The Brown Bengal

The classic brown colour can range from a nice rufus brown to silver-grey or even light orange.  The spots on a brown Bengal can range from a lightish brown through to black.  Whichever colour the spots are (we favour dark brown or black spots) there should be good contrast between the background colour and the spots (or marbling). Many Bengal kittens don't achieve their full colouring until they are a year old or more.  In many cases kittens go through a fuzzy stage where their coat becomes rather grey and fluffy.  This makes their markings very indistinct and can take several weeks or even a few months to clear.  Often the coat is still quite "fuzzy" at the very stage that the new owners collect a Bengal. This is quite normal and the coat will clear over the coming months.  However, a problem known as "Ticking" can sometimes appear on the coat where individual hairs develop grey/white  bands  (tipping is where just the tip of the hairs have a light edge).  Both ticking or tipping unlike the "fuzzies" do not fade and although a little ticking/tipping on a pet Bengal is perfectly acceptable and doesn't spoil the overall look of the cat it is undesirable to use a ticked/tipped cat for breeding.  Luckily experienced breeders can usually easily distinguish between ticking and a simple fuzzy coat which will clear. (A ticked coat is generally apparent well before a Bengal kitten leaves for its new home) As the breed has developed in recent years, ticking has become much less common, (particularly among breeders who have actively sought to develop their lines) and fewer Bengals have the rather drab grey background colour. Many Bengals also have an effect known as glittering which gives some individual hairs a golden glittered effect. (see below for further details) Ticking/tipping should not be confused with glittering.

Assessing Colour At Cat Shows!

When visiting a cat show to look at Bengals it is worth having a look at the lighting in the hall. In many cases, the lighting has a slightly coloured effect which gives a yellow/brown tinged light. This type of lighting can make a Brown Bengal with very little real colour in its coat look quite rufus & colourful. It also tends to make the markings on very rufus cats (which often have beautiful dark brown spots rather than jet black) appear less distinct and contrasting.  It can also mask the rosetting somewhat as this is made up of varying shades which become lost in the poor lighting. In snows and silvers this unbalanced type of lighting can also cause problems. By tinting the colour of the cat it can make determining the difference between the two types of snow very difficult and can add a yellowish tinge to a beautiful clear silver. The best light to assess a Bengals coat is natural sunlight or under a pure white light (daylight bulbs, small desktop halogen lamps etc.)

The Silver Bengal We were the first breeders to  import the Silver Bengals into the UK with the specific intention of establishing the colour in the UK.  Occasionally silver cats have been born as genetic throwbacks resulting from other breeds used in the development of the breed - In fact some of the very first Bengals ever bred on which the foundations of the breed are based were actually silvers! . Our Silvers are of the highest quality available and are not merely Bengal "variants" which have resulted from cross breeding a Bengal  with another breed of Silver cat.  Our Silvers were originally developed through outcrosses to Classic American Shorthairs and Silver Egyptian Maus  however they are several generations removed from these original outcrosses and are therefore full Silver Bengals. Full Silver Bengals are extremely rare (even in the US) and we anticipate a great demand for these stunning cats. 

The Snow Bengal

In addition to the Brown Bengals a Snow version of both the Spotted and Marbled cats exists.  Snow Bengals have a much lighter background, creamy white rather than pure white.  Their spotting or marbling can be tan, brown or pewter.  The contrast between spots/marbling and the base colour of the coat is much more subtle than in the browns and silvers. In fact there are two distinct types of Snow available.  "Blue-eyed Snows" have beautiful blue eyes and a very light coat with delicate markings.  "Any other colour-eyed Snows" can feature green to light blue-green or gold eyes.  These also tend to have slightly darker markings.  Both types of Snow can glittered but instead of the golden glittering found on some brown Bengals theirs is best described as a "Pearldust" effect. 

The Blue Bengal

There is also a blue variation which has appeared in the breed from time to time (rather than a true blue colour the markings are more a  light grey) and, like the snows, the contrast between base colour and spots/marbling is much more subtle than in the browns and silvers. Many Bengal lines in the UK have the potential to produce occasional Blue kittens.

Glittering

Some Bengals have what is often described as a glittered coat. This is thought to be the result of a translucent outer cover to individual hairs in the cats coat. This clear edging to the hair acts in a similar way to a fibre optic lamp - the glittering is an effect caused by the rufus coat colour being reflected/refracted up this translucent covering which in turn gives the appearance of shimmering golden glitter in certain  bright lights. Glittering is not compulsory in Bengals and not all lines carry the genes responsible for glittered coat. Glittering, though mentioned in the standard of points for Bengals is optional. In many show halls in the UK the lighting employed does not allow glitter to be assessed accurately. It can even occasionally mislead the onlooker to confuse ticking with glittering!

Unfortunately photographs generally fail to adequately capture the glitter effect however these go a little way to displaying the shimmering effect it creates.

Glittering should not be confused with ticking where the hairs have bands of  light grey/white which, in a heavily ticked coat, tends to mask the markings. Tipping, which is also undesirable is where just the tip of the hairs have a light edging.

The Coat

 These cats have inherited a short, thick, plush coat which is often both soft and luxurious. It is quite unlike the coat of other domestic cat breeds and is a result of the Asian leopard cat ancestry.