Before your kitten arrives!
Prior to bringing your loving bengal kitten home you are going to want do get a couple things. First, you will want to pick up a cat carrier which will be useful throughout the life of your Bengal. We also suggest setting up a pheromone diffuser at home which will help calm both the transitioning kitten and any other pets present. The diffuser should be set up days before you pick up your kitten and it is recommended to use one diffuser per floor and replace the refill once a month. Comfort Zone is an excellent choice and there is also a spray applicator which is great for specific areas like your cat carrier or car.
Also make sure to have the following:
Wet & Dry food (i'll go more into depth prior to pick up about brands and recommendations)
Toys! Lots of toys, they are very active and love cat wheels, climbing posts, wall mounts, balls, and chasers!
Cat carrier
Litter box & Litter (remember out of sight out of mind) We recommend at least 2 boxes to encourage use.
Cooler to keep vaccines chilled
Kitten bed
Also make sure to have the following:
Wet & Dry food (i'll go more into depth prior to pick up about brands and recommendations)
Toys! Lots of toys, they are very active and love cat wheels, climbing posts, wall mounts, balls, and chasers!
Cat carrier
Litter box & Litter (remember out of sight out of mind) We recommend at least 2 boxes to encourage use.
Cooler to keep vaccines chilled
Kitten bed
Picking your kitten up!
When you pick up your Bengal kitten it will have already received the first round of core vaccinations and deworming medication. You will need to bring a small cooler with an ice pack to store your kitten’s second round of core vaccinations and additional deworming medication that will be given to you when you arrive. The vaccinations will come in two vials for each dose and you will need to dump the liquid from one vial into the powder in the other vial and gentle swirl the liquid until the powder is mixed in well. These vaccinations are intra-nasal and can be applied by you at home by placing half in each nostril at the 12th and 16th week. Expect some level of sneezing for the first couple of days after application and the possibility of a slight fever as the kittens immune system is activated. If your kitten acts sickly by being too sleepy and/or not eating than you should take your kitten to the closest animal hospital, although complications due to vaccinations are very rare and even less so for the new intra-nasal kind.
*UPON PICK UP THE REMAINDER OF THE BALANCE IS DUE IS CASH WE DO NOT ACCEPT CHECKS*
*UPON PICK UP THE REMAINDER OF THE BALANCE IS DUE IS CASH WE DO NOT ACCEPT CHECKS*
Bringing your kitten home!
We suggest you set up his/her food, fresh water, and clean litter box in a room isolated from other pets. We recommend this "quarantine" period last about 3 weeks. It is important that your kitten is given adequate time to settle in to his/her new home before introducing other household pets. After your kitten has become comfortable around you and your family, we recommend slowly introducing him/her to the household pets and other rooms (this time frame varies depending on individual cat/kitten). Please supervise all visits until you are certain your kitten is safe and comfortable.
Your kitten will come litterbox trained but be aware there will be a transition period in which the kitten must become use to your home environment so do anticipate a little retraining. Keeping the initial living space small and litter boxes close will help facilitate. Dr. Elsey’s Kitten Attract litter was used to initially train your kitten. It is recommended that you use this Kitten Attract Litter until good litter box habits are established, a month or more. Once established, you can gradually switch this litter out with a natural litter.
If you do choose to feed your kitten different food, do expect a short period of loose stools while the kitten’s digestive tract becomes familiar with the new food. Your kitten will be used to being handled and being in a home environment with children but do expect your kitten to be initially cautious or timid in his/her new environment. Given time and space, your kitten’s natural curiosity should eventually lead him/her to explore your new home and become comfortable. This transition time period is different for every kitten.
Your kitten will come litterbox trained but be aware there will be a transition period in which the kitten must become use to your home environment so do anticipate a little retraining. Keeping the initial living space small and litter boxes close will help facilitate. Dr. Elsey’s Kitten Attract litter was used to initially train your kitten. It is recommended that you use this Kitten Attract Litter until good litter box habits are established, a month or more. Once established, you can gradually switch this litter out with a natural litter.
If you do choose to feed your kitten different food, do expect a short period of loose stools while the kitten’s digestive tract becomes familiar with the new food. Your kitten will be used to being handled and being in a home environment with children but do expect your kitten to be initially cautious or timid in his/her new environment. Given time and space, your kitten’s natural curiosity should eventually lead him/her to explore your new home and become comfortable. This transition time period is different for every kitten.
Feeding your kitten
Cats are naturally carnivores and Bengals are more so due to their ALC hybrid roots. Therefore, you should feed your Bengal only dry and wet food that is high in protein and grain-free. There are several brands in the market that fit these 2 crucial criteria. Wet food is essential and helps with hydration. Dehydration due to a dry food only diet will stress the Liver and lead to a domino effect of problems.
We offer unlimited amounts of dry food in a gravity fed bowl. One 5oz can of wet food daily is best. When you give your kitten it’s wet food use a “food call” that signals it’s time to come and get fed. This offers a chance to train your kitten to come to this “food call” so that should you ever need to locate your kitten you can use this call. Suitable food brands include: Purrfect Bistro, Taste of the Wild, Wellness (grain-free version), Acana, Blue Wilderness, Innova Evo Ancestral diet, Nature’s Variety Instinct, and Earthborn Holistic. Most brand of foods have an “All Life Stages” label which is fine for kittens but won’t offer as much fat for them as those that are specific to kittens. Make sure you don’t use any food labeled for “Adults” until at least 1 year old.
Initially, kittens don’t eat much dry food as it’s hard on the teeth and will eat mostly just wet food. Offer your kitten an unlimited amount of wet food to be left out all day and is good for 24 hrs. Whenever the dish is empty, even if less than 24hrs, then fill it up again. Kittens can eat as much as 3 cans of the 3oz a day or more. At around 12 weeks, the kitten should start transitioning to eating more dry food. By 16 weeks, you can start to limit the wet food down to just 5.5 Oz a day since the dry food should make up the remaining dietary needs. Cats eat according to their nutritional needs. A cat absorbing more of their food and with less nutritional gaps will overall eat less food. An overweight cat has a nutritional deficiency. This is also why food can be continuously left out all day.
Water fountains are more attractive to the water-loving Bengals because instinct tells animals that running water will be less harmful to them than stagnant water. However, water fountains do require some maintenance as motors can become clogged. Keep the water and food bowls close together but not next to each other as any moisture can ruin the dry food, at least 2 feet apart. More water stations also increase hydration for “out of sight, out of mind” definitely applies. All carnivores have a low thirst drive.
Litter boxes & Kitty Litter
A good natural litter that you can switch to after initially using Dr. Elseys Kitten Attract is: The World's Best Cat Litter - Multi-Cat version with Lavender oil. Clay litter is not desirable because it is nonabsorbent , creates dust that coats lungs, is harmful to swallow which curious kittens can do, and is hard on the paws.
Corn cob litter is the better alternative because it is safe for kittens to swallow, is virtually dust free, it can be easily scooped since it clumps, it absorbs waste and odors well, and the sand-like consistency doesn’t hurt their paws. We recommend one litter box (covered or not) per 2 cats placed in a quiet area. Your kitten's litter box is currently being scooped twice daily. Cats don't like using dirty litter boxes, so we recommend scooping them at least once daily and completely replacing the litter once monthly. Plastic heavy duty litter box liners make that job easier as well as keeping the actual litter box clean and sanitary.
Corn cob litter is the better alternative because it is safe for kittens to swallow, is virtually dust free, it can be easily scooped since it clumps, it absorbs waste and odors well, and the sand-like consistency doesn’t hurt their paws. We recommend one litter box (covered or not) per 2 cats placed in a quiet area. Your kitten's litter box is currently being scooped twice daily. Cats don't like using dirty litter boxes, so we recommend scooping them at least once daily and completely replacing the litter once monthly. Plastic heavy duty litter box liners make that job easier as well as keeping the actual litter box clean and sanitary.