History of the Bengal Cat:
First Breed by Mrs Jean Mills of Millwood Bengals, The breed first obtained official recognition with the TICA in the 1980's, This magnificent cat is the result of a hybrid breeding between an Asian Leopard cat(Felis Bengalensis) and a domestic male cat, Early generation males are sterile, so the female offspring are put back to domestic male cats. The aim is to always resemble the look of the ALC with the affectionate dependable nature of the domestic moggie. The primary domestic cats used in the breeding program include; Ocicats, Egiptian Maus, Abyssinians, Bombays & British Shorthairs.
Bengal cat Temperament;
Bengals love human company, are super intelligent, interactive and energetic cats, They are vocal with a distict voice, one will often find themselves in a full conversation. They get along well with children and other pets. Bengals are enthusiastic climbers and enjoy high places. They are easy to train and love to be out and about on the harness for safe outdoor play.
Bengals Love to play in water (take care with hot baths), have fun stalking and pouncing, they like to retrieve, often picking up an object with their front paws or carry things around in their mouth, sufficent toys should be provided to allow the Bengal to use all its hunting skills while at play.
Bengal cat Appearance;
The Bengal cat is a medium to large cat, with the males being the Larger weighing 8 to 12kg the Females weighing 5 to 8kg, They have a long muscular body, the hind legs slightly higher than the front, the head is broad with small ears, puffy wisker pads and black rimmed almond shaped eyes. The coat is a beautiful thick soft pelt, being lighter on the belly which should also be spotted.
Bengal cat patterns;
Bengals come in a variety of two patterns; Spotted and Marbled.
Spotted; Should have a good contrast to the back ground, the spots can be either solid, arrow shaped or as an open rosette.the spots should be random or horizontally aligned.
Marbled; The marbled pattern should be large striking horizontal swirls of color along the side of the cat, the contrast with the background should be extreme and preference is given to three or more colors .
Bengal cat colors;
Traditional Brown; Dark/black spotted or Marbled pattern on a light golden, tan or redish background.
Snow Group;Sepia; Medium to light sepia on an Ivory, cream or tan background, Eye color green to gold with shades that should harmonize with the coat.
Seal Mink; Medium to light sepia on an Ivory, cream or light tan background, Eye color; Aqua or Blue/green.
Seal Linx Point; Dark seal to light brown on a almost white, ivory or cream background. Eye color; Blue.
Silver; Black Spotted or Marbled on a white to grey background.
In recent years the Silver bengal has emerged becomming very popular in the USA & UK ,they are still relatively new in OZ, Here at Lionheart we are committed to producing top quality Silver Bengals.
The silver coloring is the result of an inhibitor gene that takes out the yellow pigment or background color of the cat.
