2 different breeds of cats = OK? And other cat questions

Makunouchi said:
A quick question here: how the hell do you go about buying a cat?

After my dog moved to france im thinking of getting a cat as i like something to look after and like having the company, but i dont want to go down to the local rescue center and pick up an ally cat, id rather get a certain breed that has tendancies that i like, but how do you go about searching for them?
Click to expand...

A lot of the breed clubs have regional "kitten coordinators" who keep records of all the breeders who have kittens available. If you contact them they can put you in touch with a suitable breeder. I did that when i got Lily, but had to go to the next region as there were none available in the NE. Ended up having to go to Doncaster. If you want something a little more unusual you will have to be prepared to travel.
 
They will probably be fine together - but you can never tell for sure.........it's not an exact science. Some cats get on famously (sometimes when you least expect it...) and other times they fight for the rest of their lives.

We have a 5 year old English Short Hair (Bailey), and then got a 1 year old Maine **** (Pook) when we moved over here. Bailey was not happy to start with - lots of hissing. But after a few days he was fine and now, 2 years on, they're best of friends - they chase each other everywhere, sleep together, eat together, wash each other :) You can never tell.

I'll probably get flamed, but letting cats roam around outside is cruel. Sure, they will get bored sometimes inside - but that's why you play with them and bond with them. 99% of the time they'll be happy. And as for the nonsense about it not being natural being indoors, well, there's nothing "natural" about cars and roads, poison, chavs, etc, either. Keeping a pet is always a compromise to some degree. Dog's would rather be running wild in a pack, for example.

And good luck if you get a Maine **** - they're a handful ;)
 
No good breeder will want you to let their cat outside, and most will have a clause in their contract saying you're not allowed to or they can take the cat back. It is dangerous for pedigree cats to go outside because they are partly bought for their looks and interesting personality, which means there's a much higher chance of a neighbour deciding to take it for themselves, not to mention that it's just generally dangrous to let cats out anyway.

If you like the Maine **** for their size, I'd also recommend looking at Ragdolls. I have two and they are wonderful cats. There is more chance of kittens getting on together if they have been together from the start than older cats, but it mostly depends on you introducing them properly.

I have one male and one female. My breeder warned me that in her experience, females are a lot more aloof and prefer men to women, which is definately true with mine! My boy is very cuddly and loves attention though.
 
Last edited:
Vixen said:
No good breeder will want you to let their cat outside, and most will have a clause in their contract saying you're not allowed to or they can take the cat back. It is dangerous for pedigree cats to go outside because they are partly bought for their looks and interesting personality, which means there's a much higher chance of a neighbour deciding to take it for themselves, not to mention that it's just generally dangrous to let cats out anyway.
Click to expand...

Thats insane. As for the danger, its much better for a cat to have a year of free life, being able to go outside when it wants and behave naturally for a cat, and then be run over, than 10 years of living inside 24/7. Thats my philosophy anyway, and the one i always applied to my dog and i think he had a better life for it.
 
Vixen said:
not to mention that it's just generally dangrous to let cats out anyway.
Click to expand...
It's generally dangerous to cross the road but we still do it.

Cats are outdoor animals, they aren't domesticated like dogs. Although I suppose you could argue that some "pedigree" cats have been bred to the point of being total house animals.
 
We are in a similar position getting 2 cats in June/July

we are getting a Bengal Boy and a British shorthair ( blue ) girl

Intend getting them fairly close together so that one doesn't get Territorial
 
sunama said:
Can cats be trained to be let out in the garden, but not stray outside of its vicinity?
Click to expand...

yes. we had a Bengal girl who loved going out on the garden but only ever accompanied, if we came in she would come in with us

as she loved the garden we only let her out through the patio doors, she would go mad when we got the keys to the patio door, the reason we did this is she never learnt that the normal house door also went to the garden so didn't try and go out that way
 
Vixen said:
No good breeder will want you to let their cat outside, and most will have a clause in their contract saying you're not allowed to or they can take the cat back. It is dangerous for pedigree cats to go outside because they are partly bought for their looks and interesting personality, which means there's a much higher chance of a neighbour deciding to take it for themselves, not to mention that it's just generally dangrous to let cats out anyway.
Click to expand...

Its interesting you say that. To this day, I have never seen an exotic/pedigree looking cat on the street. Ive seen countless mongies though. And also those cats that have been in many fights have patches of hair missing...you know the sort. ;)

Vixen said:
If you like the Maine **** for their size, I'd also recommend looking at Ragdolls. I have two and they are wonderful cats.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure. I feel the Ragdoll would quite literally get ripped apart by the Bengal when they play. The Maine **** is much more rugged and equipped to deal with the Bengal. The only other breed that I think would go well with a Bengal is the Egyptian Mau, as it, like the Bengal, is fast and agile, though it is a smaller breed.

Vixen said:
There is more chance of kittens getting on together if they have been together from the start than older cats, but it mostly depends on you introducing them properly.
Click to expand...

Thats what Im going to try and do. Introduce them to their new home, within a week or so apart.

At this stage, Im still keen on the Maine **** due to its size/strength and therefore its ability to handle the strength/bold nature of the Bengal.

Rotty said:
We are in a similar position getting 2 cats in June/July

we are getting a Bengal Boy and a British shorthair ( blue ) girl

Intend getting them fairly close together so that one doesn't get Territorial
Click to expand...

My intention is to introduce them to their new home within 1 week of eachother. I think I might've found an available male Bengal, but until I visit him and check him out, I wont know for certain.

Can I ask why you chose to pair your Bengal with a British shorthair and not any other breed or even another Bengal?

Makunouchi said:
As for the danger, its much better for a cat to have a year of free life, being able to go outside when it wants and behave naturally for a cat, and then be run over, than 10 years of living inside 24/7.
Click to expand...

I see your point. But, what happens if there is a high likelihood of your pet being stolen should you keep letting it outside, unsupervised? I know for a fact that a Bengal would go missing within a few days/weeks if I let it out. Its just too exotic/unusual looking. Moreover, they tend to be very bold and wont hesitate to walk upto complete strangers and get stroked. There is also the aspect that a big Bengal might be mistaken for a wild cat and could end up having the RSPCA called out for it to be taken away. Now, if you can get a pedigree cat that is scared of strangers, then you might be able to let the cat out.

Why is it that we never see any pedigree cats roaming the streets.
 
personally i would go with 2 sibling cats if their going to be left alone for long periods during the day.

from my experience my sister has 2 male cats from the same litter and they get along good and keep each other company.

2 of my cats are black and white brothers and they do every thing together which means they always have some thing to play with if a human is not around :)

my 3rd cat is a old tabby female that went blind a few months ago. when i first got the tabby she was picking on the black and white female kitten (died of cancer age 14 so we got the 2 brother ones) we got the week before and been pretty aggressive.

what helped with the aggression between my dead cat and the now blind tabby was waiting till one was sleeping and putting the less dominant one next to the sleeping nut job they ended up sleeping together and getting used to each others scent. Then the aggression from the tabby died down quite a bit.

siblings get on best from my experience than cats from different litters and types.

edit: all of the above cats i mentioned are normal house cats.

sorry if this is not the most coherent of posts i am pretty drunk at the moment.
 
Last edited:
Right, update time.

I went to a breeder who is based in Bournemouth, 100 miles away from where I live in London, yesterday. Damn, I hate travelling.

Breeders Website:
http://www.xclusivebengals.com/Xclusive Available.htm

Baby Boy One is the one I have reserved and can be seen here:
http://www.xclusivebengals.com/Latifah&Firedragonspetboys.htm

The breeder was knowledgable and enjoyed talking about his cats. I think I ended up spending over 2hrs at his place.

Anyway, here are 3 pics I took yesterday, of Baby Boy One, who is now 5 weeks old:

DVC01118a.jpg


DVC01121a.jpg


DVC01122a.jpg


While there, I saw the mother and father.

The mother had a rock solid temperment - she didnt even flinch when I first stroked her, which surprised me bearing in mind I was a complete stranger. She was a very good looking example of the Bengal breed.

The father was more orangey in colour, but was huge. He was about the most muscular cat I have ever laid eyes on. He was constantly on the cat wheel, while I was there. He was less laid back and was guarded by my presence, however, did not react adversely when I stroked him.

I also saw Baby Boy Two (see their website), though he was every so slightly smaller and his senses were perhaps sharper than the kitten I went for. He startled very easily and was a lot more weary of me. He was however, very comfortable with his owner.

The earliest I can bring him home is 3rd May 2008.

Now, all I need to do is find a Maine **** kitten, which is proving rather difficult.
 
Last edited:
The 2 month wait will give me time to find a playmate for him and get the house ready. I still need to get scratching posts, cat trees, toys, etc, though these wont take more than a week to bring in. The tough thing is finding the playmate.

I'm actually leaning towards the Egyptian Mau, as opposed to the Maine ****. The Maine **** has very long hair and I'm worried about having hair everywhere in the house. A shorter haired breed might be more appropriate.
 
sunama said:
Would it look homosexual ;) if I were to take these 2 cats out on a leash? Ive not seen this sort of thing.
Click to expand...

Many years ago I took one of my cats out on a leash, and it disapeared into the bushes whilst still on the lead. Just as this happened some yobbo with a devil dog came round the corner and nodded to me thinking I was taking my dog out. At this point my cat (Lucky) now decided to make an appearance from the bushes. I shall never forget the look on the ned's face as he seen Lucky on the leash, He probably got miles out fo that amongst his mates.

NEVER AGAIN.
 
Last edited:
Megahurtz400 said:
Get them both done as early as possible, as if you dont theyll just fight for control all the time.
Click to expand...

I presume you mean neutered?

The Bengal I reserved yesterday will be neutered at the same time that he has his 2nd set of innoculations at 12 weeks old. In this country though, the done thing seems to be neutering at around 5-6 months of age.
 
Baby Boy one lloks like he knows he's the boss!


My sister has a Maine **** cat and for a couple of years (the cat) never went outside. Now she (the cat) only wanders around the garden.

My parents always kept cats and having different breeds never bothered the cats.
 
Tomsk said:
Baby Boy one lloks like he knows he's the boss!
Click to expand...

He was the biggest of the litter, while Baby Boy Two was the smallest. Its too early to tell, how they will turn out though.

Tomsk said:
My sister has a Maine **** cat and for a couple of years (the cat) never went outside. Now she (the cat) only wanders around the garden.
Click to expand...

Does your sister have any problems with regards to the long hair of the Maine **** and getting too much hair all around the house. I like the temperment and size of the MC, but its long hair is putting me off.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom