In this article, we will go over the best cat food for Bengals.
We tested these products with our family of Bengals and asked the Bengal cat owner community to weigh in. Our Bengal cats are named Macy, Toby, and Turk. Their opinions will pop in from time to time below.
If you love your Bengal or are a recent Bengal cat parent, you likely know that a raw meat diet is best. So what do you do if your situation requires a different option?
Read on to discover our selection of favorite foods to feed your Bengal cat.
Bengal Cat Food Comparison Table
Criteria for Choosing Bengal Cat Food
We used five criteria to weigh our Bengal cat food and choose the best of the bunch.
Nutrition:
We all want our furry friends to flourish and live their best lives. The most innovative way to do this is to ensure our Bengal cats have all the nutrients they need.
We read the labels as we did our research and made sure the ingredients lists of our top picks matched up with recommended diets for Bengal cats.
Please note that while we did our research, you should always speak with your veterinarian before changing your pet’s diet. We made notes to call out any ingredients that your cat may not tolerate to be safe.
There is some debate among Bengal cat owners about whether we should be feeding them strictly raw/wet food, but we know that’s not possible for everyone. We called out the positives and the negatives for each of our picks to highlight the information you need to know.
Convenience:
We would feed our Bengal cats a handmade diet of raw meat right on the bone in a perfect world. Yet, we live in a fast-paced time, and things just aren’t that simple.
Ensuring we can feed our Bengal cats quickly and easily play a role in our testing and decision making. We didn’t give it as much importance as other factors, but we wanted to call out any times we noticed a big difference in either positive or negative direction.
Cost:
Hand-in-hand with convenience is the cost. Some of our choices are on the pricier side, but we didn’t want to turn our nose up at them if they hit all our other criteria. (We’re looking at you, New Zealand Natural Pet Food Co.!)
Taste/Bengal Cat Preference:
This part was the most fun section of our research! Some cat foods on our list only come in one flavor that is suitable for Bengals. However, if the option was there for our fur babies to try a few flavors, we went for it!
We did the tests over a few days to collect enough data. Each time we fed our Bengal cats, we put out each flavor in a row. Sometimes they all went consistently to the same taste, and other times they would mix it up.
Don’t worry. We ensured our cats had enough of the food they were used to eating alternated with their taste tests to avoid any stomach issues. After discovering our findings, we might switch their meals to a different product!
We still aren’t entirely sure if they cared about taste or if it was all just random, but it was sure fun to try and find out. We also took other public reviews and fellow Bengal cat owners’ observations into consideration.
Any Added Bonuses:
This is the wild card. If a cat food on our list has any exciting or cute features, we felt compelled to note them.
Unless the bonus is beneficial to your Bengal, we didn’t give this criterion too much weight. Think of it more as an “FYI.”
Reviews: Best Bengal Cat Food
Here are our top recommendations for bengal cat food:
- Royal Canin Bengal Cat Food
- Meow Wild Venision for Bengals
- Instinct Ultimate Protein Formula
- Purina ONE Healthy Kitten Formula
- Instinct Limited Ingridient Diet
1. Royal Canin Bengal Cat Food:
Royal Canin is consistently ranked as the best food for many pets because it is unique for each breed.
- The nutrition content of Royal Canin Adult Bengal is well-rounded and perfectly tailored to our favorite breed of cat.
- Bengals have wide jaws. The size and shape of the kibble itself are designed to maintain the health of your Bengal’s teeth.
- It comes in a 7-pound bag, which means you won’t have to worry about running out for a while, and thus quite convenient.
- The cost is affordable. It costs $31.61 for the whole bag.
- It is packed with prebiotics and digestible proteins.
- As a bonus: The packaging is adorable, with a picture of a Bengal cat on the front and back. Royal Canin describes your Bengal as a “spirited living room leopard” right on the back of the bag.
- It contains many added ingredients, which can be complicated for your Bengal cat’s belly to digest.
- While our Bengals did eat it, we wouldn’t say they were as visibly enthused as some of the other foods on our list.
2. Meow Wild Vension:
We compared three flavors:
- Wild Venison
- Lamb & Hoki
- Duck
Bengal cats, like all house cats, are descendants of wild cats. Leopards and lions eat raw meat as their only source of food because they are carnivores. This cat food is the closest you can get to pre-made raw food for your Bengal.
This food has over 90% meat content, consisting of traditional meat and organs and bones. Your Bengal needs all of those! It is a convenient way to give your Bengal a raw diet. The bag is resealable and an easy-to-manage size.
- The Wild Venison flavor seems to be a favorite among Bengals. All three of our babies loved the taste. They picked it first over the other flavors every time. Turk sometimes went for the Lamb & Hoki, so that could be a close second.
- Bonus: The packaging is minimalistic, which gives you and your Bengal cat a touch of class.
- Raw and natural foods, while highly nutritious for your Bengal, are expensive. This brand costs $33.99 for a 9-ounce bag.
3. Instinct Ultimate Protein Formula:
- This food comes in duck and chicken, which are two options Bengals love! Some Bengal cats can be allergic to chicken, making duck a great alternative.
- Our Bengals loved both flavors, especially when mixed with water and softened overnight. We think this tricked them into thinking it was wet food – a great trick if you have a picky eater!
- It isn’t super expensive, but not our cheapest pick either. It costs $49.99 for a 10-pound bag.
- As a bonus, there is currently a 40% off coupon on Amazon for this cat food.
- There are lots of added ingredients and preservatives in this food. You have to decide if convenience outweighs the benefits of wet or raw food for your Bengal cat.
Related Article: Best dry cat food
4.Purina ONE Healthy Kitten Formula:
- The cost is unbeatable at $26.98 for a 16-pound bag. You get free shipping if you have Amazon Prime!
- We don’t think you can beat the convenience of having a 16-pound bag of cat food delivered to your door, either.
- Chicken is the primary ingredient, meaning most of the content of the food is chicken. This food has a high amount of protein.
- This cat food has soy and lots of other added ingredients, which will make it more complicated if you want to transition your Bengal to a raw meat diet when it becomes an adult.
Please note: You can feed your Bengal cat or kitten a raw diet at any age. If you start them young, it is much easier and healthier for them.
As far as taste goes, Macy wouldn’t go near it. Toby and Turk didn’t seem to mind. Macy is our pickiest eater, so take that with a grain of salt.
Plus, our Bengals are young adults. If you are feeding your Bengal kitten, they will most likely not know any better. (However, if your kitten won’t go near it, it is best to try something else and let them follow their instincts.)
5.Instinct Limited Ingridient Diet:
This option is excellent for Bengals with sensitive stomachs or health issues
This cat food is packed with nutrition because the primary ingredients are so simple. It comes with one meat (rabbit, salmon, or turkey) and pea protein.
We recommend rabbit or turkey. There are added natural vitamins and minerals as well.
- The meat is farm-raised which aids in mitigating food sensitivity issues in Bengal cats.
- The high protein content will keep your Bengal lean, muscular, and healthy.
- Our Bengals and other Bengals online think it tastes great. The consensus seems to be that most are partial to the rabbit. Some Bengal cats can be allergic to turkey, so we attribute our findings somewhat to this fact.
- As a bonus, this cat food is available on Amazon Prime.
- Nothing compares to a proper raw meat diet for your Bengal cat. While the added vitamins are significant, we cannot vouch for their source. We don’t have a problem with this brand, but we thought it was worth mentioning.
- Convenience-wise, canned wet food can be a hassle. We noticed it was a bit slower (only by a few seconds) to open and serve the food than our other picks. There is, of course, more waste with this option.
- It is a bit pricey, costing $41.88 for a 12 pack (5.5 ounces).
6. Duck Duck Goose Bengal Cat Food:
The food rehydrates when you add water, making it simple to give your cat the water content it needs to be healthy.
This food works great as an economical supplement to dry cat food or can be your cat’s primary meal source. It costs $9.99 for a 3.5 oz bag. Remember, you will be adding water to give it more volume.
It comes in a wide variety of flavors, including:
- Chick Chick Chicken
- Absolutely Rabbit
- Duck Duck Goose
Turk, always the black sheep, preferred Absolutely Rabbit. Macy and Toby consistently scarfed down Duck Duck Goose before moving on to the other flavors.
- It contains ground bones which are great for your Bengal cat. If you’re worried, remember that wild cats eat bones all the time! Just because we’ve domesticated our feline friends, that doesn’t mean we should deprive them of their natural food habits.
- Duck Duck Goose is 98% farm-raised duck, turkey, and goose.
- It includes the supplements biotin, D3, zinc, iron, A, B12, and more. A complete list of ingredients is listed on the product page.
- There are a few added ingredients like preservatives and fermentation products. Depending on your Bengal, this could be bad for them, although many tolerate it.
7.Blue Buffalo Wilderness:
- It has a 5-star rating and over 5,000 purchases on Amazon.
- It costs $37.98 for an 11-pound bag, and Amazon is running a 40% off coupon at the moment.
- Blue Buffalo has tons of added vitamins and nutrients to keep your Bengal cat healthy.
- Bonus: Probably the most excellent cat food packaging that will make your Bengal feel like a real wild leopard.
- It comes in many flavors with cool names. Nature’s Evolutionary Diet is chicken, and Rocky Mountain Recipe is trout. Our cats seemed to like both and chose to eat at random.
- Blue Buffalo is made without preservatives, corn, wheat, or soy.
- It supports your Bengal cat’s immune system with added vitamins and minerals.
- There are omega-3’s to support your Bengal cat’s gorgeous coat.
- As a cautionary note, some Bengals can’t tolerate chicken, so make sure you choose a different flavor if that is your case. Talk to your veterinarian before choosing your Bengal’s lunch and dinner flavor.
How Dry vs. Wet Bengal Cat Food Differs
Dry cat food, including food explicitly formulated for Bengals, is formulated with added vitamins and minerals. Lots of wet cat food, especially the raw or freeze-dried variety, has the nutrition your Bengal cat needs already in the ingredients themselves (like chicken liver or turkey bones).
You will find that raw or wet cat food tends to have a more limited, fresh ingredient list, and therefore a shorter shelf life. These foods are packaged in smaller containers and are almost always more expensive than dry cat food.
Dry cat food is more economical and convenient with less mess. Because it is dry, it needs to be mixed with water to make sure your Bengal cat is staying hydrated.
A Note on Raw Diet for Bengal Cats
We have hinted throughout this article that many Bengal cat owners choose to feed their cats a completely raw meat diet. You might be wondering why we stand behind the above brands with all their additives and preservatives.
Unfortunately, the meat industry is not as clean-cut as some of us would like to think. Most meats are processed with added hormones and chemicals, so we feel that the convenience of pre-made foods with your kitty’s health in mind is a great way to go.
The companies above take the responsibility of packing your cat’s food with the nutrients and protein it needs to be happy and healthy.
What To Avoid Feeding Your Bengal Cat
If you decide to go with a different cat food brand, make sure you avoid corn, wheat/gluten, and soy. At the very least, the first ingredients listed on the packaging should be meat. The ingredients are listed in quantity from highest to lowest on all ingredient labels.
If you don’t follow this simple guideline, it can lead to serious health problems for your Bengal cat.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some frequently asked questions from other Bengal owners.
As long as you maintain a high protein diet for your Bengal baby, they will be in good shape. Bengal cats are one of the closest relatives to wild cats, so they intensely crave meat and protein. They don’t need much else!
Calculate their optimal calorie intake based on their weight (or goal weight if they have a little extra to love!) You should feed your Bengal about 25 to 30 calories per pound of body weight. If your Bengal is overweight, consider switching to a raw food option.
Kittens need to eat 3 to 4 times per day, while adults eat 2 to 3 times per day.
The most important thing to keep your Bengal away from is grains. Bengal kitties cannot easily digest them. Besides grains, do not feed your Bengal:
Raw eggs (cooked is fine)
Potatoes
Caffeine
Alcohol (we hope this is obvious!)
Milk
Raw fish
Unlike what popular movies and television peddle, cats of any breed should not drink milk. All cats have trouble digesting it, Bengals included.
So long as you are making sure your kitty is drinking enough water, Bengals can eat a diet of only dry food.
We recommend mixing the dry food with water. It is unnatural for a Bengal cat to lap water the way other breeds do because they get most of their hydration from the raw meat they would be eating in the wild. So your Bengal might forget to drink water at all unless it is already a part of their meal.
In conclusion, there are many options to feed your Bengal feline. We found Royal Canin to be the best brand overall because it is so specialized.
If you’re looking for another brand, one of the seven on our list should do just fine. Or, you can research more about raw diets for your Bengal and their health benefits.
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