HELP! I am new to this forum and am desperate for advice and feedback. I have a 17 wk neutered male bengal and brought an 11wk old male bengal kitten home (from the same breeder). I have read so much about how to introduce them to each other, but am unsure it is working.

DAY 1- no introductions were made and the kitten was taken straight to the "safe room."

DAY2- introductions were made with the new kitten still in his crate. Lots of hissing, swatting, and poffy hair going both ways. Both kittens removed from each other after about 5-10 minutes. Kittens had a "residence swap" where the resident cat spent about 30 minutes in the safe room and the new kitten had 30 minutes to roam the house. Kittens sleeping blankets were swapped and they slept on each others blankets at night.

DAY 3- face to face introductions occurred. Kitten acting very submissive rolling on his back and being very non threatening. Resident cat some hissing and pouncing with the occasional rough swat at the kitten. Constantly watching the new kitten and stalking him like prey and jumping at him, sometimes not making contact. New kitten still being totally submissive and sweet, although scared at times with hissing, swatting and flat ears, hiding under areas, but always came back out. total time 30 min.

DAY 4- Resident cat still acting like a bully. less hissy and puffy hair, but rougher contact. resident cat pouncing on kitten relentlessly. Kitten still majority being submissive but did chase back resident cat twice, who freaked out and ran and was scared, but still didn't let that stop the bullying. had to separate a few times because new kitten was yelping very loud when pounced on. Resident cat seems to build tension and aggression and was put into a time out a few times. Resident did not want to play with toys with kitten, cannot pay attention to anything other than kitten if he is in the room. Resident cat got close to kitten in a stand off where he was sniffing him 2 times, other than that nothing but pouncing and rolling roughly. total time 2-3 hours of supervised introductions.

DAY 5- ???? WHAT SHOULD I DO?? IS this normal behavior?? Is there hope that my babies will be best playmates??

you are doing alot of the right things but your doing them a break neck speed

your plan should be more like:

WEEK 1: No introduction

WEEK2: Scent swapping ongoing and meals on either side of the safe room door.

WEEK3:

I suggest you go back to step one and stay at that stage until your new one has had time to settle and bond with humans (and explore home with resident shut away)

There are some excellent topics for this with great advice to read in this forum.

Update us (share pics) and Im sure you will get case specific advice from others soon,

Allowing resident to ''attack'' the kitten so soon and before the poor guy has had time to settle and bond with you (his protector) may have upset this process and added weeks or months onto the time now needed for a successfull introduction.

Please go back to step one and bond all humans with your new guy (no more cat meetings) and research more for tips on introducing cats .
You will get there with care and patience but with all due respect, you have bungled this at the start now and will have to plan a longer more gradual introduction as a result.

wishing you lots of luck

Thank you for the feedback! I will definitely slow down the pace! I know this is probably a dumb question, but how so I search this topic on the forum to see what previous threads say??

I agree with BengalDaddy in that you need to make sure that you bond with the kitten and that the kitten is 100% ok with at least his saferoom before worrying too much about introductions. But once that is accomplished, with really young kittens like you have, I would probably at least try to see if you can move forward quickly like you are doing now. Kittens are much more predisposed to want to accomodate new potential playmates and much less set in their ways, so I don't think it's a mistake to go faster if they can handle it.

Once you "get there" I think the biggest thing is distinguishing between what is actual hostility vs what is rough play, and establishing at least some boundaries about what is acceptable and what is not.

The way I did it when I introduced Neytiri to the Bengals (when all three were pretty young, but a little older than yours) was:

1. Neytiri went right to the saferoom and spent a couple of days there alone or with me (no bengals)
2. After Neytiri was "Good" with me and the saferoom, The bengals were allowed in as "visitors" with me allowed to interact with Neytiri so long as there was no hissing or growling. The meeting was immediately aborted if that happened, and we would try again later in the day.
3. It was a few days later that they were permitted to play (initially only in the playroom under close supervision, and then days later in the run of the house, but still carefully watched). When they played, the play was obviously very one-sided initially, with the bengals mostly as the chasers and pouncers, but I really carefully watched Neytiri's response to that and let it go as long as I thought she wasn't distressed, and called it off if she was. As I got a better feel for this interaction, I think in many cases I perhaps "broke it up" a little prematurely, in that although Neytiri vocalized alot, and complained, she was actually not distressed by it (I think). But it's a tough call. I think the tendency is to be a little over-protective, and rightly so.

Understand though that even when they do become "friends", the play is pretty rough and in many cases is going to strongly resemble a "fight" (which is kind of the point). I still wince when one of my cats body slams another to the ground, or bites another on the neck for example. But it's "part of the game". Sometimes Neytiri will still scream bloody murder when a bengal jumps on her, but I've learned that many times she isn't near as distressed as she is letting on. Sometimes the "tell" is witnessing what the supposidly distressed cat does when the play is broken up. A lot of times they run right back for more

_________________
The little monsters 3

_________________
The little monsters 3

Just slow things down and don't get impatient. Your brand new kitty is having to acclimate to new surroundings, new humans, and another cat. It takes time. We all hope to throw the cats together and they start licking each other. Doesn't happen that way or that quickly in most cases. You're doing the right things .... but you're trying to speed up the process and you just need to take your time. Everyone will get along eventually. Before long, they will be best buddies!

Thank you everyone for the feedback. These kitties are my babies and I know I am probably too anxious in trying to get them to be best friends. The new kitten is great- he is totally comfortable with people and his safe room after just a couple of days. Unlike, the older kitten who took about 2 weeks to be comfortable with his safe room and people. They have such a difference in personalities. The new kitten is ready to be friends, but my older one is the bugger.
I've had them completely apart for the last 2 days and am going to try more scent swapping tonight. I honestly feel that the older kitten is scared of the new kitten and is trying to act like mr. tough guy, but is really afraid and doesn't know how to handle him.
thanks again for the help and I will keep you posted!

So today my older kitten is showing a HUGE interest in getting into the "safe" room. Before he would only cry to get in if myself or husband were in the safe room with the new kitten. If we left,he left with us. Now, he is down stairs almost frantic to get inside (crying, clawing, running in circles, trying to open door, which he did once)
The new kitten could care less- he continues to play and be totally comfortable. he will sometimes go to the door and be ready to pounce.
Normal? Continue to keep separated?

How many days has this new separation stage been ongoing? one or two?
I would say a week separated is typical.. in that time the newcomer can be given a chance to learn the rest of the rooms in your home (with resident locked away for a bit) and their bedding can be swapped daily (a week is good for scent swapping)...
Has new guy had chance to explore the home yet? ... this is important for him as well as knowing his route back to his safe room.

More importantly at this stage, how bonded is the new guy with his humans now?

Can you pick him up at will? .. can you handle him and touch him all over without fear or protest?

I suggest your next stage could be to introduce yummy food (fish is good) for both cats to eat either side of the saferoom door.... this will get both cats close together while experiencing a positive yummy mealtime.. they will transfer that positive association to ''being together = good things'' ... thats the idea anyway but repetition and consistency are key.
After these shared mealtimes (behind the closed door but next to it) become normal for them with no hissing or fuss (few days all being well) you could then try real shared mealtimes... separate the bowls from the door location to the far end of the two rooms the cats are in (new guy's safe room and resident in adjoining room) and serve them a meal at same time again - but open the door during the meal.... try to do this in a relaxed manner with no drama and keep yourself between them and in a spot where you can close the door if either of them stop eating and head towards the other.
Close the door after the meal and congratulate yourself EVERY time you create a session like this that ends positively.

Once kittys are happy to eat an entire meal in sight (and scent) of each other without any fuss or fear you can build on these sessions by allowing them to interact for short periods after their mealtime... and GRADUALLY extend the length of they spend together in these post-meal sessions.
Its really important that every meeting you create ends positivity with them not having any fear or anger to each other.. if they are still keen to be together when the timer goes to separate them thats a good thing too (but still stick to the plan and separate them - extend their next session as appropriate).

Lets see if you can get suggestions here on what exactly to do with them when they are together during these early meetings...
I think having a helper with you and engaging both in separate play (with wands or toys) in the same room is a good start.. distraction is a powerful tool for you... if you just sit back and let them do what they like with no interaction from you they will go right back to rough housing and resident may start to dominate/bully and upset the new guy again.

Be patient and dont rush anything.. remember they have the rest of their lives together now ... and these early days of introduction really do ''set the tone'' for how well they get along in the future.
If it takes a month or two its well worth it if they form a close bond of friendship for their lives together.

Have you shared any pics yet?

The older kitten has had all the time to himself. He has learned to be with you and now sees your home as his territory.
With the arrival of the kitten, he is merely defending what he sees as his and is obviously not keen to share it.
It took him 2 weeks to settle, then only 3 weeks later his whole world has fallen apart again.
He is no longer feels safe and secure. "An intruder" has darkened his door and he wants things to get back to how they were and to get rid of this kitten by scaring it away. Your original cat is showing lots of stress signs - "crying, clawing, running in circles, trying to open door, which he did once"

The younger kitten will be scared and unsure, as he has just left all he knows to come and live with you.
He will be doing his best to make it look like he is fine, as to show weakness for any young animal can be dangerous, but he will be stressed too. He will not be enjoying being pounced upon and bullied,or having another big cat yelling at his door, but he has to stand his corner otherwise he could get seriously hurt. In normal circumstances the kitten would have its mother to protect it or failing that it would just be driven away by the older more aggressive cat to seek its own way in the world.
In a domestic home we force the issue and expect the cats to get along, but in order to do that we have to manipulate the situation for a while so that the long term result is good.

You have to appreciate that both cats are highly stressed and that the kitten is very vulnerable. If the older cat, being bigger and more forceful, can break his spirit then you may get bullying and that is not good. But you also have to see it from your 17 week old cats side too. He is not a "bugger" he is just responding to the situation you have placed him in. At 17 weeks I doubt he will be highly territorial in the true sense of the word, but being territorial is common in Bengals so it is not behaviour you want to condone.
Your older cat will also be scared so shouting at him, throwing things at him or behaviour designed to scare him off the kitten will be counter-productive. You need to build up both their confidences and I personally would not let them indulge in any rolling around or fighting or physical contact till they learn to interact without any hissing and the growling and both look comfortable in each others presence.

My babies are best friends.... thanks to the advice and reassurance from this blog! thank you again. As soon as i figure out how to post pics i will post some of the sweetest cuddling bengals you've ever seen! :) :)