About Bengal Cats

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The health of our cats and kittens is paramount in our breeding program. All of our cats in our cattery are assessed, tested and screened on a regular basis. We are proud advocates for Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM), Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency (PKDef) and Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRB-b) screening to ensure that all of our Bengals are free from these genetic diseases. We screen for FIV/ FeLV and we also screen for Feline Panleukopenia, Campylobacter, Clostridium, Giardia, Toxoplasma and Tritrichomonas. 

What is Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy?

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Feline Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a condition that causes the muscular walls of a cat’s heart to thicken, decreasing the heart’s efficiency and sometimes creating symptoms in other parts of the body. In a cat with HCM, the heart’s left ventricle (its primary “pump muscle”) is thickened, leading to a decrease in the volume of the heart chamber and to abnormal relaxation of the heart muscle. These changes can cause the heart to beat rapidly, resulting in increased oxygen usage and possibly to oxygen starvation of the heart muscle. This oxygen starvation may cause heart cells to die off, worsening heart function and leading to the development of arrhythmias (in which the heart beats too rapidly, too slowly, or with an irregular rhythm).In addition to these difficulties, less efficient blood pumping may also lead to a backup of blood to the other chambers of the heart and to the lungs, which may contribute to the development of congestive heart failure or the formation of blood clots in the heart. We have all of our adult cats annually screened for HCM

What is PRA-b?

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Bengal Progressive Retinal Atrophy is an inherited eye disease affecting the Bengal cat. The disease is characterised by progressive blindness that starts around the age of 7 weeks and slowly progresses until the cat has very compromised vision around the age of two years. The trait of inheritance is autosomal recessive which means that the disease can affect both male and female cats and that a cat can only develop the disease if it inherits two copies of the mutation one from the mother and one from the father. Carries do not develop the disease but they can pass the mutation to offspring. In our cattery, neither males or females carry the mutation therefore, there is a zero chance that the kittens we breed will have PRA-b.

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What is PKDef? 

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Pyruvate kinase deficiency is an inherited disease which affects the Pyruvate kinase which is a red blood cell enzyme important in red blood cell energy metabolism. Therefore, if this enzyme is lacking, a haemolytic anaemia can result. However, the anaemia may only be mild and intermittently detectable, or may not become evident until the cat is older. A rapid severe life-threatening anaemia can also develop. The disease is inherited as an autosomal recessive trait, so only cats with two copies of the defective gene are affected. Carrier cats are clinically healthy but can pass the defective gene to their offspring. Just like PRA-b, we genetically test all of our breeding animals for this genetic disease. Neither males or females in our cattery our carriers therefore, the kittens we breed will have a zero chance of carrying or being affected by PKDef.

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What is FIV/FeLV?

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FIV - Feline immunodeficiency virus is a retrovirus infection. The virus is often referred to as cat HIV or cat AIDS because it has a similar effect on felines. FIV-positive cats may have the virus in their system for years before showing signs of illness. The virus works by killing or damaging cells in a cat's immune system, often targeting white blood cells. The ongoing damage of FIV in cats eventually leads to a weakening of the immune system. Once that happens, cats with FIV can become vulnerable to secondary infections.FeLV - Feline Leukaemia Virus is a viral infection which can lead to the development of cancers such as lymphoma, leukaemia and other tumours and weakens the immune system of affected cats meaning they catch other infections very easily. It is fairly common and is spread through a cat’s saliva, poo, urine, and milk. Pregnant cats can pass the disease to their unborn kittens. Young kittens are most at risk, but adult cats can also be affected. With both FIV and FeLV, all of our cats in our cattery have tested negative. All of our kittens are vaccinated against FeLV before they leave for their forever homes.

All of our breeding Bengals are fully vaccinated and given annual boosters for feline calicivirus, feline herpes virus, feline panleucopenia virus and FeLV as well as wormed and fleaed at the correct intervals.

The temperament of our breeding males and females is extremely important to us. Our kittens are born and raised in our house alongside the chaos of normal living, our husky, our other pet cats, and our 4 children from ages 18-1 years old. While a kitten's temperament is largely environmental, genetics from their parents play a role. We therefore carefully selected our breeding cats and raise them at a young age along side our chaotic family.  That way we can tell what kind of personality your kitten will have, whether that is outgoing and has no fear or slightly cautious. All of our kittens are at least F5 or F6 (meaning they are 5-6 generations removed from an Asian Leopard Cat) which gives them a more domesticated temperament. This makes it much more likely that they will adapt to a domesticated home life than earlier generations. While we take all precautions to carefully select temperament in our breeding cats and with our socialization approach, we will still most likely have the occasional slightly cautious kitten. These kittens take a little more time to adjust to a new environment but eventually they will be no less loving, affectionate and cuddly than their more outgoing, no fear siblings.

Choosing a male or a female?

We have so many questions  about male kittens as one of the most common misconceptions is that males are more loving than females. This is simply not the case at all. We have the most affectionate females in our breeding program and likewise for our males. All of our breeding animals will quite happily sit on your lap in front of the TV in the evening purring away, Or if you work from home like we do they will sit on your shoulder or next to your computer as you work. The only difference we have seen in our male and female kittens is purely their size, males are generally bigger than females. Both males and females can either be cautious analysts or reckless hooligans, or somewhere in between of course. There is no rule of thumb with males and females and is just down to their individual personality. We very rarely have shy kittens due to our breeding lines and our socialization approach but if we do have a shy kitten in the litter, we find that this is due to sibling rivalry and once placed in their new home, they are a different kitten. Our kittens are neutered and spayed at a very young age so hormones do not get a chance to influence their personality.

Bengals, as obligate carnivores, and thrive on a high-protein diet primarily consisting of meat, with lean meat and organs being good sources. They need adequate animal protein, fat, vitamins, and minerals, and should avoid commercial foods high in carbohydrates. Ideally a raw diet is best for your bengal consisting of meat, bone, and organs. But let’s be hones Not everyone has the time to do this. So the next best thing for you bengal baby would be a grain-free, gluten free, limited ingredient diet . We focus on high-quality wet or dry cat food mostly wet! with a single, easily digestible protein source like chicken, duck, or fish, while avoiding grains, corn, wheat, and soy for our adults we use several options like instinct limited ingredient or ultimate protein, Taste the wild pray, merrick limited ingredient, royal canin bengal, for our pregnant females,nursing moms and kittens we use royal canin mother and baby cat. But ideally raw is best. Feeding only dry can lead to dehydration.Dehydration leads to kidney failure, but cats do not show signs of kidney failure until 70-75% of their kidney function is lost in which time it is too late. Young cats who start off on dry kibble will live a normal, healthy life but studies show that upon reaching adulthood, the rate at which kibble fed cats age and develop degenerative disease increases at an abnormal rate. In contrast to this, cats fed a non-processed, natural diet do not age as quickly and most importantly, did not develop degenerative diseases. Which is why wet or raw food is best.

Socialising our kittens is a vital part of raising our kittens and our children play a very important role in this process. The health and emotional wellbeing of our kittens and adults is largely dependent on how we care for them in the first few weeks of their life. The development of behaviour depends both on genetic (as I wrote about in the temperament section) and environmental factors. Between the age of 2 - 7 weeks, this is what is known as the 'sensitive' period. This is the key socialisation period and relationships that depend on familiarity are formed at this time. Our kittens from the moment they are born are handled by me. They are touched all over, lifted frequently. Once the kittens reach 4 weeks old and are a little more robust, our children are allowed to play with them too. This is a very exciting time for both children and kittens. Research shows that kittens handled by four or five different handlers before seven weeks will be more sociable to people as adult cats and more inclined to initiate social interactions with them. Cats that are handled by one individual will be particularly affectionate towards them but will view other humans with suspicion and show a tendency to avoid them. Our kittens are raised in heavy foot traffic areas in our home which not only means that they are played with by everyone in the house whether that is us and the children or friends and family, but they are subjected to the crucial non-threatening objects and activities such as TVs, vacuums, mops, DIY projects and everything else that is normal in a crazy busy household. We want our kittens to feel mentally prepared for their departure from our home and settle into their new home and bond with their new owners as quickly as possible. We feel that our approach to socialization maximizes the kitten's ability to adjust to their new environments and reduces stress and anxiety while adjusting. We pour a lot of time, effort, & love from our hearts into each individual kitten.