by Anna Hofman

Created on: September 05, 2009   Last Updated: September 06, 2009

The Bengal breed presented itself after cross breeding of The Asian Leopard Cat ("Feline Bengalensis"), and American Short-hair's, Burmese, Abyssinians or Egyptian Mau's occurred. This breed is especially unique for its likeness to wild cats due to it's close resemblance of the Asian Leopard Cat, which has a gold, slender, sleek body with beautiful black spots all over. Amazingly, although the breed is so closely related to wild cats, it is an extremely affectionate, loving and loyal pet that is also well known for it's incredible intelligence and agility.

The breed technically first emerged in 1963 in the USA, when Jean Sudgen cross-bred an American Domestic Short-hair with an Asian Leopard Cat. Although the offspring were produced as healthy kittens, further breeding was stopped as a death occurred and experts were unsure about the quality of the breed. Later, Jean purchased eight of these cats from a geneticist, who had bred Leopard Cats and Domestic Short-hairs as part of a study for Leukemia in cats. These cats were then bred carefully and the breed we now recognise as the Bengal Hybrid emerged. It was then recognised by the International Cat Association in 1984 (21 years after they had first been bred). An important "rule" for the breed is that each Bengal cat should be AT LEAST four generations apart from the Asian Leopard Cat.

The Bengal's face will usually be the most wild-looking part of the cat as it has an "intense" expression and small, rounded ears. Many people say that Bengals remind them of Cheetah's in appearance facially. Their whisker pads stand out more than most cat breeds and the markings on the face, head and neck stand out well and are strikingly beautiful. As a breed, they are perfect due to their stunning, wild appearance and their incredibly calm, loving and playful personalities.

As you can guess, this breed of cat is considerably larger than most domestic cats. Males will generally weigh between 14 to 20 pounds, and females will typically weigh between 10 to 12 pounds. They are also "longer" bodied cats and are extremely muscular and agile creatures. They are playful all through their lives and are almost always active, though they also enjoy being pampered and petted and will jump onto your lap for a cuddle when you are sitting down.

This is one breed of cat which is recommended for dog-owners as Bengal cats are vocal, boisterous and able to get on well with dogs generally, although when the two animals are introduced you should initially make sure everything is okay before leaving them alone together. The Bengal breed is described as very "dog-like" in personality (playful, people-oriented, loving and loyal) and intelligence (some patient, determined owners have taught this breed to do tricks such as "fetch" and "roll over"). Over-all I would recommend this cat to absolutely any family, old or young, with or without children. Just make sure you're prepared to make the financial and special commitments, as you would for any pet.

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