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I have no idea! I am a very new Bengal owner and have only just become aware of HCM looking at this forum. I may have got the wrong impression from a couple of other posts but it seemed that someone was saying that they wouldn't get a silver or snow because of the concern about HCM?

I saw this breeder's snow and silver kittens when we went to choose Zazou - they were quite young then but very pretty and I'm really keen to have one of them .


Another picture of Zazou

No as far as we are aware at present snow or silver should not carry any increased risk. It depends basically on the lines as to what the risk is for a kitten. All colours are at risk.
Many, many breeders do not scan, so have no idea of the risks that their cats or kittens face. There are no completely clear lines.
HCM cats do not appear unwell, they are not runts or puny looking cats. It is not until they develop heart failure, die suddenly or have paralysis of their back legs is it evident that something is wrong. Vet checks will not pick up HCM, some cats with HCM do have murmurs but others seem perfectly normal until the scan shows otherwise. HCM is not called the "silent killer" for nothing.

Cats can start showing signs at any age but many seem to be around 2-4 years old, however some have died as kittens and some over 8 so it is a difficult disease.
The advantage of scanning is that it picks up heart disease, sometimes it is HCM sometimes it is other heart defects.
Scanning before breeding will pick up early HCM, it will also pick up other heart defects. Pregnancy puts a lot of strain on the heart and circulatory system, cats with bad hearts may drop down dead or can go into heart failure just due to being pregnant or having tough labours or the strain of lactation.
As HCM is a progressive disease, then the scans need to be repeated annually in breeding animals. A cat can scan normal, normal then positive so one negative scan is not a guarantee that the cat will not develop HCM in its lifetime but it is better than breeding from unscanned cats that may actually be positive for HCM at the time of breeding.

It is very important also to consider pedigrees, a cat with a positive parent or grandparent or sibling or offspring is at high risk no matter what the scan report shows, so that should always be taken into consideration too.

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Ooh - melanistics are lovely .

Well, I went to see the kittens today and there is one gorgeous chunky silver girl available who I have reserved but I also have an option to change my mind for a little snow boy. He is the runt of the litter and quite tiny still (although only a few days difference in age between him and the silver) and looks really scrawny. Very affectionate though and Lynne reckons he will come good.

Oh, and to add to my confusion she also had a couple of absolutely beautiful brown marbles...

I'm going back again in 3 weeks to make a final decision - at the moment the silver is much nicer but I saw the older sister of the snow and she is absolutely stunning, so if he turns out anything like her he will be fab. Personality wise she reckons the silver will be more fun and the snow more of a lap cat, so I either get the silver who will be able to keep up with my bonkers Zazou, or the snow who may calm her down (well the household would be calmer anyway!). Oh, the snow also has the same father as Zazou. The father of the silver is fantastic - retired now and she is looking for a home for him - he's a huge blue spotted and completely soppy.

Decisions, decisions...

I took a couple of (not very good) pictures - they just wouldn't stay still!

Snow



Silver

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Maria x

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Maria x

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