Hi guys
Apologies I'm new to this forum but would really appreciate some advice from experienced Bengal owners! We currently own a 13 week old female bengle, she has been neutered. Not so long back we bought a puppy whippet and the 2 have got on great since with the occasional bit of rough-and-tumble.

Just under a week ago we bought a little eight week old female Bengal kitten as we wanted both a spotted and the marbled. We did quite a lot of Google research in regards to introduction of the two cats as we were led to believe the cats don't tend to like friends un like dogs.
We were aiming to introduce them very slowly via separate rooms etc but due to the difficulties of work constraints and a small house things have been sped up slightly. Both the cat and Kitten were both itching to meet each other and apart from a little bit of grumbling for the first couple of days under supervision they seem to have taken to each other well. The kitten confidently roams our small house and plays with everything including us, she seems very bold. Our resident cat is a bit more reserved but seems happy and is toileting normally And quite happily sleeps on our bed at night as she would normally. She will even now and again go up and sniff the kitten and is quite happy for the kitten to run around her when we are playing with it

The problem we've started to have is that the older cat seems to like to chase the kitten now and again and occasionally will pin it down and looks like it's trying to bite it. The kitchen doesn't seem to mind too much and we try really hard to stop it as soon as we see it happening as we are worried that it will create a habit and the little one might get hurt or worse. Afterwards we always try and give time to both cats to keep things equal and fair

General behaviour seems to be that it is done in a playful way as there is no hissing or growling and the chasing cat does not have a fluffed up tail or eyes wide open but we are concerned so wondered what some of the experts on here think and could recommend? We obviously don't ever leave these two together unattended and the little cat sleeps in a large dog crate overnight for safety. We are hoping its just a small display of dominance mixed in with some playful behaviour as she is only just overa year-old, possibly also mixed in with a not ideal introduction phase

Thanks very much in advance
Si

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your babies! It's really not unusual for cats to chase each other. Especially a resident cat who now has a new guest in the house. However .... the introduction process takes a couple of weeks and speeding it up was probably not the right thing to do! The one thing you do not want to happen is for your newest baby (who is honestly too young to be away from its mother at 8 weeks) to become withdrawn and scared. Cats need confidence. Thus, you do not allow any interaction that seems to be excessive or hurting the new kitty. And you will NEVER leave them unsupervised until they are best friends -- and that may never happen! I suggest you engage them each in play at the same time -- you may need two people for this. One for each cat so the toy is the distraction. You can't simply toss two cats together and hope for the best. This takes time and patience and WORK. If you are keeping the cats separated when you are not home, try swapping out the scents while you're gone. Blankets, beds, etc. Scent is everything to cats -- and territory is as well. Hopefully, you have a couple of tall cat trees, three litter boxes and tons of toys that are entertaining to your babies.

As for your dog ... many bengals love dogs. Mine does not.

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The little monsters 3

Hi guys and thanks for the prompt replies. It's interesting to hear about the 8 week thing. The breeder seemed fine with this but we got our older one at 12 weeks so I'm sorry that has happened. You hear about the backstreet breeders if you were but I don't think this was the case with ours. I didn't collect her but my partner said she had a lot of other bengals in nice clean stable style places and areas to exercise. She also has her family tree documents. Still doesn't excuse it and shame on us really for not picking that up unless the uk is different? Either way she certainly seems a happy go lucky little thing luckily and doesn't seem too worried about the chasing as will almost always come straight back out and start playing with something or after attention. She does squeak as you mention sometimes when bella gets a bit rough so since that we have always stepped in before that stage so as you rightly say to avoid scarring the kitten mentally before she gets old enough to defend herself a bit, would hate to set in a bad habit or fear at this early stage.
The intro has been tough and not ideal but as 2 paramedics in a small home working long shifts it had to be a bit of a case of doing the best we could. Littleun is certainly confident which is a relief and often gives back what she gets and we don't just chuck them together and hope rather try and reward them and limit their exposure to one another.

We are doing what you suggest now involving them both in play with lots of toys and both are quite happy in each other's personal space. They now will sniff each other no problems and the older cat is fine with the kitten playing with toys right in front of her even bumping into her. It just seems sometimes she gets a bit over stimulated and that's when she seems to focus on the little one. That being said she has moments where she is extremely rough with the dog and will often pin him to the floor (then usually clean his ears!).

Il try and upload some videos of them together as generally it seems in good faith and fun :)' thanks for your help so far!

Hi guys and thanks for the prompt replies. It's interesting to hear about the 8 week thing. The breeder seemed fine with this but we got our older one at 12 weeks so I'm sorry that has happened. You hear about the backstreet breeders if you were but I don't think this was the case with ours. I didn't collect her but my partner said she had a lot of other bengals in nice clean stable style places and areas to exercise. She also has her family tree documents. Still doesn't excuse it and shame on us really for not picking that up unless the uk is different? Either way she certainly seems a happy go lucky little thing luckily and doesn't seem too worried about the chasing as will almost always come straight back out and start playing with something or after attention. She does squeak as you mention sometimes when bella gets a bit rough so since that we have always stepped in before that stage so as you rightly say to avoid scarring the kitten mentally before she gets old enough to defend herself a bit, would hate to set in a bad habit or fear at this early stage.
The intro has been tough and not ideal but as 2 paramedics in a small home working long shifts it had to be a bit of a case of doing the best we could. Littleun is certainly confident which is a relief and often gives back what she gets and we don't just chuck them together and hope rather try and reward them and limit their exposure to one another.

We are doing what you suggest now involving them both in play with lots of toys and both are quite happy in each other's personal space. They now will sniff each other no problems and the older cat is fine with the kitten playing with toys right in front of her even bumping into her. It just seems sometimes she gets a bit over stimulated and that's when she seems to focus on the little one. That being said she has moments where she is extremely rough with the dog and will often pin him to the floor (then usually clean his ears!).

Il try and upload some videos of them together as generally it seems in good faith and fun :)' thanks for your help so far!

https://youtu.be/Wac4VLFj7XQ

Ok so if this works I have cobbled together really quickly some vids of them together on different occasions. Note though that this is un censored if you were, normally we step in well before they start biting and squeeking! Seems pretty tit for tat and the kitten seems fine with it afterwards never hides or withdraws and no hissing or growling now

Thanks!

Wow, that is one confident little kitten! Love the escape route behind the basket. Perfect for stealth attacks!

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Melissa

UK
Oscar - Rescue (Rascal!!!) Bengal

Oh wow, your big kitty is REALLY holding back He's actually being extremely gentle with the youngster (but that can change on a dime, so I'd still heavily supervise for a few weeks). It's funny when the little one chases him... THAT'S NOT CREDIBLE I think those two are going to get along marvelously.

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The little monsters 3

Ah that's great to hear. We were quite unsure and didn't want to risk any harm coming to squirt so have been careful. We will relax a bit but make sure they are always supervised until she is older and bigger and let them sort it out a bit more haha! She had her first jabs today and didn't seem bothered, seems we have got a proper Bengal! Fearless and over confident haha.

Thanks for all your advice it's much appreciated

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The little monsters 3

Lol well now we know what to expect it hopefully won't be so bad :) don't mind rough as long as it's 'normal' and monitored

Thanks again

Your little one is certainly an instigator in this! LOL. What I saw was playful interaction between the kitties. This is just what bengals, and cats in general, do. Your new arrival seems to thrive on this interaction. This all seems normal to me, so I don't think you need to worry too much, except to keep them separated when you are not at home -- at least for a few more weeks.

What a great little kitten :). In our case we're going in a different direction. The guys used to be the same size and more "equal", with Lily initiating most playful interactions. Now at 7 months, Noha is getting visibly bigger and is already about 30% heavier and it sometimes shows when they play, though Lily doesn't have any problem with this.

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Thomas

Lily & Noha - Oct 7th 2015

Great to hear guys and thanks for the reassurance! I'm looking forward to seeing how these 2 get on!