A new cat to keep company to my 9 months Bengal?

[Kosta]

Hello there everyone!

Me and my gf have a Bengal cat, he is a neutered 9 months good boy, extremely playful and energic, he loves to go outside on a leash, he is viocal, loves water and so on. Basically he is almost everything I've read about Bengals! So, sometimes I feel a little bit sad for him given that me and my gf are outside home with standard working hours 9-5 Monday-Sunday. Basically he is alone most of the time

I strongly believe that he would love to have an other playful cat to play with. So I'm wondering if we should go all in and take an other cat.

We live in a spacious apartment but already with a cat there are toys and the litter and the food bowls here and there. It seems with 2 cats we should have 2 distinct feeding points with distinct bowls, one litter per each cat and so on.

First question, is this the case? This could be a problem..

Second, if we'll go this way, I believe to have understood the best would be to find a playful and energic female cat of similar age of our Bengal, so similar age and similar temperament. Is this correct?

Please let me have your precious feedbacks, we'd probably go to the shelter this time looking for such a cat.. we can discuss with the shelter the situation and they could let us have a couple of weeks to see how things go. If the cats cannot stay together, we can bring the second one back. But I would totally avoid this ending if possible!!

 

[Kieka]

To the first, yes to two litter boxes if you have the space. Food and water dishes are different. If you feed wet meals then yes, separate food dishes. If you free feed then both cats can share one. Water, they can share a dish without problem just make sure you keep it clean and full.

To the second, it doesn't have to be a female of similar temperament. I prefer two males although some people advocate for male/female (I'd stay away from two females but that's my own bias from my experiences and I know others who say females together is fine). What you are looking for is a omplementary temperament, which isnt always the same. You do want similar energy levels because have one bouncy and one who hates playing isn't good. But opposites can work well as long as energy is similar. I have three cats and they all have different personalities that blend together well. There are moments when they disagree but they are always there for each other. I'd focus on 6 months to a year, high energy male personally. A Bengal is high energy and you'll want another cat who can keep up and isn't too much older.

 

[Kat0121]

To the first, yes to two litter boxes if you have the space. Food and water dishes are different. If you feed wet meals then yes, separate food dishes. If you free feed then both cats can share one. Water, they can share a dish without problem just make sure you keep it clean and full.

To the second, it doesn't have to be a female of similar temperament. I prefer two males although some people advocate for male/female (I'd stay away from two females but that's my own bias from my experiences and I know others who say females together is fine). What you are looking for is a omplementary temperament, which isnt always the same. You do want similar energy levels because have one bouncy and one who hates playing isn't good. But opposites can work well as long as energy is similar. I have three cats and they all have different personalities that blend together well. There are moments when they disagree but they are always there for each other. I'd focus on 6 months to a year, high energy male personally. A Bengal is high energy and you'll want another cat who can keep up and isn't too much older.

I agree with this. Especially the litter boxes. The general rule is 1 box per cat plus one extra. IF you have the room, that would be ideal.

I say do get him a companion. I'd look for one of a similar age. Either gender would be fine IMO but a female would likely assert herself as alpha. If you don't think that will be an issue for him, go for it. I do have 2 females and they do fine but that could be due to the fact that they have been together all their lives. We did have a male for a while too but he passed away. He got along fine with the girls but I think he knew better than to test their patience. He had been in a shelter for a long time and knew how to deal with cats of different personalities.