Hello,

I have a 7 year old bengal who’s been through several foster homes and finally met her match. I was thinking of adopting a new born kitten (non bengal) and was wondering if it’s a good idea or not, and if so would you suggest another female or male?

Thanks!

Welcome to our forum. Gosh, where to begin with your question. If you've read any part of this forum, you've probably discovered adding a new kitten goes well or it goes horribly wrong. You can find pictures online of cats grooming each other, sleeping together. That's the ideal situation.

The key will be in the introduction of the new kitten. Even if the kitten is a DSH and not of a specific breed, it is still important that the kitten have a safe room to decompress. Has this kitten been around other cats besides its mom and siblings? Has it been socialized with humans?

You know your bengal better than anyone else. Is she completely calm and laid back? Does she get agitated easily? Since she has been through several foster homes, it is possible she is not yet acclimated to her new life with you. Is your home catified with cat trees and lots of toys? Know you will need at least one more litter box.

Many cat owners feel their cat needs a companion, but does your cat want one? You would hope your girl would take a motherly approach to a new kitten -- maybe she had a litter or two previously.

As for adding a male or female kitten, I don't know that it matters at that point? They are just kittens. A male is going to be larger than your female more than likely and you would need to make sure he is neutered before he reaches sexual maturity. Same with a female kitten. But, the sex of a kitten is up to you. I would probably take a female, but that's just me. Unfortunately, I have two male cats -- a bengal and a DSH. Not what I wanted, but they found me so I have them.

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The little monsters 3

It depends entirely on the cat. Our 6 year old cat readily took to 2 new bengal kittens. If your cat’s previous foster homes had other animals then the chances are good she would adapt well to newcomers.

I have a Bengal that was bounced around a bit before finding me. I got him in September of 2017 and he only seemed to feel adjusted, safe, whatever you want to call it in January of 2018. The new place stressed him out. The new human. And the other cat, Luna, stressed him out too.

Luna is exceptionally laid back and mellow. She loves all people and creatures. There were several weeks of hissing and growling. Now they are best buddies, groom each other and play together.

Just after they got used to each other, I got a new roommate with a male cat, Kamikaze. There were weeks, maybe a couple of months of scary horrible growling that sounded like it was out of The Exorcist while they worked things out. Now the 3 kitties get along, play with each other and groom each other too.

I have had lots of cats in my lifetime, and I had never experienced difficult/lengthy introductions like I have had with Oberon. We even used Feliway and Sargeant's Calming collars to help Oberon be a bit more mellow.

So be prepared for a long frustrating process. You might want a larger kitten so it is not too defenseless against a powerful and ornery Bengal.

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