So what type of things do we use at our cattery to keep our Bengals happy?
Toys!!!!!
Wands are an all time favorite! This one in particular... My daughter picked it out because we have a cardinal that terrorizes us every morning by knocking on our windows. She seems to think that this toy will train them to hate cardinals and that will help our problem!
By the way, this one squeaks! Zuko goes nuts over this toy and often does flips for it. |
If you haven't bought these springs for your cat yet.... BUY THEM NOW!!!! They are wonderful! Kyoki will play for an hour straight with this toy. We buy the bigger ones and still monitor their play because Zuko has broken pieces off of it. They will often pick up the springs and jump into a box with them to play for a long time.
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Mouse toys!!!! My Bengals seem to like the sisal and the real looking ones the best. All in all, anything that makes a noise when shaking it is wonderful! It is perfect for grabbing their attention long enough to initiate a game of fetch.
Each cat will have their own likes with toys. I even make a lot of puzzle games out of old cereal boxes and Chewy.com boxes! Those seem to trump any of the store-bought toys easy. Thank goodness the springs and mouse toys are cheap! We go through them a lot. Or more accurately, we lose a lot of them under the stove and fridge.
And a small side note about toys... SHOESTRINGS ARE NOT TOYS!!!! There is a story behind that statement with Zuko...
And a small side note about toys... SHOESTRINGS ARE NOT TOYS!!!! There is a story behind that statement with Zuko...
Homemade catnip toys!! I didn't make them, but I have a wonderful friend who loves to crochet! She is awesome because I have shown her a picture and said, "This is cool! I would love this!" and a few days later, she would have it made and she would bring it over to our house! So these are wonderful because of catnip! All my cats love these! Here is another crochet kitty item... kitty tunnel beds!
Litter boxes
The type of litter system we use encompasses the Tidy Cat Breeze system, kiln dried wood pellets, a large litter box, and puppy pads! I did not come up with this combination on my own. Truthfully, I was researching the cheapest way to do a litter box and stumbled across information on toxic litter. Now, I recommend doing research yourself on that. I won't tell you an argument in either direction about it, that is not what my site is for. However, out of all the litter systems (and litters) that I looked at, this system was the cheapest, safest, and the least smelly. I really do like it a lot and I highly recommend it! There is a YouTube video that I followed that spelled out exactly how to do it and where to buy the stuff for it. That is the exact system I use. Look at it this way... I even have a litter box like this in my bedroom (among other public areas) and there is little to no smell! So a big thanks to Victorian Gardens Cattery for making this video!
Water
I highly recommend getting a water fountain of sorts. Zuko loves playing in the water and he will even fish out any bugs that might land in the water! Changing the water often is a very good idea because of the fact that Bengals may play in the water. Now Kyoki sometimes plays or drinks out of it but she prefers to drink out of a bowl, so each one may be different. I did read somewhere that male cats like drinking out of fountains more, so if that is true, that would make sense for what occurs in our home.
Food
Mmmmm... delicious meats! We feed our Bengals raw meat that we make ourselves. It is more than just using raw chicken, we add in eggs and other vitamins to make sure that we give our cats the best nutrition! Feeding the cats raw food that we made ourselves happens to be around three times cheaper than buying a high quality wet food. We make bulk batches every 2-3 months and freeze it and just pull it out as we need it. That just seems to work best for us and the cattery since we needed to be aware of the most cost effective way to feed them the best quality food we could afford.
I highly recommend this diet for Bengals! We at least recommend that the cats are fed a good quality wet food that is grain free. Cats are carnivores by nature and do not need vegetables like dogs and humans do. I understand that unless you make raw food yourself, this particular diet can also be costly. I just ask that you do research, and try to buy the best food you can reasonably afford for your kitties. It is up to you how you will feed your cats. We do understand that you will feed your cats whatever you want when you bring your new kitten home. (But I would like to convince you to feed them a higher quality food!)
With all that said, we are currently looking into making even larger quantities of our homemade cat food and selling it! This requires upgrading our business name and getting the proper testing done so we can work in accord with the AAFCO (the ones who manage animal food, kinda like the FDA). We are currently figuring out the costs and we will update the website and let you know as soon as we get everything licensed!
This is the exact recipe we use: hare-today.com/feline-nutrition/nutrition/making-raw-cat-food-for-do-it-yourselfers
This site is wonderful for explaining the reasons why we feed our cats raw and how we do it. It even has a calculator so you can easily find out how much of each material you need when making large batches!
I highly recommend this diet for Bengals! We at least recommend that the cats are fed a good quality wet food that is grain free. Cats are carnivores by nature and do not need vegetables like dogs and humans do. I understand that unless you make raw food yourself, this particular diet can also be costly. I just ask that you do research, and try to buy the best food you can reasonably afford for your kitties. It is up to you how you will feed your cats. We do understand that you will feed your cats whatever you want when you bring your new kitten home. (But I would like to convince you to feed them a higher quality food!)
With all that said, we are currently looking into making even larger quantities of our homemade cat food and selling it! This requires upgrading our business name and getting the proper testing done so we can work in accord with the AAFCO (the ones who manage animal food, kinda like the FDA). We are currently figuring out the costs and we will update the website and let you know as soon as we get everything licensed!
This is the exact recipe we use: hare-today.com/feline-nutrition/nutrition/making-raw-cat-food-for-do-it-yourselfers
This site is wonderful for explaining the reasons why we feed our cats raw and how we do it. It even has a calculator so you can easily find out how much of each material you need when making large batches!