Frequently Asked Questions
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These are questions asked about all cats, both pedigrees and moggies. We often have questions from people and we always try to help. Below are some examples. It always has to be said that if you are worried about your cat/kitten/animal we advise you to visit your veterinary practice.
Question:
Hello Jacky, I purchased two kittens (from the same litter) three months ago from a breeder in ............. and since the day i took them home one of the brothers has had very runny poos. Although we have been to the vets on several occasions he still has very runny poos. Is there anything we can do to help this poor little boy of ours?
Answer:
If he is a bengal cat you could try a detox of raw meat for him. Don't give him anything else but fresh, good quality raw minced meat for 24 to 48 hours. No treats of any kind, no biscuit of any kind. Just raw meat and plenty of fresh drinking water. This should result in him having fully formed stools. If you keep him on raw for any longer than 48 hours he should have the type of raw meat that has bones and bone marrow minced in with it. Failing that you will need to add the bone marrow and calcium to the meat when you feed him.
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Question:
Hello, Wonder if you can help.
I am keen to adopt an ex stud male from my local rescue centre. He has been neutered in the last couple of weeks but is presently still spraying. The centre is unwilling to rehome him while this is still happening.
In your experience is this something that should change quite quickly or is the fact that he is 3years old likely to mean it could take some time (if at all?) I am told that the centre vet believes the problem to be behavioral rather than hormonal but feel that as it is a recent op. and he is the a row with other male cats this could have more to do with it.
I am really impressed with the calm, friendly nature he seems to be displaying but am concerned that a 'kenneled'
cat might have issues with settling into a home?
Your thoughts on this would be much appreciated.
Thank you - Diana T.
Answer:
When a stud is neutered he needs about 8 weeks for his hormones to level off. After that you shouldn't have a problem with spraying. There is always a reason for spraying and some studs and queens (entire cats) find it necessary to protect their area by spraying. Both males and females do this, but the male urine is stronger and therefore more noticeable.
If you think about why a cat sprays, it is always behavioral and not hormonal. But once their hormones have stabilised they no longer feel as vulnerable.
I took in a rescue stud a few months ago that sprayed so bad we had to keep a mop and bucket outside his pen. We had him neutered as soon as he was strong enough. It took him about 6 weeks to stop spraying, he went to a new home with a British blue female as a friend and he has never looked back, he no longer finds the need to spray.
There is an important thing to remember with retired breeding males and females. They are going to a completely different way of life with you and they may feel insecure. They will need lots of reassurance in their new life until they feel at home. Working girls and boys are often very happy in their lives and when they are removed from that and taken to a forever home, they are very confused, and don't understand what they have done wrong.
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Question:
I would love to adopt a Bengal cat but my friends have told me that they don't get along with other cats. Is this true?
Answer:
Bengals are one of the most well adjusted pedigree cats I know. Bengals get along with most animals including cats, dogs, horses, ducks and geese. Retired breeding males and females are supposed to be the hardest to adjust when rehomed, but I’ve successfully rehomed retired queens and studs to homes with these animals or birds. Bengal cats and kittens have lots of energy, this makes them different to most cats and kittens. Allow them to use up this energy and they will settle down on your lap for a cuddle. The Bengal loves to play, no matter their age, they just love to play.
Kittens easily adjust if the owners just give them love and understanding, remembering that they are babies and easily become confused. Don't interfere too much if the animals are shouting at each other. So long as they don't hurt each other they need to communicate which sometimes involves growling. I find it hard to understand why people allow a dog to growl when playing and yet they are alarmed when a Bengal growls when playing. They are both animals playing. Always remember the Bengal is simply a cat with a noisy vocabulary.
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Question:
I've just brought a new kitten home and i think she may have worms. I'm not sure what to do or how often she should be wormed. The person I bought her from wormed her when we picked her up and said that was enough, but i'm not convinced.
Answer:
You're correct not to be convinced. One wormer session is not enough for a kitten. She needs to be wormed sufficiently, especially if you have children. I usually worm a kitten three times before the kitten goes to her new home. There are several reputable wormers on the market. I advise you to register your kitten with your vet and ask your vet to give you a suitable wormer for your kitten. Your kitten should be wormed at regular intervals whilst she is growing up. Once she reaches maturity, she will need to be wormed at less frequent intervals throughout her life. If she goes out and hunts and eats her pray she will require worming every 3 months. If she doesn't go out and stays indoors then she can be wormed less frequently. You must also take into consideration whether or not you have young children. Because young children are always putting hands into mouths, it is best to be on the safe side, and even if your cat is an indoor only cat, you must worm your cat every 3 to 4 months.
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Question:
My kitten has been coughing since Wednesday, he was in a cat show on Saturday, is there anything I should be doing for a cough in a cat?
Answer:
If he gets any worse or you are worried about his health you should consult your vet as he may need a course of antibiotics. He may or may not have picked something up from the show. If he has long hair he may have a hair ball he is trying to pass, some short hair cats also pass hair balls occasionally, but keep an eye on him.
I always put my cats or kittens to bed for two or more days after show to sleep it off. I keep them quiet and usually on their own or together with the ones who went to show. Its always a good idea to keep your animals separate for a few days after shows as a precaution to them having caught anything contagious
L-lysine is a very useful aid and is purchased from your local health food shop. I usually put my cats or kittens on it for a week after show, or if there are any signs of anything like a cough or runny eye etc up to a month.
B A
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Question:
I've heard that Lilies are poisonous to cats, is this true?
Answer:
Lilies are extremely poisonous to cats. If the cat gets lily pollen on his coat, he will clean it off, and this pollen can be deadly to cats, the cat or kitten could suffer an extremely painful death. The list of plants that are poisonous to kittens and cats is extremely long, far too long to list here, but here are some web sites that list some of them: www.aspca.org/toxicplants; www.cfainc.org/articles/plants; www.moggies.co.uk/plants.html
If you search the web for plants that are poisonous for cats you will find thousands of pages devoted to the subject.
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Question:
Hi, could you please tell me if the Bengal is suitable as an indoor cat?
Answer:
Many of the kittens adopted from us are very happy living indoors only. There are things to consider.
1 - Make sure your breeder has kept your kitten under control and not allowed them to run outdoors, if they are trained to run outside freely from an early age, they will not easily adjust to staying indoors only, although it is possible.
2- Use a covered litter box, this makes life less smelly and less messy, and cats love the privacy of them.
3 - Bengal kittens and cats need a scratch post, the bigger the better, they will use it with enthusiasm.
4 - Bengals are intelligent cats and can get bored, they need things to occupy them, so they don't get up to too much mischief. All cats love cardboard boxes with holes cut in them to play in. When Bengal cats are teething they will chew on the cardboard as they know this is theirs to do with what they will.
5 - A cat kept in a house only needs the use of plenty of the rooms, so they have room to play and roam around in.
6 - As far as food is concerned for any cat kept indoor only. You need to add some roughage such as fresh grass. There are packs now available for sale that you can grow on a window cill for your cat to chew on. This aides your cats digestion. You can also buy food specifically for indoor only cats, this has added roughage. You can also find out via the internet other wild plants that you can grow for your cats to chew on that are good for them.
7 - If you have a back garden or patio, an option that some owners are now using is to connect an outdoor run to a cat flap or small window that you can control (close this when you go out). That way the cats can have a run outside in safety.
I have owners who live happily with indoor only cats or kittens. In doing so, they find their kittens/cat are very closely bonded with them. The bonus of keeping your cats indoors is that they are in safety. From a breeders point of view, it is a great relief to know they are safe. Also, these cats are usually a very close part of a family, we know they will get an enormous amount of attention. A Bengal that has been handled will insist on it, especially if they live indoors all the time. They will take advantage of you being there with them.
We breeders may sell these kittens, but we bring them into the world. We assist in their birth, and help their mum when we are needed. We look after their health whilst with us, and have the enjoyment of loving and playing with them in their early weeks of life. We try to give them the best start in life before handing them over to you. All we ask, is that you love and care for them as part of your family, and never hurt them.
Question:
We have recently adopted a retired Bengal Queen. Whilst she seems to have settled in well, she still does her pooh in the middle of our front lawn and doesn't even attempt to cover it. Whilst it isn't a problem in winter, when the summer comes our children will want to play on the lawn and this will then be a big problem.
Answer:
Your Bengal Cat may have settled well in your home, but she doesn't feel completely secure in your area. The reason any cat presents their stools in the middle of a lawn or patio, without covering it, and for all to see is to leave her smell there. She wants the cats in the local area to know she is there and accept her. She wants to be friends, and doing things in this way, she is getting herself known without confrontation. She is leaving her smell out there for them to become used to her. This can often happen with an elderly cat or a poorly cat. They want the cats in the area to get used to their smell so that they don't get involved in the pecking order of things.
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Question:
We have bought 2 kittens, brother and sister, 4 months old.
They go outside to the toilet, but although they try to bury their stools, they do it in the middle of the lawn instead of in the soil where they can bury it out of sight. The girl has wet in the middle of our bed once, and also in the middle of our guest bed. The boy has urinated twice on a chair in the lounge. We now have to lock them in the kitchen away from the rest of the house, because we cannot put up with this mess. They came from a breeder who had them in a home with a cat litter, and they later spent time outside running and playing in an outside run with a litter. They do not have a cat litter now as we've had cats for many years so we know about cats, and our cats have always gone outside without any problems.
Answer:
At 4 months old these kittens are still babies. They were trained to a cat litter in a home and i suspect they are totally confused as to what to do when they are cut short now. It's like suddenly not having a toilet to use, what would you do as a young child shut in a room? I suspect you would wet your pants at the very least. Cats, and particularly Kittens cannot hold their urine like dogs can. They need to be able to go to the toilet. These kittens need a cat litter to use in their home until they feel they don't need one anymore. It's not enough to put a cat flap into your door and expect a baby to know how to get through shut doors to get outside to do what he or she has to do. Be patient and give them back their toilet for a little longer, It's cold outside, when the weather warms up you may find they would rather go outside to their toilet. if you really can't stand a cat litter in your home, maybe you should think of having an older kitten. I'm sure your breeder will retrain them to use their litter again if you ask him/her.
There is also another point to make here. Most breeders i know wouldn't let a kitten go to a home where there wasn't going to be a litter tray allowed in the home, certainly for the first few months of a kittens life. Please refer to Cats Protection rehoming procedures, where it suggests that a litter tray is required for cats as well as kittens.
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Question:
I have recently adopted a stud that has been neutered. I am under the impression, that once a stud cat has been neutered he cannot indulge in sexual activity, although someone has told me that he may still be capable of intercourse, even though no longer fertile, what are your thoughts?
Answer:
Once a stud has been neutered he is not sterile immediately, he can still father a litter of kittens up to a couple of weeks after his castration. Some males can and will have sex with their chosen female long after their neutering. Usually its the females that won't let them. This is often found to be the case in multi cat households. Breeders sometimes think their female isn't coming into call, when in fact, they are being knocked off - call by the household neutered male.
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Question:
We have adopted a new boy, a retired stud, he has been neutered, I wanted to give a retired breeding cat a home and couldn't have picked a more affectionate man. What I'm concerned about is he has small patches of fur missing from the top of his head and shoulders.
Also, his fur is very greasy and slightly matted at the base of his tail.
Answer:
His greasy coat may not clear for months, it depends on the individual stud. then again it may clear up next month, you just can't tell. Some bloodlines are more prone to it than others. His hair loss will take time, just wait until your heating goes on, that will confuse his body and hair loss again. It will settle down in time. It takes up to 8 weeks for his hormones to settle down, but that doesn't mean everything will be normal then. It just means his body will have accepted that he no longer is entire.
Get him used to being brushed, as well as helping his fur, it is a good bonding procedure for you both. If necessary there are shampoos you can use to help clean up his fur. Although, now he is in your home environment instead of a pen, you will be amazed how quickly his coat will clean up. You will find that he will want to be clean and will groom himself regularly in order to get cleaner.
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