Today we will be learning about the Bengal!
The Bengal is one of my favorite domestic hybrids.
What is a domestic hybrid? you might ask. Domestic hybrids are the kittens/puppies of domestic cats/dogs that are bred with wildcats/wild dogs. The hybrid is then bred the domestic animal so later generations have less of the wildcat’s/wild dog’s DNA. In some states, the later generations are legal because they have less of the wildcat’s/wild dog’s blood and more of the domestic pet’s blood.
In cats, the most common domestic cat breed they bred with wildcats is the Egyptian Mau. Why is this? The wildcats that are bred with the domestic cats have spots so they breed them with a domestic breed with spots. Egyptian Maus are spotted tabbies. So, their kittens are spotted tabbies.
The Bengal is bred between an Asian leopard cat (they are spotted) and an Egyptian Mau.
HISTORY
The first known mention of mixes between an Asian leopard cat and a domestic cat was in a book called Our Cats and All About Them by a man named Harrison Weir in 1889.
A woman named Jean Mill from California decided to make a domestic cat with the stunning coat of a wildcat's. She made her first attempted to create the Bengal by breeding an Asian leopard cat with a domestic black tomcat.
Bengal cats are named after Bengal tigers because they supposedly resemble them (they don't to me because Bengal tigers have stripes whereas Bengal cats have leopard spots).
Bengals were first accepted by TICA in 1983 and in 1991, they gained championship status. They were then accepted by GCCF in 1997. After that, the FIFe accepted the breed into their registry in 1999. The same year, the ACF accepted the breed. The CFA was the last registry to accept the Bengals 2016, although only F6s and later generations are allowed.
APPEARANCE
Bengals have a very unique appearance due to their ancestor, the Asian leopard cat. As you can see in the picture above, they have gorgeous leopard spots, although some are marbled/classic tabbies.
The most common color is brown spotted. Other colors include snow and silver. The non-recognized colors are, charcoal, blue and black.
Snow Bengals come in three different colors. These include snow lynx, snow mink, and snow sepia. The snow lynx would have to be the most common as well as most beautiful of the three. Their seal rosettes almost look as if they are fading into their creamy-white colored background and blue eyes.
Snow minks creamy-tan-colored body with small seal rosettes and blue-green or aqua eyes.
The snow sepia has a darker creamy-tan-colored body with bigger seal rosettes and gold or green eyes.
Silver Bengals have a gray-colored body with black rosettes and gold or green eyes.
Charcoal Bengals have a dark gray body with blackish rosettes. This color is particularly seen in the earlier generations like F1 and F2.
Silver charcoals have a silver-colored body with the black rosettes.
The blue Bengal has a blue-gray body with blue rosettes and gold, green, or hazel eyes.
The black or melanistic Bengal has a black background with black rosettes so they appear to be solid black.
If you want to learn more about Bengals and their colors, check out this amazing article!
The breed is a medium-sized cat, weighing about 8-15 pounds.
Bengals have a muscular body with dense boning.
They have short fur but there there is the longhaired version, called the Cashmere Bengal. Some shorthaired Bengals carry the longhaired gene, so they can produce longhaired kittens.
PERSONALITY
Bengals are active, energetic, athletic, and curious.
Most Bengals are aggressive to other cats and do better with dogs because they are so energetic. They are also good with children.
Some Bengals enjoy playing in the water.
Bengals are quite vocal but not quite as much as Oriental breeds.
They aren't always affectionate but they will be when they want to.
Bengals are known to have some behavioral issues but that doesn't mean all have them. These problems include biting (sometimes they just bite because they are bored but they can be trained not to do this), doing their business outside of the litterbox, and attacking other cats. They also get destructive when they are bored or lonely (Bengals are more prone to loneliness than other cat breeds).
Thank you for taking the time to increase your knowledge about the wonderful breed called the Bengal!
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