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The Bengal
The Bengal
belongs to the Foreign section and is a medium to large cat which should be
“alert,
friendly and affectionate and in excellent physical condition with a dependable
temperament.” (GCCF Standard of Points)
The
Bengal has inherited its wild appearance from the Asian Leopard Cat, which, when
mated to a domestic shorthair, was the foundation of the breed.
The thick,
luxurious coat of the Bengal can be either spotted or marble, brown or snow. In
many show quality cats, it is set off by a dusting of ‘glitter’ which is unique
to this breed. The glitter effect is created by the tip of each hair shaft
being opaque.
At this
time, six varieties of Bengal can be seen on the showbench. These are:
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Blues and
silvers are also available, but do not yet have full recognition from the GCCF
and are quite rare.
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In the spotted varieties, large spots are desirable, preferably either arrow headed (the spot has a ‘shadow’ in a third colour, as in the leopard cat shown) or rosetted (where the centre of the spot is a third colour). | |
| Rutterkin Sheopur Shamima (left) and Rutterkin Chandrapur Flynn illustrate their snow and brown spotted patterns. They are ten weeks old here. |
The marbled pattern should ideally consist of random swirls along the length of the cat’s body, again in three colours, and should be asymmetrical. It should not really be a classic tabby pattern.
Brown Bengals should have a ground colour of a yellow, buff, golden or orange colour. The pattern can be black and/or shades of brown. A reddish hue gives the most stunning appearance. This is known as ‘rufusing’.
Snows have a background colour ranging from ivory to tan, and markings in various shades of brown. The blue-eyed snows tend to be lighter in colour than the AOC (any other colour) eyed snows.
Bengals as pets
Bengals make wonderful pets. They are very inquisitive and want to be involved in everything that’s going on. They are very intelligent and quickly learn to retrieve their favourite toy or to open doors. However, they can also be naughty if they become bored and so it is always advisable for a Bengal to have a companion.
A Bengal is not really a lap cat. They are very affectionate and love to be fussed and groomed, but they don’t really want to be picked up and cuddled that much. They do sit on your lap, but at their choosing!
Like most cats, Bengals love to climb. If they don’t have access to the ‘great outdoors’, then it is important that their urge to climb is satisfied. An outdoor run with shelves or branches to form vantage points, along with comfortable places for them to nap, is ideal.
Bengals also like playing in water, so some sort of water feature for them to dabble in is a good idea. This can simply be a litter tray filled with water and floating toys. A Bengal is quite likely to ‘adapt’ its drinking water bowl as well!
If your Bengal is to be a show cat, get it used to being handled by different people from as early an age as possible. (This applies to all breeds, not just Bengals.) Other useful tips are to practise looking in its mouth and ears and to keep its claws clipped.
If you do chose a Bengal, you will have not just a most beautiful, elegant pet, but also a wonderful companion!
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Thursday, 24 April 2008 22:02
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