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This
unusual cross-breed between a wild cat and a domestic cat has been
described by its own breed founder as the "domestic reproduction
of a leopard." Though not at all wild in temperament, this playful
and affectionate breed's looks give away its genetic origins.
Bengals are said to be more like dogs than cats. These playful cats
love to be the center of attention! Most have a fondness for climbing,
and enjoy playing in water immensely, particularly running water. Some
have been known to jump right in the tub or shower with their
family. Bengal owners love the intelligence, playfulness, and
affectionate nature of the Bengals and love to talk about their
athleticism, leaping ability and the dexterity with which they use
their paws. Their intellect lends to their dog-like behavior,
some Bengals are known to play fetch with their owners and use their
paws very much like hands. They are not overly vocal, but their voices
sometimes tend to carry the mark of their wild origins. The Bengal is the perfect pet for someone who enjoys a pet
who is a constant, inquisitive playmate. Most breeders suggest that
Bengals make even more excellent pets when fixed, and that it will not
hamper the breed's naturally active and curious personality whatsoever.
Bengals are very adaptive to almost any family situation or
environment, and make excellent, playful companions for children and
dogs.
Bengals must be four or more generations removed from their wild Asian
Leopard Cat ancestor, and have three consecutive generations of Bengal
to Bengal breeding in order to be eligible to be shown in T.I.C.A. Your
registration paperwork will reflect "SBT" in the registration
number, which means the cat has "studbook status".
Currently, SBT Bengals can be shown in T.I.C.A., U.F.O., A.C.F.A.,
I.C.E. and a few other Cat Associations. The early generation
Bengals, which we refer to as "Foundation or Filial Bengals",
such as F-1, F-2 or F-3 (one, two or three generations removed from the
Asian Leopard Cat) are best left to specialized breeders or properly prepared
and informed owners who are equipped to take care of them. F-4's and
beyond, or SBT's, are the true domestic Bengal. Nearly all of the males are sterile until
the F-3 generation and beyond, so there is no guarantee of fertility.
DESCRIPTION
Weighing in at an average of 9 to 12 pounds, with the males
sometimes reaching up to 15 to 20 pounds, this beautiful cat appears to
be a small predator, but its nature is actually quite gentle and loyal.
The Bengal's breed standard asks for a cat that is large,
but not one that is larger than the largest domestic breed. Bred to
retain its wild appearance, however, it carries a long, sleek and
muscular body with its hind legs resting slightly higher than its
shoulders. The tail is rather short, with a black tip, and is carried
lower than other domestic breeds. The head is longer than it is wide.
The head is topped with short, rounded ears and well-spaced, ovular
eyes, bright green or gold in color. The nostrils are rounder and
somewhat wider than normal domestic cats, and its whisker pads are
prominent, similar to wild cats as opposed to any domestic breed.
COLORS AND PATTERNS
The Bengal's most prominent feature is its beautiful
spotted or marbled coat of short, dense fur, which almost resembles
pelt. When spotted, the pattern is random or horizontal and stands out
distinctly from the background color of tan, gold or mahogany. The
marbled variety of the coat has randomly arranged, horizontal stripes,
which blend slightly more with the background color, causing the
"marbled" effect. In either event, the underbelly and chest
are generally white, lending even more of a wild cat appearance to the
breed. Spotted Bengals are more common than marbled ones, and
brown Bengals are more common than snows; so most Bengals are brown and
spotty and good snow marbles are quite rare. Two colors are
recognized, Brown Tabby and Snow. Within each color , two patterns are
recognized, Spotted and Marble. "Glitter" the high
shine (usually on a clear, nonticked coat) that has been discovered and
developed in the Bengal, is a welcome addition to the breed but is not
mentioned in the Breed Standard and thus is not required in a Bengal. "Rosettes" the dark outlining
of coat markings (both spotted and marble) around a third rich color found
in many Asian Leopard Cats and other wild cat species, is a desirable,
but not required, pattern in the Bengal cat.
BROWN SPOTTED BENGALS
The brown spotted tabbies (leopard spotted) have dark spots on a
lighter ground color ranging from gray or tawny thru sorrel to golden
and very rufus (bright orange) and on to a rich mahogony. NOTE: The
Asian Leopard Cat is considered a brown spotted tabby in the fancy and
ranges somewhat in color.
"SNOW" SPOTTED BENGALS
The seal lynx point (blue eyed) and seal sepia (gold or green eyed)
spotted tabbies (snow leopard spotted) have ivory backgrounds with
contrasting spots. The seal mink (aqua or green eyed) snow is a
combination of one each of the above pointed siamese and the burmese
sepia genes. Extreme contrast between the markings and the ground color
is desirable in each spotted color.Spots of all colors and patterns
vary in color, size, rosetting and intensity but preference is given to
random and horizontal pattern alignment with wide spacing.
MARBLE BENGALS
The classic tabby gene creates the marble bengal and represents a
change of pattern from spotted to swirled or marbleized. This dramatic
pattern is comprised of swirls of brown spotted colors flowing in a
horizontal fashion instead of traditional spots. Preference is given to
the more horizontal, flowing and "ocellot-like" patterns. The
"marble" pattern can also occur in the snow colors, creating
the "snow marbles".
The Bengal is native to the United States, but genetically is a cross between a domestic
cat and an Asian Leopard cat. The name "Bengal" is not
derived from a place, but rather the Latin name of its wild, genetic
parentage, "Felis bengalensis" (Asian Leopard cat).
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Thank you Jan
GIacinto for some of these beautiful pictures.
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