Hi,

I have just joined the forum to get some advice as I collect my 13 week old bengal tomorrow and starting to panic on the food side of things what to feed her when we bring her home.

The breeder says she will come with a little bit of food she is used to but I don't know how long this will last so really want to go out tomorrow and buy some supplies.

They told us they feed there bengals on a recipe made up of ground beef and turkey mince, crushed egg shells, pro biotics and salmon oil. Sounds great but I wondered if there was any ready made pouches or tins we can buy to get us started before we get into the raw food recipe side of things in the future I have been reading so much mixed information.

We planned on getting some Royal Canin Kitten dry food and some wet pouches or tins, is there a good brand out there in any supermarkets or pets at home that will be good enough for her?

Pets at home have "HiLife its only natural" pouches which say there grain and additive free would these be ok for the kitten?

Stressing out loads lol just want to make sure we don't harm her with bad food.

Thank you.

Welcome!!
I'm sure your breeder will advice stuff but if it helps we did a mix of weaning paste - came frozen - from natural instinct i think and kibble. Teen we went through different trial and error and we now feed them nature's menu and dental Hill's dry food.
Your kitty will let you know what works I'm sure. :-)

So right now for you there should be two worries about food:

1. That you buy something that she doesn’t recognize as food or simply hates it, and refuses to eat it.
2. That she does want to eat what you give her, but it causes a bad reaction like an upset tummy.

Notice nowhere above did I mention nutrition, because right at this time it’s of secondary importance.

You actually are in a bit of a pickle right now because most breeders will simple give you a bag or cans with whatever they were feeding and then you can go to your local pet food store and buy it off the shelf. But it sounds like yours makes their own “raw” cat food formulation (and kind of a goofy one too as beef isn’t usually considered an ideal food for cats, especially as a staple).

I think your choices are:

1. Embrace the raw food diet and homemade manufacturing process and replicate what your breeder was doing.
2. Decide that you like the idea of a raw food diet but that the manufacturing process isn’t for you. If you choose this way, depending where you live, there may be some good off the shelf brands you can buy. Here in Oregon, my cats get Rad Cat, and Rawr. You can google those and see if they are sold where you live.

3. Decide that you want your cat to eat a more traditional diet of canned and dry food. If this is your choice, then the thing to do is to go to the Pet food store, explain that you are getting a kitten and want to audition some food, and then try to come away with samples to try. Don’t make the mistake of arbitrarily selecting one food and buying an enormous supply of it.

When you have that crisis averted you can then do some reading about cat food and nutrition. There’s lots of websites with that info. I’m partial to:

http://www.littlebigcat.com/category/nutrition/

If you have specific questions let us know.

_________________
The little monsters 3

If the kitten is already eating what sounds like a relatively balanced raw diet, you should aim to continue it.

More realistically, it's not usually a good idea to change a kittens diet straight after bringing them home, it's better to wait a month or so, once they have settled in.

Kittens are much easier to transition from one diet to another, after they are settled, simply because they don't have months or years of a preconception of what is or isn't food.

If you are unsure at all about raw feeding, or preparing a raw diet, just ask. It's much easier than others would lead you to believe, and it's not hard to do it right, and balanced properly.

If you are in a pinch and you need to buy a pre-made raw food, you have the options of Nature's Menu, Nutriment, & Natural instinct, to name a few, usually one or the other can be found in pets at home in the freezers.

A very good place to learn about raw would be the cat crap fb group, see my signature. Also its worth understanding a bit more about feline biology and the difference between synthetic and natural minerals and their long lasting effects.

Congratulations on your upcoming arrival! Wonderful of your breeder to send food home with your baby! If you want to continue feeding the food, make sure your breeder gives you an entire recipe and instructions. You can prepare a large quantity of raw food and freeze it in daily containers.

There are companies who manufacture raw food. That's not saying your kitty is going to like it! You never completely change a cat's diet as it will cause stomach upset, no doubt! You want to slowly transition the cat to the new food.

There is no law that says you have to feed your cat a raw diet. Many owners here do, but most of us use regular cat food. The choice is really up to you. Just make sure that you kitten gets enough to eat. A 13-week old should probably get 5 meals a day. And allow the kitten to eat as much as it wants to eat. If a dollop is not enough, then give another dollop. (What is a dollop anyway??? LOL).

Your breeder will be your BEST source of information and a GREAT breeder will always be there to answer questions throughout your kitty's life.

Thanks everyone, we have made the decision to copy the breeders recipe they gave us as little Nala wolfs down every bit of food we put out so she seems to love there recipe. Ordered all the supplements from amazon just need the turkey and beef.

Sounds absolutely perfect!!! I'm sure your breeder recommends a raw diet -- and if you can spend a few hours preparing it and putting it in containers and freeze it, you will have a supply to last you for a while. A supplement is necessary if you are not giving your baby crushed bones (or eggshells) or organs (heart / liver).