You should be focusing on getting your kitten, and getting him well introduced and warmed up to YOUR home/the people and animals immediately in it.

No one is going to be able to tell you how your kitten or the other cat is going to like/dislike & react to a meet-up without knowing the two cats..

For reference though if it helps, Link has gone with me to my parents house (20min drive) a few times. Although they do not have any inside animals, he does perfectly fine and loves running through their house. He has had no issues using his litter box there either if that helps at all as far as the transportation part of your question goes.

Thank you for your advice!

I have been preparing for his arrival for quite a bit now. We have a safe room with an extra large dog crate in it that is only his, we will not bother him in his safe place. Note: it is not to be used as a cage, I think I am going to take the door off. I just want to use it as a place that is easy for him to spot that has everything he needs - food, water, litter box, covered bed, toys. I am going to leave a pet taxi with a bed in a different room when he is introduced to the rest of our home as well.

I have the exact same litter, litter box, dry food, and wet food that the breeder was using. As advised on this forum, I am going to ask the breeder for a bit of her used litter, and place it in his box so he absolutely knows for sure what it is for and it feels a bit more like home. I will be providing him with scented blankets, one of the blankets has the scent of his mother and litter mates and the other has the scent of me and my OH.

Since the breeder is feeding him junk food friskies, after about a month or so when he is completely comfortable in our home, I will begin to gradually switch to blue buffalo/wellness/evo/nature's recipe. I have purchased a few cans already in varying brands and flavors to see what he likes best. In a few months I will begin to supplement with raw as well.

He is already completely spoiled and he hasn't even arrived yet! Our home is complete with a large cat tree, a few scratchers, a crinkle tunnel, MANY toys, healthy foods, beds, blankets, bowls, etc. He also has two anxious humans that are ready to be enslaved!! :)

If he takes a while to come around at home, I am definitely not even going to consider taking a trip anywhere for a while. I will definitely play it by ear to see how he reacts to us and our home before introducing him to a new place because I know how stressful it is, especially for a new kitten. I posted this simply as a way to plan ahead and get a bit of advice. :) Thank you all for your advice and stories!

Sounds like a lucky little man indeed :] I just re-read my last post and noticed it sounded kind've snotty, I wasn't trying to be at all!

So glad you're preparing so far ahead as opposed to someone who decides they want a cool leopard cat and buys one that day!

Good luck with your new family member :]

I really do appreciate all advice and stories, no matter how critical or snobby they may sound (your post didn't come across as such though!)

I have done my homework on the breed, and I simply want to be as prepared as a person can be when inviting a bengal kitten into their homes. I joined this forum because first-hand experiences are often the best resources for great information! :)

My breeder should be sending me some updated photos of him, I will be sure to share them when I get them :) 29 Days, and the wait is killing me!

I think trying to get the two cats acquainted will be a fruitless exercise personally.

A cat does not recognise a friend by sight but by smell, more often then not two cats living together can take issue with each other if even taken to the vets to be spayed/neutered. They will hiss and growl etc because the other cat smells 'wrong'

I think introducing your cat to your parents cat will be stressful for both parties, and im not convinced it will ever work. I do feel you will be heaping undue stress on both of them each time. Your parents cat may well start to spray, scratch etc and even change its personality if this is a regular occurrence of you taking a strange cat into its environment.

As others have suggested if you are going to do it, then I would confine your cat away from the resident cat in a room it doesn't use and not even attempt introductions.

Also you may need to delay doing the visit too soon. Kittens stress levels should be kept down to prevent illness. Coming to a new home is very very stressful so you may want to lay off any visits for a good few months at least.

Personally I think your cat would be better off having a sitter come for the times you visit. It would be far kinder considering the circumstances.

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The little monsters 3

I will try to bring blankets or something with each cat's scent without actually having them in the same place at first, to see how they react and to get them used to the presence of another cat's smell.

Then, IF I do decide to bring my bengal with me, I will just keep him up in my room with plenty of attention - as there will be 6 or so people in the house pretty much at all times. Also, the upstairs isn't really 'territory' for the resident cat anyway. If things go well and they don't seem too bothered (particularly the resident cat), there is a bathroom and a utility room on the main level (the only level where the resident cat has access). I may place my bengal there and allow them to smell each other through the door. I can also attempt a visual/olfactory meeting through a screen door if that would be helpful.



But - it does seem that the consensus here is that it isn't a good idea at all.