New Egyptian Mau and Bengal kittens

[tigertail]

One of my cats, who will be clebrating his first birthday soon - was a nightmare to feed.  I got him home and he didn't like anything really - and nothing of what I was advised to feed him which was an Asda cheepie.  I could have cheefully throttled him as it took me ages to cycle over there. I tried him with everything and eventually stuck to Lactol and boiled chicken for a while.  He now only eats Hi-Life fish and good quality dried foods.  He worried me silly and name is Menu. Today, he is a big, bouncy lad. Some kittens have sensitive tummies. 

[sunama]

NM was a big No No with my Bengals - runny bums all round,

Damn! I am hoping that I wont have to continually be sampling different food brands. I am hoping that Natures Menu is all that it is cracked upto be. Certainly, due to the high meat content, my Egyptian Mau (who loves meat), should take to this.

IMHO giving a cat whiskers is like feeding a child McDonalds every day -

What makes you believe this? I'm wondering if because Whiskas is the bog standard, run-of-the-mill, supermarket cat food, that cat enthusiasts turn their nose up at it. Or perhaps there is a genuine, well-researched reason why Whiskas is berrated.

The Bengal breeder was feeding his kittens Whiskas. I viewed the father of the Bengal I chose and he was about the most fittest, most muscular domestic cat, I have ever seen. He was using the Cat Wheel ALOT, so perhaps this had something to do with this. I can only conclude that whatever they are feeding their cats, is what I need to feed mine.

They love applaws and hi life

I will have to give one of them a go if mine dont like Natures Menu. They cost around the same, which is a good thing.

[sheryl]

My cats are all on Orijen dry and thriving and they have raw food too.  NM was a big No No with my Bengals - runny bums all round, IMHO giving a cat whiskers is like feeding a child McDonalds every day - dont shout at me its just my opinion.  That gave runny bums too.

[Millys Mum]

Remember to introduce it gradually, i find junky food eg whiskas to cause my lot tummy problems but it pays to be cautious 

My lot get 90% wet food with a bit of dry. I use it to call bribe them in for bed   

They love applaws and hi life

Susanne, that dry matter formula always gets me! 

[sunama]

It's an all stages food so would be suitable for a kitten.

Great stuff.
I shall order this stuff and see if the kitten likes it. It seems to be very picky when it comes to dry food, forcing me to mix it into his wet food.

I shall also place an order for some Natures Menu. I'm sure he will like that, as he likes any wet food with meat in it.

When the Bengal arrives, we shall see if he takes to this menu.

Thanks for the advice Susanne.

[Mark]

I had a look to see about ordering it but see it's Canadian - I won't buy any Canadian products - OH will have to make that bottle of maple syrup last 

I wonder if there is another food with no grains?

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

For dry food - have you looked at Orijen?

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/dry_cat_food/orijen/45156

Never heard of them. This isnt a kitten food though, is it?

It's an all stages food so would be suitable for a kitten.

[sunama]

For dry food - have you looked at Orijen?

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/dry_cat_food/orijen/45156

Never heard of them. This isnt a kitten food though, is it?

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

If NM goes down well, PAH sell it in bulk (packs of 48 pouches exclusive to PAH) a bit cheaper.  They used to be about £16 for 48 pouches, but every few months they were on offer for about £13.  Unfortunately, the £16 standard price has recently gone up to about £18 so I don't know what the offer price will be (if they still put it on offer).  Not so much of a bargain, but will still be a bit cheaper than buying the 12 pouch packs.

For dry food - have you looked at Orijen?

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/dry_cat_food/orijen/45156

[sunama]

Natures menu has a protein content of about 58% when calculated as dry matter. 

Thanks Susanne, that clears it up.

I'm leaning towards Natures Menu. Ive looked up HiLife (kitten) and its price is similar to that of Natures Menu. Natures Menu on the other hand has a higher meat percentage which is what I'm after, so Natures Menu it is. I shall get 12 pouches for starters and see how the kitten likes it. It will cost about 40p/pouch, which is pricier than Whiskas, but Nature's Menu is obviously higher quality.

Right now, I mix a little dried food with the wet food and feed it to the kitten. Is it worth me doing this or would I be ok to ditch the dry food completely? And can anyone recommend a good quality dry food?

Thanks

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

You need to calculate it on a dry matter basis.  The protein in wet foods seems low because they are about 80% water (similar to their natural prey).  In order to compare foods you need to discount the water and calculate the values on a dry matter basis.   Add water to anything and the percentage of other components will decrease.  For that reason, nutritional analysis is usually done on a dry matter basis, but labels on pet food give the percentages for the food as fed.  Natures menu has a protein content of about 58% when calculated as dry matter. 

Yes it is complicated!

http://www.thepetcenter.com/imtop/dm.html

Hi Life do do a kitten food - it's called Hi Life Junior I think, and it's a complete food if memory serves me correctly.

[sunama]

Ive just looked up Natures Menu protein content:


Typical Analysis
Protein 11%, oil 4%, fibre 0.2%, ash 2.5%, moisture 81%, vitamin D3 (9130iu/kg), tocopherol (30mg/kg)


This doesnt even get close to the higher protein content that is recommended by Richard Allport MRCVS who says a cat needs 50-70% protein [taken from the article I referred to in my earlier post].

11% is pretty low, even for a human being. I wouldnt even recommend that low a protein content for a human being who is training hard. For a cat, 11% isnt even close to the 50-70% recommended range.

I'm confused.

PS. Hi Life isnt an option yet as they dont seem to make a kitten food, which mine will be on for the next 8 months or so.

[Desley (booktigger)]

supplementing food is good, but as Susanne says, you run the risk of over-supplementing and that can cause health issues. Food also varies from cat to cat - one of my bridge babes had Whiskas etc for ages, and I thought everything was fine, but I changed to HiLife and there was an immediate change in his fur - it went from clumping terribly to no clumps whatsoever. So while they might look fine on one food, a higher quality food could make them look 10 times better. Another word of warning is that Bengals are known to have a temperamental tummy, so something to watch out for.

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

To me, the above seems to say that protein is the big food group that is required by cats. By supplementing a wet or dry cat food with some freshly cooked meat, would surely be the way to go...right?

The potential problem is that meat alone has a different calcium to phosphorus ratio to a whole animal.  It has a high proportion of phosphorus compared to calcium (a whole animal - meat, offal and bones - will have a ratio of approx 1:1 but meat alone has a calcium:phosphorus ratio of approx 1:20).  Calcium naturally binds with phosphorus to form calcium phosphate, and if the cat is eating something with a lot of phosphorus and not enough calcium, calcium will be drawn from the bones to form calcium phosphate.  That can result in bone deformities, fractures etc (similar to osteoporosis in humans).  That's why feeding meat alone is not a balanced diet for a cat, and is potentiall dangerous.  If the cat is getting mostly complete food, that's less of an issue, but it's important that complementary extras, such as meat, don't make up too large a proportion of the cat's diet.

[sunama]

The impression that I'm getting is that different people have different attitudes as to what is and isnt right.

I think the only way to see which brand of feed is fit for the purpose is to look at the state of the cats who have been eating a particular brand of feed.

I can only tell you my experience when I was at the breeders and saw plenty of cats. The Egyptian Mau breeder had plenty of cats and fed the cats, predominantly, Royal Canin dry food. The breeder occassionaly gave the cats some wet food. The cats on display were all in good health. The oldest cat that I saw, while there was aged 9.

The Bengal breeder had plenty of cats on display - mostly Bengals, but also a Serengetti female as well as a Persian. I didnt ask their ages, but I believe that the Persian was the oldest. It was extremely large. The feeling I got was that most of their cats were a little on the fat side. The cats were mainly fed Whiskas wet food as well as some dry food (not sure what brand though). All the cats there (apart from being a little fat), seemed to be in good health.

Could it be that the food we give to our pets is being a little over-thought?

After some research, I came upon an article:
http://www.mousabilities.com/nutrition/research.html


Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins DVM says that hundreds of thousands of cats needlessly have diabetes because the carbohydrate in dry food causes the diabetes and cats do not have salivary amylase necessary to digest carbohydrate and have very little pancreatic amylase and so it puts a huge stress on the pancreas having to try to produce enough amylase to try to digest the carbohydrate in dry food because cats were never meant to eat the 39-50% or more carbohydrate in dry pet food.   Hills Feline Maintenance when I had it tested at Eclipse Laboratories in Cambridgeshire was found to contain 39% carbohydrate which is far too much for a cat and it contained 31% protein which is far too little for a cat since Richard Allport MRCVS says a cat needs 50-70% protein and Eclipse Laboratories told me that they could not tell whether the protein in Hills was vegetable protein or animal protein but it is vital that cats get animal protein.   Hills also contained far too little animal fat since it contained only 9% fat and this low level of fat when a cat needs 30-40% fat in its diet causes dermatogical problems and cats derive energey from protein but the Pet Food Manufacturers Association wrongly say on their website that cats need carbohydrate for energy but cats produce glucose from protein and so do not need carbohydrate for energy and the Pet Food Manufacturers Association are completely wrong.   They also say on their website that a diabetic cat should have no more than 25% carbohydrate but Elizabeth Hodgkins DVM who is a feline diabetes expert says this is far too much carbohydrate and that a cat or indeed diabetic dog must be taken off carbohydrate completely and she has found that doing this usually allows the animal to come off insulin and to even be cured of diabetes.

To me, the above seems to say that protein is the big food group that is required by cats. By supplementing a wet or dry cat food with some freshly cooked meat, would surely be the way to go...right?

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Justv a slight word of warning about Natures menu and some of the very rich foods, some cats cant tollerate such a rich food and can get very upset tummies.

If they do stop any rich food and return to what they can eat without upsetting their tummies.

Also any change in diet should be done gradually.

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

I would be careful how much fresh chicken you top up his diet with.  Chicken on it's own (without organs, bones etc) does not provide a balanced diet and if you add too much to his food you could throw the balance of nutrients out.  I would make sure the chicken doesn't make up more than 10% of his diet.  A cheaper brand such as whiskas topped up with chicken is not the same as feeding a complete food with better ingredients.

If you look at the ingredients on a pouch of whiskas, they aren't great.  They will  meet minimum nutritional requirements because it is a complete food, and many cats have eaten whiskas for years without any ill effect, but if you compare them to those in something like natures menu you'll see a big difference, particularly in the meat content.  I think whiskas might also contain artificial colouring?? (or did at one time).  I do recommend studying the ingredients on different foods and then you can see how they differ.  If he will eat them, I would recommend a brand with higher meat content than whiskas - eg natures menu, hi life, bozita, - rather than feeding whiskas topped up with fresh chicken.  But it's your decision in the end.

If you're interested in reading up about feline nutrition, I think these articles are interesting.

http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=whycatsneedcannedfood

http://www.catinfo.org/

http://maxshouse.com/feline_nutrition.htm

http://www.felinefuture.com/nutrition/

http://messybeast.com/cat-food-industry.htm


 

[sunama]

A balanced diet of good quality biscuits and proprietry wet food, mixed with a little fresh meat (cooked or raw) is just perfect for any house pet. 

That sounds good.

Over the last 2 days, Ive been giving him Whiskas (wet) pouch, mixed with some Hills Science, kitten (dry) food, topped up with some roast chicken.

Initially, I was going to place a big order for Hills Science, kitten (wet) pouch, however, now I'm thinking of sticking with what Ive been feeding him for the last 2 days.

Some people feed their cats top quality organic food, with mineral water, while many human beings eat "value branded" supermarket food, as that is all they can afford. I donot agree with this philosophy. I'm not into falling for all the marketing. I'm sure Whiska's (though cheaper than the top quality brands), is one of the biggest selling brands as it is available in pretty much all supermarkets. Many cats have been eating this for many years with very few problems. Adding extra chicken to the Whiska's probably beats the meat and protein content of most of the quality brands, for approximately the same price.

[Pinkbear (Julie)]

He's adorable! 

You can't make them eat what they don't want to, and you can't stop them liking foods you wish they wouldn't - ask Mark because his Clapton drives him up the wall with his Chavy taste in cat food. 

The old argument of what they eat in the wild is  quite frankly. In the wild, cats spend most of their time on point of starvation and will eat any tripe going to survive, and a lot don't succeed and perish through malnutrition or poisoning. A balanced diet of good quality biscuits and proprietry wet food, mixed with a little fresh meat (cooked or raw) is just perfect for any house pet. 

[SpecialRed]

Hi SpecialRed, That looks like an Egyptian Mau type cat to me! Look at my picture of Flynn in my signature. Of course, he may not have had all the 'breed characteristics'. You might find this site interesting: http://www.emaurescue.org/. They rescue street cats from Egypt, look after most of them but pick out those closest to the 'breed type' to send to the US and England.

They have to be quarantined for 3 months no good for having a kitten, but i might look into that, especially as there a natural spotted cat. Cheers

[sunama]

I think there is a difference between Whiskas and Hills Science diet (or one of the other 'high quality' brands). I looked on the web and all I can find about the nutritional content of the Whiskas kitten pouches is:
Protein 9.0, Oil 8.0, Ash 2.5, Fibre 0.3, Moisture 80.0, Calcium 0.3. Vitamin E: 25 mg/kg, Vitamin B1: 0.9 mg/kg.

Hills Science Diet chicken kitten pouches are guaranteed 40% chicken and you can get much more information looking at this link: http://www.hillspet.com/media/WEURG/product/prodKeyPDF/en/SP_FL_P_ktn_NA_o_O_n_chkn_WEURG_prodKey_en.pdf

I tend to be someone who doesnt really buy into the expensive marketing claims. If its one thing Ive learnt, being into health and fitness, it is that we shouldnt fall into the marketing hype. A great example is Maximuscle protein supps - very expensive, for what they actually are. You can get the major raw material used for a fraction of the price and drink that with some water. In the same way, I would rather buy a cheaper wet food and top that up with real chicken, which I will know for a fact is of the highest quality - something that cannot be said about any of the kitten food manufacturers.

The Bengal breeder stated that he uses Whiskas wet kitten pouches.

Although they are both about 9% protein, I think it is an issue of knowing where that protein is coming from.

Thats why I would rather add my own roasted chicken. This is guaranteed to be chicken that is good enough, even for human consumption.

Do not worry about feeding up to the manufacturers suggestions. They often suggest high amounts. It is better to monitor your kitten by weighing him and checking that he is continuing to gain weight. I use my electronic kitchen scales that weigh up to 5 kg. If he does not gain weight over, say, a week he needs to see a vet.

You may like to use a growth curve like this one: http://www.myhillspet.com/~/media/2E66E3E3F8F44E6D99BF8542B2466B4F.ashx

I only used the graph, not the rest of the stuff. Flynn has grown consistently just under the top of the curve for the male kitten.

Nice info.

[moiramassey]

Hi SpecialRed, That looks like an Egyptian Mau type cat to me! Look at my picture of Flynn in my signature. Of course, he may not have had all the 'breed characteristics'. You might find this site interesting: http://www.emaurescue.org/. They rescue street cats from Egypt, look after most of them but pick out those closest to the 'breed type' to send to the US and England.

[bluecat]

dont worry if thier little stand offish it can take time depending on the cat  Just dont crowd them let them settle and carry on as normal theyll soon come round once they see they can trust you  The odd treat hand fed can work wonders as well

[SpecialRed]

What type of cat is this??? He was my buddy in Egypt!

[moiramassey]

I think there is a difference between Whiskas and Hills Science diet (or one of the other 'high quality' brands). I looked on the web and all I can find about the nutritional content of the Whiskas kitten pouches is:
Protein 9.0, Oil 8.0, Ash 2.5, Fibre 0.3, Moisture 80.0, Calcium 0.3. Vitamin E: 25 mg/kg, Vitamin B1: 0.9 mg/kg.

Hills Science Diet chicken kitten pouches are guaranteed 40% chicken and you can get much more information looking at this link: http://www.hillspet.com/media/WEURG/product/prodKeyPDF/en/SP_FL_P_ktn_NA_o_O_n_chkn_WEURG_prodKey_en.pdf

Although they are both about 9% protein, I think it is an issue of knowing where that protein is coming from. I would always feed a kitten food that gave this level of information and which was this well defined. There are lots on the market. I buy online whenever there is a 2 for 1 offer to bring the price down.

I have bought up most of my cats on Hills Science Diet dried with great success, and have only started to feed a mixture of pouches and dried with these two, because of the digestion problems the little Siamese/Bengal mix had when she arrived with me. However, I have to confess my adult cats also like the pouches and I know that it is considered 'good practice' to feed a mixture of dried and wet. I now have the dried out all the time (it is a much more concentrated food) and give them a small feed morning and evening from the pouches. Luckily Flynn's food thievery is about sampling everything, not gobbling everything down. Flynn eats about one pouch per day (half in the morning, half in the evening) plus, approximately, half a mug of the dried food (which is out all the time). It is difficult to tell when you have four cats!

Do not worry about feeding up to the manufacturers suggestions. They often suggest high amounts. It is better to monitor your kitten by weighing him and checking that he is continuing to gain weight. I use my electronic kitchen scales that weigh up to 5 kg. If he does not gain weight over, say, a week he needs to see a vet.

You may like to use a growth curve like this one: http://www.myhillspet.com/~/media/2E66E3E3F8F44E6D99BF8542B2466B4F.ashx

I only used the graph, not the rest of the stuff. Flynn has grown consistently just under the top of the curve for the male kitten.

It was this curve that alerted me to how sick Mitzi was when, despite eating all the time, she was way below the bottom of the female kitten curve for 9 weeks. Now she is above the top of the female kitten curve and showing her Bengal heritage!

[sunama]

Hi sunama, we chatted on the catchat website and I told you I have an Egyptian Mau and a Bengal/Siamese cross. Flynn (my Egyptian Mau) is now almost 6 months.

Hi Moira

Flynn is a typical Egyptian Mau in many ways. It is sudden loud noises he does not like.

Reflex gets scared when he hears a fan-like noise. My hairdryer scares the living daylights out of him. As does the electric fan heater.

He also is very happy eating Hill Science Kitten pouches and Hills Science diet dried.

I'm currently giving him Whiskas kitten wet food, as I donot have access to Hills Science. He seemed to really have liked rabbit flavour. Today was the day he ate the most, so clearly he is getting his appetite back, after moving into his new home. I havent seen him eat as fast as when eating real roasted chicken though. I tend to mix in either some dried food or real chicken into his wet kitten pouch food.

Looking at the nutritional information, I dont quite see much of a difference between Whiskas and Hills Science, even though Hills Science works out more expensive. I would rather save the money and spend it on some real chicken and mix it into the Whiskas wet food, for an extra protein boost.

I'm actually wondering whether or not to bother placing an order for Hills Science, bearing in mind that he seems happy with the Whiskas.

He loves toys that move fast (e.g. Panic Mouse) or make chirpy noises. I have one of these sound-mouse toys (http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/cat_toys/cat_dangler/13641), which is really useful as he comes when he hears it - he does not come when I call him. Warning - buy more than one as they do not last long.

I shall put one of those things in my next zooplus order. I have a few toys for him, which I bought to find out what his favourites are, so I have a good idea now, what he likes. Right now, playing with him with the toys to give him exericse is very important. I make him climb up the cat tree, up and down, at least 15 times a day and he is getting a lot more confident when dealing with heights.

He is the worst food thief I have ever owned. Do you think this may be because they were bred from Cairo street cats? He hoovers scraps off the floor - even frozen peas!

I dont feel that Reflex eats enough food right now. According to Hills Science and Whiskas, he should be getting through at least 3 pouches a day, but he has only been eating about 2/day. This might be down to the fact that he is still getting used to his new surrounding and routine. At this point, he isnt a big eater.

All predictions about how good an athlete he would be have proved correct. He loves to play chase and to climb - wow he can climb! He escaped into the garden earlier this week and he was almost a blur, he was running so fast. He was up the trees and down again. Luckily, he stopped for a moment and my huband caught him. He now stares out of the window hopefully but as we are catproofing our garden he will only have to wait a few months.

This morning, he was running all over the place, after he had eaten. He also went to the loo by himself during the night, which is something he hasnt done so far. I have always had to walk him to the bathroom, where he does his thing.

He has always been very purry.

Reflex only purrs when he is about to goto sleep, after his feed and exercise. A low rumbling noise.

He had also started to chirp, which I understand is typical of Egyptian Maus.

Mine chirps all the time. When he is awake during the day, he makes a lot of noise. However, in the evening, after his feed and exercise, he goes almost silent, before making his way to the cat tree, where he sleeps.

I am sure that Reflex will be very happy with you and with his Bengal pal when she/he arrives.

The Bengal is really what he needs asap. I can see that he is used to having lots of feline company around him and I think he will go besserk when he sees another cat to play with. At the breeders' house, he was very happy playing with other cats. He didnt fight, but he used to chase them around and was always competing for the cat toy. He was definitely the most dominant of his litter, something required to deal with the Bengal - which is a dominant breed of cat who will grow up to be bigger and stronger than Reflex.

[moiramassey]

Hi sunama, we chatted on the catchat website and I told you I have an Egyptian Mau and a Bengal/Siamese cross. Flynn (my Egyptian Mau) is now almost 6 months.

Flynn is a typical Egyptian Mau in many ways. It is sudden loud noises he does not like. He does not like not having his paws on a surface, so I am careful how I carry him and what position I put him in if giving him pills. He also is very happy eating Hill Science Kitten pouches and Hills Science diet dried. He loves toys that move fast (e.g. Panic Mouse) or make chirpy noises. I have one of these sound-mouse toys (http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/cat_toys/cat_dangler/13641), which is really useful as he comes when he hears it - he does not come when I call him. Warning - buy more than one as they do not last long.

He is the worst food thief I have ever owned. Do you think this may be because they were bred from Cairo street cats? He hoovers scraps off the floor - even frozen peas!

All predictions about how good an athlete he would be have proved correct. He loves to play chase and to climb - wow he can climb! He escaped into the garden earlier this week and he was almost a blur, he was running so fast. He was up the trees and down again. Luckily, he stopped for a moment and my huband caught him. He now stares out of the window hopefully but as we are catproofing our garden he will only have to wait a few months.

He has always been very purry. Now that he is 6 months he is being more affectionate. He visits me for occasional cuddles and will sit on me if I have a towel or blanket on my lap to give the illusion of a flat surface. He had also started to chirp, which I understand is typical of Egyptian Maus.

I am sure that Reflex will be very happy with you and with his Bengal pal when she/he arrives.

[Millys Mum]

If he likes chicken you could try applaws kitten food (somebody posted a while back that they had confirmation that it was a complete food)

Felix and whiskas is what many cats get but if you want to try better quality foods with more meat look into natures menu, applaws and eaglepack 

Thats a great picture  is he settling in better? He will be pleased when his new chum turns up 

[Dawn (DiddyDawn)]

I give mine Whiska's kitten wet food along with their dried but I tend to use the pate rather than the pouches, but some do prefer pouches, it depends on the kitten.  You will have to be careful swapping and changing foods though as this may give him a runs, once you get him on foods that he likes, I would stick to them throughout.

[sunama]

Right, this morning, I put in front of him some Hills Science, chicken dry food (which he had yesterday). He sniffed, but didnt touch. I kept putting him in front of the food dish, but he didnt want anything of it. I then took out the dry food and replaced it with Hills Science Kitten wet food (chicken). He liked the smell and the taste and went for it. He ate over half the pouch, until he couldnt eat anymore.

I still feel he prefers real chicken, so I might use Hills Science Kitten wet food and add some extra pieces of chicken. This will increase its protein content as well.

The single sample pouch of wet food has very little left, after this morning's feed, so I might try him out on Whiska's Kitten pouches over the weekend and wait for the the Hills Science wet pouches to be delivered next week.

What is the opinion on this forum of Whiska's kitten wet food?

[Gail Bengal Slave]

Can I ask how old is Reflex?

3 months and 1 day.

That one day is very important and makes all the difference   

[Dawn (DiddyDawn)]

He's a gorgeous little baby      But yes, agree with the others about the food situation.  I would advise getting him a decent food that he likes and sticking to it, both wet and dry.  All my kittens/adults have dried down constantly and their wet food on top.  Starving a kitten into eating what you want him to isn't the way to go about things, tricks like that don't work with cats and can have a lasting effect on him if he doesn't become ill first. 

[Bazsmum]

Aw bless.....very spotty! 

[sunama]

Do you have a side on pic of him, he doesn't look very spotty in the pics you posted - I am also surprised you have got him yet, pedigrees are supposed to be 13 weeks old.

How's this:



Yeah, 13 weeks = 3 months.

I would liken the way he moves and how he sits, most like a monkey. He uses his front paws, as if they are hands. And with Egyptian Maus, the front legs are shorter than the back legs, giving the appearance of a monkey.

He really does need a playmate though, so its just as well I decided on getting 2 cats, as opposed to just the one. It'll also be interesting to see how he associates with a cat of a different breed, with different strengths and weaknesses. Today, he was walking around the house, making chirping noises. I think he was attempting to seek out another feline friend.

Well, he does seem to be eating the dry Hills Science kitten food (chicken flavour), so what I am doing is mixing real chicken with the dry food, so he is getting a mixture. I've also used the technique of giving him the dry food first (which he doesnt really like) and then immediately after giving him some chicken (which he loves and would probably eat even with a full stomach).

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

Reflex is gorgeous    And your bengly is a cutie too.   Bet you can't wait to get him home.

As to wet v dry - it's a personal choice at the end of the day, and if you feed a good quality dry food your cats will get all the nutrients they need.  I, personally, would always choose to feed all wet or mostly wet because of the moisture in wet food and the lower carbohydrate content in most wet foods.  Dry food is a man made food, and while many cats live long and healthy lives eating only dry, it's not an optimum diet for a carnivore imo.   If Reflex prefers wet to dry, I would feed him that.

I can't offer much advice about his behaviour as I've only ever had cats who have bounced out of their carrier and made themselves instantly at home!    But lots of cats do take a while to settle down and get used to their new home, so I think his nervousness is normal.

[blackcat]

I know Desley. I used to breed cats ...

[Desley (booktigger)]

BC, it is 13 weeks so they have a week after their second vacc in case of a reaction.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Reflex is great and agree with the others on the food side. I would never feed just dry food although its down all day id they want to nibble 

[blackcat]

i agree with everyone else about the food, and please dont starve him, it isn't good for him, and cats can get ill from not eating food. Do you have a side on pic of him, he doesn't look very spotty in the pics you posted - I am also surprised you have got him yet, pedigrees are supposed to be 13 weeks old.

by my maths that would be three months old (give or take a day). Which Reflex is. A week one way or another is not a major issue as long as he has his vaccinations...

[Desley (booktigger)]

i agree with everyone else about the food, and please dont starve him, it isn't good for him, and cats can get ill from not eating food. Do you have a side on pic of him, he doesn't look very spotty in the pics you posted - I am also surprised you have got him yet, pedigrees are supposed to be 13 weeks old.