I think it depends a lot on the cats...

Our oldest boy is very accepting of other cats, so when we got out second cat we just put them together from the start and had no problems. Neither of them is a bengal.

Pipe sitting ON Gizzy about an hour after we got him home - was afraid of the ceiling(?!?!?!) and wouldn't come out from under the bed, but loved Giz immediately. Ignore the dust - it has since been cleaned!!


When we got our bengal she was such a big personality (at 10 weeks!!) so we thought we'd try the same, and she had the two big boys in their place within the first hour. She took a little longer to settle in because she kept wanting to play with the two older cats and they weren't too sure about this little thing constantly attacking them. So they would run (and of course she would chase!!). Only took a couple of days before they realised that it was just playing and started playing back.

Day 1:

Day 14:


She's been with us for almost 1.5 years now and they all love each other, although she is still a bit too energetic for them sometimes, so sometimes gets growled at

It *might* be worth trying them together from the start for short amounts of time. If it doesn't look like any cat is about to get killed or badly mutilated then maybe leave them to sort it out. If things are looking really dicey then segregate and try again a day or so later until they get used to each other, or go with the introducing scents first thing.

They *will* get used to each other - it's just a matter of if it is mere tolerance, friendship or full on adoration.

What works for some cats and people doesn't always work for others... I don't think it's really a matter of credibility of the sources - they simply know what has worked for them in the past.

I would segregate initially. Both cats are coming in from different sources and you just dont know how they are going to react to being in a new, strange environment. Give it a couple of days, then gradually introduce at meal times under supervision.

Regards

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I got my two at almost the same time - brought them into the house just two days apart. It all depends on the personality of the cats, I think. Mikesch was eager to explore the house and made himself at home immediately and he would've loved to meet Binky right away. However, Binky was a bit scared and hiding and hissing at first, so I kept them separate for a while so he had a chance to settle in at his own pace. Each new room of the house took him about two days to work up the curiosity and courage to explore it. There's another good reason for keeping them separated at first: You want to make sure neither of the cats is sick or has parasites before introducing them to each other.

here's my experience from a total newbie about cats getting along lol. my bf and i moved in together, he brought his 14 yr old DSH, Forest. Forest seemed bored and started getting fat (was an outdoor cat at his old home). So I came across bengals and wanted one and thought "what a great playmate for Forest".

Turns out not so much, at first. When we brought Gizmo home for the first time, we just let him out of the carrier thinking everything would be fine and dandy. (had NO idea about seperating him for forest to get a smell of someone new) WRONG! hissing and spitting and swatting for the first few days, and gizmo hiding for 3 weeks and forest peeing almost everywhere...

after a month or so, they started playing but more of it was fighting. forest still peeing and gizmo still hiding but coming out to feed and play. got gizmo neutered after a month of having him when we realized he started spraying things. that seemed to calm him right down.

at about the 3 month mark, things started to settle down and not much chaos.

it is now at the 4 month mark and forest is now licking gizmo before they play. gizmo thinks he can eat first and forest obliges lol they watch video catnip together. play with da bird together.

we are finally relieved having a peaceful home with 2 cats. i think the major factor was forest being an only child for 14 years. and then this newcomer just barges in (our fault really), into his home.

hope that helped a bit

but the way i read your initial post it sounds like both cats are coming from the same shelter, so i would assume that they already know each other?

we had a female cat for around 14 years when we introduced her to a stray we took in. they both hated each other from day one, they hissed, fought, and spat at each other constantly, they ate at seperate times although i put their food down at the same time. I expect some cats are just destained not to get on.

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Hestia Gone but not forgotten, RIP sweet princess.
Zeus Gone but not forgotten, RIP big fella, our Nookie bear.