Find your diamond
Find your jewelry
shape
carat
color
clarity

Would like to add another Kitty into our family

Maisie

Maisie

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Dec 30, 2006
Messages
12,596
We have had Gracie for over a year now and would love to bring another furbaby into our family. I would like another Bengal, not because I have anything against a shelter kitty, but because I love the breed and would love another one.

Would I be better off with a Kitten? Can I get another female or would a male be better? How do I introduce them? I want to be sure I have all the information beforehand so we can go into this all clued up so that everyone knows what to expect.

Thank you for any advice. :)




0063954169894c0a7da61314d3cde8358fa9a0fbcf67c48c14094eb110a587b5e86ff5f4.jpg
 
This is how it went for me:

Adopted 2 boys from same litter. (One was stolen before he reached 9 months.)

2 years later adopted female kitten.

1 year later found male kitten in our ditch.

1 year later we had to take a male kitten as he was going to be drowned.


We had advice to get female or male at this age or that but having ignored all advice because cats just came along it all worked out fine. There can be a bit of hoo ha where the kitten hides and the adult looks as if there is an elephant in the room but all in all as long as you put down enough food and have enough space for two then go ahead. You will be fine.
 
Thanks Steal. How awful that one of your babies was stolen. That must have been horrible for you. And the little one who was going to be drowned.... I can't bear to think about it.
 
Maisie,

That is so great that you want to add another furball to the mix. My DH and I adopted our 2nd cat when my big guy was 6, and I can't believe that it took us so long to do that. Our big guy is so much happier being left alone when there is someone else around.

As far as bringing a new member into your family, we heard from some that same sex is better while others told us that opposite is better. I don't think you can go wrong either way, so long as your current male kitty is nutered. When you bring the new one home, you need to keep them separated in the beginning (maybe a couple days), all the while, giving them supervised time to meet eachother and get to know their smells, etc. Once they are happy with eachother and don't hiss, act agressive, or anything of the like, they should be good to go. Do be warned though that the new member could bring some new germs, so be prepared for a little cold from one or both of them. Also make sure they each have their own bowls and litter boxes (if possible).

I'm sure there are a million other hints and tips, but feel free to ask specific questions if you have them.

Congrats and good luck finding a new fuzzy baby! :appl:
 
I haven't read the other replies yet, so I may be repeating some advice. Here's what we did:

We have two cats now, but we got them as kittens a couple months apart (they're not siblings). We got our female kitten when she was 9 weeks old. Two months later, we decided to get another kitten, and someone happened to have two kittens that they were looking to give away. If we didn't already have our female, we would have gotten both of these kittens. But because we already had a girl, we chose to take the boy. I had heard that having two female cats wasn't a good idea (I'm not sure why though.). We took our male kitten home when he was about 7 weeks old.

We had heard and read about introducing animals slowly, but we didn't really do that. We kept our male kitten in his carrier in the living room while our female sniffed and hissed a bit. After a while I opened the carrier and took the new addition out (but held onto him). I let our female get used to him that way. After a while, I put him down to see what would happen. At the time, my attitude was "well, they need to get used to each other some time." I was probably a little too casual in my approach but nothing happened. It took a bit of time for them to get used to each other but it worked out just fine. The new kitten has a big attitude, and it didn't take long for him to show his new sister that he was the new big man on campus. :bigsmile:

Gracie is beautiful!
 
There was very little interest between Gracie and my Labrador Blossom when I introduced them. Is it likely that there will be more interest or dislike between Gracie and a new cat?

The cat and dog ignore each other most of the time. Its a nice co-existance. I have a large dog cage, would it be useful for the new cat to be in there after after a few days of separation or would that be too intimidating for the introduction?
 
I'm not sure why, but I would think that there may be more interest on Gracie's part because you're bringing in a new one of her, if that makes sense.

The dog crate sounds like it might be a good idea.

My sister has a cat and when her roommate brought home a kitten (this was years ago), they kept the kitten in a crate in one of their bathrooms. They didn't even let on that there was a new animal in the house. Every time they wanted to spend time with the kitten (which was often!), they hung out in the bathroom. After a few days, they brought the cat up to the bathroom but kept the door closed. The kitten was brought out of its carrier, and the two sniffed each other as best they could under the door. They'd repeat that for a few days. Then, they did the same thing but put the kitten in the carrier with the bathroom door open. Slowly, they inched their way towards opening the crate's door and let the kitten and the cat get used to each other that way. It might seem like overkill, but it worked for them.

As I said, I wasn't quite so careful or slow about the process, and the way I did it worked for my kittens. I guess it might come down to how well you think Gracie will react to another cat there.
 
Gracie spends most of her time in my bedroom so the new kitty would have to go in the living room. Gracie does come down here but not all the time. I am really tempted to get a kitten. Gracie is lovely but she is quite a quiet cat and doesn't like being cuddled. It would be nice to have a cat who likes to sit on my lap and be loved!

I wonder if adult cats are more accepting of kittens. But I would also worry that Gracie might be a bit rough with the baby. She does walk around like she owns the house upstairs and if Blossom is around she gives her evils till she walks away again. :lol:
 
I do agree it would likely be easier to get a cat that's visibly younger, smaller, and/or meeker thank Gracie - it sounds like she rules the roost, and it would probably be easier for both to not 'mess around' with the existing pecking order

We have three cats. We adopted two of them (siblings) as kittens, one girl and one boy. Our girl is an incredibly laid back cat, the boy is big, strong, and high-strung. We found a stray and fostered her, and decided to keep her as she gets along with our two fabulously, but she's much smaller than our boy.. we think if she'd been bigger or more agressive with him acclimating them would have been much harder.
 
Well, Maisie, of course you know I'm not gonna discourage you, don't you???!! ;)) :)) :bigsmile:

I agree that a kitten would probably be easiest for Gracie to accept. Either sex would be fine, although I'm sure you plan to have it spayed/neutered anyway.

There's LOADS of info on the internet on introducing a new cat into a home where there is already a resident kitty. It's very important that introductions be done slowly and carefully... it really increases your chances of a successful long-term relationship between the cats.

Regarding getting another Bengal... I totally understand being in love with a breed and wanting two!!! :halo: Gracie was a rescue Bengal, no? Any chance of finding another one? Or what about considering a different breed (I think you'd LOVE a Raggie!!! :devil: )... or maybe just visit your local shelters and find a homeless kitty that *speaks* to you? My daughter got a WONDERFUL moggie from a local rescue group that had fostered her (the kitten), so she was VERY well socialized, healthy, FIV and FeLV tested (and negative) and is a pure DELIGHT!

Please keep us posted!!! How exciting!!! :appl:
 
If my parents introduced a second cat when Dutchess was 8 and there was no bloodshed, anyone can do it. Bengals are lovely cats, but they are not known as lap cats generally. If you want a cuddler, you really might want a ragdoll. A friend of mine got one as a rescue and I have never known a cat so friendly. It wasn't that Hershey demanded attention, but if you touched her she threw herself into it and if you picked her up she went totally limp. She also loved laps and I understand this is pretty common for raggies.

If you do go with a breeder, ask them for something with the smell of the kitten on it before he/she comes home. It will allow you baby to get used to the smell so everything doesn't seem so foreign to her. I have heard having different sexes helps, but having introduced both same and opposite sex, I didn't see a difference.

I really think you current baby will be happier. Having someone around when people are not really does make them happier. My parent's Dutchess was quite destructive when we would leave orvernight but as soon as we got a second cat, it stopped completely and we had tried everything else for years. My younger cat freaks out when the older one is not around (some vet visits), but goes right back to normal as soon as she comes home.
 
Our Oriental Shorthair male is six months old.
We're awaiting the birth of his siblings any time now from the only breeder in our state.
We love the breed and he definitely needs a companion.
Our 15 year old tabby female rescue kitty does NOT want to play.
In the past we have adopted a retired Queen and would do so again if one was available,

My only advice would be not to leave a new kitten alone with adult cats till you are sure
they will be safe.
Also I had my tabby sleep on the bedding I put in the carrier so the kitten would get used to
her smell on the ride home.
 
We have 2 Burmese boys, Tinka was about 4 when we brought Jet home. We had planned to keep them seperated for a few days but as our house is mostly open living it was too hard and we introduced them a few hours after bringing Jet home. I was a little worried with how Tinka would react as when my mums older cat came to stay with us for a few weeks he was very territiorial and agressive, but Tinka was actualy scared of the kitten! So funny. They were playing with each other by that night and only took about 2 days until they were sleeping with each other.

The Breeder actually gave us a really good tip for introducing them to each other and i think it helped with the smooth transition.
Hold the kittens head cupped in your hands and rub your thumbs over their face from the mouth and over the head, making sure that you get some saliva on your hands. Then do the same with older cat, this transfers the kittens scent onto the older cat, then once you have done the same to the older cat, you go back and do it to the kitten again to transfer the older cats scent. When they meet they will already be familiar with the scents and will be less likely to react badly.

I think if you want a 'lap cat' i would probably steer away from the breed that you already have and choose something that will be more inclined to like cuddles. :))
 
Thank you all for the very useful advice. I have noted it all down and will put it all into practice!

I do have the opportunity to rehome another ex breeder from the place I got Gracie. She is a beautiful 3 year old seal mink snow Bengal with a lovely calm personality. I am emailing with the breeder and will let you all know if we get her :love:
 
I didn't really choose the retired momma cat. She chose me.
When we went to the breeder to pick out our kitten she sat in
my lap and wouldn't budge.The breeder asked if we wanted to take her too and we said yes.
She was a great joy to us for he next ten years.
 
Maisiebelle said:
Thank you all for the very useful advice. I have noted it all down and will put it all into practice!

I do have the opportunity to rehome another ex breeder from the place I got Gracie. She is a beautiful 3 year old seal mink snow Bengal with a lovely calm personality. I am emailing with the breeder and will let you all know if we get her :love:
Click to expand...

Yay for getting another Bengal!

I think rehoming another ex-breeder would be a great idea as long as the two cats' personalities mix. Since it's from the same breeder, maybe you can ask her what she thinks - I know some of the ex-breeders up for adoption from various places are recommended to go to homes that don't have other cats. If the breeder thinks Gracie and the new girl will do well though, that sounds great.

Pics? :) I want another Bengal! Maybe someday I'll get the boys another kitten to play with - I'm thinking silver or snow Bengal :P
 
I have spoken to the breeder and we have agreed on a kitty. She will be coming to us in a couple of weeks. Her posh name is Dizzy Blonde but will rename her once we think of a pretty one.

I will try to attach a photo... I am not good at this so I hope it works.

Pic courtesy of Glitterglam Bengals.

new_kitty_for_maisie.jpg
 
Congratulations.
She is breathtakingly beautiful
 
Congrats! Oh she's beautiful!!! I'm so jealous, I wish I could get another kitty already! She's sooooo lovely!
 
Oh Maisie what a beauty! I can't wait to see more pics when you get her!
 
I can't wait to meet her! She is so beautiful! I think you should get another Bengal BEG! And you too Pinkstars, get another kitty too!! Lets all have new cats! :appl:
 
Maisie, she's BEAUTIFUL!!
 
She's gorgeous. Good luck introducing her to the family.
 
OHMYGOSH, Maisie! She's GORGEOUS!!! :love: :love: :love: Oh, you are so lucky to have found her!

I wish you and your children (and Miss Gracie, too!) all the best when she comes home! Please keep us posted!!! :appl:

SOOOOOOO exciting!!!
 
She looks beautiful.

Did you get to meet her yet?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
GET 3 FREE HCA RESULTS JOIN THE FORUM. ASK FOR HELP
Jewelry Blog
PriceScope-Concierge-Ad
Find prime cuts.
Top