4 month old Bengal X

[catslave23]

Hi everyone,

Hoping to tap into some of the knowledge base on here.

I have a beautiful 4 month old bengal X kitten. She came from a registered breeder of bengals but during a house move the mum got out and came home pregnant. We don't know what she is crossed with obviously.

Mum was absolutely lovely and the kitten has been with us a month now and is a very sociable loving friendly and playful cat.

However she is very very affectionate which I absolutely love and wouldn't change for the world but she is pining for affection all the time. She sleeps on the end of the bed which is fine, is very much a lap cat which is perfect, always playing with the kids which again is great. However when we're out she obviously misses us a lot and we return to her meowing at us constantly and licking and possing us endlessly. This can go on for a couple of hours.

I have been off work pretty much since we got her but will be going back next week. I'm worried how she will cope.

My question is should we get another cat for company? Is she lonely? Or is she just making the most of our return and is a generally affectionate cat?

I wanted to get two (litter mates) but when we arrived to view the breeder said someone else had called and reserved the other one that was available.

I've always previously had ragdol cats and always in a pair of litter mates so got lots of experience with cats but not bengal and not solo cat ownership.

Would love to hear people's views to help me decide what is best.

I had a Bengal, I wouldn’t get her a friend they can be fiercely territorial.

Pay the photo tax please.

I personally like keeping cats in pairs. I have two bengals and they spent a lot of time playing together when younger. Yes they did fight more as they got older, but you'd always find them curled up together at the end of the day.

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Oh she’s beautiful!

I have a tabby/Bengal cross too and she is also insanely affectionate. She will actually come running when I call her for cuddles 😍.

We also have her sister (ostensibly DDs cat) and that works really well (although mine does a great line in RBF if I give her sister too much fuss!)

At four months and taking into account that she’s a cross and then Bengals like a lot of stimulation, I would probably look at introducing another kitten of a similar age.

Thank you, she's beautiful.
You might just find she sleeps while you are working, and is more demanding when you're home.
Time will tell.

She gets a LOT of attention. My boys are age 4 and 1 and adore playing with her with balls and dangle toys and she is always up for playtime.
We have lots of toys etc for her and lots of things to climb etc.
we live quite rurally and she will soon be allowed outdoors. She is due to be spay in a couple of weeks and microchipped whilst she is under.
She's now fully vaccinated.
As soon as she is spay she will be allowed to explore the outdoors which will hopefully add another aspect of stimulation for her.

I am seriously considering getting another young ish kittten for company but I guess my worry is what if she doesn't like it or vise versa and she loses the free run of the home to a cat she doesn't like. She's a very happy cat and (except for the neediness) she is showing us she is a happy content little thing

@MintyCedric oh how beautiful!! Yes this sounds very familiar. Our girl will meow looking for us and when you call her she runs to jump up on our lap and get some attention or play.

She's beautiful 😍
It's pot luck introducing cats. Sometimes they bond. Sometimes they hate each other. More often than not they just co-exist with no real preference either way.
Your chances of them being buddies is higher when they're little, so if you do decide to get another sooner is best, but it's still a gamble.
I 'm sure she'll be fine when you're at work, cats are much more in the 'now' than dogs. She'll probably saunter off and sleep all day.

@amylou8 I definitely think it's this that is bothering me. I think it's more a kitten issue and perhaps the answer is not another cat because as you've said it's such a gamble and she is otherwise so settled and happy I'd hate to disrupt that.
She has slotted into our family just perfectly and I'd hate to disrupt it all or make it an unhappy or stressful environment for her or any other kitten. I'd also worry that the new kitten wouldn't have me at home during that settling period which I think it's unfair.

I think I need to look at other options. I think I could probably pop home on a lunch break for the first few days to check in with her and then ease her in gradually. She's been left for a few hours whilst I've been out & about with the kids so it would break the day up for her.

If she struggles I guess I could look into some kind of pet care company coming in and doing an hours play time and company for her. I presume this exists the same way as dog walking or day care does.

I think once she is out of the kitten phase I agree she's likely to be content to sleep or mooch off whilst we're out and she'll get lots of attention when we're back.

I also think that perhaps when she is able to go outside she'll have plenty to explore if she gets bored without us.