Ashanti Bengals

Currently many breeders have chosen not to publically advertise the potential problems of their breed for fear of loosing potential clients.  Ashanti Bengals believes, that this is not the wisest long-term strategy.  The reality is that ALL living things (including all breeds of cats!) have potential problems.  The Bengal breed could be no different!  Although generally a vibrant, healthy breed, the Bengal is certainly not immune to each and every genetic disease that plagues other purebred cat breeds.  One serious genetic disease in ALL cat breeds is HCM.

In our opinion, responsible breeding means encouraging the public to be well-educated about HCM.  In this way, potential new Bengal owners can make wise decisions in their choice of a new pet.  Further, it can help potential new Bengal breeders to acquire and breed wisely with a goal not only on beauty but also on strong genetic health.   Please read this informational article as well as Ashanti Bengal Policy on HCM below.  If you have additional questions, please feel free to contact us.

What is HCM? 
HCM is an abbreviation for Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, a genetic (and therefore inheritable) heart muscle disease.  Humans, cats, and other types of animals can and are affected by HCM.   HCM is the most common heart disease of animals in the cat genus, be they wild non-domestic species, purebred domestic cats or crossbred (non-purebred “alley”) cats.  HCM is often progressive and can result in heart failure and death.

What causes HCM in cats?
In general, heart muscle enlargement (hypertrophy) can be caused by various causes, such as high blood pressure and hyperthyroidism.  However, HCM is definied as primary disease.  Cats are diagonsed as having HCM therefore, only after secondary causes of hypertrophy are ruled out.

Is feline HCM genetic?
Yes.  It is almost sure to be an autosomal dominant inherited trait (as in human HCM).  The gene-mutation(s) responsible for HCM vary between cat breeds.  Therefore, while a genetic marker may be discovered in one cat breed, the same gene may not be responsible for HCM in another breed.  To date, one gene mutation has been discovered for the Maine Coon (in 2005) and another for the Ragdoll (in 2007).  In the future, it is expected that other mutations will be discovered in other cat breeds.  This research, however, is expensive.  A genetic marker for HCM in the Bengal has not yet been discovered. 

Can HCM have a nutritional cause?
According to all current evidence, it is not possible that HCM can be caused by nutrition in either cats or humans.

How is HCM diagnosed?
Genetic screening is available for the Maine Coon and Ragdoll cat.  For other breeds, including the Bengal, an echocardiogram (heart ultrasound) carried out by a certified veterinary cardiologist or radiologist is the only reliable method used to detect cats with moderate to severe HCM.  Other diagnostic tools such as x-rays (used to detect heart failure from a variety of causes),   electrocardiograms (to detect abnormal heart rhthyms), as well as blood pressure readings and blood tests to measure thyroid function (to rule out secondary causes of hypertrophy) are also useful to understand feline heart diseases.

Should my Bengal cat(s) be tested for HCM?
If you own a Bengal who has been identified by your veterinarian as having a heart murmur, an echocardiogram would certainly be a logical decision.

Bengal breeders should, AT THE LEAST, have their breeding cats auscultated (examined by a vet with a stethoscope) yearly.  Any cat with an abnormality should be tested by echocardiogram.  A much better choice for breeders (although expensive for many) would be having their breeding stock examined by echocardiogram on a yearly basis, as HCM can occur at any age and one echocardiogram can not guarantee that a cat will not develop HCM at a later date.

At what age should I begin screening my Bengal cat breeder by echocardiogram for heart abnormalities?
Guidelines have not been established for when the Bengal breed should begin to be tested.  The wisest may be to begin testing breeding adults at the age of 2 years.

What should a breeder do if a cat in the breeding program is diagnosed with HCM?
It should be removed from the breeding program (statistically at least 50% of it’s offspring would be expected to have HCM).  Owners of cats related to a cat with known HCM should be notified, so that they may be tested.

Can a breeding program guarantee being “HCM-free”?
Certainly not!  No breeding programs can guarantee that HCM will not develop someday in it’s breeding animals, or in kittens the breeding program produces.  Any breeder who would state this is either insufficiently educated about HCM, or dishonest. (To illustrate why this is…  A person may say, “My doctor checked me, my test results came back, I don’t have cancer.”, but unfortunately that does not guarantee that the person will NEVER get cancer.  Likewise, it certainly does not guarantee that the person’s offspring will not develop cancer.)

However, a breeder CAN arrange that all it’s current breeding stock is carefully checked by a local vet for observable heart defects by stethoscope for suspicious symptoms. Additionally, a breeder may choose to have it’s active breeding stock screened on a regular basis by echocardiograms conducted by a certified veterinary cardiologist or radiologist.  The breeder may elect to make these official results publically available online or by private request. 

What is the HCM screening policy at Ashanti Bengals?
All our active breeding animals are checked by our local vet on an ongoing “well-health” basis (at least every 12 months), to screen for any suspicious heart syptoms.  Any adult breeding animals found to have suspcious findings shall be checked by a certified veterinary cardiologist.  If heart abnormalities exist (HCM or other), the animal will be sterilized and no longer used in our breeding program.  If offspring of an animal with heart abnormalities has already been sold in the past (before the abnormality became known), we will make attempts to notify the new owner in writing by registered mail.

Ashanti kittens available for placement are closely checked for suspicious heart sypmptoms by our local vet well before placement.  If an abnormality should be found, the cat would definitely not be made available for reproduction.  Furthermore, any kitten with a known health abnormality would not even be placed as a pet, without a full written disclosure of our veterinarian’s findings in that cat’s “Sales Contract and Health Guarantee” paperwork. 

Does the Ashanti Bengals Sales Contract/Health Guarantee cover HCM?
Yes it does.  To the best of our knowledge, there is no more complete health guarantee offered by a Bengal breeder anywhere in France.  We take our obligation as responsible breeders very seriously. We help protect our clients against loss of life of their Bengal due to HCM in two ways. 

First, we stipulate that a new owner is responsible for taking their new animal to their vet within a very brief period of time, in order that their personal vet can verify it’s health.  This gives the new owner a second opinion on the cardiac health of their new animal at the time it is acquired.  

Second, our guarantee stipulates the replacement of a dead animal, should it be proven to have died as the direct result of a life-threatening genetic disease or condition  within three years of the date the contract was signed.  (NOTE:  Cause of death must be proven by an autopsy carried out by a certified veterinarian who then provides us with official clinical findings proving the animal’s death by genetic or congenital cause.)  Remember!  We want good health for the Bengal breed in general. 

More again, we want good health  for our own cats, and for kittens acquired from our breeding program!