I am getting a 1/4 Bengal kitten from my Brother this year (His cross bred Bengal had a litter) I have heard that Pure Bengals are advised against having live vaccinations due to certain blood lines being vulnerable to them and so they can only be offered killed vaccinations for safety reasons.

My vet has advised to have all vaccinations done which includes the live ones but am worried that because of the Bengal ancestry that my kitten will still be vulnerable to potential health effects of having a live vaccine.

Can someone explain to me if the live vaccines really are dangerous to Bengals or if it is an old wives tale due to early breeders misunderstanding the hybrids they were breeding? Also can those who know cat genetics tell me if a cat with a Bengal grandparent can inherit the same issues as a pure Bengal.

for those who don't know about live and killed vaccines... live vaccines are where weakened version of the virus/bacteria is given to the animal to help them build natural immunity while killed is where the vaccine has no living bacteria/virus within it. That is atleast what my the secretary at my Vets said.

You know, I have no idea if Raiden gets live vaccines or not! There is a lot of controversy on whether to vaccinate cats. Raiden gets three -- rabies, distemper and FeLV. My other kitty gets the same! Rabies may be required in your jurisdiction -- as it is here where I live.

Many people with indoor only cats feel vaccinations are not necessary. However, cats have been known to escape to the outdoor world and run into infected cats. Do you want to be safe rather than sorry? Almost all vets recommend vaccinating -- naturally, it is very profitable to them. If you have a vet that says one or more are not needed, you've found a vet with good core values, however ... there are very few instances where a cat should not be vaccinated. Senior cats with other ailments (such as kidney failure or cancer) should not be vaccinated. Their immune systems are already compromised.

Should you decide to walk your kitty outside a harness and leash, the vaccinations are necessary as saliva is a carrier for FeLV and can be left on shrubs and carried to your kitty. With a vaccine, it is preventable. It is such a horrible disease and always fatal. I lost a stray cat to the disease and since have always vaccinated my cats against it.

I would suggest you continue doing research and make your decision. You've got a kitten and I know you want to have many, many years with your baby. But, the end decision is with you. The cons you will find will be sarcoma at the injection area. I've never encountered that with any of the cats in my lifetime. But every cat is different and every cat reacts differently. Have a serious conversation with your vet with your concerns. In the end, you need to do what is best for your kitty.

Wow - this is a scary topic and there is a ton of misinformation on vaccines.

I'll start with terms: Adjuvant and Non-Adjuvant vaccines - this is much more important than Live / Dead. However, typically Adjuvant vaccines are dead and non-adjuvant are live.

Adjuvant vaccines have been shown to cause cancer in cats. Not people and not dogs - cats. Approximately 1 / 10,000 cats vaccinated with adjuvanted vaccines development a sarcoma at the injection site. There is a technique by vets to inject different vaccines into different parts of the body - this was developed to try to understand why some cats were getting sarcomas from the injections. It was eventually determined to be the adjuvant vaccine. Avoid at all costs!

In terms of Bengals and live vaccines vs. not - I have never heard any good justification for it. I've asked and spoken with a lot of breeders, there is no good evidence that Bengals require anything different than any other domestic cat for vaccines. Everything I've come across is rumour and conjecture - nothing actually science-based.

One other comment on the live vaccine - they are typically not just weakened, they are usually non-replicating which prevents them from fully getting the condition.

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Cat Genetics - yes, anything a parent had or grandparent can be passed to their children including any genetic condition. That being said, it becomes significantly less likely with each generation. In this case a 1/4 Bengal I would treat like any domestic cat (though we treat all of our Bengals like we would any domestic cat).