Vaccinations
Your kitten/cat will have received at least one vaccination for FVRCP. Only 2 vaccinations are required.  You should give the second vaccination four weeks after the date of the first one. The vaccination dates will be on your contract.  This is the only vaccination your kitten requires now.  In one year, it will require another Distemper Combo.  This should be good for the life of the cat.

Discuss with your veterinarian whether you want to vaccinate for feline leukemia. If you kitten is only in the house, these vaccinations may be unnecessary. However, if you need to board your cat out, or go for walks on a leash, or contact any other cats, these vaccinations would be a necessary precaution. We have seen 3 or 4 very negative reactions to the leukemia shots in Bengals.  What happens is that the kittens almost always develop a lump at the site of the injection, and over a few weeks it almost always goes away. Sometimes it doesn't go away, and it gets hot and grows and swells and you have a major problem on your hands that requires surgery to resolve.  This is called an "Injection Site Sarcoma". With surgery there is almost always a good result, but why take the chance?  If you and your vet feels you must vaccinate, then do it beneath the skin on one if the kitten's legs, up around the thigh. Do a different side than the one used for Rabies. If a problem develops, it's much easier to treat there than up between the shoulder blades.

This kitten has not been vaccinated for rabies. If a cat is indoors only, rabies vaccination may not be necessary. However, it may be required if you ever need to board your cat. Some states require rabies vaccination of all cats.

Nail Care
Never de-claw.  It is not allowed according to our sales contract.   Most people do not realize that it mutilates the bones in the cat's foot by clipping the bone, not the nail. There can be unforeseen behavioral problems in cats that are de-clawed.  Most cats can be trained with the word "no," or slapping a newspaper against your hand, or even a spray bottle of plain water when you want to teach them a certain behavior.   Trimming your cat's nails will reduce the amount of damage caused by scratching before and after training begins.   I have found it very easy to trim their nails when they are napping.  If you are gentle, they won’t even know you are doing it.  Their claws have been trimmed approximately once a week.  You can trim them when they become sharp (you’ll know).  They don’t grow as fast once they are older and once a month is sufficient as an adult.

Nail Trimming Instructions
Before trimming, get your cat used to having his paws handled and squeezed.  Begin by gently petting the cat's legs and paws while giving it a treat, making this a pleasant experience.  Gradually increase the pressure so that petting becomes squeezing, as you will need to do to extend the claw.  Continue with treats until your cat will tolerate this kind of touching and restraint.  This may take longer with cats that have rarely had their legs or paws handled.
Purchase some ‘scissor-like’ nail clippers from a pet store and trim your cat’s claws as necessary.  When your cat is relaxed and unafraid, gently press on the toes until the claws extend. Use the nail clippers and cut only the tip of the nail (white part), taking care not to damage the vein or the quick (pink part).  The nails can be trimmed weekly, keeping the trimmer perpendicular to the claw as not to crush the nail.  If you are hesitant to cut your cat's nails, consult your vet who will clip them for you and show you how to do it at home.  It is sometimes easier to have one person hold the cat while the other clips the claws.  When they are kittens the nails need trimming more often (weekly) than when they are adults (monthly). 

Bengals love to climb and they love high places.  Make sure you have some sort of cat scratching/climbing furniture.  This web site has some very good furniture at reasonable prices: http://www.petzones.com .  Gary also sells his furniture at local TICA cat shows.

Cat Litter
They are used to the clumping litter.  The rule of thumb for number of litter boxes is the number of cats you own plus one.  If you have 2 cats you should have 3 litter boxes.  They love to dig in their boxes.  You may consider a covered box to keep the litter contained in the litter box as Bengals love to dig in the litter.  Horse bedding pellets are also a good choice – they do prefer to have stools in the clumping litter, but the horse bedding pellets (pine pellets), are easy to have a few boxes around and they don’t track as much.

Diet/Food
Stick to a simple diet and do not change their foods suddenly as that can cause loose stools. Do not feed table scraps. Have water available at all times.  Do not feed any dry food you can find at Vons or a typical grocery store.  Cats are carnivores and as such require a protein derived from meat, not corn (which is what you find in things like Purina, etc).  Cats are much healthier when fed a diet of wet cat food.  If you are feeding a dry food, please feed a quality dry food such as Innova, Eukanuba, Royal Canin, Nutro, or Natural Balance. 

Your kitten prefers Fancy Feast or Innova Evo wet food.  Please, do not feed other brands of wet food unless first checked for carbohydrate content – they should not eat corn, rice, or other grain products and many canned foods have these ingredients in them.

You might find that your kitten has diarrhea when it first comes home – If this is the case, for the first 2 weeks or so, use a small bag of Iams Hairball Dry food.  Once this bag is finished, it is safe to use other dry foods.   

Indoor/Outdoor
Do not let your cat roam loose outside. They can be stolen, hit by a car, fall prey to coyotes, or come in contact with diseased cats. If they stay in the house all the time, they will not ask to go outside.  If you do want to let them out, do so only under supervision.  This means train them to use a halter and leash.  Do not let them roam.  Contrary to popular opinion, they do not need to go outside to play and hunt.  Just play with them indoors.  They do like to munch on grass.  You can buy Kitty grass at pet stores.

** Cautions **
Bengals are also very curious.  Be very careful when getting something out of the refrigerator, or when opening a dryer, dish-washer, drawers, closets, etc.  Your kitten will most likely try to wander into whatever you have open.  Be very careful not to lock them inside the refrigerator, or the dryer, or catch their paw in a drawer.

You may find that they will climb up your leg to your shoulder when young, especially at feeding time.  If their nails are kept trimmed, they will not be able to do that. 

Be cautious of your toes.  Toes can be fun to attack under blankets and fun to bite.  Be careful.

Watch out for rubber bands, toys with tinsel, or small objects that could be ingested.  Bengals are curious and get "into things". You will learn how much "child-proofing" you might need to do with your drawers and cupboards.

Your Bengal should give you a lifetime of devotion, activity, and entertainment. They are wonderful companions, and I will enjoy hearing stories of you and your new Bengal.  Please Email pictures! 

Supply List – best prices at Petsmart
Cat Foods (stay away from fish varieties – or only give occasionally):
            Wet:
            Sophisticat Kitten – Turkey or Mixed Grill
            Fancy Feast – Chicken, Turkey, beef, Mixed Grill, gourmet or chunky varieties
            Nutro packets – Turkey & giblets, Chicken & Liver
           
            Raw: www.omaspride.com for retailers/shippers.  K9Choice will ship.
            Rabbit w/bone
            Chickenw/bone
            Turkey w/bone
            Venison
            Platinum Performance additive – www.platinumperformance.com  
            Taurine: www.revivalanimal.com - get the powder

Another raw source: www.bravorawdiet.com
            Dry:
Innova (not available at Petsmart) EVO
Natural Balance
Eukanuba

Litter Box – Jumbo with cover – stay away from automatic boxes.
Litter scooper
Litter – ExquisiCat Unscented Extra Strength Scoop
Toys – lots!  Balls, wand toys, ball in ring, mice that rattle, shoestrings
Cat Tree – a must have – cats need furniture of their own to scratch. – buy at: http://www.petzones.com/
Cat scratchers – the corrugated cat scratchers are nice to have around as well.  They can be in a room where there is no cat tree.
Water fountain – Drinkwell water fountain (optional)