Dear all,

Please give me some advice, as many of you are experienced breeders and/or bengal owners. In Estonia, bengal breed is still very rare and our veterinarians do not have a clue about the breed specific illnesses or health issues. Therefore they are not any big help...
It started 2 days ago, when Atari jumped from the fence he climbed up (only 1,5 meters high) to and nothing indicated, that he had somehow landed badly. Suddenly though he started limping the left back foot. After 2 hours everything was normal again. In the same evening, after jumping from the window board (and landing normally, since it is not high anyway) he started limping again, trying to hold the back leg absolutely straight. This normalized in some hours. We had a vet appointment the next day anyway, so we consulted the vet, although this day nothing seemed to be wrong. The vet checked the leg and there was nothing wrong with that. She said, that maybe she just stretched it badly.
Today, out of the blue, Atari limps again. When the last days, the limping did not affect his jumping ability, today, he cant even reach the dining table or a chair, giving up by trying to reach those. When trying to sleep, he is turning one and the other side trying to find the right position. When touched, the leg does not seem to hurt. He lets us touch it and move it.
He still is paying attention, plays, eats and drinks. Maybe (can be, that its just the hot weather) he is a bit more calm.
We thought, that we observe him 2 days and if that continues, we have an x-ray done. Still I have read many horrifying stories here about the symptoms of HCM, I am afraid though, that we do not have the testing possibility here at all. I have to call the breeder and ask, whether they have done the testing for the parents somewhere.
What do you think I should do and which things I should observe very closely?
Thank you in advance for your advice,
Lulu

If he's specifically limping on one leg then I don't think it would be related to HCM - that would produce more overall weakness, lethargy.

My Delilah (the black and white cat in my sig) was attached by a dog recently and completely lost the use of her front leg. There was no obvious injury and she didn't complain when it was touched or moved. The vet spent a while thinking about how the injury might have occurred and the way the leg would have moved. The conclusion was that he thought she'd over-stretched her leg pulling away from the dog and the damage was probably to the nerves so the limp was from weakness rather than pain. She had a week of steroids which restored the use of her leg and now she only limps occasionally when she's tired. I wonder if Atari has done a similar sort of injury and over-stretched or jarred his leg? If you're worried, take him back to the vet and ask them again. It's possible that steroids could help if there's an inflammation to the nerve.

Hope he recovers soon.

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Dear Ginnym,

thanks for the quick reply
I totally agree with you, that it seems more like he has just injured the leg.
Actually some months ago he fell from the cupboard (he is sometimes clumsy ) and one of the back legs (unfortunately can not remember which) was badly caught by the door handle. After that he also limped for some hours, but it went away. Might be, that it is the same injury to the muscle and/or nerves.
My breeder also called back and said, that although his cats are not tested for HCM, there have not been any cases by his cats or their offspring during the 10 years he has breeding bengals. It means, that it most probably can not be the case. He also talked to his vet, who confirmed, that this kind of milder injuries (muscles etc) can take up to several month to heal and this is probably the case. He added, that HCM means bad paralyses of the back legs and just limping of one leg is definately not a sign for this.

And again I feel like an overreacting mom But it is so hard to see your cats having a problem and not being able to talk about this. I feel so helpless then. And of course - I have not been a very active writer to this forum, but I read it very often and thoroughly, so in some matters I guess I am a bit too informed I am really glad to have found this forum and to have you all here always supporting and charing. Really.

I will observe him and if the limping continues, maybe talk to the vet about the steroids etc.

Thanks again for the feedback,
Lulu

Hiya,

I had a problem with Gracie limping on and off earlier in the year so i took her to the vets and he checked her over but couldn't find anything obvious and we came to the conclusion she'd overstretched the limb when racing around. He also said to keep her quiet and not let her leap about for a few days, which I tried but we all know is pretty impossible with a Bengal. Fortunately she was fine and was sound in about a week. I hope your boy recovers soon xx

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Diane & The Posse