? For Nial and other Bengal breeders

A friend of mine just adopted a spayed female bengal (one of my purebred re-homing efforts). Now the cat appeared healthy enough but her pelt was in terrible condition. I advised her to give the cat a bath as soon as is humanly possible - trust me she needs it!

The whole family is slightly allergic to cats but they have 2 DLH and a Coon anyway without many problems.

Now, the question...

I thought Bengals rarely groomed themselves?

This particular girl appears to groom herself often and the new family is now having some allergic reactions to her.

Could it be that she is grooming herself more often because her coat is dirty or could it be that they are just allergic to bengals???

What do you think? I'd love for this girl to stay with the family...they already love her and introduction (on the same day she was adopted)was smooth and without problems at all!!

Since allergies may be involved; after the cat is washed, then have them wipe her down with a damp cloth using distilled water every day. It will lessen the allergies.

I've suggested that to people with other cats and it really helps

In the case of this bengal, it could be because her pelt is in bad shape. Maybe she has fleas as well??

On average the majority of bengals groom themselves much less than other cats, but there will always be the exception to the rule. There have been sporadic reports of some bengals becoming obsessive about grooming, to the point where they remove their own hair. Easy to do, since bengal pelts are very short and lie close to the skin. The current consensus among breeders, regarding this problem is that it is a OCD behavioral condition.
I'm currently doing some research on that subject.

Once the new owners get their bengal cleaned up, eliminate the possibilty of fleas, then they should keep a close eye on her, for over-grooming.

Thanks Nial and GK!

Exactly what I was looking for and what I expected!

Good news - no fleas.
Bad news - she appears to have scabs - most probably from mosquitoes (??) and she definately has ear mites.

She's been bathed and is doing much better - the new family is treating the ear mites and with the daily wipe down, the family is doing better as well!

I'm definately interested to find out what you find out Nial about over grooming Bengals.

Now...any ideas on how to treat the scabs?

Thanks!