Hello all, I am new here and have had a difficult time post neutering with my new Bengal. After a lot of sagas this week with the vet saying he has a heart murmur (that they didn't pick up when he had his jabs a few weeks ago after which our breeder's on month pet plan had elapsed), and him having a general for this rather than whatever they normally do, we now have him home having had neutering and he has loose stools. He had this a little the week before he went to the vet, and now seems to have it again. I wonder if his dried food Science Plan chicken, which is what the breeder fed him, is not agreeing with him. Of course the problem is even more difficult because he has a lamp shade on his head so can't clean himself properly and he isn't always clean around his bottom once he's used the tray right now. I have been a bag of worry this week and would like an easy suggestion about food if any of you can help. He was given a sachet of wet food by the vet after neutering in case of feeling sick and his stools were OK. But now back to not good now he is back on Science plan. Added to this he has had extremely bad wind ever since we had him about 7 weeks ago - I don't know if this is related. He is drinking water as normal.

Any suggestions of an alternative food? Or any other ideas?
We have been very unhappy with the vet we chose locally, so once he has had his post op check we will be changing vets, so I don't really want to phone them about food or visit them again this week after two trips already. Poor cat has had enough of them I think and so have I after vets suggesting seeing a cat cardiologist for £400 and going on and on by the phone once she had heard a murmur.

Thank you. We have some pouches of food that came as a starter pack with 'Science plan' dried food. Would that be the same as your reference to 'canned food'?

Anything wet is way better than dry. So yes, the pouches are fine. Be careful as some pouches of cat food are considered supplements and not full meals in and of themselves.

Welcome to our forum. Ontario gave you advice on the food. You mentioned a heart murmur. Know that they are very common in bengals. My bengal has had one from birth. It was a Grade 2, then they upgraded it a couple years ago to a Grade 3 and at his last visit, the vet couldn't hear it! So, it is common, especially if the kitten is breathing heavy due to being stressed,

Did your vet give you the grade? In some kittens, the murmur goes away. Mine has been neutered and has had dental cleanings with no issues. A heart murmur is not the end of the world. Raiden is 10 years old and you would never know from the way he behaves.

A Grade 1 or 2 is not overly serious. The grades go up to 5 or 6 (depending on the vet). So find out what Grade your vet thinks this is. You can have an echocardiogram done to view the workings of the heart.

Great advice on the food. Raw > Wet > Dry. If you go for wet food, make sure to get grain-free. I personally feed Nature's Variety canned food because the ingredients aren't the worst, it's what I can afford right now and what Miko likes to eat, but we are trying to switch him to a raw diet and tomorrow will be our first transition day- so fingers crossed!

An interesting note: if the feeding suggestions are correct, it looks like I will be spending way less money feeding raw than feeding canned/dry. I was spending $5-7 per day (two cans of 3 oz wet food, 30-40 grams of dry ziwi peak), and if he goes for the raw, it will only cost me around $2-3 per day! Win-win-win!

As for the heart murmur, I think the greatest concern (other than full-on HCM) would be the risk of going under anesthesia because the vets don't know how his heart will react. Luckily, the neuter is all done so I think the worst is over. Now you've just got to find a food that he likes and that doesn't give him loose stool. If you've absolutely got to give him dry food, I would suggest finding a brand like Ziwi Peak- they make air dried cat food with very little fillers. If I were you, I would be cautious to look at ingredients- it could be the fillers/carbohydrates that are causing his stomach problems.

If the loose stool doesn't stop soon though, I would probably get a vet to do a fecal sample for him, if this wasn't done already. This will at least tell you if he's got any worms or anything wrong with his stomach. If the fecal tests come back clean, then you'll know you just have to find a better food that agrees with his stomach.

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Matt

My cats have been eating a premium wet food supplemented with dry food since I got them at 4 months old. I have to think this has paid off as both of their coats are gorgeous and Grace's back, sides and leg muscles are so strong and hard. I have never had a cat so muscular. I don't pick her up because she doesn't like it and she is way stronger than me with very sharp hard nails. Maybe it's genetics but I like to think a good diet has contributed too.

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The little monsters 3

FYI some cats thrive on kitten-type food until a year old or more, so no need to rush into adult food. I had one that didn't transition until nearly two years old, but she had other issues.

The problem I have with the "wet or Raw" is that it doesn't cater well to cats that like to graze between meals. With that tho, a lot of the dry food is utter trash that might better serve as fertilizer. Dry as a primary food is not always the best thing, but sometimes it is better than them stressing about when they can eat next, lesser of evils if you will. One thing I have noticed, mine is eating more dry than cans now and seems to prefer it over most of the cans ( she always loved it, but I think when she lost her kitten teeth she couldn't eat it ). The cans are high quality and my Credit Card company loves me feeding it to her, it is also the same brand as the dry. Point being, if you give the cat options, they will pick what they like and you may have to roll with it, just make sure they always have water available.

And yes, this post is over a year old.

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The little monsters 3