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History & general information.
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History of the Bengal Cat
The Bengal Cat evolved from an american breeding program, begun in 1963. A male domestic cat was bred with a female asian leopard cat in an attempt to transfer the wild cat's markings to a domestic breed.
In this mating, a spotted kitten was born and the development of the Bengal breed was started. It was not until the late 1980's that a structured breeding program was begun and as their popularity increased they were seen on exhibition at cat shows. In 1991, the breed was granted championship status by The International Cat Association.
Photo to right: Brown spotted Tabby Bengal, Supreme Grand Champion Alter, "Animatrax Solar Beam", is approximately 10 generations from the original mating of the asian leopard cat. At Animatrax Bengal Cattery, we are striving for the look of the wild cat with the heart of a pussy cat!
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The Asian Leopard Cat (felis bengalensis)
A small forest dwelling cat found in S.E. Asia. These wild cats are 7 to 10 pounds. Pictured here is a young female - she even has spots on her tail.
Photo to the right: This particular asian leopard cat shows much rufinism, a clear coat pattern and is rosetted in it's spot markings. Not all asian leopard cats are the same color or spot/marking pattern. Some are more "ticked" in coat pattern and have no rufinism. (This is also true in the Bengals, not all bengals are the exact same color & have exactly the same markings/pattern. example: The Brown Spotted Tabby Bengal can come in a variety of shades of background color and pattern/markings.)
Note: Generally, the asian leopard cat, and the first generation hybrids of Bengals may not be consistently good household family pets.
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Registered Bengal Cats
It takes 4 generations from the original mating of an asian leopard and domestic cat to produce a T.I.C.A. certified Bengal Cat. The generations before the 4th generations are known as "F1", "F2", "F3" generations. Only the fourth generation and onward are allowed to compete in the show ring. |
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Luxurious Fur
The Bengal Cat has a wonderful feel to it's luxurious coat, some people describe it as "pelt like" with it's soft and plush hairs - it makes a person want to snuggle up and pet a bengal for hours!
Photo to right: Supreme Grand Champion, "Seawillow Breeze" of Animatrax, seal mink marbled female, and Supreme Grand Champion, "Hunterdonhall Knobi of Animatrax", brown spotted tabby male. |
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Coat Patterns
One of the most striking characteristics of the bengal cat is the unique markings of the coat. The main coat patterns are the marble pattern and spotted pattern and both of these are on the "snow" bengal also. MORE DETAILED INFORMATION ON OUR COLORS/PATTERNS PAGE
Regardless of being a spotted or marbled Bengal Cat, the kittens can go through the "fuzzies" when they are young. They can appear to have muted and duller patterns but this can be just a growth phase. The coats "improve" as they grow and the depth of contrast, pattern, and marking colorations may not be realized until they are 9 months to 1 year old.
(Breeders Note: It is always a thrill to see some of the young adult "pet kittens" and how they can mature to be as handsome or beautiful as the "show kitten" sibling in the litter that may have not gone through the fuzzies! As breeders, we can only speculate as to the "end result" on each kitten.)
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