Bengal Cat Health Issues: Essential Genetic Tests & Screenings
Cardiac disease
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
HCM
HCM causes the walls of the heart muscle to thicken over time, making it harder for the heart to function properly. It’s the most common heart disease in cats and often shows no outward signs until it’s well advanced. It can affect any breed, including Bengals.
There is no DNA test for HCM in the Bengal cat breed. The only way to screen for it is through an echocardiogram performed by a specialist cardiologist, repeated regularly throughout a cat’s breeding life.
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Blood disorder
Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency
PK-Def
PK-Def is a genetic condition affecting red blood cells, causing them to break down prematurely. This leads to chronic anaemia and can significantly affect a cat’s quality of life. Like PRA-b, it’s autosomal recessive — kittens are only at risk if both parents carry the gene variant.
Detectable via DNA test. Requires both parents to be tested and confirmed clear.
Hereditary eye disease
Progressive Retinal Atrophy
PRA-b · Bengal specific
PRA-b is a Bengal-specific inherited condition that causes the retina to gradually break down, leading to progressive vision loss and potentially blindness. It’s autosomal recessive — a kitten must inherit the gene variant from both parents to be affected. If both parents test clear, their kittens cannot develop the condition.
Detectable via DNA test. Requires both parents to be tested and confirmed clear.
How We Health Test at Ashmiyah Bengal Cats
Every breeding cat in our program is screened for all three conditions before any pairing takes place. We also draw on pedigree lines with documented clear results across previous generations where possible, and we select pairings to maintain a low Coefficient of Inbreeding (COI) — which protects genetic diversity and the long-term health of the breed.
All our pedigrees are GCCFSA-registered and fully traceable. We’re happy to explain our testing and scan reports, or lineage information at any point during your enquiry.
HCM Echocardiogram Screening
Our breeding cats receive a full echocardiogram by a specialist cardiologist every two years. This is conducted by the team at SA Vet Medical Referral Centre in Fullarton, South Australia. Over the years our cats have also been screened by Richard Wooley of Cardio Respiratory Pet Referrals from Victoria, and Dr Geoff Nicolson of Veterinary Cardiac Services from Queensland.
DNA Testing for PRA-b and PK-Def — UC Davis, California
All breeding Bengals are DNA tested at the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory at UC Davis in California. We’ve used UC Davis from the beginning of our program because of their accuracy and consistency. Our kittens are clear of both PRA-b and PK-Def.
FIV & FeLV
We have no recorded cases of FIV or FeLV in our cattery across nearly 20 years of breeding. We run a closed, indoor cattery and take care with how any new cats are introduced to the program.
Routine Veterinary Care
All breeding cats and kittens receive regular vet checks, vaccinations, worming, and preventive care. Every kitten leaves us vaccinated, microchipped, desexed, vet-checked, and litter trained.
Our 12-Month Hereditary Health Guarantee
Every Ashmiyah kitten comes with a 12-month guarantee against major hereditary genetic conditions — the conditions covered by our DNA and HCM screening. If a covered issue is diagnosed within the first year and you let us know as outlined in the contract, we’ll work with you on next steps — either a replacement kitten if one is available, or a partial refund if you’d prefer to keep your cat.
We want to be straightforward about this: conditions like HCM can still develop later in life even in carefully screened lines. There’s no test that can guarantee a cat’s future health with complete certainty. What we can tell you is what we’ve done — specialist screenings often across multiple generations, rigorous DNA testing, a long track record free of FIV and FeLV, and honest communication throughout. That’s the most any responsible breeder can offer.
