bengal cat

Diet

The diet you provide to your Bengal cat is of utmost importance if you want your pet to feel good, look amazing and have a healthy life.

The Bengal cat and the domestic cat are carnivorous so feeding them high protein food is very beneficial for them. To fully understand the Bengal cat diet, you must refer to its cousin, the Asian leopard, which feeds mainly on small prey such as birds, lizards, amphibians and insects. In most parts of their range, small rodents such as rats and mice form the major part of their diet, which is often supplemented with grass, eggs, and aquatic prey.

Did you know? Unlike many other cats, leopards do not “play” with there food. This may be related to the high proportion of birds in their diet, which are more likely to escape if released.

Currently, most cat foods on the market contain less meat and more grain products such as corn and soy. Companies do this only to reduce production costs. Cat food available on the market also varies greatly in quality. Some of these store bought foods will do fine to keep a regular house cat healthy but on their own; they won’t be enough to keep a Bengal healthy.

RAW MEAT, IS IT A GOOD

Bengal Cat Diet?

Bengals need meat, But we do not recommend a raw diet for our cats. It can be unsafe for your cat and unsafe for you and your family due to bacteria and parasites.

First; We recommend you go to the grocery store and buy a good quality boneless meat for your Bengal like; ground turkey, ground chicken, chicken thighs, frozen tilapia fillets, ground beef, eggs, chicken livers or whatever is on sale, doesn’t matter, as long as its fresh and nothing added to it for flavoring… so obviously don’t go and buy Mexican chorizo sausage, peperoni or Greek style lamb.

Second; Size up into bite size and Lightly cook the meat, you can mix meats for menu excitement if you want, COOK IN WATER ONLY, use lots of water to make a soup, Bengals love the broth. DO NOT add salt or oil or butter, absolutely nothing. Remember; butter, onions and garlic for example, are no good for your Bengal, your kitty will have the squirts tomorrow if you feed it abnormal ingredients, think “wild” ingredients. Let the food cool, portion the meals into Freezer bags and store in the freezer or fridge for the next time.

Third; heat your food portion like you would at a restaurant so its safe for human consumption and serve on its own in a bowl… a bowl on a large tray because Bengals love to drag there food out of the bowl and eat off the floor. It’s just easier to wash a tray than keeping a floor clean.

Fourth; One good sized bowl of meat at the start of the day is good, don’t over do it.

At big Star we always have good quality dry food available to the Bengals at all times, like we mentioned above; don’t go for cheap brands with lots of fillers like corn and soy, get the good stuff available in your area, it will last longer and do your cat better. If you need to switch brands of dry food, do it in stages for digestions sake; so mix them 90-10, then 80-20, then 70-30 etc. over 9 days.

Suggestion; Pumpkin puree is actually pretty good for digestion, a teaspoon a day.

IMPORTANT IF YOU INSIST ON A

Raw Diet

In order to avoid bacteria and any problems for your Bengal cat, be sure to handle the meat with the same precautions that you would use for yourself or serving in a restaurant;

Give your cat a product that has been manufactured according to strict hygiene criteria.
48 hours after thawing the meat, it is no longer good.
After 1 hour at room temperature, you must throw away the remaining food that your cat has not eaten.
Wash all surfaces the meat has come into contact with to avoid salmonella or worse.
Your cats paws will be covered in raw meat and blood, watch where it walks and clean up.
Don’t let the cat lick your mouth, and wash your hands after handling your cat.
Reconsider a lightly cooked meat diet.

BIG STAR BENGAL

Kitten Diet

At Big Star Bengals;

Meat wise; We feed our Bengal kittens exactly what you will be feeding it once you bring it home. A healthy sized portion of a wide variety of selected meat is served up every morning… you will appreciate that your Bengal will not be a fussy eater.

Dry food wise; We keep dry food available to the kittens at all time, just like fresh water. You will do the same for the entirety of your Bengals life but once your kitty become a teenager; you will taper off of the very high protein kitten style dry food and venture into the adult dry food so your Bengal doesn’t get fat.