The Bengal a unique breed

Introduction

The Bengal descends from crosses between a domestic cat and an Asian Leopard Cat (Felis bengalensis). The origins of the breed lie in the United States, where Mrs Jean Mill and several other breeders exhibited the hybrids in the early eighties. They hoped that by creating a wild looking domestic breed, they could give people an alternative for buying wild cats as pets. Also, they thought people might be less likely to buy the fur of wild cats, if their friends had a similar looking sweet tempered pet. Whether these aims have been accomplished is not completely clear: many show Bengals are completely unique in the domestic catfancy, but do not look very wild anymore. Such a Bengal will probably not stop people from trying to keep a wild cat as a pet, because it does not satisfy the desire for a 'wild' animal. The foundation generation Bengals may fulfill this desire, though. The trade in furs of exotic cats has been restricted quite severely since, on an international scale. But in the meantime, the Bengal as a domestic breed has become one of the most popular cat breeds in the world!

The Bengal is the only domestic breed that offers the possibility of creating a new breeding line. Some Asian Leopard cat males, if raised with domestic cats, will accept domestic queens for breeding. With such an Asian Leopard cat, new first generation (F-1) Bengals can be bred. The F-1 generation is the first generation offspring after the hybridisation. In this generation, all male cats are sterile. The second generation, the F-2, therefore always has a domestic cat as father. This domestic used to be a moggie or an Egyptian Mau, but recently, breeders have started to use later generation Bengals of a registered line. The domestic queens that are mated to the Asian Leopard cat are mostly registered Bengals, too, because in this way, the desired Leopard cat traits are least thinned by domestic blood. Care must be taken, of course, that unwanted domestic traits that are present in some Bengals, like severe ticking, vertical barring, large pointy ears, weak chins and enormous jowls are not re-introduced into the new foundation Bengals through the Bengal mother. If the Bengal parent is carefully selected however, the advantages of a Bengal to Leopard cat cross when breeding new early generations really outweigh the disadvantages.

In most countries in Europe, keeping wild animals as pets is forbidden. But a European can feel the desire to have a wild looking pet as much as anyone else. In this case, the Bengal is a good and legal choice, with the added advantage of a dependable disposition and the ability to be housebroken. But the extraordinary looks and character of the Bengal attract other cat lovers as well, who do not specifically love it for its 'wildness'. To them, a Bengal is just a very beautiful cat, that distinguishes itself from all other domestic breeds by some unique traits. Catfancy already offers quite a few spotted breeds, like the Spotted Oriental Shorthair, the Spotted British Shorthair, the Egyptian Mau and the Ocicat. The differences between all these breeds and the Bengal lie in its bodytype, pattern and groundcolour. The Bengal is the only long bodied shorthair cat that is not oriental or foreign in bodytype. If it is to be compared to any other breed, the body of the Bengal mostly resembles that of a Main Coon. The main difference here is, that the Bengal seems to have a denser body, he is much heavier than he seems to be. This high density is probably due to the heavy musculature that is very typical for the Bengal.

Typical for the Bengal are also a somewhat elongated head, combined with small, rounded ears. Most long headed breeds have large pointy ears (compare Norwegian Forest Cat, Siamese). Also, the tail is thick and only of medium length, while most long-bodied cats have long, whippy tails. But the most spectacular difference between other (spotted) breeds and the Bengal is the spotting pattern. Bengal spots are on average much bigger than those of other spotted breeds, and they are arranged horizontally or at random all over its body and preferably the legs and tail as well. The groundcolour of the coat is also much clearer and generally much warmer on a Bengal. The further addition of some unique special traits, like a soft pelt, goldglitter and a relatively small head with a wild expression, make you discover the beauty of your Bengal again every day. And as you sit there, admiring it, you will time and again say to yourself: what a beauty! As will the neighbors of course, which is almost as important.

The uniqueness of the Bengal is now quite well known in the world of catfancy. In the United States, the Bengal already is one of the most popular breeds ever, with over 15.000 registered Bengals. In England, the breed is listed in the top ten of the most popular cat breeds. In Europe an important step in the popularity of the Bengal has been made through the recognition of the breed by the Fifé (Federation Internationale Feline) on the first of Januari 1999. This recognition means that all cat clubs affiliated with the Fifé recognise the Bengal as a breed. These clubs are found throughout the world: Australia, South-America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Of course, the rising popularity has its drawbacks as well. In England and America a lot of kittenmills already make a lot of money selling Bengal kittens bred under hair-raising conditions. The animals used for breeding in these disreputable catteries suffer greatly, and their offspring are often of inferior quality and health. The only way reputable breeders can put a stop to these activities is, to make as much information as possible accessible for potential buyers so they can make the right choice buying their kitten, and by breeding superior quality Bengals in an animal-friendly way and selling them for a reasonable price to well-screened homes only.