Bengal Cats Need Special Care

I too just lost my cat. He was a purebred Bengal and only 5 years old. He was unable to move one day and was barely dragging himself across the floor. We took him to the ER where they had to do emergency surgery b/c his urethra was blocked from crystals in his urine. It took him a while to recover from that. He lost about 8 lbs and was on special food. Almost three months later he had gained most of his weight back (originally 18 lbs). Then the problem occurred again. They wanted $3000 to basically do a sex change operation. The male anatomy is what was causing the blockage. Female cats with crystals in their urine will not have a problem with blockage. We had spent $2500 the first time around and couldn't come up another $3000 so quickly. We took him to another vet. They cauterized him for a few days, but they had to sedate him in order to keep the catheter in. He was a horrible cat when at the vets!! He acted like a crazy wild animal when just getting a routine check-up and normal shots. He went in on Tuesday and was dead Sunday morning when the vet got in to check on the animals. The catheter had been removed Saturday. I guess the toxins just got too high. I don't know! Of course I blame the vet for not knowing better!!

Anyhoo, in an attempt to make a long story short... Has anyone heard of crystals in the urine (or FUS) being a common problem in Bengals? I also have a female Bengal (4 years old) from the same breeder. She actually had this same problem long before the male. She has been better for a year or so now, but I fear this will always be an issue for her.

Please accept my condolances on your loss.

I have had my Bengal for 10 years now and don't even like to think of life with out her. Some of Talka's mannerisms are identical to Jango. She is a fantastic jumper even at 10years, she will YELL at you if you irritate her and sits to wait for me to return home about 20 minutes before my arrival. She retrieves items like a dog and will bring her own flutter toy for you to play with her.

I feed her unfrozen shrimp, which must be fed at regular intervals. ex: my arrival home, bedtime snack, when i am eating, etc. I also feed her dry food but, it does seem if she eats too much of it that her stomach will be upset. They have a higher metabolism than oter cats.

i agree that we should be told this special information about these cats as I was not informed of any of it and just seemed to "discover" it as time went on.

You should look into getting another Bengal when you are ready. They are a very special breed.

You are right about Bengals needing more meat in their diets. I raised Bengals for about 10 years. I did a lot of research on their dietary needs. I always had to feed them the most high quality cat food or they just didnt do too good. They were not as active and their beautiful coats were not as good. I feed them pretty much the best cat food I could buy at the time. The most with the most meat in it (dry cat food.) I dont always agree with the raw food diet. I now have a Savannah Kitten and I feed her the best cat food I can buy. The one with the highest meat content, dry again, and I give her canned three times a day.

Hi Brooke, I am a bit surprised that Talka was the longest staying cat at the animal shelter. She must have been a very attractive cat.

I am sorry for your loss. And thank you for passing on your experience. It is always very useful for readers to hear from people with first hand day to day experiences.