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Bengal/PixieBob Update Feigh
Alright /an/, I need your collective help/advice with something. Two days ago we finally picked up our little Bengal/Pixie Bob kitten and we are absolutely in love with this rambunctious little thing. She is full of energy and affection, but due to the lack of a tail we are beginning to think she may have incontinence problems. She is a little over a month old by now and probably hadn't been on dry food for too long at the breeder's so they didn't really notice. However, whenever I do see her (Sansa) use the litter box it seems her feces doesn't always completely evacuate, leaving it hanging from her backside occasionally after she leaves the box. Along with this, she seems to leak a little bit of urine every now and then while she sleeps. Our one year old black and white tuxedo immediately took on a motherly role the moment we brought Sansa inside and she first mewed. Her doting diligence has helped in the regard of keeping her very clean, but I know that motherly instinct doesn't last forever (even if it were her own kitten).

She eats regularly (purina new kitten food and wet food), drinks regularly, and is in very good spirits so I am inclined to believe it is due to the lack of a tail and the problems often associated with this rather than something else. However, I have had many cats in the past and I clearly remember a few going through a phase similar to this around her age if only regarding the feces. We are moving to a different apartment in the same complex (actually a private house that is rented by the same company, but only 30 yards away) in a few days and we plan on taking her to the vet sometime after we move in so she can get her shots and a check-up. Maybe we are only looking at a UTI and the same poo-problems I had seen in past kittens I raised. I hope.
Cont.
>> Cont. Feigh
We are completely devoted to Sansa and to find she might live with incontinence her whole life isn't a problem for us. Due to health issues, my fiance and I both stay at home full time and have the opportunity to give her our utmost attention. Considering missing a tail is paramount to missing a part of the spine I understand this can easily lead to nerve damage in the hindquarters and is fairly common among Manx and Pixie Bobs with bobbed-to-no-tails.

Have any of you had experience with incontinent kitties at such a young age? My research (albeit limited as we have only became concerned about this today) suggests going so far as to find special cat diapers. Have any of you used any such pet diapers? If so, what are your experiences with them? If good, what brand did you use?

Being such a young kitten, the problems aren't that bad as of yet, but she WILL get bigger (part Pixie Bob part Bengal after all). Her hindquarters, besides the possible incontinence, work wonderfully and I have been making sure to really work her out by playing with her in a way that makes her really work those back legs. I have her chase my hand all over the couch as a jungle gym, making sure to get her to jump as often as possible and to improve her overall balance. Being so young it is still hard to see what is natural kitten imbalance and what is that neat Pixie-bob gait.
Cont.
>> Cont. Feigh
So if anyone has experience with this (seemingly) rare mix of Bengal and Pixie Bob, has experience with incontinent cats (preferably due to tail abnormalities and starting in young cats, but any incontinent kitty experience is helpful), has experience in using cat diapers, or anyone with ANY other information we could use it would be MOST appreciated.

I also promise to keep /an/ updated with damn cute pictures of Sansa over time as well. Breeder took the original picture, ours will be better since we turn to artistic photography to help pay the bills. Considering I can't find ANY information on this new "breed" (dubbed Bengal Bob by the breeder, both parents were full Bengal and Pixie Bob) I figure I can document our trials, tribulations, and joys here.

Sansa may not reach the absolute cuteness/adoration of felines such as Tulip or Fishing Cat, but maybe /an/ can find a soft spot in the cockles of it's collective hearts for Sansa-No-Tail. Heck, you are all going to get to see her grow up!
>> Anonymous
>> She is a little over a month old by now
You picked her up about 2 months too early
>> Feigh
>>168498
I may very well have the age wrong. It is rather late and I was bound to make a mistake or two. I would say she is around ten weeks old or so at least. She had been already weaned off her mother and was eating a combination of wet and dry food formulated for young kittens. Arya, the black and white tuxedo (year old) has become her full time mother and pampers her exactly like I have observed mother cats do in my past experiences. Based on this information, and the fact that she is under nearly constant surveillance by both myself and my girlfriend, what would you suggest we do?
>> Anonymous
I'd take her to see the vet now (or well monday) rather than later, it could be any number of issues. Kitten health issues can grow into larger issues down the road if neglected and kittens are very vulnerable to any number of health problems. Bring a fecal sample too. Collect it just after the cat has used the litter box the day you go to the vet, a ziplock bag will do, refridgerate it if it's more than an hour until you visit the vet.
>> Anonymous
I'm jealous. I want a pixie-bob. ]:
>> Anonymous
Is there a tl;dr version?
>> Anonymous
>>168513
yea it goes like this:

OH SHI-
>> Feigh
>>168513
Adopted a half Bengal, half Pixie Bob with no tail. We brought her home as soon as she was ready to be given away and believe that she may be incontinent (small leaking of urine while sleeping and defecation that does not fully evacuate). Was wondering if anyone had any info on:
Pixie Bob/Bengal mixes
Incontinent cats
Cat diapers (last resort)
Any hints,tips,advice.
>> Anonymous
>>168520
you might want to look into Manx Syndrome, it's kind of nebulous in it's definition, but it does sometimes have to do with bowel and bladder problems in cats with bob tails.
>> Feigh
>>168501
We already considered taking her on Monday (should time allow) or the day after depending on how she does tonight and tomorrow. Didn't think of bringing the stool sample though. Thanks for that idea.
>> Feigh
>>168511
As have I ever since I saw the bizarre sight of a hermit out in northern florida woods who, somehow, befriended a Bobcat kitten and raised it as a surprisingly loyal familiar (not the normal human/pet relationship). I moved to the area when the man was elderly and the bobcat an adult. Fiercely protective of it's charge and territory, but actually amiable if the man showed a friendly interest in you.

>>168522
I was under the impression that Manx syndrome differed from the genetic defects found in the Pixie bob breed. Could someone clear that up for me?
>> Anonymous
>>168526
I thought the Manx syndrome only affected cats with no tail whatsover. All the pixie-bob cats I've seen have a stumpy tail like a bobcat (if we are to believe the bobcat hybrid hypothesis, the genes for the short tail come from a bobcat). So that does raise the possibility that taillesness in a pixie-bob is not part of the breed variation but caused by the Manx syndrome.
>> Feigh
>>168539
From my research I found various references to pixie bobs having no, bobbed, and long tails. The specific criteria for a good show pixie bob seems to be a nice bobbed tail. No tails and long tails need not apply. Basically a lot of information comes through with competition bias rather than giving all the facts.

Gotta sift through the crap to find the diamond in google with this sort of thing. Another side effect of working from home with full access to my computer.

-----

However, I give an update before going to bed.

Just before my lady and I are about to finally crawl into bed, I finish kitty proofing the messy bedroom and in-so-doing turning it into a kitten playground extravaganza for the hyper little thing. She seemed so enthused by having such a jungle gym of fabric to pounce all over that, upon seeing her new easy access ramp to the litter box decided to hop right in.

She must have been put off by the scent of the other cats in the litter box downstairs as she was very reluctant to go anywhere near it, despite how clean it was. Smelling her scent in the bedroom litter box from the night before (I had tricked her into the litter box by wiggling my finger on the opposite side she was on until she hopped in. Finally finding herself in the litter of her own accord she released her backed up bowels.) she happily started pawing and using the litter. Fully urinated and had a normal bowel movement without any cleanup help and even buried everything perfectly.

Needless to say, she bounded out full of vigor and wore herself out after another ten minutes of playing. A good first step. If she continues like this, without having leaking problems while sleeping, we might still wait till after the move is finished before taking her to the vet for a checkup.

Still, anyone able to touch on any other advice or tips we would love to have your input. I apologize if I am a bit verbose for some on /an/. Old habits, etc.
>> Anonymous
I had a cat with a bobtail that had issues with his bladder. He eventually needed surgery.
>> Anonymous
>>168566
but since the surgery was too expensive we just kicked the cat to the curb where a hobo sat on it and killed it
>> Bitter Anon !!WJLRQ1cwCyZ
First, it really does sound like she is extremely young. Second, take her to a goddamn vet.
>> Anonymous
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>>168574<-- YES!

If the other cat has started to mother it, that just reinforces the fact that the kitten is far too young. Bengal's should not be taken early at all, and good breeders tend to keep them longer than other cats (14 weeks possibly if I recall correctly.

And take it to a vet, it probably needs growth supplements as well as a diet change.
>> Feigh
Despite the progress she has made (not a single mess while we slept and she even used the litter box again in full view this morning) we will most likely be taking your advice and bringing Sansa to the vet tomorrow.

As for the concern regarding her age (in particular pertaining to the fact that she is half Bengal) we took her home from the breeder at ten weeks old. She had been fully weaned from her mother (as had the other two in the liter) for over a week, had been eating solid food for about five days, and had been litter box trained for about as long as she had been eating solids.

Based on my past experiences, though it ranged from litter to litter, was that kittens were ready for adoption between 8 and 11 weeks. The breeder seemed confident in the fact that Sansa was ready for adoption (and had been for a while, but she had grown so attached to the fluffball she wanted a bit more time with her) and I didn't see any reason to disagree. Based on this information do you still think she was brought home too early?

As for the other cat being overtly motherly all I can say is that she was starting to go into heat when we brought Sansa home and rather than go into the annoying fuck-me-dance the hormones shifted to a motherly instinct that was very much not reciprocated by Sansa. Also, after Sansa got that bowel obstruction out of the way the motherly instinct settled down to just her freaking out whenever Sansa let out a plaintive mew. Before that she was constantly trying to clean/stimulate Sansa's genitals.

Out of curiosity (since I like to be an informed pet owner) what sort of diet change do you think a vet might suggest? I'm also curious about these growth supplements. Obviously this will be all covered by the vet when we go there tomorrow, but I just wanted a heads up. I hope I didn't give off the impression that we would be waiting a long time to take her to the vet.
>> Feigh
>>168589
I just read a few sources that cited an adoption age of about what you described. It seems like 12 weeks is the most popular with Bengals.

One more question. I have salmon oil that I add to the older cats food for added nutrition and it says nothing about whether or not I could give it to kittens. Considering her bodyweight I would only give a few drops to her kitten food, but figured I should ask here and look around before making any decisions.
>> Anonymous
>>168678
12 weeks is usually the minimum you want. It's not so much the feeding but the kitten is still being "taught" things by mom, behavior and social skills as it were. Thankfully your cat is stepping up to the challenge so it may be a moot point, but for future kittens, you really should raise that age bar up to the 12-14 weeks range
>> Feigh
>>168689
Sansa is now the fourth cat in the house. Followed by black and white tuxedo (Arya, 1yr), grey and white tuxedo (Cassie, 6yr), and a show quality ragdoll (Cinders, 11-12yr). Earlier in the year we lost a 19 year old cat that my girlfriend had by her side since she was one.

Growing up I lived out in the middle of the woods in Florida and we had a ton of outdoor cats that congregated on our property. Being a shy and introspective child with a fascination for nature I spent many many hours just sitting in trees and watching the interaction of cats of all ages. This behavioral knowledge, along with the fact that Arya is always around to show Sansa how to act, has shown me that the kitten is very well adjusted when it comes to the various social and behavioral traits she needs. Cleans herself, feels independent, uses the litter box appropriately (now), doesn't try to suckle fabric or fingers, etc. She has honestly amazed me at how quickly and nicely she has adjusted.
>> cant touch this !AB5fTSvpY6
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>>168589
yes it should be 14 weeks.i got my 2 manx around 13-14 weeks.all bobbed have possibilities of dying when young because of the missing parts.having said that (fingers crossed) ive not had any problems with my 2 and the litter tray,apart from very rarely a bit of poo stays on the bum,and they are 5 now.fingers crossed yr little one is ok
>> Anonymous
I got my bengal at 15 weeks, she was a sweetheart from the start. The only accident we ever had was because she couldn't find the litterbox in my room (it was under a table). I love bengals so much :3
>> tigerfeather !CrwtTbFNxQ
>>168687
Why are you adding salmon oil? If you were feeding a premium food to begin with (which you aren't, as you already said that you feed Purina which really only make grocery brands), you won't need to add fishy oils to your cat's food. I don't see any reason why you couldn't feed it to the kitten, except maybe that the sudden addition of extra fat may cause some diarrhea or vomiting because it's too rich.
>> Feigh
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>>169217
The older cats have been on Purina One for a while after a length process of elimination until I found one they liked and didn't cause them to vomit/have diarrhea/etc. I hear good things about Innova Evo, but considering the price I would rather have a few more people tell me it is really good for them before switching.

Any suggestions for both the older cats and the kitten in regards to catfood? I do augment the dry diet with canned Iams. Please don't tell me I am giving them tail cancer because of it, lol.

Also, I have new pictures of the little devil now.
>> Feigh
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>>169217
Also, I add the salmon oil due to the fact that they like it.
>> Anonymous
>>169238
maybe stick with the purina one dry and get the evo canned stuff. Might be the cheaper move than the dry stuff.

Wish I could recommend the evo food, but currently my cats aren't on it, I was thinking about getting the canned evo food now that they have a few more flavors but my cats still have about three quarters of a case of the old food to get through.
>> Feigh
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>>169246
Sounds like a plan to me.

Here is a picture of Arya trying to be motherly while Sansa tries to let her know she just wants to play.
>> Anonymous
The only complaints I've ever heard about Evo is that it's expensive and that the dry food tends to be a little crumbly so when you get to the bottom of the bag you get a lot of dry food powder almost instead of the kibble shaped stuff. Other than that everything I hear seems like it's great for cats, even good for cats with diabeetus.
>> tigerfeather !CrwtTbFNxQ
>>169238
Of course the cats are going to like the salmon oil - fat makes everything taste better. =)

Purina One, although far from the worst food you can buy, is pretty up there as far as Purina is concerned. Innova is a really good food all around, but you also have to take into account that not every cat responds the same way to the formulation. Most consumers don't really know what they're looking for in results, and so just go with the highest quality possible and the best recommendations. Innova, although great, isn't a requirement for healthy cats. You can go with something that's a little more in your price range, such as the Nutro line of foods, Solid Gold Katzenflocken, stuff like that. The only one I don't recommend is Science Diet because of its over-usage of corn.

Basically, if you can find it in a grocery store you should count it out of your food choices. Go to a specialty pet store (Petco, PetSmart, what have you) and ask the employees where the premium and super premium foods are. You'll be able to find one in your price range. Make sure you're not talking to a food vendor representative, though, as they will steer you to their product only and not give you enough information about the others.

>>169246
This is a good idea too.
>> Feigh
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>>169292
Thanks for the all the advice and information. I will probably end up splurging on both Evo canned food and a good premium to super premium dry food, like you suggested. We have a petco, petsmart, and numerous specialty pet stores around the area. The pacific northwest takes care of it's animals, despite the fact that we found our lutino cockatiel on the third story of the parking garage at SeaTac Airport wandering around.

We may be living off of pretty meager means due to our situation, but we have no problem pampering our cats by splurging on something that will provide them the best nutrition possible.
>> Anonymous
>>169296

just supplement the normal cat food with cheap meat mince every once in a while, and mix it in thoroughly so you cat doesn't just eat the mince bits.
You shouldn't have to splurge on those premium pet foods all the time.
>> AnonymouS
I just read this whole thread.

I may be suicidal now. GOOD LUCK TO YOUR CATS!
>> Feigh
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>>169343
Not so sly are you now, huh?
>> Anonymous
super kawaiii kittys