Hi all

Me and my partner have recently purchased a playmate for our bengal boy Charlie because we both work during the day and thought he could do with some company during the day.
Her name is Maya and she is a 9 week old silver and black marble coated bengal (she is his halfgratefulWe purchased her last Saturday and she has been in her own safe room since. We have scent swapped and also scene swapped them aswell to allow Maya the chance to get to know the house.
Charlie is a very playful and boisterous kitten and the problem we have is that when we have introduced them the fighting has been pretty rough and 1 sided in Charlie's favor. I don't want Maya to be scared of Charlie in our home but I also don't want her to be cooped up in her safe room because of his rough play.
Both of the kitties are free fed so getting them to eat, separated by a door can be pretty tricky. I know Charlie is quite territorial but in time we are hoping he can accept Maya into our home so if anyone can offer some tips/advice to help with this matter i would be really grateful

First of all, your Maya is too young! Bengals should not leave their moms until 12 weeks. She's obviously much smaller than your other kitty and your male is probably going to be the dominant cat. It's one thing for cats to play. It's another for them to fight. When cats viciously fight, they try to literally kill the other cat. You are going to have to protect the little kitten. She hasn't learned all her social skills and probably is lacking some of the others that her mom would have taught her. Introducing kittens takes time and it doesn't always go well the first or second or third time. You don't want Maya terrified of her sibling.

Since there are two adults in the household, each needs to take responsibility for one of the cats, and you need to begin by feeding them in the generally same area. The cats need to concentrate on their food and not so much the other cat. You should also engage them in play in the same room, but separately. Each of you grab a toy and engage a kitten in play. They will concentrate on the toy but know the other cat is nearby. Maya needs to know she can be in the same area with Charlie and not feel threatened. A bullied cat will have a lot of behavioral problems and need to be rehomed.

Also provide some height for these kitties. Cat trees, shelves on the wall -- an easy escape route.

I think some people get over nervous about introducing the cats -- and the cats can certainly sense the stress in you. I've seen cats get along instantly, others take time to warm up to each other. Some never do .. they just tolerate the other cat and do their own thing.

Since you are gone most of the day, you cannot leave the two cats together until they have settled in with each other. I'm not sure Charlie needs company. My Raiden is home about 9 hours a day during the week and he sleeps most of the time. I'm not about to bring another cat into the mix as he's super territorial. It sounds like you're doing some of the right things, but the safe room is just that -- a safe room for Maya. She needs that right now -- and she'll need it for a few weeks yet.

Good luck.

Thank you Sherry for your response.

We have recently fitted some cat shelves in our living room which Charlie uses to sleep and watch the sun rise in the mornings. Maya is still a bit too small to use them right now, but I'm sure she will use them when she gets a bit bigger.
I will move Charlie's food and water bowls outside of Maya's safe room when I get home from work.
We saw a bit of progress between the two of them last night where Charlie would calmly approach Maya and lick her for a little bit. We ended the little meet with them both getting some treats. I know its only baby steps at the moment but we will keep her in the safe room for the foreseeable future.

They're beautiful! Good news that they're getting along now.

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Dallas, TX USA
Diesel - snow Bengal born 09/01/2013 adopted Feb 2014
Tuck, Chloe, Buddy, Lewis & Tia - rescue kitties
Clyde, Bleu & Coal - Great Danes