Bringing Your New Bengal Kitten Home

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Preparation will help you have a smooth transition, bringing home your new fur baby.  We will be here, to support you with any and all questions for the entire life of your new Bengal kitten. The support starts here, however, so please read all of these recommendations.  

· Litter box/litter

· Cat carrier/nail trimmers

· Food

· Bed/toys

and other recommendations

We litter box train every kitten we re-home at Exotic Bengals of San Diego. Your new Bengal kitty will go home used to pine pellets litter (that you can buy economically at a local feed store), which is inexpensive and easy to maintain. However, you should use a cat attract litter additive or go home with a potty sample in a baggie (to add to your litter box) so that they smell immediately where their new potty area is. 

We use an open litter box, which we encourage because Bengal kittens & cats often don't like enclosed litter boxes. 

If you want to use a different type of litter than wood pellets (clay, corn, wood chips, etc.) you should very gradually move your new fur baby to the new litter (mix 20% of the new litter in each day until you’ve moved over to the new litter).  Don’t switch litter the first month. Your new Bengal will have enough to get used to, and you don’t want them to start bad behaviors (going potty outside the litter box).  

See the below section 'First Week's Space' for help keeping your new kitty from developing bad habits. Also meticulously keep your litter boxes clean and scrub them with an antifungal/antibacterial soap every week at least.

The type of carrier isn’t that important, since you won’t use it that often. However, a solid carrier (preferably airline qualified) that’s large enough for a grown Bengal cat is what we recommend.  

Cat trimmers or human nail trimmers work well for cats of any kind. The important thing is to keep your new kitten used to the process. Handle their feet constantly, gently pressing to express the nails. Tap the nails with your fingernails and/or the clippers and gently and carefully trim them often so that your kitten grows up used to the process. We find wrapping the kitten in a towel and having a helper is easiest (have one person hold the towel-wrapped cat and have the other person clip the nails).  

After many years of owning and breeding cats, we believe it is healthiest for any cat, not just a Bengal, to be fed a balanced raw diet.  You can mix your own  (see feline-nutrition.org for a recipe and information) or buy raw from local pet stores, and there are many delivery services such as Souly Raw in San Marcos. You can find tons of great information on feline-nutrition.org as well. 

We find, however, that some families simply don't want to take the time to feed raw. Since that is the case, we supplement with a high quality dry kibble. You can start with the kibble and raw and gradually add in a high quality, grain-free, canned kitten food, supplemented with small amounts of human grade raw tuna, raw salmon & raw chicken (you can buy this economically at Costco, or ethnic markets). Please ensure your new fur baby eats the same type for an easy transition to whatever food you choose. 

Please be deliberate about your new kitten’s food choices moving forward, and any transition of food should be done very slowly or a kitten's fragile digestive system is likely to end up in a tail spin which can and likely will result in horrible diarrhea or worse.

Your new Bengal kitten will need a snuggley, safe place. She's used to a bundle of litter mates, so a warm, soft bed is critical.  It is also optimal to get a pet heating pad (which is a heating pad just for pets...it doesn't get overly warm) so they don't loose their body heat at night while sleeping.

As for toys, some of our favorites: feathers on a stick, ping pong balls, and lightweight balls with bells are always favorites. Remember that any toy on a string and any toys with fabric or feathers must be put away when not in use as they are a choking hazard. 

Bengals love cat trees! Height is important because Bengals like to be high up. We have also found that rope on the pole is a good scratcher (and saves furniture). The carpeted types of cat trees (versus fuzzy material) are also better. Cat wheels are also good, though they do take up a lot of room.