Introducing a Maine Coon female kitten to a 8 yr old male Bengal

Question
Hi,

We have an 8 year old male Bengal leopard cat (wife had him since he was a kitten) but recently found a lost 3 month old Maine Coon female kitten who is in the local cat rescue place at the moment. We shall be adopting her next week, but I'm a little concerned the Bengal will not take kindly to her.. We are hoping she will be good company for him during the day when we're out at work. Are these two breeds / gender / age a good or bad combination?
Any advice appreciated... have to go now - Woody the Bengal is shouting at me to feed him! :)

Thanks in advance.

Answer
Chris,

I will give you a method we use to introduce kittens to already established cats.  The gender and breed really do not make a great deal of difference as long as you get your Maine Coon female spayed as soon as reasonable (unless she will come to you already spayed).  That two cats will get along is always a bit of a crap shoot as (like people) some cats take an instant dislike to another cat (although this is rare).

Anyway, here is a methodology we recommend:

Start out your new kitten in one room with a litter pan and water dish. Ideally, the one room should be a bedroom with yourself or another human resident. This accomplishes a couple of things. Your new kitten will not be overwhelmed by its new surroundings and get "lost", and thusly will have no problem finding the litter pan (often kittens or rescue cats have been confined and are somewhat daunted by wide open spaces!). You will feed the new kitten in this room and keep the established cat out. It allows the new kitten to bond with you or another human being and also build up some self assurance in its new surroundings since it will not have to compete for food or attention right away. Finally, it allows the new kitten and the established cat to sniff each other under the door and get familiar with each others' scents.

After 3-5 days of being in its one room, it is time to let them meet each other. Be prepared for some posturing, some spitting and hissing, and the like. IGNORE IT! After a while, they should begin chasing each other about and still have the occasional hiss or spit as they get accustomed to each other. Cats tend to make a whole lot of noise and even loosen up some fur. Rarely will two cats hurt each other.

Once they are introduced, there are a couple of things you must remember. Do not separate them again, they will get along! Do not interfere in their "discussions" as they need to sort it out amongst themselves!

It does not hurt to give the established cat treats and extra attention after the new kitten is introduced (yes, cats do get jealous!).

A couple of things you may have to do are to feed them on separate dishes. Provide more than one litter pan in different areas of the household (as cats can be very territorial about litter pans).

All, in all, this method seems to have had great success in the past and makes for a fairly smooth introduction. Please remember that they may make up immediately, or it may take a few weeks.

Best regards... Norm.