Just a short story first...

March 2012 myself and my partner moved in together and bought ourselves the most stunningly beautiful bengal boy Kitten... Ollie... His markings... his growl... his everything was amazing... He could meow and talk forever... ALWAYS had something to say... When i first bought Ollie home about 2 days of having him noticed blood in his poo took him to the vets and he had a bad case of worms.... The Breeders xxxxxxxx in the UK, Essex had given us Ollie and he had worms... So i treated him and about a week later he was back to normal... One evening Wednesday 15 August i came home from work and noticed Ollie wasnt his normal self and was very hot... I took him to the vets and they said he has a bug and also noticed there was blood again in his bum area... He was given an anti-biotic and perked up... But by the weekend wasn't eating and getting skinny by the day... Rushed him back the vets and they kept him in saying he has a virus... He stayed at the Wanstead Goddard Vet hospital and come Wednesday 23 August i get a call saying Ollie is unable to keep his balance and needs to rushed to a neurologist in Hertforshire... Davies... i have him transported and follow up there... He needed to be tested for FIP... They conducted two tests and he had it... My 6 month old boy had FIP and i had to put him down... His tiny body on that table... He was so thin... and so help less... It was so hard watching his life drain away... I kept thinking and replaying the last week of his life in my head... What if i had caught it earlier... Bought him here earlier... Would it have made any difference... But from what i have learnt about FIP there was nothing i could have done... Its a deadly Infection... The thought of what it was doing to him still gives me shivers... He meant the world to me and Miguel... It was so heartbreaking... He had only been part of my family for 3 months and now i had to put him down... So i did because it was the best thing i could do for him... AThe specialist advised i contact the breeders and tell them they need to cotact Ollie's other litter owners to check their cats... And also said Sonia you may want to investigate these breeders... This could be a case of terrible breeding... Inter Breeding... When i spoke to xxxxxxxx they were very defensive and told him first off they didnt want to insult me about offering me my money back... I never asked for my money back when i spoke to them... It wasnt about the money... Then i started to think about my other two Bengals Savannah and Saina i bought from xxxxxxxx Both sisters had to have operations at 7 months old to have their knee caps re built and currently Poor Saina is at the vets once a week due to vomiting after food (the vets are currently trying to figure out her allergies) and constant blood in her poo and rashes on her body) Savannah ended up with a gum disease which now every 3 years she needs a deep cleaning or her teeth could rot... I have also now visited several breeders in the area to see how the cats are kept and the environment they are kept in... What i noticed that all the other breeders the cats were kept in lovely big chalets... etc... And at xxxxxxxx the cats are kept in the house which is over run by cats and smells... I don't know much about breeding but i really feel worried about the rest of Ollie's litter and hope they didnt have FIP or if they did were not near other cats to give it to them etc... Because till this day i get this niggling feeling those breeders are just not doing something right... Then as soon as i tell them about Ollie they start offering me cats for free... Who does that... I just put my kitten down... I would NEVER EVER get another kitten from them again... I am glad Ollie came into my life it was short... But he was my little super star... I feel like i need to contact some one about them... At least to have them investigated... Does anyone know who i can contact? Is it TICA i speak too?

Thanks!!!!


Admin Edit: Please do not name the breeder involved in this situation. Refer to the rules. Thanks.

I am very sorry for your loss.


FIP is not an infectious disease by itself. It is caused when the Coronavirus mutates. Many cats can be infected with coronavirus but will not go on to develop FIP. There are many thoughts as to why this happens but as yet there is nothing conclusive. There are some thoughts that there may be a genetic risk, that is a slightly higher risk than any other cat, in developing FIP from Coronavirus but nothing has been proven. Coronavirus is very, very common amongst cats.

I feel that the vets in question are very irresponsible to blame the breeders, this is not down to inbreeding. It is right to inform the breeders so that they can look into their cats and contact their kitten buyers to check on them. It is also right for them to offer you another kitten free of charge, any responsible breeder would!

You obviously are not happy with the breeder but i wanted to mention a couple of things about what you have said.

Most kittens are infected with worms, they get it from the moms milk and that is why most breeders worm the kittens regularly at first. Wormers do not prevent worms but kill what is there at the time which is why frequent worming is necessary. I would not expect a kitten to become ill from worms so soon after going to a new home though.

The sisters you have with a knee problem, Bengals are prone to a condition affecting the kneecaps called 'Luxating patella' which i suspect is the problem here. It is common in cats and can be genetic but not always. It is important that the breeder is aware of this so that they can keep a watch for it in other cats they breed. The hereditary cases tend to happen to bilateral knees and not just 1 knee.

The fact that the breeder bred her cats indoors in the house is actually a good thing. I am not a fan of kittens bred in outside chalets with no access to houses with their noises, smells and comforts. I have a Bengal that was poorly socialised as a kitten after being confined to a utility room and an outside pen with no access to the house. He has a LOT of issues. It is not good that there are so many cats in the house and that it smells, this makes keeping areas clean difficult. I walked away from a breeder whose house was like that but i would also not buy from a breeder who breeds kittens in outside chalets. I would want a well socialised kittens as much as i would want a healthy one. My Bengal is perfectly healthy but has a lot of psychological issues from not being bred appropriately.

I am not sure TICA would be able to do anything really.

Again, i am very sorry for your loss but i don't necessarily believe the breeders have been irresponsible.

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Lollo

Really sorry to hear about your cat(s) and how ill they have been.

Your post is quite confusingly written. As I've read it: you have three bengals, all from the same breeder. The first two bengals have had various serious health problems, but you still bought your third bengal from the same breeder? The third kitten died after falling ill, the breeder was a bit defensive about it, but offered you another kitten as a replacement and you refused it. You think the cats are ill-kept and want to report the breeder. Do I have that correct?

If you think the cats are being kept in way that seriously affects their welfare, then you can report this breeder to the RSPCA. Legally a keeper of animals must provide: somewhere suitable to live, food and fresh water, space in which the cats can exhibit their natural behaviours, and protection from illness or injury.

If the cats are registered with TICA, then you can report them to TICA though this seems to cost quite a bit of money: http://www.tica.org/members/faq/complaints.php I'm not actually sure what this would achieve, maybe someone else can comment.

You could also try the "bad business" route, and speak to Citizens Advice Bureau or Trading Standards. They could give you advice on what can be done after being sold a sick animal. Just a note though - the breeder was right to offer you a replacement kitten. I know emotionally you may not want the kitten, but from a trading standpoint it was the right thing for them to do.

At the end of the day though, it is imperative to research breeders thoroughly before purchasing. It is not illegal to thoughtlessly breed cats, and so bad breeders may be within the law. All you can do is not buy from them.

All 3 are from the same breeder in essex?

You need to do your research, talk to other breeders, see if this breeder has a bad name around the block, even vets in the round about area. Build a case up to take civil, if that's a route you want to take.

I don't understand that if you have 2 kitties from the same breeder as the 3rd, why did you get the 3rd from there? Not having a go, when asking this Q btw.

I'm sorry to hear about your kittie, no cat should go through that

Yes I think its best if I pm you

Thats awful, but what I dont get is you went back after all of these problems? I am in Essex aswell and can easily pass people on to good breeders, more than one bengal breeder in essex for kittens!

kitten ollie i pmed you a while ago about this breeder can you let me no if the pm was recieved please