Hi,

We have recently lost our beautiful Bengal/Bengal cross to at 8 years old to a likely vaccine induced inoperable fibro sarcoma. We adopted him from our local sanctuary not knowing anything about Bengals but now there is no going back, we would like replace him with another.

However I am sure our neighbours cheered at his passing as their two small female tabbies had stopped going outside because he terrorised them. He would pin one down and urinate on her and in doing so caused vets bills and bed rest. If I had known the dominant tendencies of the breed I would have been more vigilant when he first met one of them. I thought he was being amorous with the sounds he was making and the way he behaved he did nothing aggressive at that time he was neutered. I have broached the subject with them and they are not happy (understandable) even though I assured them we would make sure they were cat friendly.

We would love another and are going to see a female less than a year old Bengal in the hope she would adapt to the tabbies who was brought up with a cat but they had to be separated due to a relationship break up and she is not happy with the female cat in her new home and has been hiding away.

We have plenty of space sitting in a small group of houses with 1 1/2 acres of land away from roads and are planning to move the cat flap to the back of the house so first 'port of call'/temptation is not the neighbours. I have looked at the advice for introducing a new cat to a household but this would be different as obviously I would not take her into the neighbours house or vice versa.

Is it possible to introduce to neighbouring cats and for scent exchange and so on should ours be in a cat box or on a harness.
We really miss our cat who definitely if not full Bengal had all the character traits and could not see ourselves having anything else.

Any advice would be much appreciated.
Thank you

I will 'introduce' myself better with pictures later

Welcome to the forum! I am so very sorry for your loss! I know the emptiness one feels in this situation. Cat introductions are hard enough in the confines of the inside of one's house. Now you want to introduce a new kitty to neighborhood kitties! Probably not a good idea! The fact that your male terrorized the neighbor's cats caused tremendous stress to those kitties. They are probably not going to be very accepting of a new kitty.

I'm guessing you are in the UK where you allow your cats full access to the outdoors, which is not always a good thing. Female cats will fight. Cats are extremely territorial and fiercely protect their territory. Cats can be trained to walk on a harness and leash -- and for your cat's safety, that's what I would recommend, especially in the beginning. You want to get your kitty use to your yard and the area around your home so it knows where home is. Your neighbors are probably relieved that your kitty is gone (I've been that neighbor and practically did somersaults when they sold their house and moved away with their problem kitty). Since you have such a large area, you might want to build a large cat run or at enclosure that will keep your cat safe and away from the neighbor's cats.

You do not want angry neighbors. Eventually, they will take matters into their own hands! Had my neighbors not moved away, I would have taken their cat to a shelter as it had attacked me and terrorized my bengal (who has a large enclosure and is not allowed outside unless on a leash). Since the cat had attacked me and caused an infection, the cat would have been euthanized. Is that drastic? Yes, but they refused to keep their cat inside their house and the cat thought my yard was his!

I know that's a little drastic, but six cats were poisoned on one street a few months ago -- they all died! You have to be on good terms with your neighbors and your neighbors have to like your cat. It's great that you are concerned and seem to care that the kitties get along, but that is not always possible -- and you're the bad guy! I would do what I could to keep the new kitty under control -- walks on a harness and leash, cat enclosure will ensure that your neighbors and their kitties are happy.

Thankyou for your kind words.

Yes UK and yes I think they silently cheered when they heard the news and in all honesty I hadn't appreciated quite the scale of problem he had caused I haven't been at 100% for a while and it gives me terrible brainfog. He was fine with the other cats around and I saw him rubbing noses with a female stray and sitting quietly while she ate food I put out for her.

We have been looking into contingency plans one of which is the petsafe fencing which if we had known it existed we would have bought for our previous cat. I am also going to get a harness for her whatever the outcome and will get her used to it while she is still inside acclimatising. I have emailed the neighbour (so they can read it all with out getting the wrong end of the stick) that if need be we will treat her like a dog and she wont be allowed out without us and a harness if problems occur. Hopefully they will work with us on it.

I have also asked the neighbours for something smelling of their cats to put in our house so she gets used to the scent. Good or bad idea???

As you may have gathered she arrived last night and is gorgeous will post in introductions when we manage to get a good photo :)

I am sorry to hear of your loss and the difficult situation you had with your and the neighbours cats. I would just go for the petsafe fencing. It's a lottery as to whether your new cat and the neighbours cats will get on. By the sound of how your bengal boy you lost treated the neighbours cats, you might find the girl tabbies are scared to death of your new cat by default, without her doing anything at all. Cats are territorial by nature so I would not hold out much hope for happy families.....although it may happen - who knows! The tabbies will probably run at the first sight of your new bengal girl which will immediately set the scene as to who is boss and who is prey. Get the petsafe fencing and then at least the neighbours cats should gain some confidence and feeling of safety. Who knows, they could be best buddies through the fencing! Neighbourly relations are so important and the petsafe fencing will cement that good relationship. It sounds like your neighbour has been very understanding of the past situation. Harness training would be great too then cats could be introduced in a controlled manner. Good luck and hope it all works out for you all.

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Melissa

UK
Oscar - Rescue (Rascal!!!) Bengal

I'm so sorry you lost your boy.

Congratulations on the new little girl!

I would go ahead and do some scent swapping with the neighbors as long as they're up for it. Let her smell them and let them smell her without a face to face that could go badly. See how she reacts (and vice versa). You said you plan to get her used to a harness and leash, I think that's the best way to start off. Once she's used to the house you can start taking her on walks around the area so she gets to know her surroundings well before she gets to explore on her own. If you come across the neighbor cats on a walk you can watch everyone and feel out the situation. With a little luck if she thinks their scent is familiar she'll be calmer and more receptive to a face to face with them.

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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

Hi,
Thanks everyone for your tips and advice. I think we are going to go the Petsafe type fencing route as well as getting her used to a harness. Then as the neighbours cats will be able to come and go through her territory we will soon find out if they get on or not.
x

I really don't think the result will or would have been any different if you had "introduced" the cats. They are outdoor cats, and they do as they please. By letting them outside unsupervised, both you and your neighbors are basically just letting nature take it's course, which is all about claiming, defending, and patrolling territory, so I don't really understand your neighbor's complaint either. The solution is kind of obvious from his point of view, or should be at least The idea that either of you can make your cats "play nice" outside is kind of ludicrous imo. That ship sailed a long time ago.

To me the idea of scent swapping for an outdoor cat is pointless. Cats are very good at scent swapping on their own (by peeing on, clawing, and rubbing against things). The reason why you need to "help" them when they are indoors is that they are in much tighter confines, and you'd rather the cats not be peeing on everything. Outdoors neither is really a consideration.

If you are intent on getting another bengal, and intent on the bengal being an outdoor cat, then probably the best thing you could do is to get a spayed female, and then cross your fingers.

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The little monsters 3

I agree with Brian. No scent swapping! When your kitty goes outside, the scent of other cats will be there -- no need to do anything inside. Just know that your new kitty may not be an instigator like your male kitty was. Females and males are different! You may not have to worry quite as much. A pet safe fence is a great idea as is a harness and leash. It will ensure your new kitty lives a long, full life. You seem to think the neighborhood cats need to be friends. Not true! They have their territory, yours will have hers. Most female cats are not terrorizers. It's great you've included your neighbors -- it shows you are trying. Hopefully their cats will get their confidence back in the meantime and not feel threatened by your new kitty.

Yeah I don't necessarily expect them to be friends just not to be so frightened that they don't go out at all. I thought they had all settled down in to routines but I have just found out that our previous cat Titan had worked out that if it was windy even though it was a microchip cat flap he could hook his paw round it if it was blowing open I assume after one of the cats had just gone and still get in. A bit like he worked out how to get the tray out of his pet feeder we used (briefly until such) so that neighbours only needed to come in once a day to feed him

One of their cats used to be often in our garden but since Titans arrival hasn't for a long time so there wont be any scent there currently, however maybe by the time we do let her out they might have started to roam further.

Cat proofing your space outside the cat door will be a huge help! When kitties roam free, they can find trouble, contract fatal diseases, get hit by a car, stolen, etc. You're just taking chances and they can use their 9 lives up rather quickly. I'm feeding a neighbor's cat (they live three blocks away) because they have two cats that chase this cat away from their yard. Unfortunately, Raiden hates this other cat (both are neutered males) so this other cat cannot be allowed inside my house. It's gotten down to 32 degrees here at night. We have a cat house with two heated beds that this kitty will now spend the night in. I HATE that he has to be outside because we are near a busy road, have coyotes in the woods behind us, have other cats in the neighborhood and my neighbors on each sides of me HATE cats, especially this one, who really doesn't do anything but sleep on their steps.