Diet

​Bengals, like all other domestic cats and other species in the family Felidae, are referred to as true carnivores in the order Carnivora. This means that they can only digest and absorb all their necessary nutrients from animal products. This differs from other domestic pets like dogs, which are part of the same order, but have developed to be omnivores, which are able to digest and absorb plant and animal products. Cats require proteins, fats, and carbohydrates found in meat, as well as the micro-nutrients such as vitamins and minerals found in those products as well. Cats lack the digestive enzymes found in omnivorous or herbivorous species that allow them to break down the starches found in plants into useable simple sugars.

We believe that the optimal diet for the health and nutrition of a cat is raw meats for proteins, fats, and carbohydrates, and organ meats for essential amino acids such as taurine and micro-nutrients. Cats can digest and absorb the glycogen that stores carbohydrates in animal muscle, unlike plant starches. When proteins are heated to the temperatures required for cooking, they denature and become less absorbable. Raw diets ensure the proteins that the cat takes in are in the form they would find in nature, and therefore are physiologically designed to absorb.

Most kibble supplements are grain or corn based for filler, with ground animal products added for nutrition, then cooked for a long time with added preservatives to ensure they are shelf stable. As such, we feed our cats a raw diet when they first begin to wean from their mothers. In the past, we made our own raw meat blend out of turkey, chicken, and beef muscles and organs. That process was rather labor intensive (yet cost effective). However, we found a more ideal solution in the Totally Rawsome company, who makes and ships their own blend of raw ingredients. We will provide a sample of the Simply Rawsome diet when you pick your kitten up from us, and we highly recommend continuing your Bengal kitten on a raw food diet.

Part of the appeal of Bengals, as mentioned in our Bengal Characteristics section of our website, is their natural tendency to shed less hair and dander. This is best achieved by ensuring they have the ideal diet. The raw diet is the absolute best for coat and skin health. When compared to other breeds, Bengals also tend to have a more sensitive digestive tracts to subtle changes in diet. If you find your Bengal to be prone to stomach upset, a raw diet may be an ideal change.

We supplement our predominantly raw diet with Hill’s Science Diet as recommended by our veterinarian for additional fiber and calories. 

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References:
https://simplyrawsomeus.com/pages/cats
https://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2009/07/07/pets-protein-dry-food-and-disease.aspx
https://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/09/15/peta-thinks-cats-should-be-vegans.aspx
https://feline-nutrition.org/answers/answers-what-exactly-is-an-obligate-carnivore