My Bengal, Kiani has just turned 1 years old. She is a very loyal cat and loves to be wherever we are, she is playful and goes outside but hasn't left our garden which is great as we always know where she is.
One thing has surprised me which is her eating preferences, she usually has dry food morning and evening and twice a week she has wet food for a treat which is all fine.
However previous non Bengal cats that I have owned have loved an odd treat of either ham, chicken, tuna or even salmon. She has turned her nose up at all these. Surprisingly though she has stolen a loaf of bread from my mum's bag and started eating it! She found a jam doughnut, left on the side by my son, and ate half including the jam. She has also eaten crisps and a couple of elastic bands. One of the elastic bands nearly caused a blockage as she was sick, but it did pass through. She is always on the look out for extra food. Does anybody else have bengals with unusual eating preferences?

Mine don't like treats either. Neither do they care about my food. I can leave salmon or chicken out on the kitchen table and they won't touch it. They just stick to their food.

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Thomas

Lily & Noha - Oct 7th 2015

We haven't tested much with human food, but so far the only thing she kind of ate was mackerel. We have given her some roast chicken breast and fish, but she only sniffed them and walked away. gave her a prawn once as well and she didn't go near it.

However we gave her a piece of popcorn once and she loved that.

Yes, some cats have unusual eating preferences. However, cats are not like dogs -- and table scraps are not recommended for either of them. Cats require certain nutrients that simply are not in people food. I'm sure you can fine some sort of "treat" your kitty will enjoy.

The consumption of items other than food is called pica! It is common for cats to eat unusual things -- plastic bags usually. You've got to keep items away from your kitty. You were lucky the first time and people here have had their bengals eventually "pass" the item, but surgery is expensive and the item can be fatal if not removed in time.

The one thing bengal owners need to understand is that a bengal is not like any other cat! You're finding that out.

I've seen a baguette pulled from a shopping bag and nibbled with my 2.

If you want to give Kiani a treat then poached chicken breast is good. You can cook it in a pan or in the oven, in either case just put the chicken breast in some water and cover the pan/oven dish, ensure that the water does not boil dry whilst cooking. The important thing is no herbs/spices/oil/salt/pepper.

In the oven 160°C for 30 mins ( IIRC )
in a pan - medium low heat for the same amout of time

Leave it somewhere SAFE! to cool, and then feed her little bits every time you want to be an awesome human.

I have 3 Bengals and nothing edible can be left out anywhere in my house, they'll eat anything and they love chomping on cardboard and polystyrene. Oh and one of them has a real thing about chewing phone charging cables - I've lost count of how many thin electric wires Tyche has chewed. I've just bought some CritterCord so hopefully this will work