EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW

Our Bengal is used to eating a little bit of raw barf and unlimited amounts of ROYAL CANIN KITTEN dry food daily. The dry food is available 24/7, and the barf is served once or multiple times a day depending on what we have had the opportunity to do. In addition to the above, the kitten has tasted ground beef, beef stew chunks, lamb, steak, chicken hearts, and various other raw meat parts. 

To further acclimate the kittens, they have also tried wet food pouches from Royal Canin (Gastrointestinal, Kitten Instinctive, Beauty, British Shorthair Kitten), which they appreciate very much, but it can become a habit, so be careful not to give them too much. Stick to raw food and dry food instead. The pouches can be good to have at home for special occasions, more information is below. I prefer beef over mixed meat, but I would rather have mixed meat than canned food. Beef and chicken seem to work better than pork for their stomachs - and they already get quite a bit of chicken from their dry food, so I try to give them more beef if I can choose.

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There are other brands that manufacture and sell "barf," but few are of full-feed quality for cats (a cat needs certain parts such as heart, etc. to be nutritionally satisfied), so be careful to check that it is full-feed if you want to give the cat only one brand. A wild cat eats between 13-15 times a day, so it can be difficult to feed them only wet food or meat if you want their digestion to work as naturally as possible. We solve this by letting the dry food (which is full-feed) be available 24/7, but we try to give them as much barf as we can and have time for (without them waiting for the meat and completely stopping eating dry food, which often happens if you give them meat too often).

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Royal Canin's wet food pouches "Gastrointestinal," which can be purchased online or at the nearest veterinary clinic, work as treats at home for the cats and are good to have when they need to take medication (to sneak it in). They are also good on hot days when they need extra water (the wet food pouches contain around 80% water) or when they are sick, or perhaps to bring along when traveling.

Raw food (or any raw pieces with bones) should absolutely not be cooked/heated due to the fact that the bone fragments that are ground into the pieces change during cooking. Cats are designed to eat and digest raw food, which is what their stomachs are capable of breaking down. Bone fragments can get a different consistency when cooked and become sharp, which can harm the cats that swallow them. Keep this in mind if you cook meat and give the cats a piece at home - cooked fillets or minced meat work fine to give to cats, but they can only eat raw bone pieces.

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We usually serve the barf frozen so that the cats can eat while it slowly thaws. If you don't want to serve frozen barf (some cats tend to play with the frozen piece like a hockey puck throughout the house), let the meat thaw in the fridge for a few hours before serving. A tip could be to add a little water and mash the meat so that the cat gets even more water, especially during the summer.

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If the cat is constipated, it is often the meat that is the problem, then it usually helps to just start adding a little extra water. If that doesn't help or it's urgent, the stomach can be helped with a little vegetable oil orally. Vegetable oil is less absorbed in the cat's intestines as they are primarily carnivorous and in this situation, we mainly want to lubricate the intestines and get rid of the stool. Ultimately, paraffin oil is best for this purpose, it can be purchased at some pharmacies and it is good to have at home.

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Bengals are an active breed that should be able to move smoothly, so if you notice one day that the cat is starting to get round in the belly and a little too sluggish, or it no longer climbs and jumps as usual, then it's time to cut down on food. I think cats become more stubborn and almost depressed, more withdrawn when they are overweight. This may not always be something that the owners notice but we have noticed many times when I see a larger fluctuation in weight during growth, pregnancy, castration, and life in different families. Bengals should look slender and athletic, not like other typical house cats, and it's definitely not "cute" with fat Bengals.

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As long as no overweight is noticed, let the dry food be available all the time, around the clock. If she becomes overweight, do not switch to any light options for dry food, rather keep healthy and regular food but stop letting the cat have free access to it - instead, calculate the daily ratio based on the number of calories that match the ideal weight. Ask if you need help. Personally, we are not supporters of "light" options, as they often contain substances to accelerate fat burning and thus stress the body. Cut down on dry food and increase the amount of meat, and make sure the cat is active or gets a friend if it doesn't already have one.