Should I get my kitten a kitten?

[Meekie]

I have a seven month old Bengal. Despite her breed, I know little of her background but I do know she was crated with another cat as a young kitten, I'm assuming it was a sibling.

She appears to be a very gentle, affectionate cat. About a week ago, she snatched a stuffed moose and adopted it as her own. It's one of those gangly stuffed animals with long arms and legs and it almost looks like a cat. Sometimes because of those long limbs, for a second I'll mistake it for a cat!

She really likes it. Unlike my dearly departed Aniki and his stuffed tiger, she doesn't drag it around as prey. She cuddles with it, and last night I caught her wrestling with it...exactly the same way two cats will play fight. So I have three questions:

1. Is she trying to tell me something? I know Bengals require a lot of stimulation. She has loads of toys, two cat trees, and I spend several hours a day playing with her. If she wants me to and I am able, I will drop what I'm doing and engage with her. But my work schedule has increased since I got her (since before, actually, so me not being around four days a week isn't new to her) and I wonder if her treating the moose like another cat means he's lonely or if she's just being playful.

2. How are Bengals with other breeds? It was never my intention to get a Bengal. I always loved black cats and never had one but but she kind of fell into my lap and I took it as a sign and adopted her. She certainly is a wonderfully intense cat but I wonder if she might be too much to pair with a domestic shorthair, although I'm thinking that individual personality might have more to do with it than breed as far as compatibility goes...

3. This question is more of a request for an opinion: should I get another cat for her? After decades as a multiple cat owner, I really enjoyed this past year when it was just me and the last remaining cat of my last batch. He got all of my attention and I liked that. When we lost his housemates, he seemed to be really happy being an only cat, and I started thinking about all the positives of being a one-cat owner, most of them having to do with the singular attention a lone cat gets and the closeness that results. I wanted that for this new girl, but I have no idea what she wants.

To be honest, I felt a little guilty when I adopted her because I had been dreaming of that black cat for a while, and I sort of felt like I was letting him down when I got the Bengal. Silly, I know. But I believe in adopting rescues and thought of it as one more homeless cat that lost out on finding a good owner. Now I realize that if my cat is indeed lonely, I can have my black cat after all.

But I'm not 100% convinced I want one right now. Money is tight, and I'm not sure what the future holds as far as living arrangements. Adopting a cat is a big long term responsibility and while I'd like to make my girl happy, I'm not sure it would be fair to the new cat if I got him just for her and not me. Of course I'd love him and give him all the attention he wanted and more, but my heart isn't totally in it right now. The Bengal is still adapting (she was poorly socialized) and I'm enjoying the fact that I can focus all my time on her. Eventually, she'll settle in perfectly, but if she settles in too much, she might be less apt to accept another cat in her home, so I'm wondering if I should decide quickly so I can introduce a new cat while she's still a kitten.

I have a tremendous amount of love and respect for these animals so I'd be willing to put up with the financial strain and time constraints having another cat will bring. But most of all, I want her to be happy and not bored. Thoughts?

 

[ArtNJ]

If your not 100% convinced you want another cat, and your bengal seems happy . . . then there is no decision to be made. Millions of cats are perfectly happy as only cats. Cats are very adaptaptible creatures. If you were on the fence, then it would be proper to consider the benefits to your kitten -- and there likely would be some. Kittens this young always become friends, and notwithstanding how well only cats do, they obviously derive some benefits from having a friend.

I'm no Bengal expert, but supposedly they are within the ranges of other cats if they are at least 4 generations from the wild bengal. Apparently, initially, third generation Bengals were made pets, and with them the influence of the wild is still somewhat noticeable.

So my advice is to take a bit of time and decide if you actually want another cat.

 

[Meekie]

I probably will. My bengal is probably at least eight generations or so. Hard to tell regular bengal behavior from kitten behavior right now. She seems happy. She's very present with me; always wanting pets, always underfoot. I suppose it's because she's young, but I get the feeling I'm not giving her enough attention. Still, she does play with herself a lot, and I like the fact that when I pack up and go to bed for the night she doesn't try to rouse me from bed. She just hunts bugs. I get these beetles that come out when the lights go out.

She's sweet and gentle with me, but that doesn't mean she would be that way with another cat. Still, even if I wait a few years, a male kitten would certainly keep her busy.

 

[Silver Crazy]

Meekie Best thing you can do for a Bengal is a playmate, they are high energy and need someone to play with and best do it while the still a kitten. if you are going to get another Bengal try to get one from the breeder of your original one so you know temperament will be similar, if not get some other high energy breed that can keep up with the Bengal fun and games. And being kittens you wont have to go through the long drawn out introductions as you will have to do with adult cats.