How do I introduce an adult Bengal cat to our household pets?

Question

My hubby and I are experienced pet people, but this is a toughie. We have several cats and 2 St. Bernards, and want to adopt an adult Bengal cat. How can we make this easier? The cat is at a shelter now, because his last owner fed him kibble and now he has irritable bowel -- his foster mom says he's doing great on a raw diet. He's also declawed -- which may actually make it easier to integrate him into our 'family'. I don't want him to hurt any of our 'babies', but I also don't want to bring him home and then find out it's impossible to integrate them. Any ideas?

Answer 1

Had one once as a rehome cat. IT was a horrid experience. Eventually had it euthanized. I would exercise a LOT of caution!!! Declawing can make a cat more prone to biting. Do not leave them all alone for a LONG time. Good luck. I would NEVER take on a Bengal again.

Answer 2

My best recommendation is to research EVERYTHING further.... I have seen cats adopted from shelters as "Bengals" and they were domestic short hair tabbies with a little more feral look. Are you positive the cat is a Bengal? I have done purebred rescue work as well as bred and shown for 15 years and honestly most shelter workers and volunteers do NOT know their breeds. Second IBS, or irritable bowel, will not be caused by kibble. Bengals are a bred of domestic felines and have the same diet requirements as ANY house cat. Bengals were developed from the Asian Leopard cat but are not a wild species.

They are a DOMESTIC cat breed that has a special look and coat from the introduction of the wild genes, but are so many generations out they no longer wild. They can have more natural instincts than other breeds but are by no means wild, and would not be accepted by cat associations to be shown if they were wild.
Introducing a Bengal to your home would be like introducing any other new cat.

Raw diets run their own risk, and supplements should be used.... research completely before adopting this as your cats full diet.

Answer 3

Bengal cat as in Bengal Tiger? If that is the case I would not worry about integrating it into your little family of pets as if it is in fact a Bengal Tiger you will not have any say in the matter the cat will decide if it wants to integrate into your little family and if it decides it does not like your other pets you may find some of your current pets will go missing as a snack for your new house guest as BIG cats are territorial especially the males.

IN CONCLUSION : DON'T DO IT UNLESS YOU ARE PREPARED TO LOOSE SOME OF YOUR CURRENT PETS, DECLAWED OR NOT A TIGER IS A VERY BIG AND DANGEROUS ANIMAL WITH SHARP TEETH AND POWERFUL JAWS.

Answer 4

Personally I think that introducing a kitten would be easier for your cats than an older cat because the kitten is younger, then yes your tortie calico might find her less of a threat. Also something else I would do would be to slowly introduce the kitten to your cats. Like maybe have them together for 20 minutes at first and a week period or so have them together for more and more time. Hope that helps!

Answer 5

Hi there !!!! First I must tell you how much I LOVE saint bernards, I use to have one when I was just 4 years old . We lived in Long Island, NY and daddy purchased hester from a breeder. She was the most lovable baby ever.

I would take 2 blankets and give them to the people at the shelter to give it to the cat. The blankets will get the scent of the cat, I would take this blanket and let your babies at home get close to you, with these blankets, and get use to the scent of the new guy. I would then take a blanket and allow the scent to be impermeated on the blankie from your babies at home and take this blankie to the new guy at the shelter, so he can get use to their scent as well.

When the new baby gets there, introduce the new guy little by little. I would go to the website of this man from tv, the dog whisperer, he seems to know a lot about situations like this.

I wish you and the new member of your family a very wonderful holiday season.

Love and light

Answer 6

One word. Dont.
The cat may be best in a farm type of environment with lots of space so that it may find sanctuary when he feels threatened,

Answer 7

This is the advice I give to all of my pet owners:

How do you successfully introduce a new cat into your household if you already have other pets? As cats can be territorial creatures, bringing a new kitty home to meet Fido or Fluffy can be a hair-raising experience for not only the owner but also the resident pets—if not handled correctly. A peaceful relationship between new and existing feline or canine housemates requires time, patience and work. The introduction process generally takes a few weeks before the pets are all cohabitating peacefully. At times, though, it can take several weeks. The trick is to do it slowly and cautiously…and follow the guidelines below.
Isolate the new cat in a separate “Safe Room”. That is closed off from the other pets (make sure the door is securely shut and doesn’t open easily). This smaller, confined area will help the new cat to feel safe and adjust more quickly to his new home. Provide a litter box, scratching post, toys, food, and water in the new cat’s room. This separation will also give your current pets time to get used to the new cat’s smell and the idea of having a new occupant in the house. During the first week, the only interaction that your new cat and resident cats should have is playing paws under the door.

Remember. cats like routine, not change Your resident cats’ behavior may initially change when you first bring the new cat home. Most common is hissing, growling, hiding or fighting among resident pets. Your current cats may even act differently toward you by displaying aggression or ignoring you all together. With your new cat in his “safe room,” the new and resident cats will all have the opportunity to become familiar with each others’ scents while safely separated by a door. As they begin to acclimate to each other, the cats will feel less threatened and, with time, the negative behavior should dissipate.

Always introduce a new cat to the resident cats before introducing him to the resident dog(s). In most cases, the cat to cat introductions will be more harried, with the cat to dog introductions being somewhat easier.
Introducing Cats
The new cat and resident cats should have no face-to-face interaction for the first week. This will allow the new cat time to get comfortable with his new environment and family. The stress of a new environment can cause a cat to show signs of an upper respiratory infection (watch for sneezing, eye or nose discharge) or diarrhea. Watch to make sure that the new cat is eating well, drinking and using the litter box. In almost every case, a cat that does not use his litter box is suffering from a medical condition. Any instance of inappropriate elimination (outside of the litter box) should be followed up with a visit to the vet.

After keeping the new cat in a room of his own for the first week, start introducing the smells of each cat to the other. You can do this by brushing all of the cats with the same brush to get their scents on each other. Also, try feeding them each a special treat on either side of the door. Doing so will help each cat to associate the smell of the other cat with the positive experience of eating the treat (usually wet food works best). You may want to have your resident cats go into the new cat’s room (and visa versa) when he is not there to help them get acclimated to his scent.

After introducing smells for a few days, when you are ready for the first face-to-face introduction, put the new cat in his carrier and let the resident cats come into the “safe room.” This will give you an opportunity to observe the interaction among the cats while the new cat is protected in his carrier.

Usually with this initial meeting there will be some hissing and/or posturing. If the interaction seems as though it could lead to aggression, you will need to do this controlled introduction using the carrier a few more times before removing the barriers and allowing the cats to meet face-to-face. If the cats all appear to be curious or simply wary with no outward signs of aggression, then you can open the carrier door and let the new cat walk out into the territory of the resident cats. Do not rush this process. It is very important to the long term harmony of their relationship that the introduction process proceed at a pace comfortable for each of the cats.

Monitor all interactions closely during the first weeks. Do not leave the cats alone unsupervised until you are comfortable that there will not be aggressive behavior displayed by any of the cats. During the first few weeks, the new cat should stay in his “safe room” when no one is home to supervise.

If interaction among the cats deteriorates instead of improving, return the new cat to his “safe room.” At this point you will need to start the introduction process again, this time, taking more time at each stage.
Introducing a Cat and Dog

When you bring a new cat into your house, you need to set up a “safe room” where the cat can stay for at least the first week. The room chosen must have a door and should be in a quiet part of the house. You will need to provide access to food, water, litter box, and scratching post at all times (see first bullet point above for more details). If you have cats as well as dogs in your home, the cats should have already been successfully introduced to the newcomer before initiating introduction of the new cat to your dogs.

There should be no face-to-face interactions between the new cat and resident dog for the first week. Bring the cat into the house in his carrier and take him directly to his “safe room.”

Don’t introduce the cat to any other pets until he has settled in and seems to be comfortable with the human members of the household. This comfort will be evidenced by the cat becoming interactive with you when you enter his “safe room.” Many cats will initially hide for a couple of days when brought to a new home, but will soon become comfortable if given time and space.

When your new cat seems to be comfortable with you, it is time to start the introductions with your dog. During these introductions, the dog should always be crated or on leash, allowing the cat to approach the dog on his own terms. This may well be the first time that the cat is outside of his “safe room.” Allow him to explore at his own pace and approach the dog if he is comfortable doing so. All introductions should be supervised and conducted during quiet times of the day.

Carefully watch the first contact between cat and dog. Let them sniff each other. Be ready with a towel or squirt gun in case of any aggressive behavior. The situation should be fairly well controlled, though, because the dog will be confined in his crate or on a leash. If either animal displays aggressive or fearful behavior, separate them immediately. Try again later (possibly the next day) after things have calmed down.

If the initial meeting goes well, you will still want to repeat the encounter several times under controlled circumstances before letting the animals roam freely in the house or leaving them together unsupervised.

If your new cat is a small kitten, take special precautions whenever the cat and dog are together. A large dog may not intend to harm a kitten, he simply may not know his own strength or understand the fragility of a young kitten.

Be sensitive to the fact that some dog breeds are naturally not good at cohabitating with cats—certain breeds may instinctually be driven to chase or act aggressively toward a cat. You will need to evaluate your pet’s personality and determine if he is an exception to the general rule for his breed. Take extra time and care when introducing the two animals—always under close supervision. Be aware that your dog may behave better when you are present, so allow ample time for supervised interactions before letting them to be alone together.