Bengal Cats

Have you ever admired the wild and untamed beauty of a leopard or a cheetah, have you ever wondered "if I could could only own one..." well its almost impossible right, first they are in Africa, second they would chomp your head off the very second you come near them. What if I told you that there is a cat breed that greatly resembles a Leopard and a Cheetah wouldnt you run to the petshop and ask for one? Well yes there are such things as "Ivan" on the left would attest, and as you can see he is not your ordinary street tabby. These are a rare but very beautiful breed of cat that I fell in love with by just looking at their pictures.



These are the result of a Hybrid between the wild Leopard cat (Felis bengalensis) and the House cat (Felis catus). But these are not the direct offspring of the cross but the generations of the fifth and above so that will become more of a house cat in nature not a wild little beastie. They were the result of a study about the asian leopard cat that was conducted during the 1960's or the late 1970's to aid the plight of the rare leopard cat. This produced fertile offspring which was later carefully bred to have the conformity and temperment of a common house cat whom we enjoy the company of.


Felis bengalensis

The first generation of this hybrid called the F1's resulted to unfertile males yet fertile females which later became the foundation of the Bengal Breed. All the later generations after fifth generation produced fertile males and females and are registered under SBT Bengals. These cats steal every cat show the appear on, providing that they are an excellent examples of the breed. Look at the picture at the bottom, he is Perry owned and showed by his proud owners John and Shiela Fowler. If you owned him wouldnt you be proud?




"Sir Leonardo"

Seeing these cats prowl around your yard stalking and unsuspecting rodent would give you the feeling that your watching a miniture safari. This breed resembles Leopards, Cheetah's and on some mutation of the new breed clouded leopards. Their patterns range from brown tabby, sepia, seal mink tabby, spotted, spotted and marbled.



"Gabie"

These cats have a series of black and brown spots set on a back ground of brown, orangy brown, silver or grey. These spots come in all shapes and sizes, rosettes and swirls also come out of this breed that's why it resembles lots of different kinds of its wild cousins. Some of the most stunning patterns are the clouded leopard, the snow leopard patterns and the King cheetah patterns.



'"Clouded Pattern"




"Snow Clouded"

And soon there will the the Margay patterns and also the ocelot patterns. There is just no stopping the evolution of this new and magnificent breed, if you would like to know more visit these sites to look at their amazing cats.

http://www.rockybengals.com/ - For Marbled

http://www.bengalkittens.org/ - For Spotted

http://www.kingsmarkfarms.com/ - For all patterns and the new serengetti cats

http://www.bengalslongisland.com/ - For New Yokers

http://www.bengal-cat.net/ -Cattery of my friend Debbie
















"Ivan"




Supreme Grand Champion "Perry"

And for the breed's standards in TICA please refer to this link for the information:

http://www.ticaeo.com/Content/Publications/Pages/BG.pdf

"All photos seen here are not my own and in no way am I claiming them to be my own. Some have the knowledge of the owners of me showcasing their cats Photos.
These photos are here to give adequate and vivid representations of cat breeds and conditions and are in no means for profit."

Cat's Origins

Left is Felis sylvestris to the right is Felis lybica

Thousands of years ago a wild cat, may be a European wild cat (Felis sylvestris) or African wild cat (Felis lybica) went out of her den to look for rodents to feed her hungry kittens. But may be it was the dry season or the winter season that made her prey so scarce, that it made her decide to do the unthinkable, give a visit to the two legged tall creatures with strange dens(Humans). She knows that the humans have a grain pile that is crawling with rodents just waiting to be pounced upon by an enterprising little huntress - so she applied for the job:)

Felis catus

Man saw that this budding new partnership with this little bundle of fur and attitude had potential. Humans have just begun to cultivate grains and to stock them which in turn attracts a hodge podge of interested rodents that were more than willing to get their own share of man's labor. So man begun something that will forever change the destiny of cats, he took the little huntress into his employment. Hey who wouldnt right, she's cute and dedicated, a bit wild but affectionate and she works for mice and other little creepy crawlies of man's granary, and so begun man's relationship with the cat.

It is still unclear of which cat species was the first to have been domesticated. Some belive it was Sylvestris others contest it was Lybica. A lot of scientists believe that cats came to Persia and Nubia already domesticated and were traded by the romans for pets to the Sultans and the Kings. So a DNA test was made on the three, the domestic cat and the European and African to finally conclude which one was the first. Mitochondiral DNA suggests that the common house cat and the African cat are subspecies of Sylvestris therefore making the European the progenetor of all cats.

Egyptian Mau

But it was in Egypt that the cats gained a pedistal in history, being worshiped as Bastet the Goddess of both the Sun and the Moon and as the perfumed Goddess. Here the cats changed roles from a mouser to emissaries to the divine, cats were then bred to become Temple cats or the now rare and very beautiful Egyptian Mau. They were even burried better than human peasants, burried in the finnest linen and the best perfumes.

Angora

In Angora cats became the stewards of the Market place, keeping in control the hungry congrigation of Rats and Mice that could spread disease in the bazaars and would bode loss to the otherwise profitable food market, there they also played a role in becoming the best and most charming companions to merchants, hence the Angora breed was produced, the original breed was pure white and had one yellow eye and a green eye or blue.

Cream Persian

Later cats came to Persia where they became the pets of the Sultans, here they became lavished Palace cats or Persian cats. They now sat beside the defenders of the Faith of Islam and watched over the ever changing sands of the desserts. They gained such thick coats and beauty so elegant they have now become a status symbol not just a simple rodent assasin. It was through the silk road that cats reached asia, some may have taken a ride with the Muslim traders when they reached the farthest reaches of the east.

Siamese Cat

In Siam the cats gained a new gift, they have become a thing of romance and legends. When a princess decided to put her ring on a Siamese cat's tail while she took a dip in the river and whispered in its ear to guard it with her life. Some Siamese cats have this kink on the tail, it is said that this is where the princess placed her ring for safe keeping.

Japanese Bobtail

In Japan cats gained the status of bringers of good luck when a monk once said to cat "Do something more than just sit around and catch mice." So this little cat went out of the temple and waved at the passing Samurai so that they can take shelter in the temple, since then the Samurai gave favor to the temple for the smart cat. Hence the waving cat of Japan became the symbol of inviting good luck to the home. What ever the reason cats became a part of man's life, what remains and what will forever be the first and formost agreement for man and cat is, hunt the rats and I'll keep you warm, hunt the mice and I'll keep you safe, sit beside me and purr before we go to sleep.:)

"All photos seen here are not my own and in no way am I claiming them to be my own. Some have the knowledge of the owners of me showcasing their cats Photos.
These photos are here to give adequate and vivid representations of cat breeds and conditions and are in no means for profit."