Health

Qualified Veterinary Care

We are in a privileged position that we have developed a wonderful working relationship with our vet over the past several years. Therefore our health set up and kitten care along with vaccination series timelines have been tailor made for us through an extremely experienced and trusted vet with firsthand knowledge about breeding and caring for Cats.

Weaning

We believe in letting our Queens, mother our litters fully. We do not early wean our litters from our queens unless for medical reasons. This means that our kittens have a chance to learn many positive behaviors from their mother, like appropriate litter box habits, before she leaves them.

We also recognize the importance in the first several weeks of our kittens lives and the benefits of the antibodies they receive from their mother’s milk.

We firmly believe that by allowing our Queens to naturally care for their litters, it gives our kittens a great start in their long term health.

All Wormer (Drontal)

We commence deworming of our kittens while still in embryo. That means that our queen mothers continue to receive their deworming while pregnant to insure that our kittens are born worm free. Once the kittens are born we then commence a deworming schedule as laid out by our vet. After 12 weeks of age your kitten will need to be dewormed every month till they are 6mo old after that you will deworm your cat every three months for the duration of their life.

Frontline

Once our kittens are 12 weeks of age we recommend commence with Frontline for the treatment of parasites. This is a monthly preventative that is given by dosing the kitten with a drop on the back of their necks once a month for the duration of their life.

Immunizations

The F3 kitten vaccination covers:

Feline Rhinotracheitis Virus
Feline Calicivirus
Feline Panleucopenia Virus

Our Veterinary recommended vaccination series starts with the kittens receiving their F3 vaccination at 8+ weeks of age. A second booster is due 2-4 weeks later. The final booster is due at 2-4 weeks after that. From then on your cat should have annual vaccinations for the duration of the cat’s life. At the time of our kittens first vaccinations they also receive a full health check from our vet to ensure that everyone is developing properly.

Besides the general health and well being of our kittens, our vet checks the following:

Bite
Eyes
Ears
Spine/Tail
Joints
Patellas
Flex/Movement
Heart
Lungs/Breathing
Privates
Umbilical

Alteration (desexing)

We believe in responsibly breeding. In consideration of the unwanted cat population we have been practicing ES&N (Early Spay & Neuter) since the beginning. We have had personal experience with ES&N for the last fifteen years and feel that the benefits far outweighed any perceived negatives. We have truly only experienced excellent results with ES&N.

Our Top Quality Pet kittens and Altered Show Quality kittens are altered (desexed) at 11 weeks of age. This allows the kitten to be mature enough to handle the surgery but early enough to be healed by the time they leave us for their new homes. This cost is included in our kitten pricing.

About HMC

HCM (Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Mutation) is a disease of the heart in which a portion of the wall is thickened without any obvious cause. HCM results in a reduction of chamber volume, thereby reducing the volume of blood that the heart can pump with each contraction and in severe cases premature death can occur.

HCM can be found in any breed of cat, so make sure you ask your breeder what testing and breeding practices they use to as much as possible ensure the health of their cats and kittens. If your breeder does not know what HCM is or claims that they don’t need to test because they have “clear lines” be VERY cautious.

Right now there is no DNA genetic test available for HCM in Bengals. However they have been working on a DNA test for the Ragdoll and Maine Coon cat breeds. Unfortunately it is only one genetic marker that is at this time able to be tested. While the test is available to these two breeds the results can be quite limited. More studies are required and are being done, notably by the Washington State University in the USA.

For humans there are well over 130 genetic mutations that can cause the HCM disease. It’s likely that this may be true for cats, too. Therefore a 100% DNA test resulting in eradication of the disease is highly unlikely.

So while the efforts to develop a DNA test for the Bengal breed will be helpful, it will still be of limited use as it is only one of possibly many markers that contribute to the cause. For this reason just because a cat tests negative via the DNA test does not mean the cat will not develop HCM from some other mutation; it just means the cat does not have that particular mutation.

Of course gaining the ability to know more about our cat’s genetics and the ability to test for known mutations will help breeders continue on in breeding responsibly. So while it is a step in the right direction it is not going to be a substitute for ultrasound screening of breeding cats.

Ultrasound screenings are necessary and will continue to be necessary for detecting HCM. In our opinion HCM testing of all breeding stock is part of “best breeding practices” for any responsible Bengal breeder.

For this reason Adelhills strives to select our Bengal breeding stock from HCM ultrasound tested lines and do ultrasounds on all our breeding cats that are in our program. Having multiple generations of negative ultrasound results helps responsible breeders ensure, as much as possible, that they are breeding healthy lines.

You should be aware that HCM in cats most often does not show up until they are between the ages of two to five years of age but can present earlier or later than that. For this reason we commence testing of our cats around the age of one year and before the age of two years and then biannually during their time in our breeding program. When possible we also secure test results on the sires and dams of our lines.

We hope that you have found this information educational and helpful.

Are Bengals a wild breed?

No, Bengals are a domestic breed with the look of the Wild Cat that you can enjoy in your home.

Are Bengals safe to keep?

Yes, Bengals are bred as house cats to interact with people, children and other animals as lifetime companions.

Are Bengals lazy lap cats?

No, most Bengals are not lazy sleep-all-the-time cats. While many Bengals will come for cuddles, kisses and enjoy sitting for a pat while you watch a movie, they also like to prowl, hunt for dust bunnies, play rambunctiously with each other, toys or other pets and see what's happening with the household.

Does a Bengal require any special care different from other domestic breeds?

No, just like any cat the Bengal requires a high quality diet and routine veterinary care that is expected of any cat owner.

What is the average life expectancy of a Bengal?

Bengals have the usual feline life expectancy of 12 to 16+ years.

I've heard Bengals are smart, can I teach my Bengal to do tricks?

Bengals are extremely smart and are often easy to train in many things. Bengals can be taught to walk on a lead with harness, fetching objects, sit when asked, come when called, sit & beg etc... We highly recommend buying a "train your cat new tricks" type of book that you can enjoy working on with your Bengal.

Q - Do Bengals like catnip?

Yes, but you should be aware that on average only 70% of domestic cats in general are affected by catnip. The other 30% of domestic cats can have low to no interest.

Do Altered (desexed) Bengals spray?

Bengals are like most domesticated breeds and are easily litter box trained without issue. While most Altered (Desexed) cats don't spray, in rare cases this can happen. Training and environmental changes can be done to assist in this.

I've heard that Bengals like water is this true?

YES, most Bengals like to play in and with water. My Bengals love to sit on the side of the bath and play. If there's only a few inches in the bottom of the tub, you can often expect a "guest" to drop in unannounced!

Are Bengals indoor or outdoor cats?

Bengals are an indoor cat, while they may enjoy looking out the windows they should not be let outside without being on a harness lead and fully supervised.

Are all Bengals the same?

No, there are many different factors that affect what you see and get in any cat including the Bengal. Things to consider when looking for a breeder of your Bengals are:

The breeders breeding ethics
Healthy breeding practices
Verifiable pedigrees
Viewable guarantee contracts prior to booking
Health testing of ancestors
Socialization practices
Temperaments of parents
Top quality lines
Clean disease free environment
Routine veterinary maintenance program
A friendly and easily to communicate with breeder
The breeders business ethics and reputation
Knowledge of the breed

While you may find Bengals available at a varying range of prices, what you get and what you pay for are usually always in direct correlation.

Pet Insurance

As part of our healthy kitten plan for new homes, we secure a free 6 week insurance policy though PetPlan for your kitten from the date that they leave us. This gives us and our families’ peace of mind during the transition time from our home to yours. We do encourage that you consider maintaining this policy after the 6 weeks expiry.