THE UNIQUE BENGAL
This relatively new breed was pioneered in the USA by crossing the Asian Leopard Cat (ALC) with selected domestic cats.
The Asian Leopard cat resembles the Ocelot or Marquay and is a shy and beautiful forest dweller of the approximate size of a normal domestic cat.
The name; 'Bengal' has come from the scientific latin name of the ALC; 'felis bengalensis'.
Asian Leopard Cats
The goal of the early breeders was to develop beautiful replicas of this wild cat but with the stable pet temperament of the domestic cat. The first hybrids - F1 to F3 - were wild in appearance and some had shy temperament as well as males being usually infertile. Special care, good breeding and socialisation techniques were needed to develop these wild beauties which are the foundation of the Bengal breed. The fourth generation and on are then classified as Bengals; these cats having stable temperament and normal fertility.
The wild heritage of the Bengal breed ensures their uniqness amongst the cat world. The Bengal is undoubtedly very beautiful with its wild appearance and luxurious leopard pelt. They are characterised with wonderful intelligence and awareness. They usually bond strongly with their human owner/family and many have some other dog-like traits such as fondness for water and playing fetch. Many can be easily trained to walk on a leash and most are active, very playful cats that love to interact with their owners and have distinctive and often cheeky personalities.
There are two different coat patterns ;spotted and marble. The first pattern is typical of the wild leopard appearance while the lovely marble pattern is like a horizontal flowing camouflage design with two or three colours. Today's breeding is developing clearer coat patterns with well-defined large markings, including the lovely rosetted / spotted pattern, - truly stunning to behold.
ROSETTED SPOTTED PATTERN
MARBLE PATTERN
Brown Marbled Kitten
Silver Marbled Male
There are a variety of colours also available. The principal background colour is brown which includes shades of gold, sorrel red, brown/bronze, grey and charcoal. The markings are a darker colour of brown to black. The 'Snowleopards' have a background of pale to dark ivory with again the darker markings in contrast. The snows have blue to aqua eye-colour (excepting sepia snow which has gold eye-colour), while the browns have gold, amber or green eye-colour.
BROWN AND SNOW SPOTTED/ROSETTED BENGALS
Due to the use of a special cat named 'Tory of New Dehli'; who was used in the early development of the breed by Jean Mills, many Bengals have an added glory called 'glitter'. This means that when the coat catches the light it 'glitters like gold' as well as being extra soft and velvet-like to touch.
GLITTER
Their pelt is also said to be non-allergenic (although this has not been scientifically substantiated as yet) and they also shed far less then most cat breeds.
This new and very beautiful breed is gaining more popularity as the general Australian public becomes more aware of its existence.
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