Guide to Bengal Cat Characteristics and Care
Size and Appearance
Bengals are considered medium-to-large cats, weighing 8 to 15 pounds on average. They are athletes: agile & graceful with a strong, muscular body, as befits a cat who looks like he belongs in the jungle. Enhancing the Bengal's wild appearance is a short, thick pelt that feels luxuriously silky and soft. They shed very little and are considered hypoallergenic, although some people with severe allergies may be affected.
Glitter
While Bengals are the first domestic cats to have glitter, not all Bengals have it. You can see the glitter in the shimmering, sparkling effects on your cat’s coat. Glitter is a translucent, hollow hair shaft that catches the light and reflects it. It is present throughout the fur of your cat. It is a truly beautiful and remarkable sight.
Personality
The Bengal is highly intelligent and active. They are confident, talkative, and always alert. They like to play games, including fetch, and adapt to new learning tricks.
This breed has very nimble paws that are almost as good as hands. They have been known to turn light switches off and on and regularly fish items they are interested in out of containers. All of our cats are given multiple toys and puzzles to stimulate them. These are rotated out on a weekly basis.
This is a breed that needs a lot of vertical territory—Bengals love to climb; the higher the better. Provide them with tall cat trees and window perches.
The Bengal cat is known to be fond of water; all of our cats will climb into the walk-in shower regularly. Your pet Bengal will most definitely benefit from a circulating water bowl.
Health
Bengal cats are generally healthy. At Lauralei Bengals, we test for the viral cat diseases: immunodeficiency virus, FIV, FELV, and Leukemia virus. All kittens are free of FIV & FELV. All of our breeding cats are tested annually for HCM (Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a type of heart disease). Breeding cats are also tested for PRA and PK. Since we fully test our Kings & Queens, we guarantee our kittens are healthy and free from genetic diseases.
Feeding your Bengal
All of our cats & kittens are fed a predominantly balanced premium raw diet of chicken and beef with an 80% meat, 10% bone, and 10% organ mix for optimal health. This is a high-quality protein diet with no additives, which is perfect for sensitive stomachs. Feeding your cat a raw diet will ensure higher and more stable energy levels, long-term health, fewer inflammation-related health issues such as hot spots, ear infections, and stomach sensitivities, and as a bonus…smaller and less frequent poop.
To a lesser extent, we also feed our cats and kittens IAMS dry kitten chow and raw chicken legs with bones. Since cats usually don’t drink a lot of water, their natural diet is pure meat with little to no carbohydrates. A premium raw or even canned diet is very important to their health.
As you can see, this is a specialized diet for optimal cat health that is not difficult to maintain.
We believe this is what keeps our breeder cats so healthy and starts our babies off on the right track. We recommend that you stick to the same brand of diet for your kitten when they leave our cattery. Of course, you can change your kitten’s diet when they are home with you, but it must be done slowly. Please speak with us for specific advice.
