Bengal Care Calendar: Weight, Coat and Screening Dates

A Bengal's care year runs on two numbers: 30-45 minutes of hands-on play a day, and a body condition score of 4-5 out of 9. Skip the first and you get a bored 5 kg athlete that starts urinating on the sofa; skip the second and a breed built to be lean turns fat, with the joint and heart strain that follows. The comb, the bath, the screening dates and the portions all hang off those two.

Bengals are surrendered for behavior more often than most breeds, and nearly always for under-stimulation rather than malice.

Weight targets by age

Newborns weigh 90-110 g and should gain 10-15 g a day for the first three weeks. By 8 weeks a kitten is usually 800 g to 1.1 kg; at 6 months, 2.5-3.2 kg; at 12 months, 3.4-4.5 kg for a female and 4.5-6 kg for a male. Adults run 3.6-7.0 kg, and most keep filling out until 18 months, so a narrow 14-month-old is normal.

Read shape, not the scale. At 4-5/9 the ribs feel like the back of your hand under light pressure and there is a waist behind them seen from above. Weigh weekly until 6 months, then monthly. A 5% drop in a month, or 300 g gained after growth stops, means a vet visit rather than a diet change.

Shedding and grooming calendar

The single coat carries little undercoat, so shedding is light most of the year and then arrives in two bursts: a heavy spring shed from March to May and a smaller one in September and October. Work those windows and the rest of the year costs five minutes a week.

Period	What the coat does	Job	Weekly time
Jan-Feb	Dense winter coat, dry indoor air	Rubber curry, then a chamois rub; check the tail base for grease	5 min
Mar-May	Heavy shed, loose tufts on furniture	Curry twice a week plus a damp rubber glove to lift dead hair	15-20 min
Jun-Aug	Thinnest coat of the year	One curry a week; wipe paws after harness walks; watch pale nose leather for sun	5 min
Sep-Oct	Second, smaller shed	Curry twice a week for 3-4 weeks	10-15 min
Nov-Dec	Coat thickening, less outdoor time	Weekly curry; add an indoor play session in place of the walk	5 min

Bathe 2-4 times a year, not weekly: the coat has little oil to spare and frequent shampoo leaves it dry and harsh. Nails every 2 weeks, ears weekly, teeth at least 4 times a week. Some lines develop stud tail, a waxy patch at the top of the tail; wipe it with a degreasing pad twice a week before it turns bald and inflamed.

Breed-specific screening calendar

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the serious one: a baseline echocardiogram at 12 months, then every 12-18 months, and always before breeding. The Bengal PRA-b DNA test is a one-off cheek swab at any age; if you are buying, ask for both parents' results. Knees and hips are checked by hand at the annual exam from 12 months, because patellar luxation shows up as an occasional skip in a back leg, not as pain.

Digestive trouble needs its own line. Chronic diarrhea and inflammatory bowel disease are common enough that three weeks of loose stool, with or without weight loss, means a fecal panel rather than another food switch.

• 12 months: first echo, PRA-b result on file, knee and hip check
• Every 12-18 months: repeat echocardiogram
• Every 6 months: dental check, weigh, score body condition
• Once a year: core vaccines and rabies per local law, fecal test
• Any age: 3 days of urinating outside the box, or straining with no urine, is an emergency

Diet and the daily interaction budget

A 4.5 kg adult needs roughly 200-260 kcal a day, fed to that number rather than to appetite. Two measured meals plus one puzzle feeder is the default; free-feeding a breed this active is how a 4 kg cat becomes a 6 kg cat by middle age. Look for 35-45% protein on a dry-matter basis and keep treats to 10% of calories, about 20-25 kcal.

Water matters more than owners expect: 40-60 ml per kg a day, so 180-270 ml for a 4.5 kg cat. Bengals tip bowls, dunk toys and drink from taps, so a fountain on a mat is practical rather than indulgent.

The interaction budget is the part people underestimate. Two sessions of 10-15 minutes plus one 15-minute training block is the floor; a cat wheel or a 180 cm climbing tree covers the rest. Rotate wand toys weekly, because a Bengal habituates to the same bird in about 7 days. Three minutes of clicker work, 3 times a week, beats any toy, because the work is the reward.

Inappropriate urination: the Bengal failure mode

When a Bengal urinates on a bed or bag, the usual causes are territorial stress, a box it dislikes, or cystitis - in that order for a neutered indoor cat, and hormones first for an entire one. Rule out medicine first: 3 days of outside-box urination, or a male straining with little or no urine, means the vet the same day, because a blocked urethra can kill within 48 hours.

Then fix the box: one per cat plus one, at least 60 cm long, uncovered, unscented fine clumping litter 5-7 cm deep, scooped twice a day and fully changed every 2-4 weeks. Site it where the cat can see the door. A Bengal with vertical territory, a window and two play sessions a day rarely needs a behaviorist.

Five care mistakes that shorten a Bengal's healthy years

1. Free-feeding dry food. The breed is meant to be lean, and boredom eating is real.
2. Five minutes of wand play once in the evening and calling it exercise.
3. Unsecured windows and balconies. Screens need a frame, not tape.
4. Weekly baths to control shedding. They strip the coat and fix nothing.
5. Skipping the 12-month echo because the cat seems fine. A murmur is easy to miss in a busy exam room.

When to call the vet

Resting breathing above 30 breaths a minute, open-mouth breathing, hind-leg weakness, or hiding with no appetite for 24 hours all mean an appointment within the week; open-mouth breathing means today.

Frequently asked