Hi,

I wondered if someone could help me. I am based in the UK and we have a 19 week old Bengal. The breeder fed her on Natural Instinct (Chicken & Beef) which she absolutely loved until I ordered my last batch. I have tried a couple of packs from the batch but it looks different to the previous ones and she just smells it and does not eat it. At the moment she is just having Royal Canin biscuits and I have given her some cooked chicken. Can anyone tell me any other meats I can try as they woman we brought her from gave us the impression that raw is what Bengals should eat and I have no idea where to start.

Thank you
Tasha

They do other 'flavours' - have you tried any? I was going to start my two on raw but haven't got round to it yet, but I have chicken country banquet by the same manufacturer in my freezer in readiness. I guess I've put it off as I have to measure it all out, remember to defrost etc. The other reason being, they are so fussy and will eat something one day, and turn their noses up the next. I've just found something they will eat so I'm reluctant to change right now.

I believe Natures Menu do raw food as well - have you looked into that at all?

Obviously she needs her nutrients as she is growing so I really hope you find something she'll eat soon. I'd gladly let you have what I bought to try with her but I doubt you are in my area!

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Clare
Hendrix and Jagger, Brown Marble Boys (born 18 August 2013)
Hampshire, UK

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The little monsters 3

Definitely read the links Brian has provided for you as you need to understand what you are feeding your girl. It may be worth having a chat at a pet store as well, they are very knowledgable and may be able to provide some advice.

I don't raw feed yet and my two may not take to it now they're older apparently. I try to feed them the best quality food I can and avoid anything that says 'animal and meat derivatives' and try to get a high meat content.

Currently they have 'meowing heads' dry food (there is a kitten version), Lily's kitchen and Hi Life. But ultimately if they don't like something they won't eat it. I bought the cooked pouches of natures menu recently and they wouldn't touch it, sniffed it, walked off and preferred to go hungry!

Good luck!

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Clare
Hendrix and Jagger, Brown Marble Boys (born 18 August 2013)
Hampshire, UK

Hi

Our 10 month old snow bengal likes Natural Instinct, although not all the flavours (e.g.loves beef and chicken but not venison). I add a splash of warm water to it from the kettle, as it can be quite thick at times (and cold straight out of the fridge). I've always wanted to feed raw and tried to do it myself but wasn't getting calcium right (from bone) leading to deficiency - switching to Natural Instinct which has everything in proportion meat, organ, bone has sorted this problem. Giving meat and fish chunks as treats to give his jaw/teeth exercise is also good additions too.

...by the way I agree with your earlier post about Natures Menu - wasn't impressed with the quality of this product. Another alternative is Nutriment - although we haven't tried this.

My kitten was fed a mixed diet by the breeder - raw chicken, dry food, tinned food and Natural Instinct frozen raw. I couldn't get any more Natural Instinct once the two packets I was given by the breeder were used up, as they will only ship 5kg and I do not have the freezer space to store that much and there was no local stockists within 30 miles of me. I did find a stockist of Natures Menu and actually thought it was better, because it came in frozen cubes so was easier to portion and defrost just the right amount. However the kitten didn't seem as keen on it (I tried all the 3 flavours, she did eat one of them, but reluctantly). Also, her stools were always loose in the first month.

I took her to the vet and they said that the diet is too varied and that blood in stools is generally due to a diet too high in protein. I was told that with her being an indoor cat, dry only diet is perfectly fine. This actually suits me too (I guess this is why we have dried food - more for 'the selfish humans' convenience?) as with the raw food I was struggling to find the time to get up early enough to get it out of the fridge (defrosted it in there overnight) to allow it to warm up to room temperature before feeding, then go to work, then come back and make the kitten wait at least 30 minutes before the defrosted raw food warms up again... whilst she miaows the house down because she is hungry.

I now just feed her a mixture of 1:1 Royal Canin Kitten - Digestive Health and James Welbeloved Kitten Turkey. She even seems to prefer it to wet food now and the stools have been much firmer after a month of this diet. Furthermore, she has been gaining weight as expected and isn't short on energy etc.