I am writing to clear up the difference between a not so big cat ( maybe 10-13 lbs and a SKINNY, wasting Bengal. My 2 brother cats, Raja & Bali were HUGE for the first 11-12 years of their lives together. The 2 of them came home with me when they were 8 weeks young. I fed them a wide assortment of healthy choices based on the fact they are cats. They thrived and were 16 - 17 lbs of muscle by the time they were 3 or 4 and for the first 12 years... Then, IN THE SPRING 4 YEARS AGO, they began to loose weight, slowly at first, then accelerated speed after the first year. I THOUGHT MAYBE THEY WERE EATING GRASS SOMEONE HAD SPRAYED WITH HERBICIDE, CHECKED WITH EVERY NEIGHBOR AND THE ANSWER WAS, FOR 2 STRAIGHT YEARS, "NO". They ate like normal, healthy food in healthy amounts. THEY DID EVERYTHING NORMAL. EVEN KEPT PLAYING UNTIL THEIR BODIES GAVE OUT... I tried feeding them different things, and after a while ANYTHING that they would eat, just to keep them going. The weight NOW came off at such a rate I took them to the vet. Then to another vet... The first one blamed Bali's weight loss on a broken tooth from a car accident when he was 2. I said, his tooth that has been broken for 13 years???, You are sure? Then i PULLED rAJA OUT OF THE CARRIER... "Then what," I asked," is wrong with Raja???" We took blood work up and stools showed nothing unusual. I took them home. By the next spring they were skeletons with fur... still eating, sleeping, drinking, talking ( a LOT! as usual) and yet they were down to 9 lbs. from 16 a year and a half earlier. I went to vet 2, pulled Raja out first, he said "oh, I feel a tumor in his stomach.. I said " are tumors contagious??? He said "no.." so I pulled Bali out and said, again, "then what is wrong with Bali?????" They said they would run more te$t$... so we did... $$$$$ later, NOTHING! They said we don't know and that was that. I went to a 3rd vet asking for tips on wasting and food. They $old me canned food meant for cats in vet care, high calorie... high cost... my cats said YUCK! 6 months later Raja was 6 1/2 lbs. 1 month later he was gone. It is a year and a half later now, and Bali is a horrific 6 1/2 lbs. too... He eats anything he wants, from meat to sauteed mushrooms. I will give him Thai food if that is what he will eat. He is a walking skeleton. He is not SKINNY, HE IS AN EXTREMELY FRAGILE FUR COVERED SKELETON, HIS SHOULDER BLADES RUB EACH OTHER, HIS HIP BONES PROTRUDE LIKE A BRANCHES ON A TREE... YOU CAN COUNT HIS VERTEBRAE FROM ACROSS A ROOM... and I believe this is what people are asking about... yet, NO ONE SEEMS TO CARE ENOUGH IN THE VETERINARY WORLD TO FIND AN ANSWER TO THIS WASTING. IT IS SO FAR BEYOND SAD TO SEE HIM, YET, AGAIN, HE EATS, HE DRINKS, HE PURRS FOR CHRIST'S SAKE. HE POOS, HE PEES, HE TALKED UP UNTIL A FEW WEEKS AGO, NOW HE BARELY SAYS ANYTHING AND IF HE DOES IT IS WEAK. HIS FUR IS FALLING OUT SLOWLY NOW TOO. SO I ASK, WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE BEST CAT FRIEND I HAVE EVER HAD THE PRIVILEGED OF SPENDING MY LIFE WITH??? I AM SURE HIS DAYS ARE COUNTING DOWN, AND I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY NO ONE IS DOING ANYTHING TO FIGURE THIS OUT, AS KITTEN MILLS PUMP OUT BENGALS BY THE THOUSANDS FOR UNKNOWING OWNERS TO DISCOVER THIS HAPPENS AT SOME POINT. BLOG AFTER BLOG RELATES THE SAME STORY AND PEOPLE WRITE IT OFF AND "SOME ARE SMALLER THAN OTHERS... MY CAT IS DYING FROM WASTING, HE IS LOVED AS MUCH AS ANYONE EVER LOVED A 4 LEGGED FURRY FRIEND, AND MY HEART IS BREAKING EVER SECOND WE SPEND SITTING QUIETLY WHILE HE PURRS IN MY LAP... BARELY ABLE TO GET AROUND. I WILL KEEP HIM CLOSE UNTIL HIS LAST BREATH, BUT I FEAR A CAT IS BEING BREAD FOR PROFIT THAT PEOPLE DO NOT YET UNDERSTAND, AND NO ONE SEEMS TO HAVE AN ANSWER. CAN ANYONE TELL ME ANYTHING EXCEPT THE SAME UNINFORMED CRAP I KEEP FINDING ONLINE, FROM PEOPLE WHO DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT. I DO NOT WANT TO SEEM RUDE, I AM SIMPLY IN A PANIC THAT THIS IS AN INBRED PROBLEM NO ONE IS ADDRESSING AS BENGALS, LIKE EVERY OTHER ANIMAL, IS SIMPLY A WAY TO MAKE MONEY ANY MORE. ANYTHING FROM ANYONE WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE SPEAKING ABOUT ON THIS SUBJECT IS SO GRATEFULLY APPRECIATED... THOUGH MOST LIKELY TOO FOR BALI, BUT MAYBE NOT FOR OTHER BENGALS...

In my research on bengals, they live an average of 12 to 15 years. This is not a long life span. I am so sorry you lost Raja. Since you've gotten no answers from a vet, have you contacted a veterinary research facility who might be able to provide some leads as to what is wrong with Bali. It's quite strange that both of your kitties would go on a weight loss program together -- unless they were from the same litter.

You'll find a lot of conflict on the breeding of bengals, however, the early limited gene pool is to blame for a lot of the problems. I researched Raiden's entire pedigree and it's the same cats over and over and over again. Parent bred with offspring over and over and over.

It's the worst thing in the world to watch your baby waste away and not know or understand the cause of it. You would think there would be one veterinarian who would be fascinated by this and want to find out the cause.

I am no expert, but if Bali is eating well, drinking water, urinating and pooping well, and still losing weight, then there is something wrong with the way the nutrients are being absorbed into the body. Are you feeding Bali cat food or human food? Raw? Any signs of a tapeworm? A good vet will do C-scans (I know they are expensive), X-rays, anything to see what may be going on inside of your kitty's body. Things like diabetes and kidney failure are easy to detect and any vet would have found something. Tumors can be felt and will show up on scans and x-rays. This is something more -- possibly a hernia of some type between the stomach and intestines. If you're not ready to give up, continue to seek out other veterinarians. I wish I could offer more ideas. I have no experience with this. I just feel so bad for you and Bali. Please let us know if you find out anything.

I absolutely feel your pain, losing a pet is not easy. It's almost like they are your children and as such it is not the natural order of things that they should go before you.

However, as Sherry said, 16 years is an excellent age for a Bengal, 12-15 being the average. You obviously looked after them incredibly well for them to thrive as they did for so long.

But the science with any living organism is so complicated, we will probably not be able to get to the bottom of everything, not even for ourselves. With an animal it can be even harder to diagnose as you can't ask them where it hurts or how they feel. It's all on what we can observe and tell a vet, and what they can find out through their tests etc.

There are bad genes everywhere, your guys being siblings, would point it that way, but it could equally be old age taking its toll and their bodies not able to function as effectively as they used to. Unfortunately no living organism, human or otherwise will ever be perfect and without any genetic defects. Have you tried a university veterinary hospital at all? You have tried three different vets but you never know, there could be studies taking place that relate to the symptoms Bali is exhibiting.

Give Bali all the love you can, make him as comfortable as you can and be happy you gave him and his brother a wonderful life. I know you will as the love you have for him shines through.

Sending you loads of hugs and wish you all the best.

_________________
Clare
Hendrix and Jagger, Brown Marble Boys (born 18 August 2013)
Hampshire, UK

Have they tested his kidneys? Older cats get renal failure. I had a siamese that was 8.5 pounds consistently. Then she developed kidney disease, and I hydrated her a couple times each week for 4 years. Her last couple of years she struggled to keep weight on and was about 5 pounds. I struggled with the decision of when to let her go. I still tear up thinking about it. I had her for 15 years but she was a rescue cat and came to me as an adult of unknown age. All I can say is that at least I didn't wait until it was her worst day to let her go. I probably waited too long for various reasons, but Lap Of Love (and my therapist) helped me make the best decision for her.

That is just awful for poor Raja and Bali. The fact that they are brothers could mean it's in their genes whatever is slowly killing them. My aunt had a cat who had a condition that meant it could not absorb the vitamins and goodness from food. It would eat huge amounts but it's little body was not getting any nourishment. This sounds similar. I cannot believe these vets cannot figure out how to help your boys. How heartbreaking for you. x

_________________
Melissa

UK
Oscar - Rescue (Rascal!!!) Bengal

I was told the same back in may when I took magic for his vaccinations, he is 16 pounds but he's a very big cat, his dad was huge, I admit he has a bit of a mouse pouch but what cat hasn't, he has masses of energy and I would never put him on a diet

_________________
Clare
Magic (brown spotted boy born 31 March 2012)
Pearl (seal Lynx Point girl born 1 October 2015)
Bristol, UK

My mix is around 20 pounds, but I haven't weighed him recently.

20 pounds is a lot for any cat!!!!!

I have just come across this thread and so decided to weigh my 2. They are only 8 months old and are 11 and 12 lbs. The heavier one is slightly older, only a week, but has always been bigger since the day I adopted them. They dont appear to be overweight to me at all, but this seems quite heavy to me if they are going to continue growing for another 16 months!

I thought cats stopped growing at one year. You might want to view this chart and see where you kitty falls:

I read that bengals can keep going until they are 2! Thanks for the chart, very helpful. The heavier of my 2 is definitely a 5 - so I think he is just going to be massive, and my smaller one is perhpas bordering a 6....hes not destined to be as big but maybe hes trying to keep up with his big brother at dinner time!

I was also told that bengals stop growing at about 18 months

_________________
Clare
Magic (brown spotted boy born 31 March 2012)
Pearl (seal Lynx Point girl born 1 October 2015)
Bristol, UK

Hmm, you're right. Bengals stop growing between 18 and 24 months! I got Raiden when he was 6 years old, so I missed that part of his life.