3rd cat?

[LibbyLongtree]

Hi, I would like some views on getting a third cat/kitten.

We have two cats, a maine coon girl and a bengal boy, both around two years old.

Backstory, we got the maine coon and a bengal boy two years ago, they were four days apart in age. They were very close, played together, groomed each other and slept together on our bed. Unfortunately we lost the bengal at seven months old to HCM.

The maine coon has always been a timid and nervous cat, disappears when non family members are around, panics when the doorbell rings, etc.

We bought another bengal kitten a couple of weeks after we lost the first. He is a completely different character, much more boisterous and confident. He is a very affectionate lap cat. He does seem to be most attached to me, mine is the first lap he chooses and he sleeps on me at night.

An issue we have is that the bengal likes to play fight and can go over the top and the maine coon just isn't interested in this. This seems to result in a chase round the house with the maine coon panicking and trying to escape (she gets out through the cat flap by which time the bengal appears to lose interest). Sometimes there has been a full on fight before she runs. When he's calm the maine coon will sometimes go and lick him but he always ends up biting her. More often than not if he approaches the maine coon she hisses at him even if he isn't in 'attack' mode. I'm concerned that she is on edge a lot of the time and she is certainly less affectionate than she used to be.

We are contemplating getting another bengal kitten/young cat in the hope that the two bengals will pal up and leave the maine coon alone. I also hope she would warm to a potentially less over the top cat and have a relationship similar to the one she had with our first bengal. However, I am worried that they would both end up picking on her.

I am also concerned that another cat will destabilise the relationship I have with the bengal (my husband eye-rolls at this!).

Apologies, this turned out much longer than expected, thanks if you got this far!

Any views or experiences would be much appreciated.

[Barch1]

I think you would be better leaving it at 2. Multi cat households can be very frightening for timid cats. My 2 rescue cats are from the same litter and really just tolerate each other. If for any reason one is left on their own (vet) then the other is very happy and content. If anything were to happen to them, god forbid, and I decided to get another I would just get one. However as I say mine are moggies, so perhaps pedigree cats may differ.

[LibbyLongtree]

Thank you for your replyBarch1

I think we're coming round to your view. I've had a chat with the breeder. It seems that it would largely depend on what temperament a new cat has.... She's given me some ideas to wear him out more and we'll try to make sure he gets enough time outdoors. The last thing we want is to stress the girl out even more.