About Bengal Kittens

Bengal kittens make excellent pets or show cats. Their markings and colorings are so distinctive, no one, not even someone who knows nothing about cats and kittens, will mistake Bengal kittens for any other breed. Bengals are a relatively new breed, and there are discoveries being made about them every day.

History

The Bengal kittens of today can trace their ancestry to the Asian Leopard Cat, which is a small, wild cat that weighs in at between 13 and 16 lbs., bred to a domestic house cat. While there were other previous cross breeding done in Japan, the first one in the United States was not until 1960, and it was not until the 1970s that a real attempt was made to create a new breed. The first time a Bengal was exhibited at a show was in 1985, and the Bengal has been gaining in popularity ever since.

Types

There are several types of Bengal kittens to choose from with the differences being mainly in the color combinations. Classic Bengal kittens will have green or gold eyes, with a background color of light brown or silver gray and spots of black to light brown. Snow Bengals, which are more properly known as Seal Lynx Points, Seal Minks, and Seal Sepias, are cream colored with markings of pewter or nutmeg. The Lynx will have blue eyes; Seal Minks' and Seal Sepia's eyes can be either green, copper or gold. The Brown Marble has a coat with swirled markings and can come in either the Classic or Snow color combinations.

Breeding

The Bengal kitten you choose will not be a first generation--that is to say, the direct offspring of a wild and domestic cat. They will retain too much of the nature of the wild cat. The temperament will get better with each generation. A breeder will not sell a kitten unless it is 4 generations removed from the first. By this time, the traits of the domestic cat will be dominate, and the wild traits almost gone. The kitten will be as gentle as if it had no wild blood at all.

Features

Bengal kittens are smart and gentle and get along well with children and adults alike. When the kitten is 3 weeks old, its fur will get a fuzzy look. This is normal and inherited from its wild ancestors. The fuzziness mutes out the markings and, in the wild, is a form of camouflage. It will disappear gradually, and it can take a year, or even more, for the Bengal kitten to develop the adult markings.

Health

In addition to the health problems faced by most cats, Bengals are prone to eye problems, such as cataracts and progressive retinal atrophy, which has been found in Bengal kittens as young as 3 months. The cat will eventually become blind. Research is ongoing to find out exactly how the defective gene is passed on and then breeders can be more selective and not breed any cats who could pass it onto the kittens.