Hello everyone,

Before I got my two babies, Raava and Vaatu this site was a god send! I wanted to give back a little and let everyone know, and new comers how my journey with them has been so far. I have had them for about a month, they’re 4 months old now.
Starting at the beginning I was in talks with the breeder a whopping 5 months ahead of time. They were still in mommas tummy at the time. It was such a long wait, WELL worth it though! Once they were born, we could visit the home, and see how they grew up. We did about 4 times. My advice, be sure the breeder has time and resources to socialize, socialize, socialize! I made sure they were being pet, held, and getting used to noise!

When doing months and months of research on the best food, litter, and more here’s my list on what I ended up doing.

They have a litter robot, and I decided on World’s best clumping litter. Tried Dr. Elsys but ironically I think my BF was allergic.
A One Fast Cat Wheel – They love this
2 large cat trees and 3 smaller ones
About a zillion toys, squeakers, crunchy ones, feathered, and cat nip filled. They love the shaker mice too. I give them a few at a time, and switch them up every few days to get the most of every toy!
4-5 Scratching posts
I saved some shoe boxes and so forth, they love hiding and playing in them
They love laying on towels, so they are in each of their beds
Da bird and any feathered wand is their absolute favorite- they do backflips for them!
Earthborn Holistic wet and dry food. All wet flavors can be given with no tummy issues, I leave the Dry Sea Catch flavor out all day. Tiki Cat was also a brand I gave them for a little while, but they only offer fish flavors so I wanted variety.

Interactive / puzzle games are key for them; they love trying to get a ball out of a DIY box! I simply cut a few different shapes in the top, and they can be there for an hour!

I found some fun games on my ipad that they also will be attached to for hours, one specifically scores them on how many fish they hit! Haha it’s cute.

All in all, they have adapted over night! When I switched the litter they went in it immediately. No tummy issues from food changes and they are always super playful and happy. I’ll admit I was super nervous about having everything perfect but from one newbie to another; don’t worry!! They are so much more adaptable than we think, especially when they are kittens. & when you adopt two!! I suggest that a million times over! They will love and bond with you if you give them love and show them they can trust you! I’ve seen some posts on if peoples bengals are cuddly… one answer, if you cuddle them when their kittens they will show the love back! It’s harder when some owners adopt at older ages, but if you have the honor of getting a Bengal baby… just pick it up every time you go into their safe room, talk to them, kiss them on their head and I’m sure you’ll have a cuddly Bengal! Don’t forget to play with them until their panting though, I found my playing them out and then cuddling with them, it almost became their routine! Once they’ve had enough they just chirp and lead me to the couch or bed so they can sleep on me!

Beware of food ingredients, check everything and if the first three are not, for example, chicken, chicken broth, and a veggie or fruit find another one! You’ll worry less about their health if you set high standards for their food. Top brands would be Earthborn Holistic, Tiki Cat, Orijen, Fromm, and Ziwi Peak.

As far as them being siblings, they let each other take turns playing which is great. If they ever growl or hiss at each other it’s usually as they walk by with a toy in their mouth. We just take the toy away when we can and say no. We don’t yell or spray them with water, an easy distraction usually works WAY better. If we HAVE to discipline though, a loud PSTT noise, with an occasional clap usually stops them. They are literally best friends, so again if you can buy two.. DO IT!

Complications so far: Vaatu had conjunctivitis for about 2 days, we think we brought something in that he was allergic to from a park! We did take him to the vet but they gave us a very basic ointment and truthfully, he cleared up on his own. We only administered it to him a total of 2 times over 2 days, when they suggested 2 a day for 7-10 days.

That’s all for now, thanks for reading and I hope this helps anyone thinking about becoming a Bengal parent, or anyone in their early journey stages like me!

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The little monsters 3

Hey! Nice to read about the journey. It reminds me of ours with Ishka and Echo and, of boy if it will also evolve into its own thing...
- They used to be great at taking turns playing, they would plan on how to attack stuff, they would chatter... now they do not do it as they have developed into radically different characters. One is more withdrawn, the other takes over.

- Da Bird toys... we should buy shares in that company, they are great stuff. Do not underestimate the power of the Cat Dancer - it looks like the cheapest crappiest toy but cats love it - and try valerian (not just catnip) too, someone recommended some valerian kickers that work wonders.

- Food, I agree, highest meat content making sure it has extra taurine and as natural as possible. Ours are 2 yrs old now, I think (ach, I'm a crap mother, don't know how old they are) and we have gone through several food changes until we have found something they like. Unfortunately Ishka doesn't like chicken anymore (she calls herself a Bengal... and no chicken!?). Latest flavour of the month is Nature's Menu Country Hunter (I'd eat what comes out of that package, go figure)

- Cuddliness... well, that's a funny one too. I have voted 50% 50%... one does her own thing (Echo), she's aloof and does not seek you, although we are horrible hoomins and we just keep cuddling her and holding her (which she allows) and giving her tummy scratches (at the risk of losing an arm, but she's amazing at just giving you a little bit which will not hurt to let you know... she will also roll belly up on purpose to get us). Ishka, on the other hand, will not let you grab her but oh boy if she needs cuddles and headbumps and general attention... that's one horizontal cat, always dropping herself on the floor so that you give her a good rub. Is it our attitude toward them that enables this? Well, some of it will be, I assume, but they all come with their personalities. The breeder did an amazing job at socialising them, so all credit goes to her. They have also adapted to our routines and we have developed a common language - mostly food related.

Anyhow, it is lovely to read how they are developing and how you are going about taking care of them. I can't believe you have more cat trees than us :-) and will love seeing more photos as your furbabies develop!

xx Iria

Thank you so much for your information!!! I am happy to hear this forum was a help to you. I truly don't know that a human contributes toward a bengal being cuddly. They usually do their own thing. I didn't get mine until he was six years old and he is not a cuddler and doesn't want to be cuddled. I don't know if he ever would have been one. I wish he were as I love cuddly kitties.

It sounds as if your beautiful babies are very well adjusted. You had plenty of time to prepare for them. I hope you will be a contributor on other posts when members need help. You've learned the ropes of owning a bengal.