Hello :-) I'm new to Bengal cats, recently bought two kittens from a small local breeder, two girls from the same litter, one snow rosetted (Luna) and one brown rosetted (Katniss). They are now 15 weeks and we've had them just over 2 weeks.

They are both settling in well, eating lots, playing and very affectionate, but nevertheless I'm a bit worried about Luna in particular.

When they arrived I noticed they were sneezing. Took them to the vet, and was told they have 'flu. They are on antibiotics for the sore throat and an anti-inflammatory pain killer. They do seem to be on the mend now thankfully. The breeder (who has been brilliant) says she's contacted all the owners of their littermates and no one else has symptoms, and neither does their mum. They have not been in contact with any other cats, so I have no idea where they picked this up from.

The vet also said that they are underweight, and they are certainly small for their age. Luna weighs 1.9 kg at 15 weeks. I've not weighed Katniss but she is significantly bigger than her sister, and I'd estimate is well over 2kg.

Luna has also recently been regurgitating food. I don't mean vomiting - it's undigested food that comes up easily with no retching and looks the same as it did going in. She's done this two days running now, once about 3 hours after eating, and once a good 12 hours after eating. Her stools are normal and she uses the litter box daily. The don't have worms.

They are fed on a combination of raw (mostly chicken thigh chopped into small chunks, chicken wings for bone, and around 5-10% offal like beef liver and kidney or heart) plus a good quality dry kibble. I did a fair bit of research into raw before I got them and think I've got their nutrient balance right, and they will get some from the kibble too. They are fed 2-3 meals of raw, and have kibble available all day.

Does anyone have any suggestions regarding the regurgitation? I've tried warming their food up to mouse body temp, and am also trying multiple smaller meals starting today. I'm also not sure if I should be giving her more food after she regurgitates - the first time she lost what looked like her whole meal. She did have access to kibble but I didn't give her any more meat.

Luna is so little and fragile anyway that the regurgitation thing has me really worried. I'm very attached to them both and the idea that she might be anything less than robust and healthy just tears me up. I've had delicate poorly kittens before who grew up to be robust cats, but nothing like this.

Am I just being an overprotective new mama? They are both otherwise happy and bouncy but she's so much smaller than her sister.

I should note that although they are from the same litter, Katniss was actually fostered with another mum cat because her birth mother didn't feed her.

Would really welcome any ideas (and hopefully reassurance!) Thank you loads :-) x

A lot of times if the food is undigested it's a sign they're eating too quickly. I would try smaller meals for her and giving just a small portion then waiting at least 30 minutes before you give another small portion.

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Dallas, TX USA
Diesel - snow Bengal born 09/01/2013 adopted Feb 2014
Tuck, Chloe, Buddy, Lewis & Tia - rescue kitties
Clyde, Bleu & Coal - Great Danes

No I think your concern is certainly warranted, given all the different symptoms they are experiencing. What were they eating at their breeders? If they weren't getting raw there, then I would "reset" back to what they were eating before. Same brands, same flavors if possible.

But even if they were eating raw at the breeders, if it were me, I would still stop the raw feeding for awhile (until they are older). I do respect people that go the extra mile and try to feed their cats raw (in fact I just brought back some from the pet food store the other day for mine) but raw isn't a good thing to feed with their clearly compromised immune systems right now. I would just go with dry and canned until they are older.

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The little monsters 3

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The little monsters 3

First of all, welcome to the forum and congratulations on your new babies. There could be a lot of things going on here. The stress of relocating the kitties. Being separated from their mom and other siblings. New people, new smells. I've never heard of a cat getting the flu. Maybe an upper respiratory infection. There is usually a runt in the litter and you may have gotten one. I do not feed Raiden raw food, so I'm not familiar with that. But, any time a pet is vomiting like that, try something a little different. Raw meat is very susceptible to bacteria. A bad piece could cause havoc in the stomach. As a new owner, I can tell that you're anxious and worried. Please don't be .... it takes time for the kitties to adjust to their new surroundings. You've taken them to vet to be checked out, which is a good thing. Is your vet familiar with bengals? Raiden's takes care of several bengals. Other vets may not know the breed.

I do think trying to "fatten" them up with raw food may not work Find another high quality food that they will eat, specially formulated for kittens who need more of everything.

Since they have been ill, you can't judge much at this point until they are healthy.

Thanks so much for your comments everyone. I realised that the anti-inflammatory painkiller they were given by the vet was the cause of the regurgitation - i'd been wondering why she only did it in the evening, and of course that's when i was giving the painkiller! So i stopped it, and she has been fine since.

They have had another visit to the vet since, who says they are both looking well although they did have a little bout of flu which is now clearing up (just in time for their spay op!) and they are barely sneezing now, just once or twice a day. Luna has put on loads of weight and caught up to her sister. They are now 16 weeks and just shy of 2kg.

The vet also checked out my raw ratios and says what i'm feeding sounds fine - he's a big supporter of raw and very knowledgeable. He did suggest i feed a commercial raw diet as it would be easier for me (i'm disabled, so convenience is a factor) but felt what i am feeding is spot on.

They were on part raw from the breeder - she was feeding chicken mince with the bone minced in along with Royal Canin kitten, so i continued on that model (moved them to Applaws kibble instead though) but would like to move them to fully raw eventually.

They seem really happy, are super affectionate and purry, play loads, run around the house like a herd of tiny elephants, and are generally a pleasure to be around, but Luna did regurgitate her breakfast this morning....think she just ate it too quickly, she's such a greedy kitty. I spread her food around on a plate to slow her down but she just hoovers it up anyway. I'm going to try feeding her out of sight of her sister as i think she's worried her sis will steal her food. That and even smaller meals.

Thanks again :)

That is an adorable picture!

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Dallas, TX USA
Diesel - snow Bengal born 09/01/2013 adopted Feb 2014
Tuck, Chloe, Buddy, Lewis & Tia - rescue kitties
Clyde, Bleu & Coal - Great Danes