Bengal (cat)

The Bengal is a hybrid breed of domestic cat. Bengals result from crossing a domestic feline with an Asian leopard cat, Prionailurus bengalensis bengalensis.

The Bengal cat has a desirable "wild" appearance with large spots, rosettes, and a light/white belly, and a body structure reminiscent of the ALC. The Bengal possesses a gentle domestic cat temperament, if separated by at least four generations from the original crossing between a domestic feline and an ALC.

The name "Bengal cat" was derived from the taxonomic name of the Asian leopard cat, and not from the more distantly related Bengal tiger.

The earliest mention of an ALC/domestic cross was in 1889, when Harrison Weir wrote in Our Cats and All About Them

However in 1927, Mr Boden-Kloss wrote to the magazine Cat Gossip regarding hybrids between wild and domestic cats in Malaya:

I have never heard of hybrids between bengalensis and domestic cats. One of the wild tribes of the Malay Peninsula has domesticated cats, and I have seen the woman suckling bengalensis kittens, but I do not know whether the latter survive and breed with the others!

The earliest mention of a confirmed ALC/domestic cross was in 1934 in a Belgian scientific journal, and in 1941, a Japanese cat publication printed an article about one that was kept as a pet. Jean Mill, the person who was later a great influence of the development of the modern Bengal breed, submitted a term paper for her genetics class at UC Davis on the subject of crossbreeding cats in 1946.

Greg and Elizabeth Kent were also early breeders, who developed their own line of Bengals using ALCs and Egyptian Maus. This was a very successful line and many modern Bengals will find it in their pedigree.

Although it has become a popular breed, with over 60,000 cats registered with TICA, not all cat registries accept them; in particular, the Cat Fanciers' Association, one of the largest cat registries in the world, does not accept any hybrids.

Long-haired Bengals are a throw back to the original matings where long haired cats were among those used as crosses with the Asian Leopard cat. Some current Bengals carry the recessive long haired genes and when they are mated with each other, they can produce long-haired Bengal. In 2013, long-haired Bengals were granted preliminary status in the New Zealand Cat Fancy under the breed name Cashmere. They are currently not recognized by any other cat registries.

Bengal cats have "wild-looking" markings, such as large spots, rosettes, and a light/white belly, and a body structure reminiscent of the leopard cat. A Bengal's rosetted spots occur only on the back and sides, with stripes elsewhere. The breed typically also features "mascara", and foreleg striping.

The Bengal cat is usually either classed as brown-spotted or snow-spotted (although there are more colours, brown and snow are the only colours of Bengal that the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy recognize. Within brown Bengals, there are either marble or spotted markings. Included in the spotted variation is rosetted, which consists of a spot with a dark line surrounding it. Snow Bengals are also either marble or spotted, but are also divided into blue-eyed or Any Other Colour eyes.

The International Cat Association recognizes several Bengal colours and patterns for competition and shows. In the New Traits class, other colours may be shown, as well as longhairs.

After three generations from the original crossing, the breed usually acquires a gentle domestic cat temperament; however, for the typical pet owner, a Bengal cat kept as a pet should be at least four generations removed from the leopard cat. The so-called "foundation cats" from the first three filial generations of breeding are usually reserved for breeding purposes or the specialty pet home environment.

Since the late 1960s—when the Bengal cat was developed through hybridization of Asian Leopard cats and domestic cats—it has gained huge popularity. However, in recent years, a novel early-onset autosomal recessive disorder was described in this breed. This disease appears to be an early-onset primary photoreceptor disorder, leading to blindness within the first year of age.

The prevalence of HCM 16.7%.

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