I got my Bengal kitten, Rajah, after my two elderly cats passed away, leaving me with one female domestic, Nahla, who seemed lonely and bored as an only cat. In hindsight, that was a mistake. The Bengal kitten was too playful, almost aggressive, for her and though she loved being part of “the gang” with the other two cats, Nahla did not appreciate this new kitten. She tolerated the kitten when he was small, but as he got bigger and played rougher, tensions rose. So, now we had a problem and I wasn’t sure how to fix it. We decided to foster-to-adopt a young tabby – Pasha, a male, about 5 weeks younger than the 5 month old Bengal. This solved all of our problems: the two young males hit it off almost immediately. They are both energetic and love to snuggle, groom, and play together. The Bengal no longer tried to play (stalk, leap on, etc.) the older female and Pasha is almost a bridge between the cats, because the older female tolerates the tabby better than the Bengal. Occasionally, when Rajah the Bengal is in his “crazed” mode, he can get a little rough with the tabby, but Pasha can handle it, and at times gives it back with equal energy. They are now 7 and 8 months old. I think cats are happiest with “a friend,” especially if they are left alone during the work day or on weekends. And I agree with other's comments that a playmate for the Bengal takes pressure off me to keep the cat active and entertained! Ironically, even though my Bengal can play a little more aggressively when he’s in that mood, I would not call him the dominate cat. Pasha the rescue tabby is the explorer and instigator, and the Bengal follows his lead - kind of like the street kid showing the little prince how to get into trouble. Rajah had never gone on the kitchen counters, but the two were up there within hours of Pasha's arrival! The Bengal is also a slower eater, and the two domestics will push him off his food plate once they are finished with theirs, and Rajah just lets them – he’ll sit and watch them eat his food if I’m not there to shoo them away. If someone comes to the door, the Bengal will hide while the tabby checks out the newcomers and Rajah will only come out once he deems it “safe.” So, really, so much depends on the personalities of the individual animals. We were lucky that we finally got a combination that works!
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