In my opinion, the Bengal breed is generally healthy and long-lived. The average lifespan of any breed is about 14 years. That being said, there are many Bengals who live over 19 years with high-quality food, exercise, love, and most importantly good veterinary care.

The Bengal breed is diverse, both in domestic and Asian Leopard Cat lines, which helps with its hardiness. Initially, of course, this was a different story since gene pool was limited.

My main health concerns for our breed are:

This is a disease of the heart muscle in which the walls thicken and the heart enlarges. HCM is an inherited disease in many purebred and domestic housecats with usual occurrence at 3-7 years of age. HCM can be mild or severe. Cats with mild or moderate disease can be asymptomatic; those with significant disease may show signs of respiratory distress caused by congestive heart failure, or leg paralysis due to a blood clot. Medications such as Atenalol may be helpful to mediate symptoms. I recommend testing your Bengal companion for HCM starting at age 2, with follow up as requested by your cardiologist and every two years until at least age 8. This is a simple non-invasive ultrasound of the heart.

PK-Deficiency is an inherited hemolytic anemia caused by insufficient activity of this regulatory enzyme which results in instability and loss of red blood cells. The anemia is intermittent, the age of onset is variable and clinical signs are also variable. Symptoms of this anemia can include: severe lethargy, weakness, weight loss, jaundice, and abdominal enlargement. This condition is inherited as an autosomal recessive. UC Davis

Most reputable breeders are testing their breeding cats for PK-deficiency, so your kitten should never be affected by this illness.

PRA causes an autosomal recessive blindness in Bengal cats. The disease causes the destruction of the cells that register light (photoreceptors) in the back of the eye (the retina). The loss of the cells begins around 7 weeks of age and slowly progresses until the cat has very compromised vision by approximately 2 years of age. However, blindness develops at different rates in different cats. The mutant DNA variant appears to be novel to the Bengal breed and occurred early in a popular lineage of the Bengals. We expect Bengal cats worldwide to have the condition and we have had reports of affected cats in the United Kingdom, Europe and the USA. Bengal PRA is autosomal recessive, thus two copies of the mutant DNA variant are required for the cats to be blind. The blindness can be detected either by the DNA test or by an eye exam prior to breeding age. Carriers, cats with one copy of the mutation, can only be detected by the DNA test. UC Davis

Most reputable breeders are testing their breeding cats for PRA, so your kitten should never be affected by this illness.

FIP is a viral disease of cats caused by certain strains of a virus called the feline coronavirus. Most strains of feline coronavirus are avirulent, which means that they do not cause disease, and are referred to as feline enteric coronavirus. Cats infected with a feline coronavirus generally do not show any symptoms during the initial viral infection, and an immune response occurs with the development of antiviral antibodies. In a small percent of infected cats (5 to 10 percent), either by a mutation of the virus or by an aberration of the immune response, the infection progresses into clinical FIP. The virus is then referred to as feline infectious peritonitis virus (FIPV). With the assistance of the antibodies that are supposed to protect the cat, white blood cells are infected with the virus, and these cells then transport the virus throughout the cat's body. An intense inflammatory reaction occurs around vessels in the tissues where these infected cells locate, often in the abdomen, kidney, or brain. It is this interaction between the body's own immune system and the virus that is responsible for the disease. Once a cat develops clinical FIP involving one or many systems of the cat's body, the disease is progressive and is almost always fatal. The way clinical FIP develops as an immune-mediated disease is unique, unlike any other viral disease of animals or humans.

Any cat that carries any coronavirus is potentially at risk for developing FIP. However, cats with weak immune systems are most likely to develop the disease, including kittens, cats already infected with feline leukemia virus (FeLV), and geriatric cats. Most cats that develop FIP are under two years of age, but cats of any age may develop the disease. Cornell Feline Health Center