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

sunama said:
I was going to do this. In effect, starve him into submission. The problem is he will end up eating less and wont develop as quickly and as strong as if he is given the diet of his choice.



I was given a full compliment of many different dry foods by Reflex's breeder. 6 different brands. He didnt like any of them. When I brought out a new packet, he would eat a few mouthfuls and then turn away. The wet food was the only thing he ate with a passion. He loves real chicken.
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If you persevere I'm sure they will get used to it. Initially if I put down Applaws and dry food Lily would wolf down the Applaws first. Now if I put down Applaws and James Wellbeloved it's 50/50 which one she would go to first.
 
sunama said:
My 2 will only eat dry food if they are starving and even then, only a few mouthfulls. When I bring out the wet food though, they eat like a horse.

What made you switch to the dry food and how old is your cat?
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One of my cats was the same when I first got her, it was because very small kittens are frequently only fed wet food, and she hadn't been on dry food very long. I had to trick her into eating dry food by hiding it in with meat, but it worked and now she can't get enough of the stuff.

I think that longer term it's much easier for yourself and your cats to feed dry, as it means you can free feed them and you'll be able to go away overnight. I really wouldn't recommend leaving them dry food if you have to go away if they're not used to it, as you don't want to stress them out when they're alone.
 
Sorry skipped a lot of the last few pages (looking at the piccys too much :D) but what have you named the Bengal?

BTW loving the sound of his character trying it on with Reflex :p Sounds like a plukey little fellow :)
 
Tefal said:
Sorry skipped a lot of the last few pages (looking at the piccys too much :D) but what have you named the Bengal?
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Not sure at the moment. I dont like the generic names like Max, Tigger, etc. I want to give him a name that suits his personality or physical characteristics. Ive only had him for 3 days and so far Ive noticed that he:

is extremely vocal and loud
is brave, bold and fearless (but gets beat up by Reflex)
has fantastic jaw grip (much more so than Reflex)
is very affectionette and friendly
has big paws

How about Bigfoot?

Tefal said:
BTW loving the sound of his character trying it on with Reflex :p Sounds like a plukey little fellow :)
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The Bengal makes a lot of noise. If he is left alone in the room, he screams and shouts at the top of his voice. When Reflex goes to attend he quietens down. At this point he is a little insecure I think. When Reflex attacks him, he screams and shouts - which makes it sound worse than it really is. Reflex stays silent during the playfight. He has chased Reflex a few times today and at feeding time he dominates the bowl. Reflex lets him have the best feeding position, but when feeding time ends, Reflex lets him have it.
 
Vixen said:
I had to trick her into eating dry food by hiding it in with meat,
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Ive done this with Reflex, but the more dry food I put with the meat/wet food, the less likely he is to eat it. And when I go completely dry, he sniffs it, and walks away.

Vixen said:
I think that longer term it's much easier for yourself and your cats to feed dry,
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Yep. Not to mention its cheaper too. Wet food has high transportation costs, which the cat owner ends up paying.
 
I wouldn't go down the 100% wet food road tbh as it can and lead to a large build of tartar on the teeth which will need scraping off by the vet later in life, dry food being quite hard keeps it in check. Our two are on 3 different flavs of Royal Canin complimented every now and then with some treat (although Ruby wont touch fish or wet food at all so she gets Natural yoghurt).

sunama, what dry food did you try them on, was it for kittens ? I remember murray wouldnt touch dry kitten food when he was little but used to eat ruby's dry food (he's very naughty though) maybe get a small packet of normal dry when they are a bit older and see how they are with that.

are you planning on keeping them in full time ?
I only ask because if you do you should consider slightly lowering their calorie intake as they wont burn off as much as a cat outside.

Oh and before i forget, you may already know (no one told us) you may find the odd tooth on the floor as they approach 20 - 30 old as (obviously when you think about it) they have a milk teeth (as do all mammals)

LOAM
 
LOAM said:
sunama, what dry food did you try them on, was it for kittens ?
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Yep kitten dry food.
James Wellbeloved
Royal Canin
Hills Science
Orijen

When fed on their own, none of them went down well. The minute I brought out the wet food, they couldnt get enough of it.

LOAM said:
are you planning on keeping them in full time ?
I only ask because if you do you should consider slightly lowering their calorie intake as they wont burn off as much as a cat outside.
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Yep, indoor cats. Once they hit 9-12 months, I will bring down their food intake, though this would depend on their size, their fatness, etc. While they are kittens though, I feel it is important to give them as much food as they want. This hasnt done Reflex any harm.

LOAM said:
Oh and before i forget, you may already know (no one told us) you may find the odd tooth on the floor as they approach 20 - 30 old as (obviously when you think about it) they have a milk teeth (as do all mammals)
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is that 20-30 months old?
 
Hehehe. The cat tree you mean.

Rotty got one from the same supplier as me.

I got mine off of ebay for about £75 inc delivery. I think mine was the biggest available, but you can get varying sizes. Check out Rotty's thread, as he has pics of it and said that you can pick his one up for around £50.

Goto ebay, Item number: 220231967121.

Obviously if you go for something else, make sure you check out the dimensions of the thing as pictures can be deceptive.
 
Update time.

The Bengal has settled in nicely. He no longer hisses or growls when Reflex wrestles with him. Its all done very quietly now. I would say it took about 3-4 days.

Also, where initially, Reflex really hammered home the point that he is the more dominant, now he is a lot more relaxed and allows the Bengal to chase him and take the lead during their wrestling matches. However, from time to time, Reflex always like to show who is boss.

I might also add that the Bengal has picked up his speed. He isnt as slow anymore. Reflex tends to stand back and let the Bengal play with the toys. All Reflex wants to do now is wrestle with his new playmate - he shows very little interest in toys now.

And here are some piccies of the 2:

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Here is one of them sleeping. Reflex still maintains his dominance in that he doesnt let the Bengal sleep in his bed:

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And here is one of the Bengal on his own. He has very fine features, looking almost feminine:

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Great pics there, they both look very comfortable in each others company so I wouldn't be worried if one appears dominant. There's no way any cat would tolerate an enemy that close!
They're really great looking animals too, nice one.
 
Just caught this thread.

Congratulations on the new cats, by the way!

I did a huge amount of reading prior to getting my two moggies four years' ago, and came across an interesting set of books by some lady who's referred to as the Cat Whisperer... or something. Very interesting and helpful.

Regarding the introduction of one cat to another cat's house (which - even though it was only a month - the Mau had claimed), you will always get friction. Just imagine you had just moved into a new house, and then somebody else decides they were moving in... you probably wouldn't be a fan, at first.

Sure, you would work out your differences eventually, but...

However, with kittens, it's probably ok as you've discovered.

Regarding wet/dry food: the recommendations I've had from vets, friends, etc. is dry food. Better for their teeth, guts, etc. Sure, my cats prefer wet food, but I only ever feed them Science Plan or IAMS (yes, I am aware some people aren't fans of IAMS).


Fighting? Normal. Our two beat several shades out of each other but still happily sleep together of an evening.
 
I probably will move them onto a predominantly dry food diet after they hit 12 months+, however, while they are still growing, I want them to eat as much food as possible, so mal nutrition wont hold them back. Once, they have finished growing, then I can start to reduce their food intake and gradually bring in dry food. The only time I've seen Reflex eat dry food is when he is literally starving and I just dont see them growing to their full potential eating (dry) food, only when starving.

Even now, I do mix in dry food into their wet food, but wet food forms about 85%+ of their diet.

I read on another forum that eating dry food doesnt mean that your cat will have fewer dental problems. That is a myth, however, I havent looked in depth into the dental condition of cats on wet food.
 
I'm having a slight problem. I got a tabby kitten (LeeLou) about four weeks ago (aged 8 weeks), she is a lovely little thing, very energtic and loves sleeping on peoples laps.

Anyway, as I have already got a moggy (Pebbles), the older cat keeps hissing and growling at LeeLou, as well as swipping her the odd time but not catching.
I've read up on a load of stuff and brought a large playpen to put the kitten in, which she manages to escape now and again :)
Is this normal behaviour for an older cat to do when a new kitten is introduced?
 
I dont believe that the age has much to do with it.

When you introduce a new cat to another cat, who has been living in your home and has claimed territory, then it will do a bit of hissing, growling and maybe some real or fake swiping.

In my own case, I made sure that the 2 cats were bought not too far apart (1 month) and were both young (3 and 4 months old). This ensured that they would be more likely to integrate with eachother better. As it happens, it took them 3-4 days to fully accept eachother. During this time, there was a lot of fighting, hissing and growling, however, at their age, the damage they could do to eachother would be limited.

You, have an older cat. Probably heavier and stronger than mine, which means you have to be careful. Also, your kitten is extremely young, so you need to keep a close eye.

The extreme method of introducing your cats to eachother is to keep them apart in separate rooms and then gradually introduce them to eachother's scent.

Personally, I wouldnt leave the big cat with the young one, unsupervised, until they seem to be getting along fine and your gut tells you its safe.

As an example, the breeder I bought my Reflex from had a 13 month old, big, strong Egyptian Mau. He was totally fine with having kittens rubbed in his face. He didnt even flinch. However, there was a 5 month old Egyptian Mau who was weaker, smaller and much closer in age to the kittens, yet he would growl and hiss at any kitten that came near him.

I think you just need to take your time and use your common sense when introducing the 2 cats.
 
I took them to the vet today.

The Bengal has an eye infection that has been brewing for the past few days, so I got him some eye drops to sort out the problem. Other than that, he is very active and most of the time appears to be the dominant cat (believe it or not). Though when Reflex is in the mood, he is definitely the dominant one and Mr. Bengal can't defend against him.

I can't really come up with a name I like for the Bengal, so I shall just use his pedigree name which is Mr. Bengal.

He is certainly the more vocal of the 2 and was screaming non-stop on the way to the vet, while Reflex just sat and watched.
 
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