Hello everyone!

My name is Sandrine and I live in Miami.

My husband just got me a Bengal from a breeder. The kitty will be ready in 10 days (12 weeks old). The breeder seems to be allright, she only breeds one litter at a time, she socializes with them a lot and the parents are very sweet according to her, so hopefully their babies will be too!
I will get all the paperwork from TICA etc.

I have a few questions for the people here who have had Bengals for a long time. If you can find the time to answer them that would be great. I used to have a cat before but he died after 5 years from a feline illness and this is my first Bengal of course and I want to start on a good note while he is still small.

-is it really necessary to give them cooked chicken or beef like I saw elsewhere or is a mix of canned wet food + some dry food enough? I heard Bengals have a tendency to diarrhea....?

-If I want to walk him on a leash is it better to start as soon as possible?

-Will he wake me up at night by meowing? My cat used to do that but he was an outdoor cat so we just let him out and he came back in the morning (we live in a tropical area). If yes, any tips? Should I let him sleep with us?

-I saw that you are supposed to put them in a confined area (small room) at first to get him used to the house. Did you do this or let him roam free from the start?

-How did you teach your cat what's ok and what's not (saying NO, physically removing him from the space, water sprays....?)

Any other advice for a newbie owner of a Bengal? Thanks! Below is a pic of the cutie.

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The little monsters 3

Hi just saw your message! Thanks so much for taking the time to write all this! it gives me some reassurance but of course I won't know what will happen until he gets here! I'll do my best and hopefully he won't be too vocal like my previous cat. I can deal with high activity during the day (I'm home mostly) but I need my beauty sleep!

I don't know if I will be able to do the raw food/prepared food thing. It sounds like a lot of work....I will have a look at it on google to see if they have recipes.

I am a new Bengal owner and several breeders have told us to make the food if possible. We purchased a machine to grind all the meats and bones together. We use chicken, stew meat, chicken gizzards, can of pumpkin, yogurt and squash baby food. We freeze it in small baggies and take out so that raw meat only remains in the refrigator for two days. What he doesn't eat I pick up immediately and put back in frig. We also add Kitty Bloom. (can be purchased on line). The raw food being served is healthy and a bonus is that the litter box has no odor. He loves the food and he eats 3 healthy portions daily. We make enough for two months and my husbands grinds and I mix and bag. It takes about an hour.

We were having some behavior problems so our bleeder recommended a book called "Naughty No More" by Marilyn Krieger. Our bleeder recommends that we do not let our Gizmo run the show. They told us to get a handle on our Bengal before he gets total control of us and becomes totally out of control. Gizmo is starting to follow some of the rules - not all the rules but progress is being made.

Good luck!

Good idea to prepare and freeze! I have found the book you mentioned at my library! Thanks for the advice!

You are welcome. We are here to help each other and learn from each other.