Bengal Breed Information

The bengal cat is a domestic breed with wild ancestors. The first bengals were produced by breeding an Asian Leopard Cat (ALC) with a domestic cat - usually Abyssinians and Egyptian Maus, but Siamese and Burmese were used to create snow lines and American Shorthairs were used to create silver lines. Even the name "bengal" is a derivative from the ALC's latin name Felis Bengalensis.

The bengal breed is still relatively new and a constant work in progress. For a bengal to be considered a domestic cat and eligable for show it must be at least 4 generations away from the ALC. The first 3 generations are called "filials" and can display some characteristics of a wild cat. Most male filials (F1, F2 and F3) are sterile so only the females can be used in breeding.

Bengals are a very active breed, always smart and very curious. They love to run, jump, climb, and play fetch. Some bengals do not display any fear of water. Bengals are a wonderful family pet and enjoy being in the middle of whatever is going on. They can be trained to walk on a leash. Contrary to rumors, a well socialized bengal will display a stable temperment and do very well around other pets and young kids.

Bengals come in an assortment of colors and patterns. Their coats will either be spotted or marbled in pattern. Rosettes, pelt and glitter are desireable traits. Accepted show colors are traditional browns, silver and snows (seal lynx, seal mink and seal sepia). Some recessive colors that will occasionally appear are melanistic (all black with spots visible), smoke (pattern is somewhat obscured by a darker color background) and blues. These 3 colors are not eligable for show, but make wonderful pets.

Bengal care is the same as regular domestic breeds and they require the same veterinary care and vaccinations. Bengals do seem to thrive on a high protein diet, so premium human grade foods are recommended. Bengals do not require much grooming because of their short coats and infrequent shedding.

Links to TICA and ACFA Bengal Breed standard:
http://www.acfacats.com/bengal_standard.htm
http://www.tica.org/members/publications/standards/bg.pdf 

We are a small, home-based cattery in Southeastern Wisconsin. All of our cats and kittens are raised with tons of love and attention and will come to you socialized, litter trained, scratch post trained (sisal rope posts) and will be eating well on their own. All kittens and cats are sold on contract with a health guarantee. Any animal leaving our home will be up to date on vaccinations and vet checked. No kitten will be allowed to leave our home before 12 weeks of age. Sample contracts and health guarantees are available on the kittens page. All kittens and cats at LeopardFuzz are raised in our home with our 5 young kids and our dog. Kittens are underfoot as soon as it is safe and are exposed to many different environments to make them more adaptable when they come to your home. We only have a few litters each year to ensure that we can raise each and every kitten to our high standards for temperament. We breed only high quality cats from the best lines available. All of our breeding cats are tested yearly for HCM and have tested FeLV/FIV negative.  

We are a TICA registered cattery and members in good standing with TICA and we are a subscriber of TIBCC. 

We have a well balanced nutrition program for our cats in which we only use foods that are produced from human grade products. Our kittens and cats are free choice fed Fromm dry food and are fed Fromm wet food twice per day. We recommend that all of our kittens and cats stay on this program for life. We will assist you if you need help locating a store in your area that sells Fromm products.

Our cattery is open for your inspection by appointment. Feel free to contact me via email or by phone with any other questions you may have.