The Bengal race was created in the 80s by Jean Mill in the USA, from a cross between the Asian leopard(felis bengalensis) and a domestic cat.

The first hybrid generation (F1) is a cat with a leopard mother or father. The second generation (F2) is a cat grandchild of a leopard, the third generation (F3) is a great grand child and it is still a hybrid. It is just in the fourth generation (F4) that the cat is considered a Bengal (SBT), and it is recognized as domestic cat, accepted by the different rearing race cats associations.

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The first of those associations in accepting the register of the Bengal cats was TICA, in the early 80s. Then in the 90s it was admitted for competitions and championships, after other associations recognized the race officially.

Bengal cats have a wild look, like small leopards but with the sweetness and docility of a domestic cat. Their enormous bright eyes and their coat, similar to a wild feline give the Bengals a ferocious look that has nothing to do with their real temperament. They make friendly and loyal bonds with their owners.

They are very loving, restless, agile and very curious cats. They keep the fascination of playing with water and climbing as high as possible from their ancestors.

Bengals are cats with a strong, heavy and muscular complexion. Their hind quarters are slightly bigger than the fore ones. The adult male weighs between seven and eight kilos. Females are a bit smaller.

Their coat is thick, short very bright and extremely soft. The base colour can be several light shades such as ivory, cream, yellow, gold and orange. The spots are dark and they can be black, chocolate or cinnamon. There is a “snow” version with a very light base colour, almost white and spots that can be reddish or black. In all cases the tail end is black the same as the paw pads and the abdomen should be spotted.

There are two kinds of markings, spotted or rosetted and marbled, in both cases they are like the two leopard varieties.

Race History

It goes back to the early 60s and to Jean Mill, also known as “the Bengal cats mother”.

In 1961 Jean made a crossbred between and Asian female leopard, which she called Malaysian, and Tom, a domestic black cat. Two kittens were born, a male which died and a female (Kinkin) which was crossbred with her father.

Kinkin had two kittens, from which the female survived (Pantherette).

After her husband’s death, jean donated Malaysia, Kinkin and Pantherette to the San Diego zoo and that way her first crossbred project ended.

At the beginning of the 70s Dr. William Centerwall worked in the research of feline leukemia at the LomaUniversity in order to do that, he made crossbreds between Asian leopards and domestic cats, trying to find the gene that made them immune to that disease.

Soon after that he gave Jean Mill these specimens. In this way she obtains the first F1 descendants of the crossbred between Asian leopard and short hair domestic female.

However, as the male F1, F2 and F3 are almost always sterile, she needed to find a domestic male to make the crossbred.

In 1982 Jean travels to India and brings back a pretty domestic orange coloured cat with dark rosettes and spots, and green eyes, and starts her new breeding programme.

  Standard

CATEGORIES: All.

DIVISION: Tabby, Silver/Smoke.

COLORS: Brown Tabby, Seal Sepia Tabby, Seal Mink Tabby, Seal Lynx Point, Black Silver Tabby, Seal Silver Sepia
Tabby, Seal Silver Mink Tabby, Seal Silver Lynx Point. Spotted or Marbled
PatternsONLY.

PERMISSIBLE OUTCROSSES: None.
HEAD:
Shape: Broad modified wedge with rounded contours. Longer than it is wide.
Slightly small in proportion to body, but not to be taken to extreme. The skull
behind the ears makes a gentle curve and flows into the neck. Allowance to be made for jowls in adult males. Overall look of the head should be as distinct from the domestic cat as possible.
Ears: Medium to small, relatively short, with wide base and rounded tips.
Set as much on side as top of head, following the contour of the face in the
frontal view, and pointing forward in the profile view. Light horizontal furnishings
acceptable; but lynx tipping undesirable.
Eyes: Oval, almost round. Large, but not bugged. Set wide apart, back into
face, and on slight bias toward base of ear. Eye color independent of coat color except in the lynx points. The more richness and depth of color the better.
Chin: Strong chin, aligns with tip of nose in profile.
Muzzle: Full and broad, with large, prominent whisker pads and high,
pronounced cheekbones. Slight muzzle break at the whisker pads.
Nose: Large and wide; slightly puffed nose leather.
Profile: Curve of the forehead should
flow into the bridge of the nose with no break. Bridge of nose extends above the eyes; the line of the bridge extends to the nose tip, making a very slight, to nearly straight, concave curve.
Neck: Long, substantial, muscular; in proportion to the head and body.
BODY:
Torso: Long and substantial, not oriental or foreign. Medium to large (but
not quite as large as the largest domestic breed).
Legs: Medium length, slightly longer in the back than in the front.
Feet: Large, round, with prominent knuckles.
Tail: Medium length, thick, tapered at end with rounded tip.
Boning: Sturdy, firm; never delicate.
Musculature: Very muscular, especially in the males, one of the most
distinguishing features.
COAT/COLOR/PATTERN:
Length: Short to medium. Allowance for slightly longer coat in kittens.
Texture: Dense and luxurious, closelying, unusually soft and silky to the touch.
Patterns: Spotted or marbled.
Spotted: Spots shall be random, or aligned horizontally. Rosettes showing
two distinct colors or shades, such as paw print shaped, arrowhead shaped,
doughnut or half-doughnut shaped or clustered are preferred to single spotting but not required. Contrast with ground color must be extreme, giving distinct
pattern and sharp edges. Strong, bold chin strap and mascara markings
desirable. Virtually white undersides and belly desirable. Blotchy horizontal
shoulder streaks, spotted legs and spotted or rosetted tail are desirable.
Belly must be spotted.
Marbled: See TICA Uniform Color Description (74.1.1.2.1).
Colors:
Brown Tabby: All variations of brown are allowed; however, a high degree of
rufousing is preferred. Markings various shades of brown to black. Light
spectacles encircling the eyes and a virtually white ground color on the whisker
pads, chin, chest, belly and inner legs is desirable.
Seal Sepia Tabby, Seal Mink Tabby,
and Seal Lynx Point Tabby: Pattern can be various shades of brown. There
should be very little or no difference between the color of the body (pattern)
markings and point color.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION The goal of the Bengal breeding program is to create a domestic cat which has physical features distinctive to the small
forest-dwelling wildcats, and with the loving, dependable temperament of the
domestic cat. Keeping this goal in mind, judges shall give special merit to those
characteristics in the appearance of the Bengal which are distinct from those
found in other domestic cat breeds. A Bengal cat is an athletic animal, alert to its surroundings; a friendly, curious, confident cat with strength, agility,
balance and grace. It is a medium to large cat which exhibits a very muscular and solid build. Its wide nose with prominent whisker pads and large oval, almost round eyes in a slightly small head enhance the wild appearance and
expressive nocturnal look. Its very slight, to nearly straight, concave profile and
relatively short ears with wide base and rounded tips add to the Bengal’s
distinctive and unique appearance. The short, dense coat has a uniquely soft and silky feel. The coat may be glittered or not glittered, with neither type to be given preference. A thick, low-set, medium-length tail adds balance to the
cat. ALLOWANCES: Smaller size, in balanced proportion, of females. Slightly longer coat in kittens. Jowls in adult males. Eyes slightly almond shaped. Mousy undercoat.
PENALIZE: Spots on body running together vertically forming a mackerel
tabby pattern on spotted cats; circular bulls-eye pattern on marbled cats;
substantially darker point color (as compared to color of body markings) in
Seal Sepia, Seal Mink, or Seal Lynx Point cats. Any distinct locket on the neck, chest, abdomen or any other area.
WITHHOLD ALL AWARDS (WW): Belly not spotted. Paw pads not consistent with their color group description, or paw pads not all of the same color.