Hi all,

Thanks so much for all your advice on my other thread :)

I now have another question!

I have been reading online that Bengals should be on a wet diet, raw preferably (not sure i'll succeed in that one...) but this goes against what I have always thought about 'normal cats' - i.e. dry food is better, for their teeth etc.

Before I read this, we were feeding the kits a mainly dry diet (and they eat it very well) with chicken extras (we run a shop that cooks chickens so we have a lot of plain, cooked chicken available). We haven't been feeding them tuna as I feel this is a very salty fish, not necessarily ideal. In the first few days we had a lot of runny poos, but all three have now settled and we are only getting nice, well formed toilet visits!

So i guess my question is whether this diet is ok - the dry food is nearly 100% Applaws (still in the process of moving them on from what they were on before which is not (IMO) the best brand)...so once they are finished they will have Applaws dry food to graze on, with twice daily meals of plain chicken (or other meaty leftovers if available). Or would they be better with a wet diet? I have used (and like) Natures Menu and Nature Diet before...just don't want them ending up being fussy beggars, the breeder said they are divas about food but honestly I am yet to see it.

My next question is whether they are drinking too much... I know they are on a mainly dry diet at the moment but they are like fish! I fill three small bowls of water a day (the ones that little desserts come in... about 3.5 inches in diameter and about 2 inches deep) and they drink it all. Is this normal? They have been raised by the breeder to drink water, I have always had trouble getting cats to drink it in the past... maybe this is a normal level? They don't seem to be going to the toilet more than they should - in fact all three seem to go together, like girls Usually they are visiting the litter tray every 2-3 hours.

Also, I haven't got them a cat tree yet, but they LOVE to climb...my legs...the dining chairs...anything. I wanted to get them one but my housemate thinks they don't need one and they won't use it, we don't have too much floor space so it would be a squeeze. I agree my old 'normal' cats would just ignore their cat trees but something tells me these guys are going to be crazy for it. Any advice? And any recommendations, considering three hulky bengals are going to be climbing on it?

Sorry for the long post... hopefully someone can clear these things up for me :)

My cats have been drinking a significant amount of water since they were kittens. I found it unusual too, but I keep a fountain, a water cooler and a small bowl of water out at all times. One of them plays in the water and splashes it all over the floor so they need plenty of options available.

You must get a cat tree or cat shelves so that they can climb and have their own space. Otherwise they will start ruining your things most likely. I have a 80" cat gym that has a rather small foot print so that might work for you. I keep it in the corner for extra stability. Shelving will also work if you have limited floor space. I have 4 cat trees and some shelves. They never bother my stuff any more and they are always on their cat towers, sleeping, playing, watching me…

www.catsplay.com
http://www.catsplay.com/kg80-80-inch-kitty-gym

I'm sure others could link you to more detailed information but a mostly dry diet is generally considered to not be as nutrionally balanced as a wet one. The food is heavily processed with a lot of fillers and a lot of the nutrients are baked out during the process. On top of that, it has the unfortunate side-effect of dehydrating your cat. Hence, why your kittens are probably drinking so much water and urinating so often. My kitten urinates 3 or 4 times a day, tops, and she eats strictly raw and wet food. She drinks infrequently because she gets a lot of her moisture in her food.

As for cat trees, I can't imagine not having a couple and I only have one Bengal! She still climbs all over everything even with the cat trees! I found some nice ones online. I'll have to see if I can dig up the website but they were surprisingly well-made. They were also cheaper than the local ones I found at pet stores with a lot more features and details. Maybe that's unique to me living in Canada though? The one she really likes has a couple of hammocks, lots of scratching posts, a little condo and a high perch at the top (it's about 6 feet tall).

Find a cat tree with a small footprint. I have an Amarkat that has a 30" square base. They have several models with smaller bases. If you put it up against a wall, it will be okay. They do not topple over. Your cats will LOVE it, trust me!!! And they love to climb and be high up, so this is a real necessity. http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywor ... yyaoqsq8_b

There are arguments on both sides regarding feeding a cat dry food. Many multi-cat households feed only dry because the cost is much less and there's not a lot of wasted food. Many on here recommend a raw diet for the bengal. But, it's a personal preference and not a necessity. Wet food contains a lot of water, so the cats don't require as much water. Dry food contains about 10% water and wet food, 80%. I rarely see Raiden drink any water, as he's on canned food! I have a small bowl of dry food out for him to supplement the wet. Manufacturers have been making canned and dry cat food for decades and cats have done just fine eating the food. The important thing is that the cats eat and enjoy the food. Dry food will necessitate their drinking water. But you're offering them water in a tiny bowl and they drink it dry. Sounds like they would love a fountain!

Every cat is going to be different and have their own water needs. The important thing is that your kitties are healthy -- as far as size and weight and they are behaving normally and show no signs of sickness. Everyone here will offer a different opinion, which will probably just confuse you. You know your cats better than anyone else ... go with your gut feeling. There is no wrong answer here.

Thanks for your advice everyone :)

Just to clarify, the kittens are getting two good meals a day of chicken (or other meat) with dry as an extra when they want it. So not just dry...it's more a question of whether the chicken is enough or do they need a wet food which has other elements mixed - im not sure whether simple chicken is enough nutritionally as a 'main meal', if you see what I mean.

I have spent the afternoon on our friend google and have decided to make the kitties a climbing tree! Like the hicat ones - considering how much they love to scale my leg, I think they would love one.

You should be fine if the dry is just supplementing the meat. But I believe you mentioned the chicken is cooked? The potential issue there could be a lack of taurine (and moisture) due to the meat being cooked (a significant amount of it would be lost during the cooking process). Maybe the dry would make up for the lower amount of taurine in the cooked meat but I'm honestly not knowledgeable enough to answer that question.

Good luck on building your tree! I'm working on a lower tunnel-ish structure for Hazel since she likes climbing in boxes and hiding things in shoes and such.

My biggest concern is that the kittens are still growing and require the right amount of nutrients. Taurine is extremely important to a cat. When feeding a cat a raw diet, the organs and bones (crushed) are included. Cooked, I don't know that they have all the nutrients needed. Since you're cooking the chicken, why not give them the chicken raw with all the other things? Or mix the cooked chicken in with some wet food. If the dry is just supplementing the cooked chicken, it may not have enough nutritional value for them.

Good for you on deciding to create a climbing device! You can get so creative and build it to fit in the space you have. Would love to see pictures when you're finished.

For cat trees, I can highly recommend http://shop.petfun.de/en/ - I have 2 at my place and have bought one for when my 2 go on holiday to my mum's place in the UK. They came highly recommended from my breeder, who said "they might not be the cheapest, but I used to have to buy a new tree every 6 months, the petfun one has lasted years, is more stable, better made and still looks good.

The poles are made of SOLID wood wrapped in sisal - you can get extra wide poles, but you don't need that unless you have a pet lion. If buying again I would get them lacquered by Petfun rather than getting untreated wood - lacquered should look better and be easier to clean. All the bedding can be removed machine washed.