The Bengal

HAVE YOU EVER visited the zoo and longed to caress and cuddle the magnificent wild cats? The dream of owning one clashes with reality: It is impractical, unwise and illegal to keep a tiger or a leopard as a pet, but an approximation of their beauty in miniature, can be privately owned.

Domestic reproductions of leopards are called Bengals. They are hybrid descendants of crosses between the domestic cat (felis catus) and the 10-pound wild leopard cat (felis bengalensis) indigenous to the jungles of Southeast Asia.

Hybridizations between different species of animals is controversial. Due to environmental pressures, species are being added to threatened and endangered lists at a frightening rate, so those who argue that existing gene pools must be kept pure have a valid point, especially in regard to certain species. In the plant kingdom, however, we owe many of our most useful products to deliberate crosses. Genetic pioneers such as Luther Burbank have given us nectarines, tangelos and disease-resistant grains.

The oldest animal hybrid is the mule (donkey x horse). Natural crosses between dogs and wolves, cattle and bison also have occurred but are less well known. Most animals prefer to mate with their own species, but when separated from herds or packs, they may choose unexpected mates. Remember the moose that formed a much-publicized bond with a cow in New England? In Malaysia, leopard cats are more common than bobcats are in this country, so it seems reasonably safe to assume that hybridization between wild and domestic cats occurs there naturally from time to time, just as it does here.

Most of the wild kittens from this era ended up in zoos or escaped onto city streets. I hoped that by putting a leopard coat on a domestic cat, the pet trade could be safely satisfied. If fashionable women could be dissuaded from wearing furs that look like friends' pets, the diminished demand would result in less poaching of wild species.

Temperament is of primary concern, both to breeders and to pet buyers. Modern-day, carefully bred kittens have loving, outgoing personalities. The instinctive suspicion of the wild cat has been bred out through careful selection. The two main things breeders look for are sweet temperament and beautiful, wild appearance.

First-cross (F1) hybrids tend to be shy, nervous, untouchable cats, much like their wild fathers. Like mules and bison/cow hybrids, first-generation hybrid Bengal males are infertile, but their F1 sisters can reproduce. In subsequent generations, males are fertile so outcrosses to domestic cats are no longer needed. In fact, they are undesirable because breeding back to domestics dilutes the precious wild inheritance.

Even as adults, Bengals are entertaining and playful, but as in other breeds of domestic cats, they vary greatly in appearance and behavior. For example, most Abyssinians are loving and calm, but a few are independent and aloof. Some Abys are born with the perfect agouti coat, while others show tabby markings. So it is with Bengals. In general, skittish, fearful kittens seldom become affectionate pets, but they may bond to certain family members.

Bengal kittens often go through an ugly stage of grayness between 2 and 6 months of age in which the clearly contrasted markings are spoiled and blurry. This muting is probably nature's way of protecting the young; baby cheetahs go through a similar fuzzy stage. Then, depending on the seasons, the gray ticked coat falls out and the rufous coloration returns, unless, of course, the kitten was gray (tawny) at birth. All Bengals must have a black tail tip, regardless of body color. Blue, red and dilute colors are not recognized Bengal colors, although Bengals with Ocicat blood often produce them.

Two beautiful but rare coat types not described in the standard are the snow leopard and the marbled. Much like its wild cousin, the real snow leopard, the Bengal color/pattern is ivory with subtle, dark markings of equal intensity all over the cat. The marbled has no counterpart in the wild, and in captivity it no two marbled Bengals are alike. The pattern may be sharply defined patches of color; reminiscent of a stained glass windows, or flowing, twisting streams of clear color. Both of these patterns are breathtaking and exciting because they have never before been seen on domestic cats. Fewer than 50 snow leopard and marbled Bengals have been produced to date.

Prospective buyers should be aware of some of the pitfalls that accompany skyrocketing popularity: Unscrupulous breeders seeking to cash in on high prices and the snob appeal of owning a rare breed buy one Bengal male and mate him to various domestic queens. The resulting kittens are called Bengals but, aside from being spotted, bear little resemblance to the standard. In fact, some outcrossed kittens touted as Bengals have nothing more than the domestic classic tabby or pointed appearance, much like kittens available at any animal shelter.

The best place to see a Bengal is at a cat show affiliated with The International Cat Association. At this time, the Cat Fanciers' Association and the American Car Fanciers' Association exclude cats with wild blood from their shows.

Before you buy a Bengal, request a pedigree showing several generations of registered Bengals without other breeds. In general, the more TICA registered Bengals on the pedigree, the better.

If as the World Wildlife Fund predicts, wild spotted cats become extinct in the next 100 years, their breathtakingly beautiful coats will still be alive and well on much-loved domestic Bengals in homes and high rises all over the world.

CAT FANCY February 1991
( Jean's web site can be found here )