A-Kerr's Bengal cats since 1989

established 1989

A-Kerr's kittens are raised with you in mind...  

After years keeping mom and kittens under foot, I tired of  searching for the latest hiding place as mom  moved the babies,   I found carpeting was not the easiest area to keep sterile and often held irritants to eyes, and the kittens  had a harder time discerning appropriate places for litter training....   with this in mind, I worked with my veterinarian and with Ohio State  University in designing the ideal cattery arrangement.    I present that here... this is constantly upgraded and changed according to the latest information.   

The mothers are brought into the nursery two weeks before their due date, this allows time for them to feel safe and comfortable and to arrange their nest.  I find  the easiest nest is a large carrier with the door removed placed inside the nursery cage.   The mother's progress is followed daily, and when the time comes for delivery, I am there to assist and to handle the babies right away.  This allows for bonding to the human.   Because I only use mothers in my breeding program that welcome my presence I am able to handle the babies from the moment of birth without causing her stress.  

 For the first three weeks I keep  the kittens and mothers in confined areas that permit ease of daily handling,  clean environment,  and the mothers  feel they are in a safe secure area.  The cages are made of PVC piping and easily cleaned flooring... are spacious for initial moving around and have an escape shelf for mom.   The kittens are in the top cages for the first three weeks... then when they begin moving around they are on the bottom cage.  The photos show you the design.   Each cage is: five feel long, three feet wide, and three feet high.  The shelf hangs at about two feet off the side and is three feet long.   This easily accommodates litter box, carrier, room for movement and plenty of of room for food and water.  The surfaces are easily cleaned and sterilized.   

I have four of these cages and the kittens are only in them for three weeks at most.  They start out on the top two... and at three weeks move to the bottom two, with doors open and access to the linoleum room for more exploration and exercise. I have two litters at a time, or at least try to, so that the mothers can support each other if there is any problem.    

I feel fortunate to be able to designate areas for the care of my kittens... it is really ideal.  This allows for very healthy and very well socialized kittens... confident because they are allowed a natural progression in the socialization.   It also allows the kittens to be seen by everyone who visits and to be handled by  different people allowing the kittens to bond tom    the human in general.   The other factor is, my home has a complete absence of cat odor, and this is of primary importance  to me personally...     

Well, it is important that the kittens see who they have as ancestors and the accomplishments of their forbearers....   allows each of them to grow with the proper attitude!!!   Seriously, these are some of the awards won by AKerr's Bengals over the years... 

The nursery floor is linoleum and there are litter boxes scattered around for ease of use... the kittens stay in this room until they are 8 weeks of age and very used to the litter box.  Then they move into the main room. 

Kittens are in the main area which is carpeted until they are at least 12 weeks of age.  It is important for kittens to be well socialized, both with people and with other kittens and mom.   We have learned over the years that the primary time of bonding is between 2 and 7 weeks.... and that kittens need to remain with other cats until at least 12-16 weeks to learn how hard to bite, tumble and play.   Climbing poles are essential to Bengals!  

CONTACT INFORMATION