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HCM is no more prevalent in bengals than any other breed. It is in all breeds of cats, including our domestics (moggies). As ginnym stated, bengals have been highlighted recently because breeders are taking a responsible step forward and testing their cats. In the USA research has recently started in testing bengals on two specific genes but, as in all research, it takes time and mega bucks.

Regards

Hi,

I really don't think that anyone has jumped on you. People were making informed responses to your initial post. As said, there was a debate on here a while back, and more breeders are aware of HCM and are screening their breeding animals as a result. Some breeders have in fact been touched by HCM and all will have complete sympathy for your loss as do I.

The vast money mentioned was in fact for the research into HCM and not the cost of the actual screenings.

Bengals do cost a lot of money but the upkeep of breeding is extortionate, and the vast majority of decent breeders will still pay for screenings out of their own pockets and not from the sale of kittens

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Best Wishes,
Maddy

Certainly, I was not intending any "jumping on you", just a little insight in to what is happening in the world of cats in general regarding HCM, especially with the bengal breed. I am so sorry that you lost your kitten through HCM; any kitten loss is a tragedy. Luckily, to date, to my knowledge, I have not lost any kittens to HCM after many years of breeding. This is not to say it cannot happen in the future. I have started testing my breeding cats, even ones I am intending to retire shortly, so that I can start a history of the lines I am using. Just two more to be done. Girls are harder to get done as you cannot test whilst pregnant or until after 8 weeks of giving birth so these two will be done in due course. So far I have spent £1000+ on the testing and will continue to test annually or thereabouts. Testing isnt the only need though. History of the parentage is just as important, if not more important. Breeders need to look at the parentage of their breeding cats and siblings to find out if any have been lost through heart problems.

It is good to see that many breeders are becoming aware and checking their cats, MC's, Sphynx, BSH, ASH, Rags, Siberians, Ocis, just to name a few as well as the Bengal.

Let us all hope that we can lower any incidences of loss throughout cats of all the breeds.

Regards

Sorry was being over sensitive

That's understandable given what you've been through. Hopefully people have been able to show you that Bengal breeders are taking HCM seriously. Unfortunately the nture of HCM means it's going to take a long time for reliable testing to be introduced and for full histories to be established so that affected cats can be traced through the blood lines. Sadly in the meantime some other owners are going to go through what you've been through and all we can all do is support them until more is known.

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