A Brief Introduction to
the Bengal Breed - Silver/Brown and Snow
 The Bengal Cat originates from a domestic cat
(Abyssinian, American Shorthair, Burmese, or Egyptian Mau) and an Asian
Leopard Cat (ALC). During the 1960's researchers such as California's
Jean Sugden (now Jean Mills) were studying cat related diseases such as
leukaemia and other cancer related viruses. It was noted that wild cat
types such as the lion and tiger were immune to some of these diseases.
The wild Asian Leopard Cat was bred to the common house cat in an effort
to study the immune defences of the wild cat family to these diseases.
In 1963 Jean Sugden (Mills) crossed a female ALC and a male black
domestic cat, the results were a mixture of solid and spotted kittens.
One of the spotted female offspring was then mated back to the father and
the resulting litter had spotted kittens. This was the beginning of the
Bengal, but didn't progress as Jean Sugden had become a widow.
In the 1970's Jean Sugden acquired 8 female ALC/Domestic offspring from
the University of California. The cats were the result of a project to
investigate the ALC's natural immunity to Feline Leukaemia. It was from
this moment on that the Bengal was established and the Bengal Breed was
finally registered with the TICA (The International Cat Association) in
1983, with the first to be shown in 1985 in the New Breed/Colour Class.
The Bengal is a unique breed of cat in that it is the only spotted breed
which is directly descended from a wild ancestor. This gorgeous ancestor
is the Asian Leopard Cat (ALC). The domestic Bengal gets its name from
the Asian Leopard Cat's scientific name (Felis bengalensis). The goal in
producing the Bengal is to recreate the look of its wild ancestor the ALC
in a domestic cat.
|
Colours and Patterns
These are the main colours of Bengal:-
-
Brown Spotted: Also known as Leopard Spotted
Seal Sepia: These are green or gold
coloured eyed (AOC-E) Snow Bengals -
Mink: As above but with a
very light brown coat
-
Seal Lynx: This is for all the blue
eyed (BLU-E) Snow Bengals
-
Blue: Blue/Grey Markings on
light grey, they do not replicate the ALC, so are classed at present as an unwanted gene
-
Black: These are black markings
on a black background, some breeders call them "Pantherettes" which is incorrect.
-
Silver: Silver background with
black/brown spots (A silver Bengal is not a colour but caused by the
inhibitor gene)
You will find in our
country that the main colours for sale will be Brown or Snow (which is
a general class for sepia, lynx and mink)
You then have two
coat patterns:-
Spotted - As
the name suggests the coat is covered in spots. They must be random,
or horizontally aligned. There must be spots on the torso, tummy and
legs. It is desirable to have rosettes (showing two distinct colours)
a little like a donut one colour on the outside and an inner circle
with a lighter colour. Also desirable are spots shaped like arrowheads
or paws. None of these are essential in showing your cat/kitten.
Marble
- Is
as the name suggests. Horizontal markings, swirls down the side of the
cat. The pattern should be random. Vertical striping is undesirable.
Belly once again must be spotted |
|
|
XYZ Bengals