FEEDING YOUR CAT
Feeding your cat is definitely a controversial topic! Every day, we have food companies flooding us with Advertisements.
We have dry food bags with photos of Bengals on them, reassuring Bengal cat owners that the manufacturer offers the only species-appropriate diet for Bengals.
We have friends who tell us “this is the only thing you should feed your cat.”
We have sick cats who are dying from lymphoma, cancer, diabetes, kidney failure, and other terrible diseases. Our Veterinarians are overwhelmed. We too, are overwhelmed by all the “information” that sends us scrambling in hundreds of directions. It is confusing, expensive, and frustrating.
Because of our experience training and research, we are firm advocates of raw food diets. We always advise our clients “No Dry Food” -ever. For recipes and feeding guidelines, join and follow the Facebook group Completely Raw and Proud.
For more information about why we are not proponents of commercial foods, please read this article Carrageenan Can Be Dangerous to Your Pet.
You should also visit:
It is not difficult to transition a cat from commercial food to Raw food. If you would like to learn more, please read this article How to Transition to a Raw Cat Food Diet.
RAW FOOD RECOMMENDATIONS
DARWIN’S FROZEN RAW
One of the easiest (and least expensive) ways to feed your cat raw food, is to subscribe to a raw food delivery service. We like Darwin’s as it is easy, convenient, and contains all of the vitamins and minerals, in each pouch (no messy mixing required.
A typical 10-pound cat would cost approximately $1.70 a day. That is less expensive than all premium wet foods, and it is so much healthier.
Darwin’s has a great new program that offers new Bengal adopters a nice discount on your first order. Click the image to be redirected to Darwin’s website.
VITAL CAT ESSENTIALS FROZEN RAW
We also love Vital Cat Essentials – specifically the Rabbit formula. Cats in the wild get their protein from a variety of species – so it’s good to replicate that with their diet.
Frozen Raw food (thawed) is the purest food you can choose. It is not heat-fired like Freeze-Dried foods, so it does retain more of the vitamins and minerals that our cats need. You can click on the link to order it for delivery, or it can be found at specialty pet food stores. Most stores will carry a broad range of dog food but not the cat food – they usually have to order the cat version specifically for you.
Vital Cat Essentials Freeze-Dried Raw
If you can’t do Frozen, Vital Cat Freeze-Dried Raw patties are a nice option. is only available at specialty food retailers. Call your local boutique and see if they would be willing to order it for you.
MAKE IT AT HOME
If you want to make raw food at home, you’ll need a good recipe and an industrial grinder. You will also need to purchase all of the various supplements that you will need to include and portion out in each batch.
You can purchase raw Skinless Boneless Chicken Breast, run it through a grinder, and simply mix in the supplements according to the label of My Natural Cat plus Chicken Liver Powder. It’s a nice short cut.
Or if you prefer to look into other recipes, the gold standard is Dr. Lisa Pierson’s Recipe Making Raw Cat Food. You can also visit the Facebook group Completely Raw and Proud where you will find a variety of recipes.
If you choose to go the “make it at home” route – we highly recommend this Grinder.
You can get the STX Turboforce II”Platinum” w/Foot Pedal Heavy Duty Electric Meat Grinder & Sausage Stuffer for $199 on Amazon. Click the image to learn more about this workhorse.
WET FOOD
If you must feed Wet Food, here is a great brand that has a great Variety Pack, so that you can learn what food your Bengal likes best. We love Weruva, Tiki Cat and others.
Read the label! You want a Wet food that does not contain Chicken by-products or carrageenan.
TREATS
Vital Cat Essentials makes great natural treats for cats. Their Chicken version is the most popular.
We also recommend Whole Life pet treats.
VEGANISM IN CATS
One of the saddest “developments” we have seen lately, is Vegan Humans putting their Obligate Carnivore (Cat) on a Vegan Diet! You would not believe the horror stories that we have witnessed, when a cat is deprived of protein / fat / moisture. We have seen cats go into Renal Failure, Kidney Failure and worse (young cats!).
But don’t take our word for it. Read this article that was published in 2013 Kitten Nearly Dies from Vegan Diet.
If you are even slightly tempted to make your cat go Vegan, please read this article There’s No Such Thing as a Vegan Cat
SAY NO TO DRY FOOD!
In case you missed it, earlier in this article, we are staunchly against feeding ANY brand of dry food to cats. Please read Dr. Pierson’s article for the complete explanation of why we do not support Dry Feeding.
PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS
Bengal Rescue attempts to be as accurate as possible. However, Bengal Rescue does not warrant that product descriptions or other content on the Site is accurate, complete, reliable, current or error-free. If a product recommended by Bengal Rescue is not as described, your sole remedy is to return the product to the manufacturer.
