Question: I know this is a subjective question and can all depend on the competency of the breeders (I am a Bengal owner) to remove bad genes from the gene pool.
If anyone thinks this belongs in breeder forum, let me know.
My background and situation:
I rescued my white mink Bengal Korina(my name is George) from a terrible Bengal cattery 10.5 years ago.
Over that time she developed severe gingivitis and last year a murmur was discovered.
Last week she went into heart failure. (lethargic, not eating, labored breathing)
I got her full panel of tests, xrays and meds. I also took her to cardiologist.
The congenital heart disease she has mitral stenosis (might correct when i get home) which unlike HCM is rare, and more rare is the size of her heart specifically. (main vet said it was first time she saw that shape)
When she went into failure she stopped eating, got lethargic, and had bad breathing and coughs(from fluid around lungs).
Supposedly she ate at the hospital but hasn't since.
Since bringing her back Friday from the cardiologist, she still doesn’t eat, is about as lethargic, she can walk and jump on beds, but she doesn’t clean herself, she is losing weight. (am medicating with Lasix and some others)
I have to force feed her baby food which makes me feel terrible, no cat likes to be force fed 5 oz of near liquid baby food, and meds.
The only interaction I have with her now is petting her and getting nothing back but a light purr, and opening up her mouth for syringes filled with liquid medicine or Gerber chicken baby food.
She did start coming downstairs and crying 2 nights ago, which is normal for her, but it is much more guttural so much that it sounds like a moan to a human.
If she is not manageable and continues to suffer, then I will do the right thing and get an inhome euthanasia in the next week or two.
She reminds of a human suffering from Alzheimer or a bad stroke.
The doctors say she is lucky to have made it this long, and although we could manage it with meds, nothing will decrease the heart size or make her valves work right. At best I figure she has 6-12 months. The fact that she is not eating indicates severe discomfort in the cat.
(I must also add that a long time ago my family had a male orange tabby. He developed knee dysplasia, again rare in cats at less than 2 years old. It was devastating to see him limp.)
Anyways, as you can imagine I am devastated watching the loss of my baby, and nothing I can do. I already broke down once writing this. I am 33 and got her when I was 22, she was always there for me during very trying times. And most of her life we lived at my parents huge home with 3 acres, so she is really family pet, our whole community knows her (really for her beauty and trademark white Bengal screaming)
I will write a memorial on here for here, so I am going to stop with the sad stuff.
BACK to ?:
My family and friends insist I get another cat ASAP (I am prone to clinical depression) or hold my brother's loveable pitbull for a while, or get into fostering abandoned cats.
Which comes back to the crux of this email.
I am trying to find out if any breads stand above others in their lack of congenital diseases like heart and gums.
I thought the robust genes of the Asian leopard cat were a strong prevention. And that may be the case and my Korina was one of the early breeds that were contaminated with Egyptian Mau genes. (she literally looks and talks just like a seal point Siamese)
If there are any Bengal experts that can speak to this, I would appreciate it.
Also is the breeding method where they get ultrasounds for heart disease every year on the breeding cats effective?
Can the congenital diseases (heart, gingivitis), be recessive genes, making the tests pointless?
Conclusion:
Thanks if you read this far, I can imagine someone might say I can't handle owning a pet who like all of us will die one day.
Its just more harder as I spend more time with her by default than anyone else. She was an extension of me, she wasnt a licker, but several years ago she would give me a single lick for every 4 strokes by hand or brush, my poor baby.
I was very lucky to have her, she was well trained, very loving, and would act like a ragdoll cat when I held her.
Thanks again.
If anyone thinks this belongs in breeder forum, let me know.
My background and situation:
I rescued my white mink Bengal Korina(my name is George) from a terrible Bengal cattery 10.5 years ago.
Over that time she developed severe gingivitis and last year a murmur was discovered.
Last week she went into heart failure. (lethargic, not eating, labored breathing)
I got her full panel of tests, xrays and meds. I also took her to cardiologist.
The congenital heart disease she has mitral stenosis (might correct when i get home) which unlike HCM is rare, and more rare is the size of her heart specifically. (main vet said it was first time she saw that shape)
When she went into failure she stopped eating, got lethargic, and had bad breathing and coughs(from fluid around lungs).
Supposedly she ate at the hospital but hasn't since.
Since bringing her back Friday from the cardiologist, she still doesn’t eat, is about as lethargic, she can walk and jump on beds, but she doesn’t clean herself, she is losing weight. (am medicating with Lasix and some others)
I have to force feed her baby food which makes me feel terrible, no cat likes to be force fed 5 oz of near liquid baby food, and meds.
The only interaction I have with her now is petting her and getting nothing back but a light purr, and opening up her mouth for syringes filled with liquid medicine or Gerber chicken baby food.
She did start coming downstairs and crying 2 nights ago, which is normal for her, but it is much more guttural so much that it sounds like a moan to a human.
If she is not manageable and continues to suffer, then I will do the right thing and get an inhome euthanasia in the next week or two.
She reminds of a human suffering from Alzheimer or a bad stroke.
The doctors say she is lucky to have made it this long, and although we could manage it with meds, nothing will decrease the heart size or make her valves work right. At best I figure she has 6-12 months. The fact that she is not eating indicates severe discomfort in the cat.
(I must also add that a long time ago my family had a male orange tabby. He developed knee dysplasia, again rare in cats at less than 2 years old. It was devastating to see him limp.)
Anyways, as you can imagine I am devastated watching the loss of my baby, and nothing I can do. I already broke down once writing this. I am 33 and got her when I was 22, she was always there for me during very trying times. And most of her life we lived at my parents huge home with 3 acres, so she is really family pet, our whole community knows her (really for her beauty and trademark white Bengal screaming)
I will write a memorial on here for here, so I am going to stop with the sad stuff.
BACK to ?:
My family and friends insist I get another cat ASAP (I am prone to clinical depression) or hold my brother's loveable pitbull for a while, or get into fostering abandoned cats.
Which comes back to the crux of this email.
I am trying to find out if any breads stand above others in their lack of congenital diseases like heart and gums.
I thought the robust genes of the Asian leopard cat were a strong prevention. And that may be the case and my Korina was one of the early breeds that were contaminated with Egyptian Mau genes. (she literally looks and talks just like a seal point Siamese)
If there are any Bengal experts that can speak to this, I would appreciate it.
Also is the breeding method where they get ultrasounds for heart disease every year on the breeding cats effective?
Can the congenital diseases (heart, gingivitis), be recessive genes, making the tests pointless?
Conclusion:
Thanks if you read this far, I can imagine someone might say I can't handle owning a pet who like all of us will die one day.
Its just more harder as I spend more time with her by default than anyone else. She was an extension of me, she wasnt a licker, but several years ago she would give me a single lick for every 4 strokes by hand or brush, my poor baby.
I was very lucky to have her, she was well trained, very loving, and would act like a ragdoll cat when I held her.
Thanks again.