Sick Bengal, any advice?

Brace yourself, this could be long...My husband bought a Bengal kitten last June from a "breeder" here in Sarasota, FL. He got her number from a listing in the classifieds for the kitten. He brought her home with nothing but a dirty carrier. Two days after he brought her home, I noticed that she (we named her Sadie) had worms. I called the "breeder" and she told me that she had given the kitten her shots and wormed it herself. With no records on the kitten, no exact dates on WHEN she was given her worming medicine OR her shorts, I took her to my vet. I found that not only did she have worms, but also mites in her ears. This kitten was not healthy and should not (I later learned) have been sold in the condition she was in. I have never bought a cat from a breeder, nor had my husband. I have always gotten kittens from the SPCA. I was not aware of what I needed from the breeder. We also learned that the "breeder" was desperate to sell the litter because she had to move. We supposedly got the "runt" for $200...she is not breedable because of a kink in her tail. But, nonetheless, we fell inlove with Sadie immediatley and was not going to give her back!We took her to the vet, got her healthy and had her spayed. She is a wonderful loving kitten. But in the middle of this May, she began to scratch at her left ear. We watched her carefully for about four days. She slowly lost her coordination and when she would scratch her ear, she would fall down. We took her to the vet and her swabbed her ear. The swab was yellowish with little black specs... he diagnosed her with a bacterial infection. We went home with some drops and an oral anibiotic. Ten days later, she is no better. She walks and just looks clumsy. She has become very sciddish and the tiniest noises startle her. We took her back to the same vet, and the doctor acted like her had never seen Sadie before and asked if she had suffered a brain trauma. We reminded him that 10 days ago, it was a bacterial infection. He gave her a shot and a new set of drops and we went on our way. Frustrated and with no improvement of our cat, I went to find a new vet. I explained what we had been through and where we were at this point. He diagnosed Vestibular Syndrome and gave her two weeks worth of steriods. If she was not better in a week, her referred us to a pet neurosurgeon. To sum this all up, a month and a half after out first visit to the vet, Sadie is better, but not herself. She still will not jump. She frequently shakes her head and scratches her ear. The neurosurgeon suggested an MRI and surgery. We just don't know what to do. The neurosurgeon would cost almost $3000 and that is beyond out reach. We love this cat and just want to see her healthy and happy. Don't get me wrong. She does not act in pain, and will chase and play with anything on the floor, but she will not jump up. She looses her balance and cannot land. Will she ever get passed this? Could this have something to do with the breed? Could it be hereditary for a Bengal? I am sorry this is so long, but I was just hoping to find someone who really knows about the Bengal Cat and could offer us some guideance. If I can give you anymore information or you have any questions, please feel free to contact us. Thank you in advance for your help and prayers. Ryan and Kelli KelliRCook@aol.com

I read your posting & as a Bengal breeder here in the U.K i was horrified to hear of your experience. Firstly as a breeder of this type for the past 10 years i can honestly say i have never had any kitten or cat displaying these symptoms nor do i know of any breeder who has. Although i am not a vet i do have some medical knowledge having trained as a nurse, 1 possible condition springs to mind when you described your cat's symptoms & that was an inner ear infection, which can affect not only animals but humans too. It displays as an ear infection but as it is inner ear it can also affect the balance etc. It might be an idea to find a suitable vet & discuss this possibility with them. I strongly advise that if your kitty does not get better (it can take a good few weeks for the inner ear to heal) that you seek professional help. In the meantime encourage your kitty to lead a normal kitty life. Please dont judge all breeders as the same, there are responible 7 caring ones out there, sadly you seem to have been unlucky & if you can i would advocate that you report this breeder to the appropriate authorities to try to prevent this person from breeding sick kittens. One more thing, you should have received some registration papers, an innoculation certificate & also a pedigree certificate showing who the kittens ancestors were. If i can be of any help please feel free to contact me.

I read your posting & as a Bengal breeder here in the U.K i was horrified to hear of your experience. Firstly as a breeder of this type for the past 10 years i can honestly say i have never had any kitten or cat displaying these symptoms nor do i know of any breeder who has. Although i am not a vet i do have some medical knowledge having trained as a nurse, 1 possible condition springs to mind when you described your cat's symptoms & that was an inner ear infection, which can affect not only animals but humans too. It displays as an ear infection but as it is inner ear it can also affect the balance etc. It might be an idea to find a suitable vet & discuss this possibility with them. I strongly advise that if your kitty does not get better (it can take a good few weeks for the inner ear to heal) that you seek professional help. In the meantime encourage your kitty to lead a normal kitty life. Please dont judge all breeders as the same, there are responible 7 caring ones out there, sadly you seem to have been unlucky & if you can i would advocate that you report this breeder to the appropriate authorities to try to prevent this person from breeding sick kittens. One more thing, you should have received some registration papers, an innoculation certificate & also a pedigree certificate showing who the kittens ancestors were. If i can be of any help please feel free to contact me.