The Bengal is a relatively new breed of cat which was first bred in the U.S.A and was originally created by crossing an Asian Leopard Cat with a domestic cat. The domestic Bengal derives its name from the Latin name of its wild ancestor, Felis Bengalensis (Asian Leopard Cat). Whilst the domestic Bengal is similar in appearance to the Asian Leopard cat, and its genetic makeup contains a contribution from that wild cat species, its temperament however is purely domestic.
The goal in developing the domestic Bengal cat breed was to preserve a strong physical resemblance to its beautiful wild ancestor and at the same time the new domestic breed was designed to be a pleasant and trustworthy family companion. Therefore, the conformation of the Bengal is definitely reminiscent of its ancestors.
The Bengal is a large, sleek and very muscular cat with its hind-quarters slightly higher than its shoulders with a thick tail that is carried low. The Bengal should be alert and affectionate and its wild appearance is enhanced by its distinctive spotted or marbled coat. The different coat patterns are either leopard spotted or marbled, on a background colour of brown, or sometimes white.
There is no other breed of cat which displays the gold or pearl dusting effect (glitter) of the Bengal. Its pelt has a rich smooth feel of satin or silk. Even the voice of the Bengal is different from that of other domestic cats. They can coo and chirp, and like to jump and somersault. They also love to play with water!
To sum up, the Bengal is self-assured, affectionate and playful, with the stunning looks of its wild ancestor.
History of Bengal Cat
“The domestic Bengal Cat is derived from crossing a Leopard Cat with a domestic cat. These were the first cats promoted as, advertised as, sold as, purchased as, and even shown as domestic Bengal Cats and were the original cats who established their legal recognized trademark as a domestic Bengal Cat.
Most Leopard Cat sub-species range from five to twenty pounds in size and are extremely beautiful. The Leopard Cat is a small, non-aggressive cat indigenous to Asia. History shows that the Leopard Cat is the only true foundation cat for the domestic Bengal cat breed. The first subsequent generations derived from the breeding of a Leopard Cat to a domestic cat or other Bengal cat is recognized as a domestic Bengal cat.
Well socialized Bengal cats, as with any other well socialized breed of cat, are very suitable as pets with small children in the home and/or for showing in the Show Hall. Properly raised and socialized, Bengal cats of all generations can make wonderful, loving, affectionate, and well behaved house pets.
The name Bengal derives from the Leopard Cat’s scientific name (Felis Bengalensis) and has nothing to do with Bengal Tigers.
Hybrids of Leopard Cat and domestic cats have been documented for hundreds of years, including Jean Sugden’s (now Mill’s) female born in 1963 by a Leopard Cat female pet that bred by chance to a domestic male cat, but none of these had anything to do with the Bengal breed today.
The Bengal breed owes their beginnings to the late Dr. Willard Centerwall and his Leukemia research at Loyola University. Since the Leopard Cat can not be infected with Feline Leukemia, researchers used them to seek a cure for Leukemia in felines and in other species as well as humans. Researchers crossed the Leopard Cat with the domestics to study the differences in the offpsring. The National Institution of Health (NIH) has been and still are utilizing the early generation bengal cats in their feline genome mapping project and the work done in the feline genome project has been of a tremendous help in the human genome mapping project, in which new gene manipulation techniques are being devised to “cure” diseases at the genetic level. Many breeders are still contributing blood samples from their early generation Bengal cats for this research.
In the early 1980’s, when Dr. Centerwall became ill, Jean Mill acquired several F1 cat hybrids from him. These were some of the first domestic Bengal cats and most Bengal cats today can be traced back to these cats.
Around the same time as Dr. Centerwall’s Leukemia research, Doctors Greg and Elizabeth Kent of Kansas were making some of the first Bengal cats by crossing their Egyptian Maus with their Leopard Cat, Baghara Khan. Later, Jean Mill also bred two female cats to Baghara Khan of Kent. The Kent lines are still a very sought after line and considered by some as the “Pure Bengal” line.
The benefits of a hybrid are enormous. Bengal cats are one of the healthiest and most intelligent of all breeds of domestic cats and are very prolific. Many breeders that breed Bengal cats today do so because of all the health and breeding problems they have had in the past with other breeds of cats. Bengal cats are not a genetic threat to other breeds of cats but, to the contrary, they may hold the key to the future health of all breeds of cats by the contribution of new genes to other domestic cats if ever needed.
The first generation of a Leopard Cat crossed with a domestic cat is known as an F1 (Filial 1st generation) domestic Bengal cat and has a very wild and beautiful appearance. To date, all male F1 and almost all F2 male Bengal cats are infertile, making it much more difficult to preserve these characteristics in further generations. Although the F2’s are also very beautiful, they tend to have a more domestic cat appearance. Now, with top quality Bengal cats available, there is no need to bring in any other breeds of domestic cats.
Even the fourth or more generation domestic Bengal cats are very unique, beautiful cats that need no special care of food. They are very loving, devoted pets, many loving to play fetch or to take a bath with their owners. Bengal cats usually get along well with other cats, pets and also sensible children. Most people feel they have a personality more like a dog than a cat because they are very people oriented.
On average, female Bengal cats weigh between 6-12 pounds and male Bengal cats weigh between 10-18 pounds. Most Bengal cats have short, silky hair and are very athletic (loving to jump high up at their toys). Some Bengal cats have glitter which looks like someone sprinkled gold dust all over their coat. Glitter is actually the reflection of light that is absorbed at the hollow tip of the hair shaft giving this impression. Owning a Bengal cat is a wonderful experience that everyone should have at least once in their life.”
Types of Bengal Cat
The basic aim of the Bengal cat is to mimic the appearance of the Asian Leopard Cat. However, Bengals do come in a variety of colours and patterns.
At the very simplest level, Bengal cats come in two different patterns and two different background colours. The pattern is either spotted or marbled, and the background colour is either brown or white. White Bengals are referred to as ’snow’s. Simply put there are therefore, four main types of Bengal:
In general, 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. Within these four main appearances there are various other possible other differences, one of which is formally written into the GCCF Bengal breed standard for the UK, that being the difference between snows with blue eyes and snows with any other coloured eyes. In the UK there are therefore officially 6 types of Bengal – The Brown (Black) Spotted , the Brown (Black) Marbled, the Blue-Eyed Snow Spotted, the Blue-Eyed Snow Marbled, the AOC-Eyed Snow Spotted and finally the AOC-Eyed Snow Marbled!
As with most cat breeds, the classifications and names are slightly different in the USA, though overall the cats are not fundamentally different to those in the UK. This is why you will see reference to classifications such as ‘mink’ and ’sepia’ on USA-based web sites.
However, the breed standard allows for pleasant amount of variety between individual cats, and some of those variations are detailed below…
Types of patterning in Bengal Cat
Bengal spots come in a variety of shapes, sizes and patterns. Some have many small spots, whilst others have fewer large spots, which is considered quite desirable, though there is nothing wrong with a Bengal with lots of spots! The ‘basic’ Bengal spot is solid colour and roughly circular. However, many breeders aim for producing more ‘wild-looking’ arrow-head shaped spots, or ‘rosettes’ which vary from simply two-tone spots to ‘full’ rosettes with a part circle of spots around a distinctly lighter centre..
The spotting on a Bengal should be random or horizontal in alignment, avoiding lining up or joining up in obvious stripes. ‘Rib stripes’ in particular are considered undesirable. The spots should always be very clear and stand out distinctly from the background colour. It can be particularly hard to find snow Bengals where the markings are as clear as might be liked, and purchasing a snow is not helped by the fact that, as with Siamese, they are born white and only develop their markings over the first few months!
Background colour and glitter
Though most Bengals are simply classed as ‘brown’ there is actually a modest amount of colour variation between different cats, which reflects the variation found in the wild between different Asian Leopard Cats. ‘Browns’ can come in shades of brown which are sandy, grey, golden, deep red and so on, all of which are allowed, though highly rufous golden browns are often considered desirable. Some breeders have found that there can be a pay-off between either getting a good background colour or getting good clear markings, and therefore sometimes aim to produce the best cats by mating cats which carry good colour to those with good markings.
An additional unique characteristic of the Bengal colour is that some cats have a distinct “glitter” effect over their fur, as if each hair were tipped with gold dust. This remarkable characteristic is considered highly desirable. It is also desirable that the underside of the cat should be lighter coloured, like the ‘white tummies’ of Asian Leopard Cats. A Bengal cat’s ‘whited tummy’ should always be spotted, unlike the bright white paws and chest bib found in domestic tabby cats.
Other unrecognised differences
With all the infinite variation of genetics, there are many other appearances which it is possible to create when breeding Bengals. They can produce kittens which are long-haired, blue, ticked, or crossed with other breeds for example. However with such a young breed as this, these variations are discouraged and not officially recognised as pedigree Bengals, since their presence in the gene pool makes it much more difficult to achieve the focal aim of reproducing the appearance of the Asian Leopard Cat. Bengal breeders aim to remove these characteristics from the gene pool by only breeding from cats which carry the characteristics which are accepted in the Standard.
Bengal Cat Behavior and Character
Below are some of the character traits of Bengal Cat
General Personality
At the simplest level, most Bengals, have a lot of personality! In a manner similar to the oriental cat breeds, they are intelligent, lively, interactive cats, with whom you have a very genuine two-way relationship. They are typically neither an ‘aloof’ cat who ignores you haughtily, nor a dull quiet cat. They are very much a dynamic and active part of the family group. Bengals however are not the same as Orientals, nor any other breed, but have various key characteristics which make very special and different.
Athletic
For 40% of the time at least, Bengals are astounding athletes. They can rush around with great glee, climb doors and cupboards, and leap to huge heights. They will bounce about, roll around, switch lights on and off (!) and even do full somersaults whilst in high spirits. Kittens in particular can be all over the place, in a veritable stampede of spotty fluff.
When excited, they often tremble and twitch their tails, or fluff them up into a massive ‘racoon-tail’. The character displayed during these antics is often rather similar to that of ‘Tigger’ in the ‘Winnie the Pooh’ books – inquisitive, hyper-active, over-the-top, but very loveable with a heart of gold.
The big softy
But fear not – there is some peace to be had! Perhaps fortunately, the flip side of Bengal behaviour is that for much of the time, Bengals go to the other extreme, and become total softies. They flop over and roll on their backs in ecstasy, come up to you and nuzzle your face, purring wildly, then finally curl up into happy little balls and fall fast asleep. They genuinely crave affection and will spend many happy hours resting piled up on top of you purring. They will wake you in the night, rubbing their head against you and paddling happily on the covers with their paws, then sleep silently with you till morning. They have ridiculous stretchy moods when they roll and writhe around on their backs in a most uninhibited manner. This makes a lovely complement to the Bengal’s energetic moments.
Bengals and water
One of the most popular pieces of Bengal ‘folklore’ involves their liking for water. Bengals have sometimes been reported to play happily in quite deep water and, even to like swimming! Well some Bengals may well do this, but if you’re after a swimming cat, you’d be better off with a Turkish Van. Though they aren’t all swimmers, most Bengals are definitely fond of water.
The Bengal’s voice
So what does a Bengal sound like? Well in truth, they can sound like all sorts of thinks. Perhaps the most obvious noise they make is a melodic but very insistent “YOWWWLLL!!!!” when they want to draw your attention to something. Shades of YOWWWLLL will mean “open that door!”, “Hello again”, “FOOOD!”, “turn the tap on please”, and particularly loudly “LET ME OUT OF THIS CAGE!!!!”. This noise varies in volume from loud to unbelievable, but is easily stopped by either giving them what they want, or making them realise it won’t do them any good.
Food Loving Nature!
Oh yes Bengals like their food. They have to be first to get to it! The main trouble with feeding Bengals can be that they tend to climb inside the food bag before you can pour it out, and treats such as chicken pieces are carried off and guarded proudly with a low growl!
Are Bengals ‘fierce’?
Some people have assumed that ‘wild animals are fierce’, so any pet with wild blood must be more likely to be ‘fierce’. It is true that one of the differences between a domesticated animal and a wild one is its ability to interact happily with humans, though more often than not small wild cats are more likely to be scared of humans than to attack them.
However, a Bengal is not a wild animal. It is most definitely a domestic animal which has been selectively bred over several generations for character as well as appearance, and Bengals today should be no more aggressive (or defensive) than any other cat. There are reports of some difficulties with temperament very early in the Bengal’s development but for many years breeders have been working very hard on Bengal character, and these reports are no longer heard. You should, of course, always get to meet kittens and their parents to evaluate their character before making a purchase, as you would any other cat.
Sum Up of Character of Bengal Cats
In summary, Bengals have very engaging, energetic, loving characters and this is one of the main reasons they are wonderful pets. Their character would not make them ideal pets for someone who wants a quiet, low key companion, but makes them amazing pets for people who want a more ‘dog-like’ member of the family, along the same lines as oriental cats, but with many special features that make them unique and rewarding pets.
Breed Standard Information
Price of Bengal Cat or Kitten
Prices vary somewhat from breeder to breeder, and often depend on the individual merits of specific cats. However, as an approximate guide, ‘pet quality’ Bengals typically sell for around $700 to $1000 in the US these days. For more advanced owners, top quality showing and breeding cats can cost from $1300 to a few thousand dollars, depending on the quality of the individual cat.
We have also compiled list of Bengal Cat Breeders in Australia in our blog post here.
Pictures of Bengal Cat
Below are some of the pictures of Bengal Cat. In order to check out the Wallpapers of Bengal Cat, check our blog post containing Bengal Cat Wallpapers here.
Video of Bengal Cat Training
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Wow what a wonderful looking creature. My friend was interested in getting one of these cats so i thought i might look it up, then i found this page which had alot of great information.
Do you guys know if its possible to get this breed in Australia?
Wow lucky cat, looks like she fell on her feet being re-homed with such a kind new owner.
We have in our kitten contracts that any kitten needing to be re-homed is to come back to us. So hopefully our babies will never have to go into a shelter.
Emma
Three weeks ago I was in the L.A. County Animal shelter in Agoura Hills, CA. There was a very nervous cat there with widely dilated irises, a sign of fright, that sat in the back of the holding cage. I tried talking to it, but it hardly moved, but when I walked away she meowed loudly at me and came to the front of the cage. An attandant said, “Well, she chose you!” We both thought she looked like a light colored bengal. It was the first day that she had been there, and I signed up as #1 in line to adopt her. She had already been spayed and so, with my senior discount, I picked her up the next week and paid $10 to adopt her. My vet examined her, pronounced her healthy and confirmed my opinion as she is a Rosetted Snow Bengal. Although shy at first she is adapting to her new home quickly and is very affectionate one on one with almost anyone. However she is more reserved if multiple people are on the room. She is a little different than other cats I have had or the classic tabby currently owned. She is the one who prefers to initiate the affection by greeting with a loud, deep meow, followed by approaching, circling once or twice and then rubbing herself on my back before climbing on my lap. She is a stikingly beautiful cat in form and personality and how she was surrendered to a “pound” is beyond my comprehension!
Why don’t you share some pics of it with us?