PKC - Bengal

Coat

Traditional
Tabby (Leopard): Brown leopard including silver leopard, sepia leopard, and silver sepia leopard. Light markings on chin, cheeks, chest and/or toes are desirable. Charcoal markings are permitted on any allowed colour or pattern.

Sepia Leopard: Sepia Bengals are genetically Burmese: leopard. Their pattern is similar to regular leopard, but with lighter colours. A faint point pattern is allowed, though optional, and follows the Burmese: doc. For all combinations, cluster colour must be a darker shade or darker related colour of the base colour.
- Seal Sepia (solid):

with

striping.
- Seal Sepia (pointed): As above, but the striping on the non-pointed areas is

(must be darker than the base colour). The base colour on the points may be a darker shade than on the main body.
- Silver Seal Sepia (solid):

with

striping.
- Silver Seal Sepia (pointed): As above, but the striping on the non-pointed areas is

(must be darker than the base colour). The base colour on the points may be a darker shade than on the main body.

Snow
Tabby (Leopard): Snow (colourpoint) leopard including silver snow leopard, mink leopard, and silver mink leopard, black pigment only. Light markings on chin, cheeks, chest and/or toes are desirable. Charcoal markings are permitted on any allowed colour or pattern.

Mink Leopard: Mink Bengals are genetically Mink: leopard. They are a mid-point between sepia leopard and snow (colourpoint) leopard. The point pattern, when present, must be the same shade or darker than the body pattern, and follows the Mink: doc. For all combinations, cluster colour must be a darker shade or darker related colour of the base colour.
- Seal Mink (solid):

with

striping.
- Seal Mink (pointed): As above, but the non-pointed body areas are

with

striping. Transparent spotting using a darker shade of the base colour is also allowed.
- Silver Seal Mink (solid):

with

striping.
- Silver Seal Mink (pointed): As above, but the non-pointed body areas are

with

striping. Transparent spotting using a darker shade of the base colour is also allowed.

Eyes

Traditional

Snow
Snow leopards (colourpoints):

Mink leopards:

Nose

Faults

No body pattern on snow/colourpoint leopards. Unmarked belly. Lack of solid, stripe-coloured tail tip. Wrong nose colour.

Disqualifications

Any colour combination accepted only for non-black-based leopard patterns, i.e. blue, chocolate, lilac, cinnamon, fawn.

Varieties

Snow, Traditional

Notes

The oldest and most established of all the hybrid breeds, the Bengal was created in 1963 by Jean S. Mill, who crossed domestic shorthairs to the Asian Leopard Cat, a small spotted wildcat species from south-east Asia. The show-line Bengal was developed during the 1980s, and remained obscure until the first of them hit the show bench in the early 1990s. First accepted by TICA, this unusually spotted breed features a whole host of unique marking styles not seen in any domestic breed including leopard rosettes, marbled tabby (resembling a Clouded Leopard), charcoal (“King Cheetah” style), glitter to the coat, and more. Pattern forms a large part of the show standard for the breed, and is seen by many breeders to be the defining feature for show versus pet quality.

Although show-safe Bengals must be at least 4 generations from the wild ancestor (for TICA), and 5 generations even to be registered with CFA, they retain a distinct “wild” personality and set of breeding concerns. Early spay and neuter is strongly recommended for non-breeding kittens as sexual maturity is early and males are very “male” in this breed.

Type & judging remarks
The Bengal is a sleek, muscular cat whose structure, coat, and expression give it the look of a wild cat. The head is reminiscent of a big cat – small in proportion to the body, with rounded ears and large, “nocturnal” eyes. The tail is blunt and rounded, the neck thick and long. Males are generally larger, with an allowance for jowls, while females may be significantly smaller. Markings should be bold and distinct, with boldly visible body pattern in colourpoints, minks, and sepias preferred.

Breed Files

Filename: Bengal
Offset: 2233
Base: Russian Blue
SCP: B + W Shorthair
Accepted: January 23, 2015
Notes: Version 2 of the Supernova file. Addballz tail (3 variations) and variations in ear size, facial structure and neck width.

Filename: Bengal
Offset: 2233
Base: Russian Blue
SCP: B+W Shorthair
Accepted: April 16, 2007
Notes: Addballz ears. Includes six partially transparent furfiles which are all fully accepted.

Filename: Bengal Cat
Offset: 3005
Base: Maine Coon
SCP: Maine Coon
Accepted: December 31, 2004
Notes: Furfiles accepted (snow and two shades of brown) and two tail variations.