Appearance
The goal of the Bengal breed is to as closely as possible replicate the appearance of the wild leopard cat while including loving temperament of domestic cats. At this point in our history, the "Bengal Standard" is a loosely written description of the ideal Bengal, therefore somewhat open to different breeders’ interpretations. It is used to define the quality of each cat.
Bengals are long, lean, and very muscular. Males can weigh from 10-18 pounds, and females eight to twelve pounds. Their hind legs are longer than the forelegs, with the shoulders being very muscular and a dip in the top line behind the shoulder blades. The top line of the back should be curved with the tail set low and carried low. Because of its unique build, the Bengal has a very fluid walk echoing the wild attributes of the Bengal.
The head should look wild or feral, rather than domestic. The whisker pads should be puffy, the ears small and rounded and pointed forward, the eyes large and round and set widely apart. The forehead should be long compared to the lower part of the face. In profile the skull should be shaped like an egg with a portion of it behind the ears location, known as “backskull”. Most desirable are verticle forehead markings without any trace of the domestic “M”. White trim on the face as goggles around the eyes, whisker pads and chin, between the cheek straps is highly sought after because it enhances the wild look.
The coat of the Bengal cat is short and tight with a thick, soft texture. The spots should be aligned horizontally or in a random manner along the sides and back and sometimes on the legs. The color of the spots, ranging from black to brown should contrast with the background color which ranges from a light gold through brownish orange to a tawny brown. Most desireable are rosetted spots either as a two toned, doughnut, or pawprint. The tail tip and paw pads must be black. The underside which is a lighter color (preferably white) must also be spotted. Two colors are recognized, Brown Tabby and the various Snow colors (lynx point, seal mink and seal sepia). Within each color, two patterns are recognized, Spotted and Marble.
Personality
The Bengal is a very people oriented cat that has many "dog-like"
characteristics like loving to play fetch. Bengals are affectionate,
active, and very inventive entertainers. Their acrobatic feats will keep
you and your friends amused for many years to come. Their personality is
dominated by their curiosity and intelligence, always wanting to know what
you are up to. The investigation abilities of the Bengal never cease to
amaze me. Temperament according to the Bengal Standard states, "Temperament
must be
unchallenging. Any signs of definite challenge shall disqualify. Cat
may exhibit fear, seek to flee, or generally complain outloud, but may
not threaten to harm. Bengals should be a confident, alert, curious and
friendly cat”.
Bengal Types, Colors and Descriptions
There are three accepted divisions for Championship competition. These are "Brown," the three "Snow" colors, and Silver. Brown Tabby incorporates a wide spectrum of colors lumped together, basically the background can be all shades of gold and reddish gold through the many shades of brown and beige, with a contrasted, darker pattern. "Snow" is broken down further into actual colors recognized by the cat fancy: Seal Sepia, Seal Mink, and Seal Lynx Point. Silver has a nearly white background w/ black markings with no hint of brown. Within each color division are two accepted pattern types, Spotted and Marble.
Here are some pictures.
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When it comes to Snows, it gets a bit more complicated.
Seal Lynx points are completely white at birth. The spots start showing up in a couple of weeks. As adults, they have startling blue eyes.
Seal Minks have faint spots at birth, usually light brown. As adults they have Aqua or green Eyes, usually with dark brown or grey-brown pattern.
Seal Sepias and Sepias are clearly spotted at birth. Adult Sepias have green or golden eyes, with dark brown pattern.
No actual Snow Leopard was used in breeding Bengals. The colors come from Siamese and one Burmese ancestor. The Burmese give us the Sepia and the Seal Sepia, and the Siamese is the ancestor of the Seal Lynx Point. The Seal Mink is an intermediate color, which shows up if the two types were bred together in a kitten’s pedigree.
Rosetting
Rosettes are highly desireable multi-colored spots and marbling. Asian Leopard Cat subspecies from the southern areas of Asia are rosetted and the genes which pass this trait on are unique in the domestic cat world. Sometimes, rosettes don't show up till the kitten grows up a bit, and the pattern opens up. This is very true for the marble pattern. But on the very best ones, the rosettes are visible from birth and it is very exciting.
A rosette is a spot which involves at least two colors besides the background
color. There are several types of rosettes:
| A "Doughnut" rosette or partial doughnut is a circle or partial circle of very dark brown or black enclosing a lighter center colored differently than the background of the cat, such as this mark on Mulani's shoulder. |  |
| A "Paw Print" rosette, is several dark unconnected spots in a rough circle, surrounding an area of different color than the background color, as on Cerinthe's hip markings. |  |
| An "Arrowhead" rosette is shaped like an arrow head with two tones:
a short dark stem and a trailing second color.
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Rosetted marble occurs on the marble patterned cats. The areas of pattern
have a dark outline while a third color different than the background shows
in the middle of the patterned area. Cinders has a well rosetted marble
pattern.
| Chained rosettes appear on a marble patterned cat. They look like a chain of bubbles connected within the same dark outline with a third color in the center of each. |
Broken marble rosettes. Some marble patterned cats have begun to appear in the breed which have patterns broken up so that the marble areas are separated from each other, and appear as large outlined rosettes.
Glitter
A cat named Tory was captured in India and brought back to the United
States and used as part of the foundation stock for the Bengal Breed. Tory
was glittered and had bright green eyes. Many Bengals today carry these
two traits from that one cat. Glitter doesn't show up well in photos, or
in most artificial lighting. In bright light, a glittered Bengal
sparkles as they move. The hollow outer portion of the individual hair
shafts refract light, like a humingbird’s feathers, making them irridescent.
Because the Asian Leopard Cat is not glittered, no mention of glitter
is made in the standard and is the source of some controversy within the
breed’s devotees.
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