many years. I think kittens are so adorable, but they grow up into adult cats -- and unless you keep adding more and more kittens, that "cuteness" wears off at some point. I have a bengal and a regular domestic cat and they can be a real handful together. LOL