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The Bengal Type

If you could not see the pattern in a Bengal (such as a melanistic Bengal), would it look like a wild cat that just came out of the jungle, or would it look like a domestic cat?

At first we started working with Bengals that had very large rosettes very attractive at first sight, but we realised that something was missing. This is when we became interested in the main characteristics of the breed and the ancestor Asian Leopard cat (ALC) and we realized that breeders should try to bring out the physical characteristics of the ALC in their cats. There is a lot of work in genetics and choosing the right parents is very important to produce and keep selecting only the best typey kittens for future development of the breed, as it is more difficult to maintain a very nice type with a wild look than reaching big rosettes.

We definitely prefer a beautiful cat with exceptional genetics and type than a cat with a domestic type and flashy rosettes.

Straight profile from an Asian Leopard cat and Bangkokcats Sandstorm.

Straight profile from a Bangkokcats Sandstorm and from an Asian Leopard cat.

At first we started working with Bengals that had very large rosettes very attractive at first sight, but we realised that something was missing. This is when we became interested in the main characteristics of the breed and the ancestor Asian Leopard cat (ALC) and we realized that breeders should try to bring out the physical characteristics of the ALC in their cats. There is a lot of work in genetics and choosing the right parents is very important to produce and keep selecting only the best typey kittens for future development of the breed, as it is more difficult to maintain a very nice type than reaching big rosettes.

We definitely prefer a beautiful cat with exceptional genetics and type than a cat with a domestic type and flashy rosettes.

Spotted legs of an Asian Leopard cat and Jan

And what are these wild looking characteristics?

If you could take the pattern away from your Bengal would it still look like a cat that just stepped out of the jungle, or would it look like a domestic cat?

The wild type refers to the structure of the cat: an extremely muscular elongated and athletic body, powerful legs especially the hind legs, developed shoulder blades giving the appearance of a predator, a thick leopard tail, a powerful neck, a slightly smaller head in proportion to the body, rounded ears set at the side of the head, a marked chin, a wild shaped head with a straight or nearly straight profile, big and round expressive eyes like nocturnal wild cats, a broad nose with puffy whisker pads, etc.

Rounded ears of an Ocelot, an Asian Leopard cat and BangkokCats Kimora .

There is no perfect Bengal cat, but the more of these qualities they have, the less domestic they look, and this is our goal.

Papyrus thick tail and a Snow Leopard tail