Update on Cosmo, our Bengal Kitten

We’ve now had a four cat household for about four months. We introduced a new kitten back in late September and have been enjoying watching everybody learn to get along. It has been quite the process! Our last two kittens were introduced with no issues at all, and were fully integrated in just a few short weeks. It has been ENTIRELY different with Cosmo – because of his breed perhaps. So much closer to an actual “wild” cat with much less domestic lineage? He is an F5 – which means he is five generations down from the initial breeding of an Asian Leopard Cat to a Domestic cat. Whereas our other cats… well, I’m not even sure that applies! They have zero “wild” cat in them.

Some developments include:

1. Ritter (our youngest male) and Cosmo are BEST FRIENDS! They wrestle, play and run constantly. It is very fun to watch! Ritter is twice the size of Cosmo so it is quite comical to see Cosmo trying to haul Ritter down. Ritter usually lets him, but occasionally face plants on top of Cosmo. Too funny! We have even witnessed them snuggled up sleeping together, though it seems Cosmo prefers to sleep alone, or with us. See the video below:

2. Sleep arrangements have changed! Cosmo is now FINALLY sleeping in the bedroom with the other cats. Most days when I come home from work, he comes prancing out of the bedroom, and probably 50% of nights he sleeps curled up between us. This is new and we are very happy. It seemed so lonely for him to be off in another room sleeping by himself, even though it was his choice. MOST INTERESTING and a tip for other cat owners perhaps: Cosmo only finally ventured up onto the bed after we had stripped all the bedding to wash as one of the cats had vomited all over the blankets (yuck). I guess once we washed everything, there was less scent of our older cats involved and he felt comfortable finally.

3. Cirrhi (youngest female) & Kai (oldest male) are tolerating Cosmo. We have seen them play a bit, and they will sit next to each other in peace. There is little to no hissing anymore (if there is, it is on Cirrhi’s part). Cosmo seems to have learned to walk AROUND Cirrhi if he must. Kai really still pays no attention to the new addition, but I have seen them play for 1 or 2 seconds, so that is a start.

4. Hierarchy in the house has changed, or continues to evolve, between the cats. The addition of Cosmo threw them for a loop and they are working out things. Ritter has learned he’s a big kitty, and can boss everybody around a little more. We try to keep this at a minimum, and if he gets too excited, we pick him up and go quiet him down. We did discover that Ritter & Catnip do not mix well – he would get very aggressive – behavior we do not want. So Catnip is out for our family!

It is all very interesting to watch and I am constantly in awe of the cats, and how they behave and the subtle signs and shifts in their behavior. We are hopeful one day we will find all four cats piled up together snoozing…

Check out previous posts about introducing new kitten, Cosmo here.

Tagged as: Bengal, cat acclimation, Multi-Cat Household, multiple pets, new pet acclimation

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About the author: Melissa is a devoted pet owner with 4 cats: Kai, Cirrhi, Ritter & Cosmo; and the newest addition, Emme a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever puppy. Melissa is an avid dog agility enthusiast, and hopes her new puppy will someday be an agility champion! She is a Graphic Designer and Project Coordinator for the DrsFosterSmith.com and LiveAquaria.com websites. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from Michigan State University and is a lifelong pet lover and owner. See more articles by Melissa R.