I Just Don't Know!!!

[luvmy4]

I would say for sure get the vaccines. He is not yet neutered and will be desperate to get out soon if not already. You want to make sure he is neutered soon. Declawing cats is extremely painful for them and leads nipping and arthritis. It is also unnatural and unnecessary.
As for the diarrhea some have suggested probiotics. I really haven't had to deal with that. I know you are trying to work with your vet to solv this issue as well.
Tell your husband he is responsible to help you both physically and financially. He did purchase the cat as a gift, which is not a great idea usually. it also seems he may have went to an irresponsible breeder if you two haven't been in contact at all since his purchase.
I believe that you care for Casper so please don't have him declawed. He is kitten and getting him neutered will settle him down some but its partly age

 

[tulosai]

I have thought about everything everyone has said and I've discussed the declawing options with my husband and where I stand on it now. I don't appreciate being told to get rid of my cat because I was considering declawing. All my life I've had cats and all of them were declawed in the front. Some of them were outside/inside and they all did just fine. But, something really hit me when someone reminded me that he will use his teeth, if he doesn't have his front claws. I discussed with my husband about him taking time out of his busy work schedule, he works 12-18 hours a day as an electrician and it's usually 6 days a week and on calls, to cut down his nails again. And I mentioned the soft claws and he said they wouldn't stay on with him being so active. I have started training him about the clawing this morning. I'm going to work with him. I do have to get him fixed because its in my contract that I have to. I didn't pay top dollar for the registered ones that I'm not allowed to fix. So this one I do. I read somewhere that the leukemia vaccine was really bad and the breeder even said so. I'll double check on that tho.
I love my baby and he is also my pain kitty. My baby died and my husband wanted an awesome looking cat in his place and found the bengals. I don't think he realized how expensive they would be, but I'm left doing everything because I can't work and live off child support. If I need money really bad my husband will give it to me, but he's reluctant about it. I pay a majority of the bills and groceries and vet care off child support. My medical comes off that sometimes also. So life isn't easy, but I will fight for what's best for my baby and my husband doesn't like seeing me mad for longer than a day nor being upset.
I do have a question about the diarrhea. My vet said he may just live with it because bengals are known for that. The probiotic works here and there but we just started it. I know some cats don't do well on it. It may b the food, but I can't keep switching the food. I need for him to catch up. Should I get him tested for the TF? How long should I give him to adjust to the food we are giving? It's Life's Abundance and on the breeder website, that was the most mentioned food. He's been on it for almost a month next week.

I am really glad you are going to try to work with him.  I truly believe he will learn not to claw on you if you really do work with him consistently during this time, and probably very quickly.  I also really do believe, especially if he is a bengal, that he will want an outlet if his claws are taken away and will probably turn to biting.  Please keep us updated on his progress.  If you are having problems training him others here can probably chip in with tips I didn't include in my first post.  I will say that declawing was probably going to be at least $500 of the $700 you were going to pay, so if this works out (as I really think it will) you will also be able to save a lot of money which seems like a plus in your situation.  I'd also ask around and see if you can get him neutered cheaper.  I live in DC (super expensive) and the Washington Humane Society here will do a spay or neuter for $50 or $60.

Breeders are not always knowledgeable about shots.  They are not vets and many are misinformed.  A persian breeder once told my friend that her kitten would be poorly if she got the distemper shot.  This was essentially a lie/just wrong. That said i don't know much about Bengals.  I encourage you to do some reading and (if you trust your vet) to talk to him about what if any negative effects might come from the shots.  You should be able to do this through a free phone call.  I have always made all my kitties and even all my fosters (at my own expense) get the FELV shot due to my own negative experience with feline lukemia and none have ever had any negative effects from it, but again, none have been bengals.

As for the adjusting to food, a month should have been long enough to adjust  Whenever I've transitioned a cat it has taken really a few days, a week at most, for diarrhea (if any) to stop.  Maybe I have just been lucky but this has  consistently been my experience. I'd again ask the vet if he can recommend a better food for this situation.  If this does become a problem you just have to live with I am sorry- that is a really unfortunate thing to have going on.

 

[peaches08]

Cat Person is very familiar with exotics and diet issues. That would be a great person to ask!

 

[denice]

The leukemia shot isn't necessary for a strictly indoor cat.  It can only be passed through fluids from a cat with the virus.  It and rabies has the highest incidence of cancer at the injection site.  All the vets that I have had only recommend it for cats that go outdoors.  I don't know that much about food for cats.  I have heard and read that Bengals in general thrive on a less processed diet that is closer to the natural diet for a cat because they have a small amount of a small wild cat in their genetic mix.  I do know that continually changing any cats diet can cause problems.  I would give the probiotics a chance to do their thing.  It takes time for the good bacteria to build up in the gut.

 

[franksmom]

Firstly soft claws are glued on and do not come off easily. You can even get them put on by the vet, so please do some more research on them because they are a great alternative to declawing. A lot of people are not aware that declawing is actually amputating their fingers. I am sure you were not aware of all the pain you put your other cats through, but please do not do it again. Cats who are declawed are often in constant pain ( they usually hide it well). Declawing actually prevents cats from properly stretching and their muscles end up atrophying and have back pain. Their paws also often hurt- think of humans who have had limbs amputated they are also often in constant pain. Again I am not accusing you of not loving you cats am just asking you to really research what declawing is. Also I would be really surprised if your breeder would ever recommend you getting the cat declawed and your contract probably will not allow you to.

For the vaccines I think a lot of people may not be giving you the proper in IMO. The FELV vaccine is not recommend for indoor cats by many vets and breeders. You can read more about vaccines on catinfo.org which is written by a vet. A lot of pure breed and exotic breeders do not recommend this vaccine because of certain immune responses by some breeds, so I would listen to your breeder on this. I also did not get this vaccine as both my breeder and vet told me not too.

Finally exotic breeds have problems with ibs often bc they require a protein based diet and do really well with raw food rather than kibble (which is kind of like feeding a kid dry cereal every day) if you take a look at the raw forum you will get more info. Many posters on there had their cats have their first firm stool ever after feeding raw.

 

[tracey03]

I just got the required shot of rabies because of the state. Otherwise, I've read that on Bengals to get the limited because they don't do well. So, I don't know about the leukemia. I've read what everyone has posted and I'll check in to things, but I won't run out to do it because someone told me to.

As far as the food, I was feeding Natural Instincts Raw Duck. My vet told me to stop and he shouldn't get raw food until he's 1 year old. He was also having diarrhea then. I put him on Life's Abundance cat food because that's what most people on the Bengal Society web page put their Bengals on. It was highly recommended. Which my vet told me was not a good food because it was made for cats and kittens and there's only one flavor. I'm starting to wonder how much she's really dealt with Bengals. I've had Casper since he was 10 weeks old, his birthday is December 25, 2012.

 

[barbb]

With the vaccine, just be sure and ask the vet if they are using Merial Purevax, it is a brand of shot that is less dangerous for cats. 

There are things you can do to stop the cat from climbing up your leg- put a bunch of coins in a can and rattle it real loud whenever he does something he shouldn't. Put aluminum foil or upside down carpet runners with the plastic prongs side up where you don't want him to scratch. After a little while you can take them down; he will stop going to those places and won't remember why he did it in the first place. 

Cats that are as smart as your boy will probably still chase the other cats whether he has claws or not. They don't really use claws on each other, not in the sense of actually wounding each other. 

It is your call but I think you are making the right decision to not do this, as he is so very intelligent and sensitive (hence his diarheaa lol) and I agree, he will bite if he is declawed, because he is that smart- he will find these other ways to do things. 

I really think this boy is indeed your new baby and with each day you are going to cherish him more and more. It is great that your husband will trim the nails and if you still have canned pumpkin, you can always grab a fingerful and wipe the pumpkin off onto his sandpaper tongue, he will have to swallow it, and that should help his diarrhea. Also, if your husband is busy, you can take your boy to almost any shelter or adoption event (at petco or petsmart on sat/sun around noon) and the people there will very likely be more than happy to do the claws for you for free. Just give them a few dollars donation or bring them a baked good and tell them you have diabetes and need help. 

Thank you for sharing info about your sweet little boy and your family. Keep us posted and I hope you will share more pix of him and your other kits :-)

 

[franksmom]

I just got the required shot of rabies because of the state. Otherwise, I've read that on Bengals to get the limited because they don't do well. So, I don't know about the leukemia. I've read what everyone has posted and I'll check in to things, but I won't run out to do it because someone told me to.

As far as the food, I was feeding Natural Instincts Raw Duck. My vet told me to stop and he shouldn't get raw food until he's 1 year old. He was also having diarrhea then. I put him on Life's Abundance cat food because that's what most people on the Bengal Society web page put their Bengals on. It was highly recommended. Which my vet told me was not a good food because it was made for cats and kittens and there's only one flavor. I'm starting to wonder how much she's really dealt with Bengals. I've had Casper since he was 10 weeks old, his birthday is December 25, 2012.

I think you are making the right decision on the vaccines and you are right bengals have had problems with the FELV.

I do not think your vets knows very much about cat nutrition (most vets don't and only get info from pet food companies). It is fine to feed kittens raw food- and my vet who does have training on cat nutrition says it is great. Again take a look at catinfo.org it is written by a great cat vet who knows her stuff.

 

[denice]

Unfortunately most  vets aren't a good source of information as far as the regular daily diet for pets.  They generally will always steer someone away from a raw diet and they usually don't recommend one of the more natural processed diets.  A lot of them are hooked into the Hills pet food.  That's because of their line of prescription food and their aggressive marketing to both vet schools and practicing vets.  By being aggressive with their marketing to vet schools they get students while they are still learning.  We used to have a bengal breeder on the boards.  I know he was very successful with the breeding, he had a number of award winning cats.  He retired from breeding and isn't on the boards anymore.  I know he included raw in his kittens diet.  I think responsible experienced breeders are the best source of information for daily diet and keeping a specific breed healthy and happy.  Of course vets are the place to go for a sick or injured cat and a responsible breeder will say the same thing.