Bengal Breeders-Bengal Cat Breeders North Carolina-Bengal Kittens NC
- HISTORY
The Bengal Cat is a distinct, unique breed of spotted domestic cat derived from the ancestral crossing of a domestic with an Asian Leopard Cat. What is believed to be the first documented cross in the United States is recorded as 1963: however, there are references to domestic and wild crosses in earlier literature. The Bengal of today was first recognized in 1984 by The International Cat Association (TICA) and must be four generations away from the Asian Leopard Cat.
- DOMESTIC / LEOPARD CAT HYBRIDS
In the first generations of hybrid the F1 cat has an ALC parent (usually sire) and a domestic parent, the F2 has an F1 mother and a domestic sire, and the F3 has an F2 mother and a domestic sire. Males are usually infertile while the females of these generations are used as foundation stock of the domestic Bengal.
- DOMESTIC BENGAL CATS
The domestic Bengal (must be four generations or more from the Asian Leopard Cat) makes a loving, intelligent house cat with normal litter box habits. Curious and entertaining, some even enjoy playing in water and bathing with their owners. They enjoy the companionship of both adults and children and adapt to other family pets. While some owners regularly walk their Bengal's on leashes; exercise, nutritional and immunization requirements are the same as for all domestic household cats.
- BROWN SPOTTED TABBY BENGALS
The brown spotted tabbies (leopard spotted) have dark spots on a lighter ground color ranging from gray or tawny thru sorrel to golden and very rufus (bright orange) and on to a rich mahogany. NOTE: The Asian Leopard Cat is considered a brown spotted tabby in the fancy and ranges somewhat in color.
- SILVER TABBY:
The ground color should be cold, light silver, with black markings. Tarnish coloring is undesirable. The rims of the eyes, nose and lips should be outlined in black. The center of the nose leather should be brick red outlined in black. Paw pads are to be black. Tail tip must be black. Belly must be patterned. Eye color the same as the brown tabby, green to gold, green preferred.
- SNOW SPOTTED TABBY BENGALS
- The seal lynx point (blue eyed)and seal sepia (gold or green eyed) spotted tabbies (fondly referred to by breeders as two of the "snow" leopard spotteds) have ivory backgrounds with contrasting spots. The seal mink (aqua or green eyed) spotted is a combination of one each of the above pointed Siamese and the Burmese sepia genes. Extreme contrast between the markings and the ground color is desirable in each spotted color
TICA has registered more than 20,000 Bengal's world wide since the mid 1980s!
Bengal Cat / Kitten Breeder NC