A kitten can get stressed out and may cause her not to eat for a day. So just love her. Make sure she eats by the 2nd day and has a firm stool. Within the first 72 hours, we highly recommend that you take your kittens to your own vet. So that he or she can confirm his good health and book future visits.
As outlined in your kitten’s vet record book, your kitten has been dewormed with Strongid-T, Panacur, and Baycox before coming to you. Your Bengal kitten has been treated with Advantage Multi the week of pick-up. Please consult with your vet for future courses of treatment.
Bengal kittens are short haired and typically do not require bathing except in certain cases such as preparing for shows, etc. Nail trimming can be continued on a regular routine. The more used to it your kitten is, the easier it will be to continue doing this into adulthood.
A good tip we’ve learned is to hold and stroke your Bengal kitten’s feet and pads when you are handling him. This gets him used to having his feet handled and makes nail trimming a much easier task!
Bengal kittens food
Dry food: Royal Canin baby, later you can change it to Blue Buffalo Wilderness at 6 months old. Keep out all day. If you change their diet, do it very slowly each day until they are eating a new diet.
Wet food: Royal Canin kitten food. Feed 2 or 3 times a day for the first month. Bengals are very sensitive to the change in food. So keep them on the same diet or they will get diarrhea, loose stool and get dehydrated. So watch their stool, should be hard.
No people food. Keep them in a good health program. Have emergency vet numbers handy. They will eat everything, hair pens, pens, string, earrings, rubber bands, and bite on phone cords. Keep them away from your computer cords.
Health & vaccination plan for kittens
Your kitten will have their first vaccination and de-wormed at 8 weeks. But needs 3 sets of vaccinations 3 weeks apart so continue the next 2 sets with your veterinarian. The following is the vaccination schedule suggested by a veterinarian. Feel free to share this with your veterinarian so you can come up with a plan that you feel confident in.
(8 & 12 WEEKS)
• Full veterinary examination of kittens and external check for parasites
• Feline rhinotracheitis, calicivirus and panleukopenia vaccine #1 & #2. Check with your vet about the pros and cons of the chlamydia, the FeLV, and the FIP vaccines, which we do not recommend for indoor-only kittens.
• deworming and preventative flea treatment
(16 WEEKS) (In your care)
• Feline rhinotracheitis, calicivirus and panleukopenia vaccine #3. Next vaccination is due in 1 year; vaccinate every 3 years thereafter. Rabies vaccination (it is often suggested that the rabies vaccine be given separately from other vaccinations to lessen the chances of a vaccine reaction in the kittens)
• Feline leukemia vaccine #1 (optional; we recommend not giving this vaccine for indoor only cats)
Spending time with your kittens
If you’re concerned that you won’t be able to spend as much time with your Bengal kitten as you would like, consider purchasing/adopting another pet!! Cats (and ESPECIALLY active breeds such as Bengals) are extremely social animals. And they need the stimulation and interaction with other felines and with their human family to feel secure, happy and loved.
Be sure that you really do have the time available and are willing to commit to spending it with your new feline family member before actually bringing him or her home.
Also, for younger adults hoping to add the companionship of kittens to their lives, it is important to remember that a significant amount of people are allergic to cats. And that lifestyle changes and household moves can be very stressful for felines. Have a back-up plan in mind for what you will do if you suddenly find yourself in a new relationship with someone who doesn’t get along with your kitty (or is allergic to them) and if a new job or career will bring frequent changes and moves into your life.
Existing pets
When you introduce your Bengal kitten to other pets in your household, beware that your existing pets may not take well to the new kitten at first. This could be very scary for the kitten and stressful for the existing pet.
When you do finally introduce the kitten(s) to your other pets, they won’t like each other at first. This is totally normal. And can take anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks for them to adjust to sharing the same home. Younger animals will adapt quickly, but sometimes older pets take a bit longer.
These encounters should never be unsupervised. At first focus on making your existing pet comfortable by praising and petting him while the new kitten explores the room. Showing favoritism to the kitten and scolding the existing pet will cause friction and animosity from the outset.
Teach the existing pet to observe the new Bengal kitten and play nicely with him when he approaches. Keeping the environment calm and quiet during introductions is very helpful as well. Keep loud children or adults away and introduce pets one at a time if possible to avoid unnecessary stress on all concerned.
