Breeders often get together and talk of various things but our topic of conversation usually ends up being cats. On this page Purebliss will share with you some of the TIPs that we share with each other, and we will also share with you some of the ideas we use in taking care of our own cats and kittens.

February '12

January '12

When collecting your new kitten please remember to ensure that a borrowed carrier has been thoroughly cleaned, and fresh clean bedding is used. Remember that a carrier is often used to take a kitten or cat to a vet, and vet surgeries (as with doctors surgeries) are the best places to pick something undesirable up.

Even if your new kitten has received flea control the fleas from used bedding have to bite your kitten in order to die which will be unpleasant for your kitten.

When visiting your vet with your kitten don't place your carrier on the floor - sit it on your lap to prevent the chance of cross contamination by being placed where a poorly cat or kittens carrier has been.

December '11
Is a Lily poisonous to cats?

Lily's are extremely poisonous to cats. If the cat gets the pollen from a lily on his coat, he will clean it off, and this pollen can be deadly to cats, the cat or kitten could suffer an extremely painful death. The list of plants that are poisonous to kittens and cats is extremely long, take a look at this site for some of them: www.aspca.org/toxicplants;
If you search the web for plants that are poisonous for cats you will find hundreds of pages devoted to the subject.

October '11

Early Generation Kittens

Early generation kittens are not for everyone. They make an amazing addition to a family who are prepared to be involved with the kitten as they are developing. However, after saying that, they need to be handled by the breeder from the day they are born, and then every day after that. They should also be handled by different people /friends of the breeder whilst they are growing so that they develop confidence and become loving kittens. F1 or F2 kittens can be nervous if they aren't handled enough by the breeder, and this regular handling has to continue when they leave the breeder and go to a new home. Once this is accomplished the F1 or F2 girl or boy grow to be a wonderful addition to a family home, and may give up to 20 years of love and enjoyment.

September '11

Bengal breeding is sometimes different to breeding other breeds of cats and you should ask the breeder of your girl if there is anything you should be aware of in that bloodline. Bengal queens shouldn't be left calling too long without being mated as this can cause health issues such as Pyo, or the loss of the elasticity of the uterus. When a girl is left calling too long she can also loose condition and also start to spray in the house.

Also be aware that breeding early generation females can be different than breeding SBT bengals, and you should discuss this with the breeder if you have an F1 or F2 female you intend breeding with. An F1 or F2 girl can get very upset if taken to a breeder that doesn't' understand the nature of early generation cats. Early generation cats can become very worried when you leave them somewhere strange and should be given extra care and attention and preferable not be taken away from their home where they feel safe or they may not breed. There are occasionally F1 or F2 girls that will breed away from home although this is not usual, and they often have to settle in before they will mate.

August '11

Going to stud

So you purchased your new pedigree bengal kitten for breeding a few months ago and your girl has now started shouting at the top of her voice, or howling, or even crawling along with her chest on the floor and her bum in the air. Seems like she may be calling. We use the term "calling" but do remember that sometimes a girl can be a silent caller.

a. First thing to do is check the age of your girl. She needs to be on her third major call and at least 9 months age before going to stud. You should also check that she is grown/developed enough to ensure she can cope with the birth of kittens without having a C Section.

b. Then contact the breeder of your kitten or search out the contract between you and the breeder of your girl to clarify any stipulations regarding the stud you can use or what you can do with regard to selling or keeping kittens.

c. Decide what type, markings, and colour of kittens you wish to breed. In order to do this you should already be aware of what your girl carries. eg. is she a brown that carries snow, or is she a brown that carries marble, or maybe you're not too sure what she carries but you want to produce rosetted brown spotted kittens. Whatever you have decided you should discuss this with the owner of the stud you are going to use.

d. Ask the breeder of your queen to suggest a stud for your girl to visit. A reputable breeder will often have a selection of friends where you can take your girl for mating even if she/he doesn't have a suitable boy available. Remember to ask about the contract that may be put on the kittens produced from that stud. You may have to sell all boys as pets - or - you may have to early neuter kittens before leaving you - ask the questions.

The breeder of your girl and the owner of the stud you are about to use will then help and advise you with regard to when you take your girl to be mated. You will probably have to visit your vet on route to have your queen blood tested - this is normal practice and be prepared to do this with every visit.

Some breeders will only allow one visit to stud for one payment, then there will be extra payments to make with every visit.

Some breeders will keep your queen until they consider her to be pregnant for the stud fee, this may take anything from 2 to 4 weeks.

Some breeders will allow you to take your girl up to 3 visits included in the original payment, and may only keep your girl for up to 3 days at a time.

Whichever way you decide to go you must make sure you understand the agreement you make.

July '11

Change of diet

When purchasing a kitten - make sure you check with the breeder regarding the diet your kitten has been eating. It is important to keep your kitten on the type of food he/she has been used to eating to prevent your kitten having a tummy upset. When changing to a different diet particularly when changing the manufacturer of the food you give to your kitten it is very important to slowly add the new diet to the established diet a little daily, this may take days or even weeks depending on what type of diet you are changing to.

If your breeder has used a filter system with your kittens water supply whilst she looked after your kitten, then why not consider using water that has been cooled after being boiled first to help prevent any tummy upset - allow your kitten to try your water supply a little occasionally to make sure your kitten doesn't get a tummy upset.

June '11

CARDBOARD BOX

When taking home a kitten to his/her new home have a clean cardboard box taped closed, but with 3 holes cut in so that no matter where it falls they can get in and out. Place something that smells of a member of your family, and also a small toy such as a toy mouse inside. If they are feeling sad or lonely and wish to go somewhere quiet they can go inside to sleep, when they awake they feel relaxed and happy in their quiet box and associate this comfort with your smell. If things get too hectic for them they can then go into their quiet box with your smell to curl up to - this will help bond them to you.

Teething

When Bengals are teething they often shows signs by their eyes loosing some of their colour, or their cheeks may pinch in under their cheek bones which will sometimes pull back their whisker pads, and they may suffer discomfort in their mouths.

Help their discomfort by allowing them to have a clean cardboard box to chew on - its cheep to replace and easy to clean up. This will also train them to know that the cardboard box is theirs to do with as they wish. This way, if you have to leave them long on their own you won't be concerned about them getting too mischievous as you know that they can have fun trashing their cardboard box.

After teething their eyes gradually become a deeper colour, and their whisker pads drop and become puffy again, and the pain in their mouths should stop.

Bengals as well as other cats are creatures of habit - the bad habits you allow them to form as a kitten will travel with them into their adult lives. Therefore, don't allow your kitten to chew on your hands when teething as this can become painful once they are adult.

May '11

PREMATURE KITTENS

When kittens are born premature they don't always search out their mothers nipples to feed. You will sometimes need to give them a replacement milk every 2 or 3 hours until they start to feed from their mums. Never feed the kittens with a syringe whilst on their backs as this may result in them having difficulties. Syringe feed kittens with their heads facing forwards in a horizontal position.

April '11

HAND RAISING KITTENS

When hand raising kittens from birth without an adult cats help with cleaning them don't forget to gently stimulate the kittens with something soft such as cotton wool or soft toilet tissue to encourage them to urinate etc.

March '11

PREGNANCY

There is sometimes confusion about how to tell if your female cat is pregnant. Bengals and Savannahs show ALL their nipples erect and pink when pregnant - once the female egg adheres to the wall her nipples will start to show a change - in some cats they change quickly at about 2 weeks pregnant in other cats they change more slowly.

A female cat "on call" may show her bottom 2 nipples erect and pink, and in some cases her bottom 4 nipples may show erect and pink. Purebliss use this knowledge with queens that are "silent callers".

February '11

WORMING

When purchasing a kitten from a breeder check with the breeder that he/she has been wormed against round worm before collection. If your breeder has not wormed the litter, then you will need to worm your kitten to prevent problems starting, it is advisable to start a worming routine which will last the whole of your cats life.

Our neutered cats that go outside are wormed every 4 months with a good quality wormer such as Drontal or Milbemax. They also receive a regular"spot on" treatment that prevents fleas, ear mites, and round worms, although this is not given at the same time as the wormer. Our young grandchildren visit us regularly therefore we feel it is essential to worm regularly so that they can join in playtime with our cats and kittens.

Our indoor cats are wormed once a year with a good quality wormer such as Drontal or Milbemax, they also receive a regular "spot on" treatment that prevents fleas, ear mites, and round worms. In addition to our worming routine we also have a routine in place for our entire queens and studs to have their poo sampled to ensure worms or any other parasites are NOT present.

The above is the routine at Purebliss, White House Cattery, and not necessarily reflection of any other breeder or cattery routine.

January 2011

RAW DIET

Many people ask me about feeding a raw diet to their Bengals or Savannahs as we feed raw food to most of our own cats at Purebliss. This is how Purebliss feed their own cats and we do not recommend this diet for all cats.

ALWAYS FEED RAW FOOD FRESH, and if it isn't fresh enough to go into your mouth then don't feed it to your cats or kittens (although I'm not suggesting you eat any of the food you keep for your cats and kittens). If we haven't used the raw food within 24 hours we cook this in water and then use it. NEVER FEED COOKED BONES TO CATS OR KITTENS.

If you are thinking of feeding your Bengals or Savannahs a raw diet we suggest that you feed a partial raw diet, and the following is how Purebliss feed a partial raw diet to most of our Bengals and Savannahs:

A good quality complete dry food is left down for our cats or kittens to graze on throughout the day. Cats and kittens have small stomachs and therefore require small frequent meals. Hybrid cats require a good amount of Taurine as well as calcium in their diet therefore check this on the dry food you use.

Purebliss feed a selection of raw foods once or twice daily to our Bengals and Savannahs to accompany their dry diet including the following:

DAY OLD CHICKS - Always feed these freshly thawed.

HUMAN GRADE CHICKENS - Purebliss mince whole human grade chickens (once of course grind, and then a medium grind) and feed this freshly ground or keep in the fridge up to 24 hours and then it must be cooked - we ensure there are no bones left unground. Purebliss feed CHICKEN LEGS or CHICKEN WINGS raw on the bone to exercise cats gums as they grind down on the bones. Any remaining bones are removed once they have finished eating. If you are in any doubt about your cat coping with eating raw meat on the bone then you must not give it to them.

HUMAN GRADE RABBIT - Purebliss mince whole human grade rabbits (once of course grind, and then a medium grind) and feed freshly ground or keep in the fridge up to 24 hours and then it must be cooked - we ensure there are no bones left unground.

HUMAN GRADE frozen or fresh ECCONOMY MINCED BEEF (from supermarket or butcher) - we feed fresh or cooked in water.

HUMAN GRADE LAMBS HEART (from supermarket or butcher) - we chop this up before serving, and serve in smaller quantities than the chicken, rabbit or beef - we serve fresh or minced and cooked gently in water, and served in its juices.

Wild Cats such as Servals or Asian Leopard Cats have a completely raw diet and it is essential that care be taken to ensure that there is a high enough percentage of meat to bones fed, and that supplements are given as required. Occasionally you will find that hand reared wild cats can adjust to eating a small amount of dry food in addition to their raw diet, but this is not always the case.

New Year 2011

Cats or kittens scratching this time of year - tugging at their fur - causing bald patches.

Have you had a live Christmas Tree in your home? Maybe your kittens or cats have been playing in it? Try bathing them with Sporal D or another shampoo suitable for cats or kittens. Bath them in your bath with warm water (not too hot mind) that comes half way up their legs no higher.

December '10

Prebiotics are frequently underestimated in cat health. If your cat or kitten has soft stools after having medication or wormer he may just need some "good bacteria" in his digestive system.

Prebiotics /good bacteria can help reduce common forms of "bad bacteria". "Bad bacteria can often be the cause of a runny tummy, and in some cases even vomiting.

Purebliss cattery sprinkles a prebiotic powder on our kittens and cats food after they have had a course of wormer, or received medication such as pain control and antibiotics after neutering.

Probiotics can be purchased from some pet shops or veterinary practices as a powder or a paste.