Bengal Info

The Bengal breed originated as a cross between the Asian Leopard cat (Prionailurus Bengalensis) and a Domestic cat. The first three generations of a domestic bengal X Leopard cat are called foundations (F1, F2, and F3). The fourth generation and any beyond that are called Bengals (also refered to as SBT). The Bengal cat is a domestic cat, yet has retained some of its wild characteristics. They are very athletic and enjoy climbing to high places. Bengals also have a fascination with water and will take any opportunity to play in it.

The Bengal cat has a very soft short to medium coat that is slightly longer in kittens. It is thick and luxurious and comes in various colors and patterns such as rosettes, spots and marbles. Some have glittered coats (as if gold dust were sprinkled over them) which is a very desirable quality. They have large alert eyes and they are very curious. The Bengal cat makes a great family pet. They get along great with their family as well with the family dog.

Bengals are very active cats, especially when they are kittens. They are very inquisitive and like to explore anything they can access. This usually involves things getting chewed or broken if you haven’t kitten-proofed your home (which is highly recommended if you don’t want things destroyed). They do slow down somewhat once they hit adulthood, so don’t worry, you wont have to deal with this craziness forever 😉

If you have any questions, please read through my Frequently Asked Questions page before emailing me 🙂

One of the biggest concerns is heart disease (HCM). Unfortunately in most cases it results in an early death, however if caught soon enough, with daily medication it can result in a long full life for your cat. We do screen our breeding cats every one or two years, however this does not mean that it is impossible for their offspring to get this horrible illness. Two HCM negative parents can occasionally produce an HCM positive kitten. HCM is something that can show up many years down the road, or it can happen early on in life. Since Bengals are a fairly new breed they haven’t been able to develop a blood test to see if they will get HCM as they have with some other breeds. So scanning often is all that we can do to lessen the numbers of positive cats we produce.

Other health issues are PK Deficiency (a type of anemia), and PRA (Progressive Retinal Atrophy) which can cause early blindness. Our cats are all tested for both of these health problems and cannot produce kittens that are positive for these diseases. We may have the occasional female that is a carrier of one disease (N/K), however we always ensure that all of our studs are negative so that they cannot produce kittens with the disease. Being a carrier does not affect the kittens health in any way.

The spotted variety of the Bengal can take on many differences in patterns. A spotted Bengal can have a solid spot of one color, or we can have a rosetted Bengal. A rosetted Bengal is still spotted, but the spots have two colors to them. Usually there is a dark spot of either brown or black, and then a kind of rust or orange shading inside or around the spot, creating a rosette like you would see on a wild cat like a jaguar. The photos below are all of brown Bengals, but you can have the same markings on any color of Bengal.