mixing breeds within the household?

[jenny]

now this thought is a looooong way off.

as u know im picking up my bengal boy in about 4 weeks. When we were originally looking for a cat last yr we had a siamese and a bengal on our list as possibilities. After losing Tao our siamese we had for only a week, i couldnt face getting another siamese just yet, even 8 months after losing Tao.

So we went with a bengal this time and im really happy with the way ive gone.

anyway, im just wondering, in the future should we decide on another cat, maybe a few yrs down the line, would a male siamese be compatible?

the breeder we are getting our bengal off keeps her bengals with siamese, although all girls!
so what im wondering is, is 2 boys a big problem? and 2 very different breeds?

this is just me thinking, not necessarily something that will ever happen as i cant imagine ever having more than one cat, but u never know, so i thought i would ask so i know if its an option.

the breeder of the bengal is going to talk to me about showing as i asked her more about it. i dont know how it works with cats, but i presume it would mean he would need to stay entire? so would that be a problem?

ok, so thats like loads of questions, sorry im just rambling.

ok, to sum up

1. will a bengal get on with a siamese
2. will 2 males get on
3. will they get on if entire

the only reason i ask, is ive been thinkin alot about tao and how great he was, even after only having him for a week, he had so much personality and wa s sooooo talkative, so it makes me think about having another some day, just not yet.

[Luke]

Siams tend to be quite social, but i've heard bengals can be slightly iffy with other cats..only heard mind.
Two males..hmmn entire could be a problem considering entire toms when out n about are allways fighting. To be honest though i'm not quite sure how one could have an entire tom cat, the smell would put me right off..and apparently they can display 'anti social' behaviour when un-neutered, again going from information as every cat we've had has allways been 'done'

[Fran]

Hi Jenny
I love Bengals and would have one in an instant if I was a single cat household. I researched a lot into the breed before deciding a Siamese/Oriental would suit me better. The main reason was that Bengals are notorious for not getting on with other breeds of cats. I heard this time and time over from various sources. There is a previous thread on here which discusses this..

http://www.catsey.com/showthread.php?t=13038

Hope this helps :)

[Moli]

I have an Oriential, a siamese, 2 exotics and a moggy all boys and all living happily together, they are all different characters, but get on really well together...Oh and they live with 3 dogs too....

[Fran]

the breeder of the bengal is going to talk to me about showing as i asked her more about it. i dont know how it works with cats, but i presume it would mean he would need to stay entire? so would that be a problem?

You can show your cats as neuters and they gain Premier certs instead of Challenge certs :) It works exactly the same way whether they are entire or neutered, they just have different titles awarded ;)

[EmmaG]

Not sure I would have two entire bengals, there was an entire Bengal who lived down the road and Arthur got into a really bad fight with it (but he doesn't like other cats coming into his garden, so I cant really blame the Bengal for that)

Might be better with a female cat or get him fixed

[dandysmom]

Luke's brought up some good points. As far as mixing breeds, shouldn't be a problem...to a cat, another breed of cat is just a cat. I'd ' be very wary of two unaltered toms..the fighting, the spraying, the yowling to go out and hunt for a girl (especially bad with aa Siamese tom...my friends who bred had a Siamese stud and you could hear him two blocks away!) Someone familiar with UK showing rules will have to answer your last question: here in the States altered cats can compete for Premiership, not Championship.

[jenny]

ah ok. well good to know i can neuter him, as i would prefer that anyway.

so 2 neutered cats would be fine? although still the issue on the whole siamese / bengal side of it?

i prefer male cats, dont know why, so if i ever did it would prefer another male rather than a female.


(off to look at that link to the other discussion)


well i may never decide to do it, but its nice to know where i stand in case i ever change my mind :D

[Luke]

As it says on the link Fran provided and on a fair few other sites too..Bengals can show 'problematic behaviour' towards other breeds..i'm not sure why, someone experienced in bengals will probably be able to tell you.

[charliebubs]

Two neutered males wouldn't be a problem, but two entire males probably would. I would say that unless you're buying your begal as a stud boy the breeder will impose a restriction that you have to have him neutered anyway and, as Fran says, neuters can be shown.

I have had six cats at one time before, three girls and three boys - all neutered boys, all different breeds and only one pedigree out of all 6 and they all got on just fine - one of those was a Siamese (Abi) and another was a male oriental (Midas).

To sum that waffle up............I don't think you'd have a problem!! lol

:)

[jenny]

hmm ok.

im a bit concerned now that the bengal will not like the siamese. i'd hate to at some point buy a siamese and have to rehome him because my bengal didnt like him.

i guess theres always a risk with animals regardless of breed, its all down to personality, but when theres a bigger risk... is it worth it? or down to choosing one from a good breeder who has cats with good temprements.

[Fran]

I wasn't prepared to take the risk. Bengals are notoriously difficult to home with other breeds and can be a very difficult breed anyhow and as a multicat household, once I knew this, I am afraid I would have considered myself irresponsible if I had taken a Bengal on. I even turned down a silver Bengal boy last year and they are my ultimate favourite!

[jenny]

i think i may just stick to my bengal boy then :D

i wouldnt want to do anything stupid. as i say i wouldnt have the heart to rehome a cat if it didnt work out, and not fair on the cat either.

anyway, i can just continue to look forward to getting my bengal boy in a few weeks :D

[dinahsmum]

I'm sure Indie and Harvey will wreck the place sufficiently Jenny, without adding another feline partner-in-crime!

[jenny]

hi dm, yeh ur right!

well it wouldnt be something i would have considered for another few yrs anyway.

but i think i'll be content with what i have :D